All-night haunted hotel event’s amenities include ghosts and zombies

I used to work in online hotel marketing, and sometimes properties in Japan didn’t mesh up smoothly with our database. The system allowed us to easily trumpet amenities such as sofas and Jacuzzi bathtubs by just pasting in a line of code, but if we wanted to tout things like provided yukata cotton kimonos or onsite natural hot springs, both of which were popular with our users, that took some extra fiddling around.

Since we were a global company, we had to accept that those “only in Japan” features weren’t going to get a spot on the standard, easy-to-use checklist. Still, I sympathize with the difficulties this sort of thing presents for boutique hotel operators, and that’s why today we’re spreading the word about a hotel in Japan with two incredibly unique amenities: zombies and ghosts.

The horror-smiths at visual effects outfit Obaken are at it again, this time expanding to their most ambitious project yet. After frightening us with their six-room, puzzle-filled haunted house in Tokyo and outdoor carnage fest Zombie Camp earlier this year, Obaken is now set for four sessions of the Obaken Hotel in Nagano Prefecture.

Each session lasts through one night, during which the entire hotel becomes the stage for one of two scenarios. November 22 and 23 are all about zombies, as Obaken presents "Hakuba of the Dead," where a mysterious disease spreads throughout the building. Things sound like they’ll get creepier still on December 5 and 6, with the ghostly "Grudge in the Basement," which begins with payers hearing rumors about a women who went missing, and the locked room in the basement they mustn’t open.

Check-in for the Obaken Hotel is 3 p.m. Check-out is at 11 a.m. the following day, and that leisurely hour probably seems like a plus until you read the fine print which says that once you enter the Obaken Hotel, you can’t leave before then.

Each session is capped at one hundred participants, with two to a room. Single travelers may be paired up with each other, and we recommend using the opportunity to make a big deal about how you’d prefer to sleep with the lights off, but you’ll leave them on for the sake of your roommate. All rooms include private toilets, so you won’t have to worry about lines when you want to empty your fear-weakened bladder, and showers, for cleaning up after those particularly powerful and sudden scares when you’re away from the commode.

Nagano has its fair share of hot springs, and Obaken also promises something called a “bath of blood,” which will be open on the rooftop. We’re hoping it’s a clever name for a communal bath and not just a prescheduled open-air massacre.

Speaking of blood, Obaken advises guests to wear clothing they don’t mind getting dirty. For the "Hakuba of the Dead" scenario, the company warns of the chance of being splattered with zombie blood, and for "Grudge in the Basement," it looks like you’ll have to contend with specters that secrete something called “grudge liquid.”

Reservations can be made online here for Hakuba of the Dead and here for Grudge in the Basement. Prices are 20,000 yen for adults, and 16,000 yen ($140) for guests/victims under 15.

Oh, we almost forgot to mention what’s probably the most bone-chilling part of the whole affair: the exact location of the hotel is being kept secret from everyone except the participants themselves. Sure, Obaken has revealed that the hotel is somewhere in Hakuba Village, high in the Japan Alps. Other than that it’s still a mystery, though, and “Group of horror fans heads into the mountains for a fun weekend at a haunted house” sounds exactly like the opening scene to at least a dozen slasher movies.

Sources: Inside Games, Obaken

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