Nagasaki Theme Park To Ditch The Dutch

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Japan touch, 10yen billion set for Huis Ten Bosch rescue
Huis Ten Bosch has launched a midterm revitalization initiative, which is expected to diminish the theme park's original Dutch flavor. The operating company aims to win back families with new entertainment facilities, including a pavilion relocated from the 2005 World Expo in Aichi Prefecture. It also plans to add Japanese restaurants and other Japanese touches to maintain the patronage of visitors from other Asian countries...The company also said many foreign visitors are looking for a "feel of Japan."...Huis Ten Bosch President Motohiro Higashisono said it is necessary to add what the market is demanding. "It is difficult to rehabilitate the park even if we stick only to the Dutch image...We will gradually incorporate the elements of Nagasaki and Kyushu, while making the best of the park's European atmosphere"...more...

[Greji]

...Huis Ten Bosch President Motohiro Higashisono said it is necessary to add what the market is demanding. "It is difficult to rehabilitate the park even if we stick only to the Dutch image...We will gradually incorporate the elements of Nagasaki and Kyushu, while making the best of the park's European atmosphere"...more...

Hope he has a lot of that vaunted oriental patience. We opened an outlet in 2002 and are probably the only money making facility in the park and that is our very bottom preforming outlet and we may even relocate within the Sasebo area from there! They have been attempting to get financing from all over Japan (and the world) and not having much luck something about application of water to rat hole. It is my belief, or at least best guess that old Mr. East Park is going under whether he likes it or not!

[Taro Toporific]

DP DP DP DP DP

[Taro Toporific]

Hope he has a lot of that vaunted oriental patience...

I never spent a lot time following this extraterrestrial facility, but I thought the entire project was "repositioned" as a DisneyWorldesque condo development about five years ago. If the location Huis Ten Bosch was within known space and not in a different galaxy, it might even be interesting for humans.

[AssKissinger]

That place is the dullest place I have ever had the misfortune of visiting.

[MrUltimateGaijin]

only vaguely aware of it, but seems like one of the dumbest ideas ever

[Big Booger]

The name sucks ass too!

[Tsuru]

Noooooooooooooo.

But wait a minute... wasn't the place already flat broke like ages ago?

[Mulboyne]

Noooooooooooooo.

But wait a minute... wasn't the place already flat broke like ages ago

There's a good case for arguing that it was broke before it opened. FG member homesweethome worked there once and wrote about his experience towards the end of this thread.

The 1986 Maekawa plan called for projects to stimulate domestic consumption and a number of smokestack industries chose to use idle land for theme parks, often in conjuction with local government money. There were some spectacular failures. They were always aimed at local tourism rather than international tourism so it is interesting that the operator now want to attract Koreans and Chinese. That is a laudable aim but I can't quite see them having the savvy to make it work.

[homesweethome]

There's a good case for arguing that it was broke before it opened. FG member homesweethome worked there once and wrote about his experience towards the end of this thread.

The 1986 Maekawa plan called for projects to stimulate domestic consumption and a number of smokestack industries chose to use idle land for theme parks, often in conjuction with local government money. There were some spectacular failures. They were always aimed at local tourism rather than international tourism so it is interesting that the operator now want to attract Koreans and Chinese. That is a laudable aim but I can't quite see them having the savvy to make it work.

This is what I would have expected. The smart heads said from the beginning it probably can't work in the long run so don't try to make a career out of it, just hitch on to the wagon and go for the ride, keep looking for the next locomotive while you are here and ENJOY! That's what the guy who recruited me told me and that's what I and pretty much every other gaijin who work there thought at the time. There were others who took it seriously though and lost big time, like the Dutch fellows who were in charge of the Dutch students the park sponsored to give it more of a foreign feeling. Very sad, divorces, kids, etc. That's all I know though as they are the only couple of folks I still have contact with since leaving.

AK's comment about it being as dull as bean soup figures also. Sounds like it has come full circle, or just the last of the dirty bath water spinning around the drain.

[Charles]

I note that Alex Kerr loves Huis Ten Bosch (see the essay Tokyo Journal, 1996 Aug)

...perhaps the single most beautiful place I have seen in Japan in 10 years...

Of course, that is more of a commentary on the REST of Japan.