Online tours in Japan arranged by travel vendors in an attempt to address restrictions on overseas travel amid the coronavirus pandemic are catching on among people looking for easy and inexpensive ways to experience a bit of the unusual.

Some out-of-the-ordinary tours have sold out in recent months, with customers discovering new possibilities of "travel" enjoyment, which are acting as rehearsals for a return to actual tours after the coronavirus has subsided.

In late September, this reporter participated in an online tour of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, an area of preserved savannah plains in southwestern Kenya. The service was offered by Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co. using the Zoom videoconferencing application.