This summer, Konami is offering fans of its Nintendo DS love simulator Love Plus the chance to do something very special: Pay lots of money to go on vacation with their virtual girlfriend.
For ¥39,800 (US$451), you can go on a two-day, one-night Love Plus bus tour of Atami, a city in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture. Atami is the setting for Love Plus +, the second Love Plus title from Konami.
Traveling domestically in Japan can be expensive, and for the same price (or less), a plane ticket to South Korea, China or Thailand could easily be purchased.
Participants board a Love Plus bus in Tokyo and travel to Shizuoka, where they will take part in a stamp rally. Stamp rallies are popular in Japan. With children.
Every summer, there is usually a Pokémon stamp rally that has little kids ride trains all over Tokyo and stop at certain stations to get a Pokémon stamp. This, however, is for adults — and that's fine, I guess! This tour is aimed at players who really, really like Love Plus. So those folks will probably have a lovely time in Atami.
Participants in the Love Plus tour will visit locations in the game, like the area's castle and a shrine. There will also be augmented reality set-ups so that folks with the game's iPhone app can have their picture taken with their Love Plus lady friend.
Lodging will be the Ohnoya Hotel, which appears in the game as well.
The tour will run this month and is open to a maximum of forty participants — not including virtual girlfriends. The travel agent is clear that each hotel room is one per person — once again, not including virtual girlfriends.
Those who take the tour will get Love Plus bath powder, a Love Plus manjyu and a Love Plus hand towell. Heh.
近ツー主催の「ラブプラス+ バスツアー」、その彼氏力が試される中身とは？ [Kotaku Japan]