Camp of the Living Dead: Japanese Company Plans Zombie Weekend

From “Night of the Living Dead” to “The Walking Dead,” zombie movies and television dramas have continued to delight fans seeking a little fictional thrill. Admit it: You’ve imagined yourself in a post-apocalyptic world at least once and simulated how you would fend off those pesky undead creatures.

On the weekend of July 12-13, fans of the gory world can actually live the experience for a cost of ¥16,000 ($157) at a “zombie camp” in Shizuoka Prefecture.

“This is going to be the first zombie camp ever held in Japan,” an employee at Obaken, a Tokyo-based company which is organizing the event, told Japan Real Time.

This camp won’t be an occasion for families to enjoy nature and birds chirping amid the greenery. The only sound audible from the pitch-black forest will be the moaning of flesh-hungry souls, Obaken said.

Camp participants will ride a bus from Shinjuku in Tokyo and arrive at the site, set in a world where residents are suffering from “an unknown viral disease.” The camp area will be a haven from the living dead, but food and water will be stored in a separate area infested with zombies.

There will be tap water, but participants are advised not to drink from it since “it is likely to be contaminated with zombie virus.”  T-shirts will be provided to the campers because zombie blood will spatter all over as they tackle  multiple missions throughout the night.

But don’t attempt to strike back against the dead walkers like they do in the movies–any act of violence against the zombies will result in dismissal from the camp, Obaken said.

So will the zombies at the camp move slowly like the traditional undead, or be fast-moving like the types seen in the movie “World War Z”?

The Obaken employee said they will be somewhere in between.  “The camp site is going to be a bit dark with some slopes. So there won’t be any fast-running zombies,” he said.

The group will hold four camps until September, with each version comprised of slightly different scenarios and missions. The first camp, scheduled for July 12, will feature several zombies, but the latter ones will see about 20 undead roaming for human flesh.

~wsj.com