Sanjo City in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, has opened an official world, Virtual SANJO, on the VRChat metaverse platform. The city's aim is regional promotion and building a "relationship population" of people connected to Sanjo. Mogura's coverage calls it an early example of a local government using the metaverse.
The world was built on VRChat by the XR development team at Mogura Inc. It has been public as version 1.0 since October 2025 and remains in operation.
Inside the world
Virtual SANJO recreates Sanjo's manufacturing history, its natural surroundings and its tourism resources in a virtual space, where users explore through avatars and learn about the city and its local products. Areas shown in the world include:
- an entrance stage and video screens where visitors gather
- a campsite with tents and a bonfire
- a history and culture exhibit
- a corner explaining Sanjo's hometown tax donation (furusato nozei) programme
- a lounge where users can talk with one another
Events and aims
The city has run collaboration events in the world since launch, including a photo contest with the Niigata VTuber Echigoya Tokina, an event with the VRChat camping community VirtualCampers, and an event with the VRC ikebana club (VRC Kado-bu).
To mark the world's first anniversary, the city plans an event in Virtual SANJO on 3 October 2026. A talk by city staff member Nakamura, event and campaign announcements and a group photo are scheduled, and users of the PC, Meta Quest and smartphone versions of VRChat can take part. The city says it wants Virtual SANJO to be more than an exhibition space: a municipal world where users keep gathering and interacting, helping it reach a wider base of regional fans.
