I’m running around the large room yelling “fish, fish, fish” as the clock is ticking. There’s a dog collar hugging my neck, connected to a small box that, when triggered, threatens to prod me with an electric shock.
No, I haven’t been cast in the next Saw movie. This is Immersive Fort, a new Tokyo attraction that’s completely stripped a former indoor shopping mall and turned it into a surrealistic playground of cutting-edge technology, immersive theatre and pure escapism.
Much like New York City’s Sleep No More and the various Meow Wolf concepts that are popping up all over the US, this newly conceived experience has the off-the-wall energy of a Japanese game show and the technological wizardry of Las Vegas’ epic Sphere.
There’s been an emerging trend of more thoughtful, curated and immersive experiences in recent years. It’s being refined constantly over in the USA, but here, in the futuristic area of Odaiba, Tokyo has taken that trend, recontextualised it, localised it, and turned it into a hypnotic playground echoing the spectacular future of entertainment.
And while it’s better conceived for locals (a lot of these experiences are only half-approachable for non-Japanese speakers – not a complaint), Immersive Fort is defined by Japan’s famously eccentric humour and penchant for cultural distinction. From what I can find, there’s nothing else like this in the world, and hopefully this is just the beginning of a new era of play.
Immersive Fort has everything from vintage cabaret to immersive haunted mazes (photo: Chris Singh).
What happens at Immersive Fort?
Opened in March 2024, Immersive Fort is a 12-attraction indoor precinct that stands next to a go-kart track and is a short walk from Aomi Station. It’s billed as the “first immersive theme park” in the world and includes everything from large-scale theatre experiences about Sherlock Holmes (similar to Sleep No More) to an Alice In Wonderland-themed “death game” which features the shock collar I mentioned above.
But this isn’t a straightforward offering. It’s dynamic and ongoing. The former Venus Fort shopping complex is washed in a multi-hued glow that feels completely disconnected from the outside world. Spaces shoot off in various directions, headlined by different attractions that run the gamut of both Western and Japanese pop culture, all packed under a ceiling that resembles the Grand Canal Shoppes’ famous painted dome in Vegas’ The Venetian.
Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes, Hansel & Gretel. These properties have been reimagined as games, puzzles and shows all designed to instill a sense of wonder. Sessions are timed and fill up fast, so it’s advisable to book what you can online. Some come with an extra cost (like Sherlock Holmes) while others are free and just require you to join a digital queue when you’re there (like Alice in Wonderland).
There are also four cafes, two retail outlets, and a vintage cabaret venue with Parisian-style seating and a stage for performances. In the centre, a bigger, circular stage that hosts an interesting J-pop style dance show with one of Japan’s characteristically cute mascots (a muscly man in a chicken mask).
There’s enough here to fill a few hours of fun.
The complex shoots off into different attractions, all driven by cutting-edge technology and superb acting (photo: Chris Singh)
Shocks, murders, escape games and kidnapping
“Run,” I turn to my friend, almost knocking someone else over as I dart to the over side of the room to get away from the monster. Those ruby-red eyes glow with the kind of danger that tricks the brain into fear. If I’m caught, I’m taken to “the chair” and a member of my team must use a device attached to their arm to digitally decode a puzzle to free me.
We’ve got absolutely no time for anyone to be caught by these beast as it stalks what looks like a dark, dilapidated prison. This could easily serve as a set piece for the next Saw movie (that comparison comes up a lot), and these small spaces and corridors make it remarkably hard to complete our mission: to find and “decode” several hidden machines to unlock a door and escape the monster. There are a few fun twists – almost all these games have unexpected twists that shouldn’t be spoiled – and the sense of accomplishment after you help your team is escape is real.
Ready for the shock of my life.
Not even 20 minutes later, I’ve strapped a collar around my neck with an ominous metal box attached. Dozens of people, wearing the same collar, are ushered into a large, palatial hall that has a digitised ceiling and a lone screen at the head. Vague instructions follow, preceding a fuzzy, sinister villain appearing over VCR.
He lays down the law in his creepy, cartoonish voice, letting us know that if we don’t solve this complex-spanning puzzle on time than that little black box is going to send jolts through our body. A practice run reveals those electric shocks feel like Nintendo 64 rumble packs for the neck, hardly terrifying but worrisome, nonetheless. I didn’t want to get shocked. Spoiler alert: I got shocked.
The game involves finding matching characters on hidden walls around the complex, but just when you think you’re successful, there’s another twist. A troubling one. One that almost guarantees you’ll lose unless you work with a stranger to input a code into an app. I won’t spoil the rest.
Another attraction has us holding a rope and filing through a (genuinely scary) haunted house-type maze. Locals are hilariously jumpy with these kinds of things, and their enthusiasm and punctuated reactions of horror and surprise make the experience so much better. Jack the Ripper is theme here, and we’re helpless as we shuffle through various dark rooms, caked with murderous intent and bloody jump scares.
Entering the cottage from Hansel & Gretel (photo: Chris Singh).
Sherlock Holmes, an add-on experience, is one of the headline shows – a sophisticated, beautifully executed pop of immersive theatre that draws comparison to New York’s Sleep No More. And while it doesn’t have the multi-level design of its closest comparison, the actors are top-tier, even if you can’t understand them half the time.
In almost every situation, you are given either an app or an earpiece that assists in English translation, but this is one area where Immersive Fort hasn’t quite reached its peak yet. English is broken and few and far between, breaking the immersion so you’re feeling a bit lost half of the time.
Dedicated spaces aren’t the only avenues for performance art at Immersive Fort. While you’re exploring, you may run into real-time performances like a staged arrest of a fictional criminal mastermind, who snatches members of the public and puts sacks over their head, leading them to doom only for their plans to be foiled by action stars. It’s genuinely thrilling watching these fight scenes play out in real life.
The best part: I left with incredible pain in my jaw from laughing and smiling so much. Immersive Fort is easily one of the most unique experiences you can have in Tokyo right now, and it’s possibly the most fun you can have outside of actually being part of a Japanese game show (a life-long goal).
How to book tickets to Immersive Fort
Although many aspects of day-to-day life in Japan is easily accessible for non-Japanese speakers, there’s still an immense language barrier when it comes to booking attractions online. Buying concert tickets, for example, is often convoluted if you want to lock something in in advance without having to go to a Lawson when you land.
Immersive Fort’s website has English translations but it’s still difficult to navigate for tourists.
When you run into things like this, a good “hack” for visiting Japan is Klook. The experience-booking platform is in many countries the world over, but nowhere is it more essential than in Japan. Booking couldn’t be more straight-forward, and tickets can be added to your Apple Wallet (or similar) as simple barcodes.
The Immersive Fort experience is listed as for around AU$85 and Klook also has the various add-on experiences as well.
The author explored Tokyo with the help of Visit Tokyo and visited in January 2025.
AloJapan.com