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Osaka theme park to provide fake insta-friends for your Instagram photos

Master Blaster Jul 2, 2018
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Extras will be on-hand to provide the image of a social life for your image-based social network.

During these summer months it’s always tempting to head out to a water park for a chance to cool off with friends and maybe even meet some new people. However, choosing the right water park can be difficult, which is why Hirakata Park in Osaka has decided to stand out with a special service to promote their The Boon Water Wonderland.

It’s called Instant Friends, and simply entails a crew of extras who hang around the water park and offer their good looks for your social media photo needs.

▼ Results may vary.

#ひらパーの「ザ・ブーン」に新サービス！ＳＮＳ映え用エキストラ「#瞬間フレンズ」登場！
プールサイドにちょっとイケてる人達が出没して、初対面なのにまるで気心知れた仲間のようにＳＮＳ映えする写真が一緒に撮れちゃいます😉🤩(▼-▼)/😆😎#超ひらパー兄さん #園長 https://t.co/0x6xSRHnPX pic.twitter.com/V9mB7bpQxC

— ひらかたパーク (@hirapar_pr) June 26, 2018

I guess I’m getting out of touch, but back in the day (about February of this year) a person would have to get their selfies with other interesting people the old-fashioned way: by summoning up the courage to ask strangers, just like our own P.K. did with Ryan Reynolds.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by P.K.サンジュン (@p.k.sanjun)

It just seems like there’s something a little sad about getting a picture taken with a false friend and passing them off as your own. Luckily, Hirakata Park is nipping that moral dilemma in the bud. Anyone who gets a picture taken with an Instant Friend has to add a hashtag that reads “#NoneOfUsAreAcquainted” in Japanese. This eliminates the element of deception, but also brings us back to wondering what the point of this whole exercise is.

Maybe I’m just forgetting what it means to have fun, so let’s find out what people online had to say about the service:

“It’s perfect for the narcissistic people out there, and from what I see there are a lot.”
“I wonder if this would be more popular for men or women.”
“I think you might have some issues if this is appealing to you, but I still think it will be successful.”
“Instant friends lol.”
“Figures Hirakata Park would do something like this.”

That last comment is clearly familiar with the park’s similar campaigns it had run in the past, such as one where actors would play ruffians whom you could pretend to intimidate so as to impress your date. They also converted the entire park into a living, interactive Where’s Waldo scene once, so they certainly are no strangers to attempting bold concepts.

The Instant Friends service, however, is a part of a wider “West Coast” campaign that the park is introducing to the Water Wonderland section this summer. They don’t really specify what it is supposed to be the west coast of, but going by the images it appears to be a California type vibe.

But even if staged friendships aren’t your bag, the rest of Hirakata Park is sure to have something for everyone from the ongoing Pokémon Escape Game to the House of the Dark Clown and so much more. So head on down and make a fake friend instantly!

Source: Hirakata Park, My Game News Flash
Featured image: Twitter/@hirapar_pr