The Yomiuriland amusement park has announced plans to build a large aquarium equipped with cutting-edge technology such as augmented reality (AR) and an entertainment-oriented botanical garden.
It also will consider building a hotel and commercial and natural spa facilities around the park, which straddles Kawasaki and the city of Inagi in Tokyo. The aim is to create a leisure complex that is not limited to the amusement park, and to attract people of all ages and foreign visitors as well as Japanese.
The construction plan for these new facilities was included in the operator's growth strategy for fiscal 2019-2028, which was announced on Wednesday. The main attraction will be the "Art Aquarium" that makes visitors feel like they're wandering inside a water tank, employing such technologies as AR and projection mapping that shows images on the walls.
The "Entame (short for entertainment) Botanical Garden" is inspired by the landscape of a Japanese garden and is scheduled to open in fiscal 2019. Visitors can enjoy seasonal flowers and a show by small critters, as well as firefly viewings.
The operator expects to draw a total of 1.6 million visitors a year with these facilities. It plans to invest a total of about 55 billion yen (500 million dollars) over the next 10 years for the project, including renovation of existing facilities.
The amusement park industry has focused on enhancing large-scale attractions such as roller coasters, along with seasonal attractions of water parks in summer and illuminations in winter. The parks have expected steady streams of customers, but have had a hard time distinguishing themselves from each other.
According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, attendance at amusement and theme parks in fiscal 2017 increased by only 0.6 percent from the previous year, and many leisure facilities were not successful in attracting foreign visitors to Japan. Despite enjoying a rising trend in its number of visitors, Yomiuriland has had a similar problem.
At Wednesday's press conference, Yomiuriland's managing director Michitaka Kobayashi said: "Strategies to attract guests have been changing. It's a competition of brainstorms."
Yomiuriland will also develop the area in front of its nearest Keio Yomiuriland Station for better access from the station to the park, aiming to make Yomiuriland the center of a major leisure complex.
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