Located on the 3rd floor of the Kajimachi Plaza building near the station in downtown Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture's first VR/AR amusement facility opened on July 30, 2020.XCUBE"! This isVR (Virtual Reality)やAR (Augmented Reality)This is an attraction-style amusement facility where you can experience the technology in a game-like way!
Kajimachi Plaza is located where the Ito-Yokado Hamamatsu Station store used to be. Currently, the building houses Joy Horse Hamamatsu, an off-track betting facility for local horse racing, and it is a commercial facility that is bustling with horse racing fans on weekends!
Here, you can experience a variety of content utilizing the latest VR and AR technologies, including popular rhythm games and roller coaster-type attractions. It's popular with office workers on weekdays and families with children and couples on weekends!
The facility is surprisingly spacious and comfortable, with a unified feel thanks to the vibrant blue LED lighting, creating a futuristic space that feels like an evolved version of a game center. While it mainly features over a dozen of the latest digital contents, it also incorporates analog content such as trick art, making it enjoyable for a wide range of ages, from young children to adults!
Let's go straight to the front desk to register and then try it out!
The entrance fee to the facility isfreeYou can become a member by adding us as a friend on LINE. To make it easy to enjoy, you can sign up for just one game (members: 500 yen), or you can opt for a free pass which offers great value based on time!
"If you want to fully enjoy all the content in the facility, we recommend 90 minutes or more," the staff member explained, and this time...Weekday free pass for 90 minutes (Regular members: 2,000 yen)I will be using this course!
just,Gift campaign to celebrate the 1st anniversaryas"LINE Raffle"We are holding an event.The winners will receive a fantastic prize: a pair of 120-minute free passes (worth 6,000 yen).That's right! (Unfortunately, I didn't win.)
"VR Super Hero"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration: 8 minutes
The first thing I tried was "VR Super Hero," a futuristic game played on a striking heptagonal blue stage that stood out even within the facility!
This thrilling VR attraction lets you walk across a narrow bridge atop skyscrapers and enjoy a variety of VR spaces!
Each attraction has a guide panel, and for those that say "Staff will guide you through this attraction," please use the call button to speak to a staff member before you start playing!
This isn't my first time wearing VR goggles, but I'm still not very familiar with them, so I'll be getting some support from the staff. The adjustment process varies slightly depending on the goggles, but I'll adjust the size until it fits my head perfectly!
VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality) seemed like something from the near future just a short while ago, but this field is evolving at a dizzying pace and is being used in various fields all over the world! While this look is still relatively unfamiliar in Japan, we'll likely see it in many more situations in the future! However, this is what I looked like from the side when wearing the goggles. Because the goggles themselves are quite large, it's undeniably a bit ostentatious (lol).
Here, we're starting "Richie's Plank Experience," which was released in 2019!
The city skyline appears inside the goggles. The video then changes to the inside of an elevator, and you press the "Plank" button on the controller in your right hand. The elevator quickly ascends to the top floor of the skyscraper, and you can feel your heart beating faster as you experience the sensation of actually being in an elevator and the realistic rise!
The world that unfolds before you as the elevator stops is the top of an 80-story skyscraper!
What's more, there's just a thin plank sticking out at the end of the elevator, making it feel like you're experiencing the world of Kaiji! (lol)
I'm not afraid of heights, and I love the views from tall buildings, but to be honest, it took a lot of courage to step onto that single, narrow plank. Because if I accidentally missed my step, I felt like I would fall! You can expect a world that's just that realistic!
Gathering my courage, I cautiously walked step by step, my legs trembling, and finally managed to reach the very end of the narrow plank! All I needed now was the courage to jump off... and I would have had the simulated experience of jumping from an 80-story skyscraper. The thrill was incredible! It was truly terrifying!
Even though my feet were actually on the ground, the feeling was so real and unsettling that I felt as if the tip of the narrow plank was being buffeted by the wind or even swaying. I got scared and backed away, giving up on jumping. It had always been my dream to bungee jump overseas someday, but after this experience, I've decided to give up on that dream altogether (lol).
Being a bit of a chicken, I wanted a game with a bit more playful elements, so I chose "Fire Deck," where you put out fires!
In this game, your left-hand controller acts as a hose, unleashing a massive amount of water to extinguish raging flames!
The controller in your right hand becomes a jetpack, allowing you to fly freely through the sky using the controller!
This ride is like a rollercoaster, with ups and downs that take you soaring to the rooftops of skyscrapers and plummeting down, making you feel like Spider-Man. Even though you're not actually floating, the experience of soaring through the gaps between buildings is incredibly exciting and fun!
"HADO PvP"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration:Approximately 8 minutes (80 seconds per match x 2)
HADO is an AR sport where you wear a head-mounted display on your head and arm sensors on your arms to unleash special moves and enjoy battling your opponent!
HADO, an AR sport originating in Japan, is spreading worldwide and can currently be played in over 36 countries. More than 2.1 million people worldwide have experienced HADO, and the number of players seems to be increasing day by day!
This cutting-edge, new-era AR sport has been featured on the TV program "Hirunandesu," and has become a hot topic thanks to the exciting competition between the competitive celebrity Takuya Kimura and the "King of the Beasts," So Takei, on the show! Many people have tried it out at this facility, including former Japan national soccer team player Nobuhiro Takeda and the players of Agremmina Hamamatsu! We heard that there was a group of people who had booked the facility for a private event in the afternoon!
Here too, the staff guided me through the operation process, and after attaching the arm sensor, I customized four parameters—energy ball speed and size, charge speed, and shield—to my own specifications before starting!
Normally, the matches are played with 3 teams against 3, but I played against the CPU 1-on-1!
By raising your right arm to charge up energy and then straightening it out, you can unleash an energy ball, targeting your opponent's four life points to defeat them!
Once you get used to it, you can try using your left hand to create a shield for defense, and you'll also need to use light footwork to move left and right to avoid your opponent's energy balls!
Energy balls are like the Kamehameha from Dragon Ball or the Hadoken from Street Fighter—a truly dreamy sport!
Each match lasts 80 seconds, and the team with the most points at the end wins. I managed to beat the CPU by a narrow margin!
After actually playing two matches, I was out of breath, but I think it's a sport that even someone like me, who's around 50 and not in great shape, can enjoy!
Since I've been unable to go to the gym I used to visit regularly due to the pandemic, I'm definitely not getting enough exercise. But with this fun AR sport, I can work up a good sweat and get such a full-body workout, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is concerned about not getting enough exercise!
This time I played against the CPU by myself, but next time I'd like to invite some friends who aren't getting enough exercise and play a 3v3 match!
There's a cafe space in the back that you can use freely, so you can take a break and have some tea along the way!
Since admission to this facility is free, it seems that the cafe space is also available for free use, and they said, "Students are more than welcome to use it as a study space!"
In the photo booth located next to the cafe space, you can play around with chroma key compositing, a technique that makes parts of an image transparent based on specific color components and composites another image onto it! Choose your favorite background and enjoy taking commemorative photos!
I chose a landscape with vast natural scenery and took commemorative photos amidst the blooming flowers!
You can also get the photos you've taken by scanning the QR code in the bottom right corner with your smartphone!
"iSandBOX"
Suitable for all ages
In the Digital Kids Area, there's "iSandBOX," which even young children can enjoy. This AR sandbox is an evolved version of sand play with no age restrictions, where children and adults alike can "play, learn, and relax"!
Developed by Universal Terminal Systems in 2012 and mass-produced and sold in 2013, the AR sandbox offers a wide variety of playable content. From catching sea creatures in an underwater kingdom to making volcanoes erupt by digging and piling sand, and defeating monsters, it's a fairytale sandbox where stories unfold one after another!
Because it allows children to learn while touching sand, it has already been introduced to various facilities in 47 countries around the world, including kindergartens and elementary schools, theme parks, museums, science centers, psychotherapy centers, and elderly care facilities. It is also an excellent product that won the Kids Design Award in 2019!
I enjoyed the playful "Coloring Toys" and the relaxing "Ocean" activity, where I learned about marine life and was soothed by the beauty of the sea and mountains!
This coloring book features propeller planes, cars, bears, and other objects outlined in blue and red lines. You can add color by piling up sand for the blue lines and digging for the red lines!
The fun feature is that you pile sand and sand onto the blue-lined propeller plane, and when all the blue lines turn green, the illustration comes to life and the propeller plane takes off!
The fine, smooth sand is soothing to the touch, making this a sandbox that will captivate not only children but adults as well!
"VR Cycle Touring"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration: 3分
"VR Cycle Touring" lets you enjoy an aerial stroll while cycling on a fitness exercise bike!
The video and its speed will change in accordance with the speed at which you pedal, so enjoy it at your own pace!
There are four courses to choose from: "Hong Kong/Shanghai," "Around Mt. Fuji," "Tokyo Night View," and "Lake Hamana." I chose the Shanghai location, which I visited three years ago! I was able to enjoy various Shanghai landscapes, from daytime views to the beautifully illuminated night view, with a sense of nostalgia!
"Beat Saber"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration: 5分
"Beat Saber" is a simple rhythm game where you slice blocks that fly towards you in time with the music!
The feeling of slashing blocks left and right while getting a full-body workout to upbeat electronic music is exhilarating and perfect for relieving stress!
Since you can choose the difficulty level, it would be fun to start with the beginner course and gradually move on to the advanced course!
"VR Dream Match Baseball"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration: 5分
This is "VR Dream Match Baseball," a VR content that recreates a baseball player's pitching motion, making for a realistic baseball experience! I haven't been to a batting cage in ages, but after trying a few times, I managed to hit a home run with one pitch, and fireworks went off on the screen, creating a spectacular moment! I swung the bat a little too hard, so I'm prepared for some muscle soreness (lol).
"9DVR"
Age requirement: 7 years and older (parental consent required for children aged 7 to under 13)
Duration: 3-4分
Finally, we head to the most popular attraction in the facility, "9DVR"! Get into the futuristic egg-shaped chair!
This is a new kind of attraction where you can experience a thrilling virtual space by synchronizing vibrations and sounds with the immersive visuals unfolding inside the goggles, while enjoying terrifying experiences like roller coasters and horror movies!
The content of the four video attractions you can choose from is updated regularly, but this time we'll try "Dino Trek," which takes you into the world of dinosaurs!
As you speed through the vast, trackless jungle, the world of dinosaurs that appear one after another is just like Jurassic Park! At first, I was excited, but around the middle, my anxiety and fear reached their peak, wondering if I would be able to reach the finish line safely! I'll leave the ending that befalls you at the very end as a surprise that only those who experience it will understand!
The reason we saved this main event for last was because a staff member warned us that it might be the attraction most likely to cause motion sickness, and we wanted to avoid getting carried away and ruining the fun of the others! Incidentally, my husband apparently got motion sickness on this "9DVR." "VR sickness" is caused by symptoms similar to general motion sickness. All the attractions in the facility have a "susceptibility to motion sickness" indicated by the number of stars, so please refer to that and be careful if you have a weak vestibular system or are prone to motion sickness!
Finally, we spoke with Mr. Masayuki Tsugihiro, Section Chief of the 4th Sales Department at Asahi House Industry Co., Ltd., the company that operates this facility!
Mr. Tsugishiro is in charge of everything from the planning and establishment of this facility to its operation.
When the facility opened at the end of July last year, Hamamatsu was also experiencing the effects of the second wave of COVID-19, and everyone was going through a difficult time. However, as the city became increasingly deserted, and witnessing the harsh realities of a regional city firsthand, Mr. Tsugihiro felt a strong desire to "somehow bring people back into the city," "somehow revitalize this city," and "create a flow of young people to energize the city!" He spent his days pondering what he, as a developer, could do for the community. Amidst this, a student-centered project that he had been working on in Tamachi for about two years began to show signs of connection and expansion among people, and this became the catalyst for moving to "Kajimachi Plaza" as the second phase of the project, and undertaking "XCUBE" as a new business. The name of the facility, "XCUBE," means "a box for experiencing," and Mr. Tsugihiro says that he aims to create an environment where visitors can always have new experiences, not limited to VR and AR. We look forward to seeing how "XCUBE" will continue to evolve!
The best way to experience VR and AR is to actually try them rather than just trying to understand them intellectually!
I think I'll enjoy it even more once I get used to the controls and such, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it more next time than the first time!
Like an arcade? Or like a gym?
No, no, even more than that, XCUBE is an amusement facility where you can fully enjoy a world overflowing with realism!
I encourage you all to go and experience it for yourselves!
XCUBE
Address: 3rd Floor, Kajimachi Plaza, 1-2 Kajimachi, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture
TEL: 053-488-7666
Opening hours: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Last appointment time: 8:30 PM)
Open all year round
Parking: Kajipla Parking / Kajipla 2nd Parking / Kajipla 3rd Parking
*Limited to those who present a parking ticket: A 400 yen service voucher will be given for purchases totaling 2,000 yen or more.
https://xcube.jp/
