A24’s horror film Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons, was released in Japanese theaters on Friday. Based on the internet-born horror phenomenon of the same name, it tells the story of Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a divorced and struggling furniture store owner who unexpectedly discovers a portal in his basement leading to a vast, unsettling dimension of endless, yellow-walled corridors and buzzing fluorescent lights. Now, fans can step into Clark’s unnerving reality themselves with Q Liminal, an immersive experience coming to Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City in September for 10 days only.
The Backrooms first became an internet phenomenon in 2019, when an unsettling image of a seemingly endless yellow room began circulating online. The premise that you could accidentally “noclip” out of reality and become trapped in a maze of empty rooms and corridors evolved into a sprawling online mythology. Parsons helped turn the concept into a global horror phenomenon with his videos attracting millions of views and eventually catching the attention of A24, which developed the idea into the feature film Backrooms.
Backrooms Tokyo: Inside Q Liminal
Now, the world of the film is making its way off the screen and into Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City, starting September 11. An interactive, puzzle-driven immersive experience, it invites visitors to actively explore its Backrooms-inspired environment. The yellow walls are covered in QR codes and visitors must figure out which ones to scan. Successfully finding the right codes increases their “exploration rate,” while cryptic symbols and shapes scattered throughout the space provide clues. There are no written instructions telling you exactly what to do.
The experience is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5:30 p.m. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Admission is ¥1,500, with up to 50 people admitted per session. Alongside the main experience, visitors can also try an AI-powered photo experience that places their own face into a Backrooms-inspired scene, offering a chance to take home a souvenir from their brief journey through the eerie, fluorescent-lit maze and remember the experience long after leaving.
Q Liminal Experience Details
When: September 11–20, 2026
Time: 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (last admission 5:30 p.m.)
Where: Sunshine City Exhibition Hall A, Ikebukuro
Price: ¥1,500
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes
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Updated On September 7, 2026
