Oh, to be single again. But one expert has recently warned of the perils of dating and even kissing in the age of the coronavirus.
While a lot of the attention has focused somewhat disproportionately on hostess and hostess clubs, the coronavirus pandemic has also massively impacted nightclubs, bars, and live music venues. With the nightlife industry on the verge of collapse, this is not just a loss in terms of cool places to go and hang out -- it also affects how people date and woo a partner.
If you can't go to a karaoke booth with your date, where can you get some smooching done in ...
These news stories are coming thick and fast.
Just Monday we reported on the emergence of a service using Zoom to offer a virtual hostess club experience.
Now there is SmaCaba, another remote hostess club service.
With a typically Japanese mashup of "smartphone" and "kyabakura" (cabaret club, a euphemism for hostess club) for its name, SmaCaba links hostesses and customers through their handheld devices. The session that a customer enjoys with an available hostess is conducted via LINE, Zoom, or Skype. Sessions are available from 7pm every day except Sundays.
The customer/user pays with ...
We recently wrote about the various ways that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the adult industry in Japan.
While certain prostitution services are attempting to exploit the crisis for its marketing potential, the plight of hostesses is gaining attention. Kabukicho, where many hostess clubs are located, has been identified as one of the probable causes of the spread of the virus in Tokyo due to the closely confined nature of the clubs. One-fourth of people in Shinjuku infected in March were working in role connected to nightlife services.
With nightlife in the capital essentially dead ...
It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a way of linking maid cafes and hostess bars with digital idols and adult virtual reality.
Behold the VR hostess cafe.
Yumenographia is not a physical space, but exists purely in a digital realm: it's waiting for your patronage whenever and wherever you put on a VR headset. It is staffed by hostesses/maids who are, of course, entirely "fake" -- in the sense that they are digital avatars. But, and this is a big "but," the hostesses are real in the sense that they are the avatars of genuine people, rather than characters. At some remote ...
Virtual dating games and services are very well-established in Japan, and YouTube is the next logical step in this evolution. One of the biggest virtual YouTuber idols at the moment is Shiro-chan, whose videos offer private dining experiences.
Now the Japanese virtual YouTuber Note Takehana has upped the stakes with a crowdfunding campaign to remake the titular VTuber with 3D computer graphics. To encourage fans to contribute, "she" is offering supporters a range of merchandise depending on how far their wallets stretch.
So what's the top perk? If you fork out ¥1 million ($9,000), you get ...
Sometimes, things are just too good to be true. Here's a case in point.
A Japanese model called imma has attracted a following on Instagram for her amazing looks and style. But imma is not a regular model or idol. She's not even human.
Like the schoolgirl Saya, the AKB48 member Aimi Eguchi, and the entirely AI-generated idol supergroup, imma is entirely digital. The CG virtual idol is the creation of ModelingCafe, a company that has produced digitally crafted characters and monsters for a range of media (check out its impressive portfolio). Well, imma (whose name is apparently a pun on ...
Feeling lonely as the autumn season begins? Don't worry. The VR Kareshi is a virtual Japanese boyfriend for ladies in need of some tender attention from a constant companion.
Virtual girlfriends (and boyfriends) are nothing new. Over the years, we've seeen plenty of dating sims apps and video games, from the relatively innocent to the outright erotic.
The twist here is that the technology for this otome romance game is now virtual reality.
But even this isn't actual new per se. Indeed, the same makers, IVR, have already released the VR Kanojo, which is far more explicit and, as ...
Forget music idols. Young people in Japan all want to be YouTubers these days.
In the short space of a few years, the YouTuber has risen to the status of near-god in the media world. As with any celebrity or star, then, many people also want to date YouTubers.
But not all YouTubers are real. Shiro is one of the latest virtual YouTubers to attract a following in Japan, the land that previously brought us 2D idols in such games as Love Plus or the digital music idol giant that is Hatsune Miku. Shiro-chan joined YouTube in June 2017, since when the busy lady has released new videos every day ...
Do you want a cute girlfriend but don't have the looks, social skills, money, time, or language ability to get one?
Fear not. As we know, there are lots of virtual dating and 2D character options in Japan, from Lovely x Cation to VR Kanojo and a virtual version of the gravure idol Ai Shinozaki. Recently this has become enhanced thanks to smartphone apps and virtual reality, though we remember sims and dating characters from back in the pre-iPhone days.
Here's another possibility: Ai Furuse is a virtual female being developed by the artificial intelligence smartphone app SELF. It now has ...
We previously wrote about schoolgirl-themed VR Kanojo ("virtual reality girlfriend") as one of the most impressive and realistic examples of adult virtual reality to have emerged in Japan.
We then got excited in January about VAQSO, a startup that was developing a virtual reality system that combined sight with smell. The headset pumps out a variety of scents in response to the game you play. The potential for adult games and experiences are obvious.
Well, we are very happy to report that the two developments have joined forces. The VR Kanojo game can now be played with the VAQSO ...
