If you enjoy attention, don’t like spending money and harbour a desire to visit the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, then we have some very good news for you.
But for anyone else, this might sound a little dystopian: the Business Ryokan Asahi hotel is offering travelers the opportunity to stay in its rooms for a mere $1 (77p) a night. But there’s a catch, obviously.
In order to get this deal, you have to consent to having your every moment in the room filmed and then broadcast live to the hotel’s Youtube channel, where a surprising number of people watch and comment in real-time.
I say ‘surprising’ because there’s no microphone in the room and nudity and sex are banned, and as a result, the live-stream is not exactly riveting entertainment.
But you can check it out on YouTube if you fancy watching someone look at their phone for a couple of hours and maybe, if you’re really lucky, hold up a sign that says ‘hi’.
If this all sounds like something that doesn’t make financial sense, there’s a rationale behind it: the deal only applies to one room, which was the least booked to begin with.
This way, the hotel is able to fill up the room and drum up some viral publicity at the same time – although some online booking sites are reluctant to list it.
Given the high cost of travelling in Japan, the $1 offer is certainly tempting, but there’s something sinister about the set-up, which feels like the beginning of a high-concept horror film.
And might I direct the hotel management towards a little-known novel called 1984? Written by some obscure old scribbler named George Orwell? Ringing any bells, gentlemen?
It’s been a while since I read it, admittedly, but I seem to recall it took rather a dim view of installing cameras in peoples’ personal space in order to spy on them.
But then again, perhaps the most chilling aspect of the arrangement is having to go 24 hours without having a w*nk – now that is Orwellian.
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