Tourism Harry Potter theme park to open in Toshimaen in June

Exciting news for Harry potter fans: on 16 June 2023, Warner Bros. Studio Japan will open a theme park based on the popular "Harry Potter" movie series. Yesterday, the park, called Studio Tour Tokyo, was opened to the media. The two-story steel-frame facility is still under construction and is being built on the site of the former Toshimaen Park, which closed in 2020. The 90,000-square-meter park is larger than its London twin. It will be open for a fixed period of thirty years.

It will be the company's second "Harry Potter" attraction globally, and its first in Asia, following the opening of a similar theme park in London. The 6,300-JPY (USD 47) admission tickets (for adults) must be reserved in advance to ensure that guests have ample time to enjoy the experience. Advanced sales start 22 March. [...] The Tokyo park, unlike the one in London, will have a set that allows visitors to relive the behind-the-scenes production of the "Fantastic Beasts" series. In the original story, Harry meets his friends Ron on Platform 9 3/4, from which they board the Hogwarts Express, a train that takes them to the world of wizardry. Visitors to the park can board a version of the magical train. [...] Admission is set at 5,200 JPY for high school and middle school students, and 3,800 JPY for children age 4 and older. Props and costumes are scattered throughout the park, guests can ride a moving staircase and see their reflections in portraits. A thorough tour of the park takes about half a day.

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Paywall alert:

And horrible news for anyone who much preferred the timeless and retro feel of the former Toshimaen to the "brand-new entertainment experience" of a tired IP by a bigoted author.

At least the public hot spring Niwa no Yu is still operating, and will continue to operate. I go there from time to time and it's always pretty nice and relaxing.

I couldn't agree more.

Hear, hear.

I know we're generally preaching to the choir when we talk to each other here, but it's still reassuring nonetheless.

I had never been to Toshimaen so I can't say I would miss it. I do hope I can see the Harry Potter attractions though. The amount of imagination packed into the stories is incredible, even in the way that old ideas were adopted and adapted. But also there is so much understanding of humanity and the fine points of justice. and fairness.

I really don't get these accusations of bigotry. It just feels to me like every movement needs an enemy or two so badly, that they will be created where they don't exist.

Dave Chappel is getting similar treatment to JK Rowling. Its like big names are preferred as targets over the no names that are actual haters. Anything for the cause I guess.

It's not so much about Toshimaen itself for me so much as this trend of tearing down old sites that had history and a connection to the neighborhood and replacing them with (at least what feels to me to be) more generic modern corporate crap.

I feel the same way about these redeveloped neighborhoods like Shimokitazawa where they destroyed an awesome area full of alleyways and small little izakaya to basically turn the station area into a glorified shopping mall that looks like literally other place in Tokyo, filled with generic food-court type restaurants that are no different from what you'd see anywhere.

That's honestly the biggest crime for me.

I'll leave the comments about Harry Potter and its author alone -- we can agree to disagree there. I was never a huge fan though I kinda got a kick out of the movies based on the original books. I haven't heard many good things about the spinoff movies/play/etc. and I'm not enough of a fan to seek them out. FWIW, I always enjoyed Dave Chappelle's work as well, though I find his recent stuff more tired and uninspiring than anything (which saddens me because I used to consider him a comedy genius).

bentenmusume said:

I feel the same way about these redeveloped neighborhoods like Shimokitazawa where they destroyed an awesome area full of alleyways and small little izakaya to basically turn the station area into a glorified shopping mall that looks like literally other place in Tokyo, filled with generic food-court type restaurants that are no different from what you'd see anywhere.

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That was my 庭 in the 1990s. I could get there by bicycle quickly from my apartment. Do you remember Rock n Roll Diner?
I stopped by Shimo a few years ago. Maybe 3-5 years ago. A lot had changed that's true. At least Mr Donut was still there.
I was a little sad or maybe nostalgic about that but I was probably mourning my 20s in Tokyo more so than the neighborhood.
I still have a little coffee table in my living room handmade by some Canadian guy who took scrap 欅 wood and made nice furniture out of it. He was selling them on a side lot/parking lot in Shimokitazwa. I think I paid about ２万円. Memories...

I came to Japan in 2005 (for good, I'd been there before on and off on family trips, studying abroad, etc. before that), so I suspect your memories of the neighborhood are even more "oldschool" than mine, sempai.

Sounds like genuinely good times, though -- and I wouldn't undersell the neighborhood, as it had some real character back in the day.
I forget when exactly they redeveloped the place, but yeah, it probably started 5-6 years ago. I'm still pretty close (10 minutes or so on the Inokashira Line) but I really have no desire to go back since that old 横丁 area got razed. That always felt like the beating heart of the area -- along with the small theaters and used clothing shops which (thankfully) are still there.

I have memories of hanging out in some old mom-and-pop counter izakaya in one of those ramshackle buildings half under the train tracks that's long since a distant memory.

All the train tracks are underground now, too, which means the infamous 開かずの踏切 immortalized here is no more:
(Sorry, that was just an excuse to post one of my favorite music videos of all time.)

I liked that! Simple, effective video and good song.

Lothor said:

I liked that! Simple, effective video and good song.

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I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, エレカシ is great, and 麻生久美子 (who was pretty much a no-name back then but is now a pretty omnipresent actress) is my number one celebrity crush of all time. The synergy of the song, the lyrics, and the video is pretty top-notch, too.