Japan celebrated one of the strangest Golden Week holidays in recent history at the beginning of the month, with many resisting the urge to go outside and take advantage of the warmer temperatures in an effort to stay home and slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

The current environment surrounding the emergence of COVID-19 has forced people to come up with brand new ways of enjoying time away from work, with many of these taking place online. Deprived of a physical world outside their homes, they are searching for digital alternatives.

Some companies and organizations have taken advantage of this to promote goods and services and, while such tactics can certainly look cynical, at the end of the day consumers are just looking for a little escape from the regularity of their daily routines.