By KEIKO NANNICHI/ Staff Writer
March 30, 2020 at 07:00 JST
An artist’s rendition of the Seibuen Amusement Park after renovation (Provided by Seibu Railway Co.)
Seibu Railway Co. will spend about 10 billion yen ($93 million) to give the Seibuen Amusement Park in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, a retro ambience of the Showa Era (1926-1989).
The theme park will continue operating throughout the revamp to create a 1960s townscape, which is expected to be completed in 2021, the company said.
Marketing firm Katana Inc., which is headed by Tsuyoshi Morioka, who helped reinvigorate Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, will be assisting in the project.
The Seibuen park opened in 1950 with a total land area of about 200,000 square meters. It attracted about 1.94 million visitors in the business year ending in March 1989.
But with the facilities falling into disrepair, the figure dropped to about 490,000 in the business year ending in March 2019.
“It’s far from the latest technologies, but we thought we should take advantage of the good old days,” Morioka said at a news conference.
Takashi Goto, president of Seibu Holdings Inc., the parent company of Seibu Railway, added, “We want to ensure an increase in the level of satisfaction among visitors.”
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