Virtual travel and entertainment have become a big part of our new normal. You can now visit established museums, gaze at amazing city views and live-stream some of Japan’s biggest festivals from the comfort of your home. If you miss exploring Tokyo, you can now visit JR Akihabara Station virtually, along with a 24-hour online market, from anywhere in the world.
The VR re-creation of Akihabara Station comes courtesy of event planning company Hikky, JR East and JR East Planning, who have all teamed up for Virtual Market 6. The virtual market is completely free to access and features Akihabara Station as its main entrance. It's open to visitors 24 hours a day from now until Saturday August 28.
The virtual rendition of Akihabara Station is uncannily similar to the real one. All the key features of the station have been brought into the virtual world, like the ticket gates, signboards, escalators, and the NewDays konbini.
You’ll even find an identical mosaic art piece on the wall at both the virtual and real Akihabara stations.
On your virtual visit, you can walk around the station as an avatar, enter the ticket gates, and ride a train through the market space. At the market, you can purchase digital goods, including accessories for your avatar, new music, ebooks and more. Plus, you can chat to other visitors while exploring the VR world.
The market is free to enter and you don’t even need a VR headset to enjoy the experience – just your computer. To get started, all you need to do is register for a free account on VRChat here and download the desktop app to begin.
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