Latest news with #Nakijin
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Junglia, Japan's newest theme park, opens in northern Okinawa
Junglia , Japan's newest theme park, featuring jungle safari- and dinosaur-inspired attractions, will open Friday in a mountainous area in northern Okinawa, introducing a two-tier pricing system for residents and nonresident visitors. The theme park operator, Japan Entertainment, aims to make it a new tourism destination in Okinawa, known as a beach resort, with the theme park's economic impact projected to be about ¥6.8 trillion ($46 billion) in the coming 15 years. Located in the village of Nakijin about 90 minutes by car from the island's capital and nearest airport of Naha, Junglia covers 60 hectares with restaurants, shops, and 22 attractions and stage shows. Rather than roller coasters, however, Junglia focuses on adventure sports and encounters with tyrannosaurs and other prehistoric creatures amid Okinawa's subtropical greenery. During a press preview in the days before Junglia's official opening, media members were able to experience three adventure sports attractions in the park's Jungle Extremes area: Titan's Swing, on which groups of four hurtle back and forth over nearby treetops; Sky-End Trekking, a precarious walk across a suspension bridge that is at points 30 meters off the ground and features obstacle course-style challenges; and Buggy Voltage, in which visitors drive all-terrain vehicles along predefined courses. First to greet visitors to Okinawa's newest theme park is the 14½-meter-tall 'Junglia Tree,' a combination of an artificial base and a natural upper portion. | Owen Ziegler Junglia also previewed several of its dinosaur-themed attractions. In the 'Jurassic Park'-esque Dinosaur Safari ride, guests are driven through a simulated habitat of several dinosaur species before a containment breach of several Tyrannosaurus rexes incites a dash to safety. In the child-friendly Finding Dinosaurs, visitors are guided through a mock dino conservatory as they search for a missing baby triceratops. For general admission tickets, Junglia is offering a two-tiered pricing system. For Japan residents, a one-day ticket costs ¥6,930 for adults and ¥4,950 for children between 4 and 11 years old (children under 3 are free of charge). Access to Spa Junglia — the park's on-site collection of baths, saunas and the world's largest infinity pool by tub size, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records — costs a further ¥2,640 for adults and ¥1,540 for children, with combo tickets coming with a ¥500 voucher for food carts within the park. For nonresidents, general admission costs ¥8,800 for adults and ¥5,940 for children, plus ¥3,080 and ¥1,870, respectively, for Spa Junglia. Nonresident prices put Junglia on roughly equal footing with Japan's other high-profile theme parks, including Tokyo Disney Resort and Osaka's Universal Studios Japan. Junglia is also offering a Premium Pass that allows guests to skip queues for individual attractions (costs range from ¥1,800 to ¥2,700, with the high end pairing different combinations of attractions together). In Buggy Voltage, visitors drive all-terrain vehicles through predefined courses during a media preview at Junglia in Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture, on Wednesday. | Owen Ziegler Japan's ongoing typhoon season makes Okinawa's weather unpredictable this time of year. During Junglia's preview opening, tropical storm Francisco, or taifū No. 7 as it's known in Japan, brought occasional heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 72 kilometers per hour, forcing the temporary closure of some attractions as the storm passed to the south of Okinawa. Less rain and cooler temperatures from October may bode well for guest experiences. However, long wait times are anticipated during Junglia's opening weeks. Given the nature of most adventure sports attractions, Junglia requires all participants to sign waivers, be weighed for safety and equipment checks, and don full-body harnesses. Also, many attractions are able to accommodate only a handful of participants at a time — a positive for the personal touch offered by Junglia park staff, referred to by the company as 'navigators,' but a negative for fast-moving queues. For example, the bungee-inspired Human Arrow attraction is a single-rider operation, as opposed to a typical roller coaster that can accommodate dozens at a time. Junglia's location deep in the mountains of Okinawa's Motobu Peninsula may deter travelers who favor convenience and may prove prohibitive for overseas tourists whose only means of transport to and from Naha Airport are expressway buses. But for those already set on trekking outside of the Okinawan capital, Junglia may establish itself alongside the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium as one of the must-see attractions of the island's northern reaches.
Japan Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Okinawan remains looted in early Showa Era returned by Kyoto University
Remains taken by Japanese researchers from a tomb in Okinawa Prefecture in the early 20th century have been returned, it was learned Thursday. Researchers from Kyoto Imperial University, which is now Kyoto University, had taken the remains early in the country's Showa Era (1926-1989) from the Mumujanabaka tomb built in the middle ages in the Okinawan village of Nakijin. The remains, stored in 15 container boxes, were delivered to the Nakijin board of education on May 21. The board, which is set to preserve the remains as academic materials, said it was told by Kyoto University that the remains were of at least 26 people. An assistant professor and lecturer from Kyoto Imperial University are believed to have taken the remains from Mumujanabaka, according to the board. The descendants of those in the tomb filed a lawsuit in 2018 demanding that Kyoto University return the remains. Kyoto District Court and Osaka High Court rejected the demand but called on relevant organizations to hold discussions to resolve the issue.
Japan Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Rents soar in northern Okinawa ahead of Junglia theme park opening
Junglia Okinawa, a new theme park scheduled to open in July in the village of Nakijin in northern Okinawa Prefecture, is hiring 1,500 workers prior to the opening. Most of its employees moving to the northern part of the prefecture are believed to be choosing to live in the nearby city of Nago with its many commercial facilities, leading to a growing supply-demand imbalance in apartments for rent in the city. While large-scale hiring may help to revitalize the area, it is also creating a housing supply shortage, affecting students and others who are moving in. 'We have received so many inquiries from Junglia's employees that we can't keep track,' said a real estate agent that has branches across the prefecture. The agent began getting inquiries around May last year, and it had to say in response to many that there were no rooms available. Deals to move in have been reached for only about five properties, according to the firm. Another real estate agent, which secured about 10 rooms for people related to Junglia, said that compared with past years, there are fewer people moving out this year. According to the firm, which handles apartments for rent for families, every year there are families who move out to live in a bigger apartment or live closer to a school and so on. However, the firm said half the number of families have moved out during this time of the year this year compared with in an average year, reflecting soaring rents. 'When a new theme park is scheduled to open, high priority is given to the construction of a dormitory for its employees, but if there are properties for rent in the neighborhood, the operator tends to choose to rent existing housing to hold down initial investment,' said Yuji Yamaguchi, vice president of J. F. Oberlin University in Tokyo who is well-versed in the leisure industry. Japan Entertainment, the Nago-based operator of Junglia, said it secured 300 newly built rooms. But it is uncertain whether they are enough to meet the employees' needs. 'Not all (of the employees) moving in (to northern Okinawa) wish to live in company-rented housing,' the firm said. Apartment owners are looking to raise rents not only because of increasing demand, but also due to factors such as inflation and the higher policy interest rate. 'We can get tenants even with higher rents,' said one real estate agent. 'There is a mismatch between supply and demand, and the market is becoming unsure of the appropriate price range.' Apartment rents are going up in districts in Nago such as Biimata, Miyazato and Umusa — areas with good access to Junglia and Meio University, a public university in the city — with rooms that have been available at a monthly rent of around ¥50,000 ($350) to ¥60,000 now being offered at prices roughly ¥5,000 higher. 'There are risks of apartment rooms becoming vacant depending on Junglia's business performance,' said a real estate agent. 'No one says it out loud, but some apartment owners admit they are thinking about taking what they can get while the demand is high.' Real estate agents say even a one-room apartment with a kitchen for a single person, with a rent as high as ¥70,000, including a parking fee, can be filled. According to an official from Recruit, the operator of real estate information search service Suumo, the occupancy rate of rental apartments in Nago is higher than the rate for the entire main island of Okinawa. It effectively topped 100%, meaning there are people on a waiting list. Regarding apartments for rent in northern Okinawa, Sotetsu Aniya, director of the Ryugin Research Institute in Naha, said, 'There is a chronic shortage of apartment rooms in Nago, and the rent prices are high.' The high price trend is maintained there because there are few newly available apartments and rising construction costs. 'The scheduled opening of Junglia is adding to the shortage of rooms, and the impact could grow even worse immediately before and after the actual opening,' Aniya said. Toru Nakamoto of Kokudo Kantei Center, a real estate appraiser in Naha, also said the level of rent increase in northern Okinawa is higher than that in the entire prefecture. 'The theme park operator secured apartments in advance, leading to a shortage of rooms and rising rents,' said J. F. Oberlin University's Yamaguchi. 'Various issues come up during the early stages of the opening, and it is necessary for the operator and the region hosting the theme park to mutually cooperate to solve problems.' This section features topics and issues from Okinawa covered by The Okinawa Times, a major newspaper in the prefecture. The original article was published April 5.
