Nagasaki's Dutch-inspired theme park to open Miffy area
SASEBO, Nagasaki Prefecture—Huis Ten Bosch Co. announced that its amusement park here is opening a new Miffy-themed area on June 21.
Miffy's creator, Dick Bruna, was from The Netherlands and the park is modeled after The Hague's historical architecture. Fitting, as this is the first time Bruna's character will be featured at a theme park.
Huis Ten Bosch's central area is currently being renovated into "Miffy Wonder Square" ahead of the opening day that is scheduled to coincide with Miffy's 70th birthday.
The area is designed around the vibrant world of the children's books and will include two rides where visitors can take to the sky or water with different characters. Parkgoers board red planes for the aerial merry-go-round while the sailing attraction features yachts.
Although Huis Ten Bosch has not revealed the area's size and cost, it said this is the most the park has invested in a new space since opening in 1992.
Huis Ten Bosch was previously under the umbrella of major travel entity HIS Co. before being sold to Hong Kong-based investment firm PAG in 2022; the park was hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After acquiring the theme park, PAG invited an executive of Oriental Land Co., the corporation behind Tokyo Disney Resort, to serve as the president of Huis Ten Bosch in 2023.
Until now, the park's main attraction was its European-style scenery of windmills and tulips. However, about 40 percent of visitors were seniors aged 60 or older.
Creating attractions that would generate interest among teenagers, people in their 20s and families has been a challenge.
'We have made the facilities that will excite people regardless of age," Huis Ten Bosch President Kotaro Takamura said. "We aim to increase the number of visitors from all over Asia and hope that they will enjoy the charms of the world as if turning the pages of a picture book."
At the news conference, Takamura also mentioned that Huis Ten Bosch has struggled to attract guests since it opened.
'Until now, we had thought that Huis Ten Bosch could succeed on its own,' he reflected. 'Going forward, we would like to turn the entire Kyushu region into a place where people from all over the world can enjoy long stays and sightseeing, and we would like the entire region to work together so that we can be the center of the region.'
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