Latest news with #Junglia
Asahi Shimbun
14-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Hopes and fears build as Junglia Okinawa's opening nears
Construction on Junglia Okinawa as seen from The Asahi Shimbun's corporate plane ahead of its July opening on May 3 in Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture (Tatsuya Shimada) NAHA—With a hefty price tag totaling 70 billion yen ($483 million), Junglia Okinawa's roller coaster-esque journey is barreling toward another summit as the theme park's much-anticipated July 25 opening nears. The construction of a theme park in the northern part of the prefecture is a clear departure from Okinawa's state-led economic promotion measures after the prefecture reverted from U.S. to Japanese rule in 1972. Junglia is one of the southernmost prefecture's largest private-sector projects ever, but it is not the first. Sour memories are resurfacing in some residents who remember another tourism endeavor that backfired even as expectations rise for the new park. When finished, Junglia will operate in Yanbaru, the name for the main island's northern half in the region's dialect. The mountainous area is about 90 minutes from the prefectural capital by car. The park, which will reportedly offer more than 20 attractions, is replacing what was a roughly 60-hectare golf course stretching across Nago and Nakijin. A dinosaur-themed ride and hot air balloon experience are among the attractions with an onsite spa as well. FAILED UNIVERSAL STUDIOS PROJECT No major undertaking is ever free from complications. Before Junglia, the operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka announced it was opening a park in the northern part of Okinawa's main island 10 years ago. The central government strongly backed USJ LLC's project, with then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying a new theme park was the key component of the government's economic promotion measures for the prefecture. However, the project plans were withdrawn about a year later after USJ's management was reshuffled. Dreams of building a theme park in the area would lie dormant until 2018 when marketing firm Katana Inc. and other companies announced a new plan and set it in motion. The only remaining tie to USJ was Tsuyoshi Morioka, who played a key role in reviving Universal Studios Japan and went on to found Katana after going independent. PURPOSEFULLY LOCAL The local business community has high hopes for Junglia. Unlike other extensive projects, the park's operator Japan Entertainment Inc. is based in the prefecture and was specifically founded in June 2018 as part of Katana's efforts for the theme park and larger goal of revitalizing Okinawa. Local ownership may provide Okinawa with a better chance to rebound from the unintended 'zaru keizai' (sieve economy) conundrum. The situation is the unfortunate outcome of the government introducing subsidies in an effort to eliminate the financial disparity between the island prefecture and the mainland; Okinawa was ruled by the U.S. military for 27 years following the end of World War II while Honshu experienced rapid economic growth during the same period. Mainland companies winning contracts for the high-percentage subsidies ultimately made it difficult for locals to benefit from the projects tied to them, something Junglia seeks to avoid. "It is also a project intended to boost the economy in Okinawa and its northern area," Morioka said during a news conference held in January. Japan Entertainment has emphasized the importance of hiring locals, saying it will employ a total of about 1,300 full- and part-time workers by the time the park opens. Junglia's shareholders also include leading Okinawan corporations such as Orion Breweries Ltd., headquartered in Tomigusuku, and Naha-based department store operator Ryubo Holdings Co. "It is a private sector-led project of an unprecedented scale,' said Denichiro Ishimine, Okinawa Electric Power Co. adviser and former head of a council for Okinawa-based economic associations. 'Located at the gateway to Asia, Okinawa has high international competitiveness for its nature and traditional culture originating from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, and the project can help improve the quality of tourism in Okinawa." Counterbalancing this sentiment are voices of concern over tourist congestion. Because Junglia is being built between the prefecture's expressway and the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu, which is already popular with tourists, it is feared that chronic traffic snarls, noise and other negative impacts could worsen the living environment. While Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said during a prefectural assembly session that the prefectural government intends to make maximum use of Junglia's opening to create jobs and develop infrastructure around the site, he added, "We hope that the park operator will continue providing information to local residents and having conversations with them." POST-EXPO FALLOUT Some area residents still hold bitter memories of what came after the economic boom driven by the 1975 Okinawa Ocean Expo. The expo was held three years after Okinawa's return to Japan as part of the central government's First Okinawa Promotion and Development Plan. Today, the aquarium stands on the expo's former grounds. Yasukichi Miyagi, 81, a mango farmer in Nakijin near Junglia, owned a construction business at the time. He worked as a subcontractor for a company outside the prefecture while the expo venue, roads and other facilities were being built. This work required he purchase a small fleet of heavy machinery and hire enough people to fill orders. But the number of expo visitors fell short of the expected 4.5 million during its half-year run, and many companies that made major investments went bankrupt. Miyagi's firm escaped bankruptcy but he had to cut staff and equipment to barely break even. Since then, the village's population has decreased by about 40 percent from approximately 15,000 in 1950. Although Miyagi has a sense of crisis that the village could eventually disappear, Junglia is something positive to talk about. That said, it remains uncertain how the large-scale tourism project will affect the community and if those in charge can prevent history from repeating itself. "I wonder if it will really work," he mumbled. 'INEVITABLE CHALLENGE' REMAINS According to Moritake Tomikawa, a former vice governor of Okinawa Prefecture who is now a professor emeritus of economics at Okinawa International University, the addition of Junglia could be a way to solve problems such as depopulation and low-income levels. This applies not just in comparing the prefecture to the mainland, but the island's regions where the north lags economically behind the south. Despite the potential windfall, making the prefecture's economy solely dependent on tourism is still an unstable venture because it is easily influenced by external factors—the COVID-19 pandemic being the most devastating example. The prefectural government previously promoted manufacturing without much success and Okinawa's industrial structure remains weak. "As we move forward to achieving Okinawa's economic independence, it is an inevitable challenge to develop another industry on par with tourism," Tomikawa said.
AsiaOne
21-05-2025
- AsiaOne
New theme park to open in Japan's Okinawa this July offering scenic treks, hot air balloon rides and more, Lifestyle News
Japan is one of the top travel destinations for Singaporeans — with a record of more than 690,000 travelling to the country from Singapore in 2024. Soon, travellers to Japan will have a new attraction to add to their itineraries as Junglia — a new theme park on the southern island of Okinawa — is set to open on July 25. The adventure park, spanning 600,000 sq m and built on an old golf course, is located in the forested area of Yambaru. Here, visitors can expect to explore more than 20 attractions ranging from scenic outdoor treks to buggy rides, as well as relaxing onsen facilities. According to its website, some highlights include the Dinosaur Safari; and Horizon Balloon, a hot air balloon ride offering a panoramic view of the area and surrounding greenery. There's also a tree-top trekking experience featuring a suspension bridge and nine challenging points hovering over the treetops, among others. The full list of attractions can be found on the theme park's official website. Apart from the activities, Junglia Okinawa is also home to Spa Junglia, which features both indoor and outdoor areas with views of the surrounding nature. Here, visitors can expect amenities such as an infinity bath, onsen, sauna, limestone bath and more. Other things that visitors can look out for at Junglia Okinawa include Junglia Splash Fest, a music and water festival experience and Junglia Night Fest, a dance and music festival featuring a grand finale of fireworks. The company behind the new park, which cost some 70 billion yen (S$627 million), is hoping Japan's tourism boom will get it off to a strong start, according to a Reuters article. CEO Tsuyoshi Morioka told Reuters he expects several thousand visitors a day to Junglia, and if it is successful, developing smaller attractions could be replicated in other Asian markets such as Taiwan and Indonesia. According to the website, a one-day ticket to the theme park costs 8,000 yen (around S$72) for adults and 5,400 yen for children. Spa tickets are 2,800 yen for adults and 1,700 yen for children. More information can be found on Junglia's official site. [[nid:685816]]
Japan Today
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
New Okinawa theme park aims to tap tourism boom, become springboard to Asian markets
Tsuyoshi Morioka, CEO of marketing and entertainment firm Katana Inc, speaks during an interview with Reuters, in Tokyo on May 16. By Rocky Swift and Kentaro Okasaka The company behind a new nature adventure park on Japan's southern island of Okinawa is hoping the country's huge tourism boom will get it off to a raring start, and that with time propel the startup further into Asia and other markets. Junglia, a 60-hectare site built on an old golf course and featuring more than 20 attractions from a hot air balloon ride and buggy riding to treetop walking and a "Dinosaur Safari", is set to open on July 25. Costing some 70 billion yen, the park is the brainchild of Tsuyoshi Morioka, chief executive of entertainment firm Katana. Morioka, a theme park veteran, who is credited with turning around flagging attendance at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka, by bringing in Harry Potter-themed attractions. Japan is experiencing an unprecedented boom in tourism, fueled by a weaker yen, with overseas visitors climbing 47% to a record 36.9 million last year. Their spending shot up 53% to 8.1 trillion yen, making tourism - which counts as an export in GDP data - the country's second biggest export sector after cars. The Japanese also love a good theme park with Tokyo's Disney resorts having enduring success and USJ, despite some early financial woes, proving popular. That said, many parks have also failed. Yu Shioji, the chairman of the Amusement Park Society of Japan, believes Junglia will have "almost no chance" of long-term success given that there are other nature adventure parks in Japan and its relatively high cost - 6,930 yen per day pass for locals and 8,800 yen for international visitors. While acknowledging long odds for long-term profitability for any amusement park, Morioka - who considers himself a maths nerd - said that by his calculations, Junglia has more than a 70% chance of success. He expects several thousand visitors a day to Junglia and says it can be profitable even if it only garners half the number of visitors of the nearby Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has around 3 million per year. Morioka added that demand for theme parks and higher value-added tourism services in Japan is here to stay, given that many Asian countries are growing wealthier. "The weak yen is a tailwind, but the number of people who want to visit Japan will increase structurally regardless of the currency effect," he said. The Japanese government has said it wants to boost the number of overseas visitors to 60 million per year by 2030. If Junglia is successful, Morioka says developing smaller attractions that cost less than 100 billion yen, unlike mega theme parks like Disney's and USJ, could be easily replicated in other Asian markets like Taiwan and Indonesia. Listing Katana would be an option to fund future growth, he said, adding that he saw a lot of potential for theme parks built around Japanese anime if he can convince content creators to license their intellectual property. "I think it would be good if there was a third option in cities around the globe after Disney and Universal," said Morioka. "I want to develop niches where they can't go and create a third force in attractions in the world that originates from Japan." © Thomson Reuters 2025.
The Star
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
New Japan theme park aims to tap tourism boom, become springboard to Asian markets
Junglia is set to open on July 25. - JUNGLIA_OKINAWA/X TOKYO: The company behind a new nature adventure park on Japan's southern island of Okinawa is hoping the country's huge tourism boom will get it off to a raring start, and that with time propel the startup further into Asia and other markets. Junglia, a 60-hectare site built on an old golf course and featuring more than 20 attractions from a hot air balloon ride and buggy riding to treetop walking and a "Dinosaur Safari", is set to open on July 25. Costing some 70 billion yen (US$634 million), the park is the brainchild of Tsuyoshi Morioka, chief executive of entertainment firm Katana. Morioka, a theme park veteran, is credited with turning around flagging attendance at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka, western Japan, by bringing in Harry Potter-themed attractions. Japan is experiencing an unprecedented boom in tourism, fuelled by a weaker yen, with overseas visitors climbing 47% to a record 36.9 million last year. Their spending shot up 53% to 8.1 trillion yen ($55.6 billion), making tourism - which counts as an export in GDP data - the country's second biggest export sector after cars. The Japanese also love a good theme park with Tokyo's Disney resorts having enduring success and USJ, despite some early financial woes, proving popular. That said, many parks have also failed. Yu Shioji, the chairman of the Amusement Park Society of Japan, believes Junglia will have "almost no chance" of long-term success given that there are other nature adventure parks in Japan and its relatively high cost - 6,930 yen (US$48) per day pass for locals and 8,800 yen ($60) for international visitors. While acknowledging long odds for long-term profitability for any amusement park, Morioka - who considers himself a maths nerd - said that by his calculations, Junglia has more than a 70% chance of success. He expects several thousand visitors a day to Junglia and says it can be profitable even if it only garners half the number of visitors of the nearby Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has around three million per year. Morioka added that demand for theme parks and higher value-added tourism services in Japan is here to stay, given that many Asian countries are growing wealthier. "The weak yen is a tailwind, but the number of people who want to visit Japan will increase structurally regardless of the currency effect," he said. The Japanese government has said it wants to boost the number of overseas visitors to 60 million per year by 2030. If Junglia is successful, Morioka says developing smaller attractions that cost less than 100 billion yen, unlike mega theme parks like Disney's and USJ, could be easily replicated in other Asian markets like Taiwan and Indonesia. Listing Katana would be an option to fund future growth, he said, adding that he saw a lot of potential for theme parks built around Japanese anime if he can convince content creators to license their intellectual property. "I think it would be good if there was a third option in cities around the globe after Disney and Universal," said Morioka. "I want to develop niches where they can't go and create a third force in attractions in the world that originates from Japan." - Reuters
Business Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Times
New Japan theme park aims to tap tourism boom, become springboard to Asian markets
[TOKYO] The company behind a new nature adventure park on Japan's southern island of Okinawa is hoping the country's huge tourism boom will get it off to a raring start, and that with time propel the startup further into Asia and other markets. Junglia, a 60-hectare site built on an old golf course and featuring more than 20 attractions from a hot air balloon ride and buggy riding to treetop walking and a 'Dinosaur Safari', is set to open on Jul 25. Costing some 70 billion yen (S$627 million), the park is the brainchild of Tsuyoshi Morioka, chief executive of entertainment firm Katana. Morioka, a theme park veteran, is credited with turning around flagging attendance at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka, western Japan, by bringing in Harry Potter-themed attractions. Japan is experiencing an unprecedented boom in tourism, fuelled by a weaker yen, with overseas visitors climbing 47 per cent to a record 36.9 million last year. Their spending shot up 53 per cent to 8.1 trillion yen, making tourism – which counts as an export in GDP data – the country's second biggest export sector after cars. The Japanese also love a good theme park with Tokyo's Disney resorts having enduring success and USJ, despite some early financial woes, proving popular. That said, many parks have also failed. Yu Shioji, the chairman of the Amusement Park Society of Japan, believes Junglia will have 'almost no chance' of long-term success given that there are other nature adventure parks in Japan and its relatively high cost – 6,930 yen per day pass for locals and 8,800 yen for international visitors. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up While acknowledging long odds for long-term profitability for any amusement park, Morioka – who considers himself a maths nerd – said that by his calculations, Junglia has more than a 70 per cent chance of success. He expects several thousand visitors a day to Junglia and says it can be profitable even if it only garners half the number of visitors of the nearby Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has around three million per year. Morioka added that demand for theme parks and higher value-added tourism services in Japan is here to stay, given that many Asian countries are growing wealthier. 'The weak yen is a tailwind, but the number of people who want to visit Japan will increase structurally regardless of the currency effect,' he said. The Japanese government has said it wants to boost the number of overseas visitors to 60 million per year by 2030. If Junglia is successful, Morioka says developing smaller attractions that cost less than 100 billion yen, unlike mega theme parks such as Disney's and USJ, could be easily replicated in other Asian markets such as Taiwan and Indonesia. Listing Katana would be an option to fund future growth, he said, adding that he saw a lot of potential for theme parks built around Japanese anime if he can convince content creators to license their intellectual property. 'I think it would be good if there was a third option in cities around the globe after Disney and Universal,' said Morioka. 'I want to develop niches where they can't go and create a third force in attractions in the world that originates from Japan.' REUTERS
