Coronavirus pandemic has severely hit tourism industry, including in Japan. According to Japanese newspaper the Mainichi Shimbun, ninety percent of Ryokan (Inns in traditional Japanese style – approx. ed Techcult) in the famous Spa town with hot springs, ARIMA was closed earlier this month, when the Hyogo Prefecture declared a state of emergency.
In response to the situation, the group of owners of the Ryokan started to upload YouTube videos about their baths with water from hot springs. At this point in the project there is a video of five Ryokan: the ARIMA Sanso Gorobets, Takayama Khan, Takatoriki Maruyama, Tien Goshobo and Mota Rousanou.
Everything you need to immerse yourself in a virtual mineral bath is to fill a bathtub at home, add a little salt, descend in to the neck, wear a supportive format for spherical video headset and start recording. “Users need to be careful not to lose touch with reality, not to drown,” warns a press release.
This bath in the best Japanese traditions is really relaxing and gives the opportunity to abstract from households. The video has decent quality for spherical videos on YouTube, and the sound of flowing water creates a feeling of freshness. Unfortunately, in dealing with technology in the bath there are nuances: not only that the headset is in any case not drop into the water, so points in a few minutes misted, and the session is over.
Source — The Verge