Latest news with #Yomiuriland
CNA
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
A Pokemon theme park will open in Japan in 2026
Come 2026, there will be more reasons for you to visit Japan. On Tuesday (Jul 22), The Pokemon Company provided an update on its upcoming theme park PokePark Kanto – a venture that was first announced in 2023. PokePark Kanto is set to be the "first permanent outdoor Pokemon attraction" and will be housed within the Yomiuriland amusement park in Tokyo, Japan. Spanning over 26,000 sqm, PokePark Kanto will be made of two distinct areas: Sedge Town and Pokemon Forest. You'll finally know what it's like to explore a town in the Pokemon universe at Sedge Town. Here, you can visit iconic fixtures of the franchise, including the Pokemon Center, a Poke Mart and even a Pokemon Gym. The area will even have a fountain, as well as shops selling merchandise. If you want to witness Pokemon in their natural habitat, head to Pokemon Forest which spans nearly 500 metres in length. The area comprises many different terrains, including hilly paths, tall grass, tunnels and rocky trails – just like in the games. In a statement, Junichi Masuda, chief creative fellow at The Pokémon Company, said: "Pokemon has grown so much thanks to lots of support from many people. So we wanted to make a place everyone could come together and enjoy. "A space where Pokemon will always be and where people and Pokemon can have fun together. That wish prompted us to begin work on a world where Pokemon truly exist." PokePark Kanto is set to open in early 2026, with advanced ticket sales expected to begin late this year.
Straits Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Theme parks in Japan take measures to keep visitors cool amid intense heat
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan and Yomiuriland have taken measures to help visitors feel cooler amid warm temperatures. With the arrival of July and the onset of intense heat, leisure facilities in Japan have begun holding events and implementing measures to help visitors feel cooler. Each facility's operators are racking their brains for ideas to counteract the severe heat that might keep guests away. More splash on Splash Mountain Starting in July 2025 , Tokyo Disneyland, in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, will increase the water flow on its popular 'Splash Mountain' ride, causing more spray than usual when the ride plunges into an area resembling the basin of a waterfall. This summer-only initiative reportedly features the 'largest flow volume ever', which will cause water to splash like a shower not only on passengers but also on spectators nearby. On July 1 , the park held a summer parade, with mist spraying in time to the music, and visitors cheered when water was sprayed toward them along the way. 'I got more water than I expected, and it cooled me down quite a bit,' said a 46-year-old part-time worker from Kobe who came with her family. Extended evening hours Universal Studios Japan (USJ), in Osaka, began giving away salt candy to visitors for the first time on July 1 . Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No train service across entire Bukit Panjang LRT line due to power fault Singapore Pedestrian-only path rules to be enforced reasonably; focus on errant cyclists: Baey Yam Keng Singapore $500 in Child LifeSG Credits, Edusave, Post-Sec Education Account top-ups to be disbursed in July Singapore 17-year-old youth charged with trespassing on MRT tracks; to be remanded at IMH Business Microsoft cutting 9,000 jobs companywide in second major wave of layoffs this year Asia Malaysian nurses following the money abroad for more opportunities World Trump tax Bill stalled by Republican rebellion in Congress Opinion How Apple gave 'the gift of fire' to Chinese electronics firms The park has also extended its opening hours into the evening to encourage visitors to come after the heat has subsided. 'People have begun to avoid going out in summer. We need to take serious measures to prevent people from getting heatstroke,' a USJ spokesman said. At Yomiuriland, an amusement park on the border of Inagi, Tokyo, and Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, all 42 gondolas of the observation wheel 'Sky-Go-LAND,' which opened in October 2024 , are equipped with air conditioning, allowing visitors to enjoy the view comfortably even in summer. Its predecessor did not have air conditioning. All three free rest areas in the park have also been equipped with air conditioning. Impact of heatwave The number of visitors to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea from April to September 2024 was 12.2 million, 300,000 fewer than the same period the previous year. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the average temperature in Tokyo from July to September 2024 was 28.1 deg C, 2.8 degrees higher than the average for that period. That heatwave is believed to have been one of the reasons for the decline in visitor numbers. According to the agency, this summer is also expected to be hotter than average nationwide. 'In recent years, extreme heat has had a negative impact on visitor numbers at many outdoor leisure facilities. 'How to keep visitors comfortable during the summer has become an important question for management,' said Mr Chiaki Kato of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
