Japan's Abandoned Amusement Parks

Japan's Russian Village

 Io9: Japan has a wealth of bizarre abandoned amusement parks. For example, we've seen an entire Mount Rushmore left to rot and a graffitied giant model of Lemuel Gulliver.

In the town of Niigata, you can visit the remains of The Russian Village, a shuttered tourist attraction that once boasted such sights as a recreation of the Cathedral of the Nativity in Suzdal, Russia, fake cars from the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and (what appears to be) a woolly mammoth skeleton, hanging out in the middle of nowhere.

When the Niigata Russian Village opened in 1993, an entrepreneur hoped to attract tourist dollars by importing a little slice of Russia to Japan's west coast. This Russocentric Epcot Center managed to stay open for a decade before the park fell into bankruptcy. After another grand opening in 2002 — that lasted all of six months — the Village was closed permanently, leaving such weird artifacts as a fake taxidermied woolly mammoth behind.

From the looks of these photos taken by Ralph Mirebs, plenty of people still visit the Village, but nobody pays the entry fee (such as Vice Magazine, who found employees' costumes up for grabs). I don't know about you, but I find facsimile villages like this pretty fascinating. Cloning geography, for fun and proft.

Giant Model of Lemuel Gulliver

Tourists Reconsider Travel to Japan

Toronto Sun: Just four months after a devastating earthquake in Japan, a new survey has found tourists are willing to consider the country as a travel destination.

The Hotels.com survey found Japan ranked in the top three favorite global destinations, with 86% of respondents saying they would consider going there within the next year.

On March 11, a powerful earthquake hit off the coast of Japan, triggering tsunami waves. The disaster destroyed towns and villages, and led to meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Flight and hotel costs were a major incentive, with almost 70% of survey respondents saying they would visit Japan now if the price was right. Japan's food, culture and sightseeing were also important motivations.

"I am very encouraged that so many people in the Hotels.com survey indicated that they are willing to travel to Japan. I hope that everyone can visit Japan and experience the best of Tokyo's fantastic hospitality which never changes," Hideki Yokoyama, a tourism spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, said in the release about the survey.

"I would like everyone to see that the whole of Japan is working together for a rapid recovery. Please feel free to visit Japan now or in the near future."

The survey of 500 travelers from 17 countries was conducted in July.

Dreamliner Arrives in Japan for Week of Tests

All Nippon Airways Dreamliner

San Francisco Chronicle: Boeing Co.'s 787 landed in Japan early (Sunday) to start a weeklong dress rehearsal with All Nippon Airways Co., signaling the end is near on a delay of more than three years for the world's first composite-plastic jet.

The Dreamliner, which landed at Tokyo's Haneda airport, will make test flights on ANA's normal domestic routes, with pilots and mechanics from both companies working alongside each other. The exercise will ensure the plane can fit into airport parking slots and use boarding bridges and fuel hoses, said Megumi Tezuka, an airline spokeswoman.

"It's been a long wait," said Hidetaka Sakai, an ANA spokesman who watched today's landing. "We want to compete with global air companies with this plane."

The trip is one of the final validations ahead of the 787's entry into service as soon as next month. Boeing missed the original May 2008 delivery target, stalling its ability to book profit from a model with an average list price of $202 million and forcing customers to reshuffle their plans.

"People are going to be happy to see the plane arrive in Japan," said Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo. "The key will be when demand for air travel rebounds."

ANA, Asia's largest listed airline by sales, suffered a 20 percent drop in domestic travel in April, the month after a record earthquake and tsunami disrupted air service in the country and led to the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Adding Flights

The Tokyo-based carrier is counting on the twin-engine Dreamliner to help add flights to China, Europe and the U.S. while paring fuel costs. Japan Airlines Co., which has 35 of the 787s on order, has said it will start service to Boston from Tokyo with the jet next year, the first direct link between the city and Asia.

Crews from Chicago-based Boeing began tests for extended operations and function and reliability this week as they work toward flight certification by U.S. and Japanese authorities.

Boeing and ANA plan joint tests starting July 5, with flights between Tokyo's Haneda and Osaka's Itami airports, as well as Okayama, Hiroshima and Osaka's Kansai. The companies scripted the trials to the half hour in meetings that ran seven hours a day for five days, according to Boeing's website.

The service-ready testing "is more about the system working than the airplane," said Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman in Everett, Washington, where the Dreamliners are assembled. "It's about ANA being ready to operate and Boeing being ready to support."

Boeing Relief

For Boeing, getting the Dreamliner into service this quarter would end a series of seven postponements that led to late penalties and analysts dubbing the company's fastest- selling plane the "7-Late-7." Boeing's 27 percent slide from the initial, October 2007 delay through June 30 was almost twice the drop for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

The 787 is the first airliner with a fuselage and wings made of composite-plastic materials instead of aluminum. The new materials and manufacturing system, along with parts shortages and other problems, hampered development. Suppliers around the world build whole sections and fly them to Everett.

The Dreamliner also is the first with all-electric operating systems that, along with the lighter-weight plastic, promise to shave fuel usage by 20 percent compared with similar- sized planes and let it fly farther than a 747 jumbo jet. Boeing marketed the 210- to 250-seat Dreamliner for long-haul routes not busy enough to fill a larger aircraft.

Domestic Routes

ANA plans to use its 55 Dreamliners on order to replace the similar-sized Boeing 767 in the airline's fleet, beginning with domestic routes. The carrier's initial order for 50 jets in 2004 was valued at $6 billion at list prices.

"We're very excited," said Tezuka, the ANA spokeswoman. "We're confident we will get the delivery of our first plane soon."

ANA is already preparing its staff to receive the plane, which Boeing has promised will happen in the third quarter. Two of the carrier's pilots tested the plane on a U.S. flight in May 2010, and 10 more who will be the first crews to operate it in Japan completed their training last month.

Boeing has done some tests with employees serving in the role of passengers, Gunter said. The first Dreamliner began flying in December 2009, and seven jets have made more than 1,500 flights around the world since, looking for severe weather and other conditions to test the plane to its limits.

A 787 made an appearance at the Farnborough Air Show in England last year, and last week Boeing let aviation executives, analysts and reporters onto a jet at the Paris Air Show to show off its new interior features such as dimming windows and LED lighting.

The rehearsal is "big news in Japan," said Ken Herbert, an analyst with Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. "You get the ground staff and everyone all excited about it, and it'll get a big buzz."

Japanese Theme Park to Launch Record-Breaking Coaster

The Independent: A Japanese theme park is about to launch a roller coaster with the world's steepest vertical drop.

The Takabisha ride is scheduled to open at the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park near the base of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi prefecture on July 16 and will feature seven major twists over its 1,000-meter length, a sharp rise to a peak of 43 meters - which triggers a moment of weightlessness before riders take what the operator of the ride describes as "a nosedive" - and sections that plunge riders into complete darkness.

The part of the ride that is ground-breaking, however, is the breakneck freefall at 121 degrees. The park has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to have the ride certified as the steepest in the world.
Thanks to the assistance of linear motors on the cars - as well as the effects of gravity - riders on the Y3 billion ($42 million) attraction will reach a speed of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and the ride will last for just 112 seconds.

Once the ride has been certified, it will be the 14th Guinness World Record set by Fuji-Q. The park is already home to the Fujiyama ride, Dodompa and Eejanaika, putting the park among the leading venues in the world for thrill-seekers.

The Kingda Ka ride at the Six Flags Great Adventure park in New Jersey is the present holder of the title of the tallest steel roller coaster in the world, at 139 meters, with a maximum vertical drop of 127 meters. The prize for the fastest coaster goes to the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, in Abu Dhabi, which only opened last November and reaches an impressive speed of 240 kph (149 mph).

The record that Takabisha is looking to overhaul has been held by the Mumbo Jumbo ride at Flamingoland in Yorkshire, northern England since July 2009. With an incline of only 112 degrees, Takabisha will be fully 9 degrees steeper for the riders.

Admission to Takabisha is Y1,000 ($14) after an entrance fee to the park has been paid, but there are restrictions on the age and height of anyone wanting to take the ride.

Tokyo Tourism On The Brink

CNN: In the cavernous lobby of the Tokyu Hotel in Tokyo, executives sip $14 coffees, crisply dressed waiters hover with English-language menus and bilingual reception clerks wait patiently for incoming guests. All that's missing are the foreigners in this five-star Shibuya landmark that normally hosts tens of thousands of overseas visitors every year.

A lone American couple says they nearly cancelled their trip. "Our daughter is teaching here -- it if wasn't for that, we wouldn't have come," explains John Heddens, who waits in the lobby with his wife, Mindy, for the airport shuttle . "My concern is that the government doesn't seem to be forthcoming about the radiation."

More than eight weeks since the March 11 mega-quake sparked Japan's worst crisis since World War II, tourism is still on its knees. The number of foreign guests staying at the Tokyu is down by half, according to its marketing manager Takayuki Yamano -- a pattern repeated throughout Japan. "I've been here for 10 years and we've been through 9/11 and SARS and this is by far the worst," he explains.

Just three months ago, the Japan Tourism Agency was predicting a bumper crop, with over 9 million people forecast to visit the country in 2011 -- up from 8.6 million in 2010. Statistics from March, the latest available, suggest that figure is not remotely attainable. Year-on-year figures for the month were down by 50.3%, with the number of foreign travelers plummeting from 679,500 to 352,800.

The crisis has had an impact on domestic travel too. Japan's Travel Bureau Foundation (TBF) reported outbound flows down by 18% in March. And Japan Airlines said its Golden Week figures for international and domestic routes fell by 26% and 24% respectively, compared to the same period in 2010.

What all this means, of course, apart from a rough ride for the industry in 2011, is that there are potential bargains for travelers. Like many hotels in the capital, Tokyu has cut its weekend prices for rooms. Some travel bureaus report promotions offering return Tokyo flights from parts of Asia for as little as $400. The high yen, however, is still likely to cancel out some of the bargains.

Industry analysts are upbeat despite the dismal figures. The influential UNWTO World Tourism Barometer predicts that the impact of the disaster on tourism will be limited to areas directly involved. "Alternative destinations will pick up the slack," says its latest report.

Overall tourism, especially domestic, is already recovering -- and faster than many expected, points out Masaki Sakamoto, director of Hawaii Tourism Asia. Hong Kong and other Asian visitors are slowly returning and, "the Chinese will be back soon," he says. But he adds a warning: "Until the nuclear fear is gone, which looks like it will take a few years, it is difficult to see a full recovery."

For now, nobody knows when that will be but American Mindy Heddens, for one, says she will be back.  "What an amazing country," she enthuses. "I love it here. It's like a well-kept secret."

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Tourism Slowly Returns to Japan

The Telegraph: After showing us to our room on the 42nd floor of our Tokyo hotel, the porter said firmly: "If there's an earthquake, get away from the window and stay in bed. The cupboard doors will bang from side to side, but ignore them – they've been designed to do that. Instead, listen out for the tannoy and follow any instructions. The fire escapes are to your left."

After that I couldn't sleep. What was I doing taking my 12-year-old son to such a danger zone? We didn't have an earthquake that night, but there was an aftershock the following evening – the second we experienced during our week-long trip to Japan earlier this month. I didn't feel it, but my son Thomas, lying in bed at the time, did and was distinctly nervous about another night so many floors above the ground.

I never wanted to go to Japan – but Thomas did. He loves Nintendo, manga, Buddhism, sushi, technology and tranquillity. After he nagged me about a year ago, I finally said, "If you pay for your trip, you can go". I didn't realise that he was going to get a part in a film over the summer and, with it, enough money to take himself (and me) to the place of his dreams.

We were meant to leave for Tokyo less than three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami. After taking advice from the British consulate we decided to postpone our visit. But the moment most of Japan was declared safe we were off.

I had expected a country pullulating with people, but it was quiet and serene. There were few signs in Tokyo that anything had happened at all. Panic buying had stopped. We had brought our torches and bottles of water, but there was no need for either. Everyone was drinking tap water and walking the streets.

Lights were dimmed in the subway, down escalators were turned off and the famous Blade Runner-like "television screens in the sky" on the Studio Alta building in Shinjuku were also switched off. But the streets were well lit enough and most of the neon signs were still glowing. Otherwise, we noticed nothing odd at all. When we felt our first minor tremor in a café, no one budged.

What's more, all the sights were ours – and ours alone. Our guidebook had warned us of packed temples in Kyoto, but there was no one there. In a week we saw just 20 western faces. To sit in front of not just one, but many, Zen gardens on your own is a priceless treat.

To share cherry blossoms and flaming red maples with a few Japanese is just what one would want. We felt truly a part of the country and its experience rather than two of a million tourists on the outside, looking in.

This was great for us, but it can't last. Japan has had a difficult few years economically and needs all the help it can get to recover. Before we left I watched a BBC film about a sake manufacturer who was going out of business, destroyed not by the tsunami but by Japanese politicians suggesting that to celebrate the annual cherry blossom season in the usual sake-filled way would be inappropriate. But Japan needs to start celebrating and not to allow those who have survived to be overwhelmed by guilt.

The 10-bedroom ryokan (traditional inn) in which we stayed in Kyoto had only two visitors – us. Everyone else had cancelled. They were thrilled when we rebooked after our initial cancellation and treated us like royalty. "Of course," our Japanese friend said. "You were the empress and Thomas was the emperor."

As the women at the ryokan waved goodbye to us, they were waving goodbye to their income for who knows how long. Tourism is down 75 per cent right now in Japan.

I lived in California for a few years in my twenties and remember many conversations about the San Andreas Fault. Earthquakes aren't new; what is new is our desire for safety at all times. But we have to support Japan, not just by donating a few quid, but by making the country feel alive again – and wanted.

Tokyo Disney Reopens 5 Weeks After Quake

AFP: Five weeks after Japan's quake, tsunami and nuclear crisis struck, Tokyo Disneyland threw open its doors again Friday, bringing some welcome relief to thousands of disaster-weary families.

Mickey Mouse greeted and hugged many of the 10,000 visitors who had queued up, some of them all night, outside the giant theme park, which had been shut despite suffering only minor damage in the tectonic disaster of March 11.

Many guest were visibly relieved to revel in Disney's fantasy world amid the grim realities of an ongoing nuclear crisis and scores of recent strong aftershocks from the massive seabed quake that have badly strained nerves.

To celebrate its reopening, the park put on a colourful musical parade of floats featuring Disney characters at the facility located on reclaimed land on the outskirts of Tokyo at Urayasu in Chiba prefecture.

"I was touched and encouraged to see the happy smiles of our guests," said Kyoichiro Uenishi, president of Oriental Land Co., which operates the Tokyo Disney resort under a licence from the Walt Disney group.

He said that while some people thought it was too early to go back to normal, "we were also prompted by many to reopen early, to create an environment to cheer people up".

Despite the lashings of Disney magic, the atmosphere was somewhat subdued as some lights were switched off amid a nationwide electricity saving campaign prompted by damage to atomic plants and the power grid. The park also stopped some fountains and waterfalls, turned down air-conditioning systems, and shortened its opening hours to 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, four hours less than usual at this time of year.

The only major attraction at the park to be closed for now was "Big Thunder Mountain," under repair because of quake damage to its rock surface. The park resumed operations on the 28th anniversary of its 1983 opening as the first Disneyland outside the United States, which was later followed by Disney theme parks in Paris and Hong Kong.

The adjacent Tokyo DisneySea park remains closed for the time being, but the operator said it hopes to reopen it soon too.

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Hotel Exec Opens Up About Japan Situation

SF Gate: Here's a very interesting and heartfelt Q&A with Clarence Tan, CEO of IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan about the current situation at hotels in the country. I offer huge thanks to Mr Tan for taking the time, in the midst of Japan's crisis, to sit down and correspond via email with me (and the readers of this blog) about the situation.

Q: Have your hotels seen any normalization yet?

We operate 33 hotels across Japan, and we were extremely fortunate that none of our hotels sustained any serious damage. With the exception of ANA Holiday Inn Sendai [near the center of the quake] all our hotels are operating normally.

We have seen occupancy levels drop in the northern zone below the normal average. With the uncertainty of the developments at the Fukushima Power Plant and growing concerns relating to food contamination and safety, we are seeing the impact due to:

     >Advisories on non-essential travel to Japan still in place

     >Expatriate communities are heeding embassy advisories and leaving Japan

     >Most multinational corporations have executed their business continuity plans and are
        either operating outside Tokyo or have temporarily relocated to other Asian offices

     >Major airlines are also cutting back routes to Japan

In spite of the dip in occupancy, we are committed to staying open. We have activated crisis response and ensured contingency plans are in place at all levels according to our risk management procedures, but where possible we have kept the hotels running as normally as possible.

Q: What about areas well away from the northern zone....perhaps down south in Osaka and other cities?

Due to the effect of relocation and contingency plans for most companies, we are seeing for the short term strong occupancy levels in areas such as Osaka, Fukuoka and Kobe.

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Business Travel to Japan Shutting Down

USA Today: With concerns about radiation spreading beyond northern Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis, corporate travelers and companies are canceling trips to Tokyo and other cities, forcing airlines to cut flights and leaving travel agents to hustle for last-minute changes.

Yasu Kambe, manager of Amnet, a New York-based travel agency that specializes in corporate travel to Japan, says "about 95%" of his clients' trips to Japan in the next month have been canceled. Its sister agency, Tabit, which handles leisure travel, has also seen 60% to 70% cancellations. "It's just too much," he says.

Meanwhile, multinational employers with large exposure to Japan, including InterContinental Hotels and Honda's U.S. headquarters, are following the U.S. State Department's lead by prohibiting trips to Japan for non-essential employees.

Richard Catalano of Cleveland, an anti-bacterial wipes manufacturer, was scheduled to fly to Tokyo last Friday, but was hesitant about the trip for much of last week. Radiation and aftershocks didn't worry him as much "as getting stuck" there, he says. "I don't want to base my decision on what I see on TV." Still, the State Department's decision last week to evacuate dependents of U.S. government personnel spooked him enough. On Thursday, he called off the trip. "I figure if the State Department is evacuating, it's time to postpone," he says.

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Disney Temporarily Suspends Operations in Tokyo

LA Times:  Nearly a week after closing its two theme parks in Tokyo in the wake of Japan's catastrophic earthquake, the Walt Disney Co. said it has temporarily suspended administrative and store operations in the city.

"Our top priority is the wellbeing of our employees and their families during this challenging time and we will continue to closely monitor the situation as it develops," Disney said in a statement.

The development comes amid growing concerns about Japan's nuclear crisis. The U.S. State Department announced late Wednesday that it had approved the departure of its personnel in certain regions of the country and was making charter flights available to evacuate them.

The Burbank media company did not immediately respond to requests for information about how many Disney employees in Tokyo are affected and whether it plans to help relocate workers and their families.

In the immediate aftermath of the Friday earthquake, thousands of people took refuge inside Tokyo Disney Resort. Park employees evacuated visitors to safe areas and provided blankets, shelter, food and beverages in the aftermath of the disaster.

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea were closed Saturday to assess the damage from Friday's devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan. The theme parks have yet to reopen.