Legoland Japan considered boon to local tourism

March 30, 2017

Nagoya- Local government and business officials pin high hopes on an outdoor Legoland theme park set to open in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Saturday.

Legoland Japan is considered to be a boon to tourism in the Chubu central region as it is expected to attract two million visitors a year.

“We hope the theme park will become a tourism destination,” a city government official said.

Tokyo and Osaka attract visitors with globally known theme parks--Tokyo Disney Resort and Universal Studios Japan. But there has been no such amusement facility in the Chubu region, whose largest city is Nagoya.

The city government has promoted local redevelopment projects, including one to build a large commercial facility, but none of them have worked out well.

The eighth Legoland theme park in the world, the first in Japan, is located in the Kinjo Futo wharf area of the city’s Minato Ward.

The city government has invested over 19 billion yen to build a large multistory parking garage that can accommodate 5,000 vehicles for visitors to Legoland Japan and a nearby commercial facility.

Other related efforts by the city government include improving access to the theme park, including by increasing railway services linking it and central Nagoya.

The opening of Legoland Japan is expected to have an economic impact of 89.5 billion yen on the prefecture, according to the Chubu Region Institute for Social and Economic Research, based in Nagoya.

The operator of Legoland Japan plans to open a hotel and an aquarium near the theme park in spring next year.

The company has secured a place for nighttime operations and a new attraction, an official said. Jiji Press