Move over fountain of youth, Japanese Twitter user may have found a real-life save point, in a park.

It’s all too easy for the distinctions between digital worlds and the real world to blur. Even before an age of augmented reality and increasingly sophisticated virtual reality, things like watching a George A. Romero film marathon before heading to a shopping centre had the effect of loosening already tenuous grips on reality. Equally, playing games all day (and night) can lead to your eyes playing tricks on you when you do head out the front door.

Last time, we introduced Japanese Twitter users who saw objects from DragonQuest cropping up in the real-world, and now this time a game-addled fan may have discovered a real-life save point in a park in Shizuoka Prefecture.

▼ Squint enough, and the similarity is obvious.

The almost unnatural sapphire blue of the mineral-laden water matches the colour of in-game save points. Unfortunately, the Twitter user who made the discovery, @o_yama, didn’t specify whether walking into the well caused their life to flash before their eyes, nor, as far as we’re aware, have they since put themselves in any life-threatening situations in order to test its effectiveness.

Other Japanese Twitter users commented that it looked less like a save point, and more like a portal to another dimension, with others wondering how many people had already tried jumping in since the tweet was first posted. For those wanting to give it a go, the well can be found in Kakita River Park in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The vivid blue colour may look like the product of a camera filter, but the real reason is likely to be minerals in the water affecting how light is reflected, quite possibly colloidal aluminium hydroxide, which is also found in Hokkaido’s famous Biei Blue Pond.

While we can’t recommend placing all your hopes in a well that looks ever-so-slightly like the realisation of a game’s save point (which in itself is becoming a thing of the past), perhaps it might be worth a trip before gambling any large sums of money, or declaring your undying love for someone, or other things you might need to take back afterwards. In the worst case, you’ll get a bit soggy, but in the best case scenario (however infinitesimally small the probability) you’ll be able to do things over. For those who are unable or unwilling to go all the way to Shizuoka Prefecture before risking it all, you could go for the in-house lookalike instead. And if you happen to try it out and become functionally immortal, even in a Groundhog Day kind of way, let us know. Again, and again, and again.

Source, featured image: Twitter/@o_yama
Insert image: Wikipedia/TOKUMI (Gin tonic) 撮影