A new virtual reality service to be tested by KDDI Corp. may allow tourists to visit and shop at locations abroad without leaving Japan, the cellphone carrier said Thursday.
The Sync Travel service will trial real-time remote overseas travel tours via VR headsets, with the first trials starting next month.
Current VR tours allow viewers to watch recorded images of tourist spots through VR headsets, but "the biggest appeal of the new service is that it is a real-time service with two-way communication," said Yoichi Tsukamoto, director of digital marketing at KDDI, during a news conference in Tokyo's Roppongi district.