For enthusiasts of virtual reality, the attraction of visiting physical VR venues is hard to ignore. Across various platforms from arcades to specially designed locations, the technology enables a curious audience to dive into the world of VR without the hefty investment required to own a headset. This experience serves as a gateway for many, but does it pique the interest of those already familiar with VR?
In Japan, there’s a diverse array of VR attractions catering to multiple demographics, featuring both original concepts and collaborations with popular intellectual properties. While several companies merely license content from local and international VR studios, Tyffonium stands out as a unique entity. Operating in both Shinjuku and Odaiba, Tyffonium is the sole creator and operator of all its attractions, thanks to its in-house studio, Tyffon.
This integration allows Tyffonium to create immersive experiences that combine commercial headsets like Meta Quest and HTC Vive with 4D motion tracking in expansive free-roaming spaces, transforming their exclusive offerings into truly engaging full-body immersions. Their range features original experiences, such as Fluctus, where participants explore the ocean’s depths, alongside licensed adventures inspired by Ultraman and Stephen King’s 2017 adaptation of It. Tyffonium’s mission is to design ‘captivating new worlds enhanced by immersive virtual reality’ while making these innovations approachable for those new to VR.
We were fortunate to visit both of Tyffonium’s sites to personally test out these experiences. With five VR attractions available, are these venues worthy of your time during a trip to Japan? Here’s our take.
Experience Fluctus
Fluctus presents a unique underwater adventure with a fully seated, narrative-driven experience. Participants are introduced to the storyline through a video and guided narration, unveiling a mysterious maritime zone reminiscent of the Bermuda Triangle, where all past explorers have vanished. You are the latest adventurer attempting to unlock its secrets. As your boat navigates stormy waters, it eventually collapses into a whirlpool, leading you beneath the waves. Fortunately, a baby jellyfish rescues you and guides you through a vibrant underwater realm, revealing Fluctus—a city beneath the sea that boasts both wonders and dangers.
Although the 360-degree vistas of the ocean floor and the 4D sensory elements—like wind gusts and vibrations—enrich the experience, Fluctus may fall short for some. The passive nature of the journey limits interaction, leaving players with minimal engagement apart from their jellyfish companion, which can be summoned by specific hand gestures to explore glowing objects in the vicinity.
Unlike other attractions, Fluctus offers no branching story paths or meaningful choices, and the slow movement of the boat means you’ll see significant plot developments long before they arrive. This predictability can lessen the tension, particularly when the adventure escalates into more thrilling territory. That said, newcomers to VR might find the vibrant underwater landscapes exhilarating, especially with the 4D enhancements, but veterans may find this brief ten-minute adventure rather uneventful.
Enter Kaiju Haven VR
Kaiju Haven stands as one of Tyffonium’s two attractions inspired by Tsuburaya Productions’ Ultraman franchise. However, Ultraman himself does not appear in this specific experience. The focus here is on the kaiju from the series, especially the iconic figures of Ultra Q and early entries from the 1960s and 70s.
This ride parallels the concept of Pokémon Snap, allowing participants to traverse a portal into the kaiju world, scanning various creatures for scientific study. Riding in a self-driving buggy through lush jungle landscapes, you come across legendary monsters like Pigmon, Zetton, and Red King. To capture these creatures, point your controller, hold down the trigger, and wait for the scan to finish. Successful scans reward you with interesting details about each creature, including their size and weight.
Despite being another seated experience, Kaiju Haven is much more interactive, encouraging players to explore their surroundings for hidden kaiju, allowing for appreciation of the detailed environments created for the attraction. Nonetheless, the simplicity may be a drawback; while nostalgic for ardent kaiju fans, novices may find the designs perplexing and the adventure lacking depth.
The creatures showcased are said to be randomized, aiming for a unique hunt on each visit. While conceptually enjoyable and intended to maintain novelty, most visitors may only experience this attraction once, possibly feeling disappointed if their favorite kaiju, like Kanegon, does not make an appearance during their adventure.
Still, I drew immense joy from my time in Kaiju Haven. Encountering Gomora in VR was thrilling enough to validate my visit, albeit revealing that this attraction likely appeals most to dedicated fans of the series.
Tarot VR
Tarot VR represents Tyffonium’s final seated attraction and undoubtedly stands out as the most intriguing. Upon entering the Tarot Reader’s chamber, you’re prompted to select three random cards representing your past, present, and future. You then journey into one of 22 realms inspired by each tarot card, immersing yourself in the card’s essence through a three-dimensional environment while receiving a written narrative explaining its significance.
Initially, I was unsure about the practicality of a VR tarot session, yet I found this experience profoundly mesmerizing, altering my perception of tarot beyond the confines of the virtual world. My past was depicted by The Tower, a formidable edifice symbolizing overwhelming anxiety and the stress of a past that crumbled under its own weight—a fitting metaphor for the struggles faced while working as a journalist.
My present was captured through the lens of The Star, a card symbolizing the journey from a troubled history to finding beauty in everyday reality, despite ambitions feeling distant for the time being. My future was portrayed by Strength, illustrated in Tarot VR via an exhilarating roller coaster ride through a fantastical landscape reminiscent of NieR Automata, culminating in the taming of a shadowy lion using my wand—an emblem of inner resilience needed to overcome upcoming challenges.
While a cynic may argue that tarot readings are deliberately ambiguous enough to resonate with anyone, these vignettes felt strikingly aligned with my own experiences. Additionally, the meticulous craftsmanship and visual splendor of each sequence left a lasting impression. Participants also receive physical tarot cards representing their selections, serving as a tangible memento that could spark conversations long after the headset is removed.
Experience Corridor
This is the first of two free-roaming experiences, delving into a horror narrative where players must traverse an abandoned mansion to unveil the fate of its missing family. This undertaking offers chilling encounters that are unimaginable in a home setting. Once you step into the spacious room, you’re equipped with a headset and a small candelabra (controller) to navigate through the dimly lit corridor. The candelabra can ignite one of two candles at specific moments, guiding your choice between two paths.
A faint purple path glows beneath your feet, serving as a navigation aid, but you are free to move at your own pace. What initially seems unassuming quickly escalates into a terrifying supernatural experience. Walls and floors morph into the anatomy of a monstrous being, while zombie-like entities pursue you relentlessly.
Horror thrives in VR thanks to its immersive qualities, yet, the lack of physical movement within the environment creates a barrier, potentially diminishing the sense of dread. Even so, simply roaming through these eerie hallways heightens the atmosphere. The vibrations felt through the floor when plummeting down an elevator shaft or stepping through puddles of blood elevate your heart rate, as every turn feels potentially life-threatening.
This experience is genuinely horrifying, and the combination of physical effects immerses you so intensely that the ensuing dread feels almost paralyzing. Not for the faint-hearted, it nonetheless justifies the entry fee through its effective free-roaming horrors. Plus, you’ll receive a complimentary photo and video from your adventure, allowing you to relive the terror afterward.
It Chapter Two: Carnival
While Corridor is captivating in its own right, It Chapter Two: Carnival surpasses it in nearly every respect. This attraction has benefited from lessons learned during its development, successfully enhancing the horror elements and 4D immersiveness of the experience.
Set as a prequel occurring the night before It Chapter Two, participants investigate the disappearance of a young boy named Tony at a nearby circus. As your quest unfolds, you’ll inevitably become ensnared in Pennywise’s sinister game, leading you to question what is real and what is merely illusion within this psychological horror ride.
Almost every aspect has improved since Corridor’s conception. The purple guiding path feels intrusive and disrupts the ambience of the old mansion’s design, but the introduction of Pennywise’s red balloon serves as a more fitting in-world guide, amplifying the underlying dread as it leads you closer to the iconic clown.
Graphically, the visuals have seen a notable upgrade, particularly during the roller coaster sequence that enhances the on-rails experience. Arriving at a crossroads, you must choose one of two vehicles to advance, with the coasters rendering twists and turns that generate jump scares and further plunge you into an abyss of psychological terror. It felt as though I were genuinely inside the vehicle, with every turn and acceleration pushing me toward danger to the extent of almost losing my balance during the climax.
Crawling through dark caves and sewer systems offered a better blend of physical mobility and variety than what Corridor provided, with Pennywise being animated so vividly that it felt as if the actual actor were glaring at you. It was enough to send chills down your spine.
From the motion of the floorboards to the slow-paced exploration of the circus, no other VR experience matches this level of immersion or horror. It’s both impressive and, given the film’s themes, deeply unsettling.
Is Tyffonium VR Worth Experiencing?
Tyffonium encompasses a fascinating proposition. Its experiences are situated in uniquely designed spaces that immediately draw potential customers in, resembling colorful portals into realms of enchantment. Once inside, the candle-lit environments and comfortable seating enhance this allure, especially before donning the VR headset. The staff members do their utmost to amplify this ambiance, being lively and helpful for everyone during the setup process, regardless of whether they speak English or Japanese. Furthermore, all experiences are offered in both languages, making them welcoming for international visitors.
Nevertheless, there’s a lingering sensation that something essential might be lacking, which becomes clear upon investigating the company’s background.
As Japan’s tourism industry rebounds alongside rising interest in VR, Tyffonium began with the ambition of providing bespoke experiences within a fully immersive VR theme park. Their now-defunct Shibuya location used to offer refreshments for guests while waiting, and in late 2019, they expanded into a themed café at the Shibuya PARCO department store, featuring AR dessert experiences. With backing from international firms such as Disney, Tyffonium even considered expansion into the U.S. in 2019.
Given the widespread global appeal of the It franchise, it’s reasonable to believe that this attraction was crafted in part to attract recognition from a broader audience. However, just as the attraction made its debut in October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic restricted international guests from entering Japan. By then, the pandemic had already taken a toll on the company, leading to the summer 2020 closure of the PARCO café and AR dessert and the shuttering of the Shibuya location in early 2021. Currently, the remaining Tyffonium venues have yet to reintroduce the café or AR experiences.
The landscape is changing. During my visit, both locations buzzed with excited couples and groups of friends, including the newly opened Shinjuku site from summer 2024. While not every attraction will resonate with every visitor—Ultraman may attract younger fans and devout followers—the multifaceted concept of a magnificent world brought to life with VR continues to amaze and holds immense promise. More people are keen to experience it firsthand.
It would be wonderful to see the company further expand its offerings, potentially reviving ideas like their café. Especially now that international tourists are not only returning to Japan but visiting in record numbers, exceeding even the pre-COVID traffic of 2019. Many travelers actively seek unique experiences exclusive to Japan. The advancements in VR technology since then have led to the launch of more sophisticated, portable headsets, like the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro (which Tyffon began exploring in late 2024). Tyffon possesses the expertise to build upon this remarkable technology and further evolve their offerings.
Even in its current form, Tyffonium provides ample entertainment worth recommending. The cost of attractions varies between approximately $16 to $23, depending on whether you choose a seated or free-roaming experience, each presenting something distinct to enjoy and likely to inspire conversations with friends long after you’ve taken off your headset.
Don’t forget to bring a friend along! As a journalist evaluating these attractions solo, I found the experiences enjoyable, but many feel best when shared with others—whether enjoying laughter or, in the case of the free-roaming titles, screaming at the unfolding horrors, which I overheard from fellow visitors.
Having experienced similar attractions in Japan, nothing compares to the enchanting worlds crafted by Tyffonium.