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Brand-new all-Harry Potter theme park could be opening in Tokyo

One of Japan’s oldest theme parks is fading away, but it might be magically reborn as a mecca for fans of the wizard school saga.

It’s no surprise that Japan’s most popular amusement park destination is Tokyo Disney Resort, which encompasses both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. On the other hand, if you prefer to frolic with friendly characters of Japanese origin, Tokyo’s Puroland, an entirely indoor complex, houses a variety of Hello Kitty and Sanrio-themed attractions (and also occasionally gets overrun by zombies).

However, the Tokyo area also has another amusement park, Toshimaen, which is actually the oldest of the three (Toshimaen opened in the 1920s, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, and Puroland in 1990). Unfortunately, Toshimaen’s nondescript attractions, such as a generic roller coaster, carousel, and bumper cars, have saddled it with a bland image, and it’s been struggling to attract guests in recent years. After welcoming roughly four million visitors annually during the ‘90s, Toshimaen sold just 1,120,000 tickets in 2018.

▼ Toshimaen’s Corkscrew, which shuts down entirely on rainy days

As a result, the park’s owner, Seibu Railway, is seriously considering gradually closing Toshimaen down and selling off the property, and according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK one prospective buyer is Warner Bros., who’s interested in building a dedicated Harry Potter theme park on the site.

This would actually be Japan’s second Harry Potter theme park facility, since in 2014, Osaka’s Universal Studios Japan opened its Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion (pictured at the top of this article). Unlike the Wizarding World, though, the Tokyo park would be dedicated to Harry and his stories’ setting alone.

NHK says that negotiations are still ongoing, and so details are scarce, including the potential scale of the project. For comparison, Universal Studios Japan, as a whole, sits on 54 hectares (133.4 acres), whereas Toshimaen sits on 22. NHK also reports that the Tokyo municipal government is interested in purchasing a large chunk of Toshimaen to convert into a park and potential natural disaster evacuation reserve area, meaning Wanrer Bros. may end up with less than the full 22 hectares to play with. Still, should the Harry Potter plan go through, it’ll make Nerima Ward, where Toshimaen is located, a major mecca for fans of the franchise.

Source: NHK News Web via Jin
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert image: Toshimaen 
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