16 Apr 2018
New renderings for Moomin Park as opening date set for Japanese nature attraction
BY Tom Anstey
A theme park based on The Moomins will open in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture in March 2019, after its developers confirmed construction plans for the nature attraction in the city of Hanno.
Called Moomin Valley Park, the attraction will sit on an area around Lake Miyazawako, owing to the area’s resemblance to the nature-rich homeland of the Moomins.
The 190,000sq m (2,000,000sq ft) park will celebrate Nordic culture, with plans calling for a museum, restaurants offering Nordic meals and facilities where visitors can interact with Moomin characters. A Public Zone, opening in November and called Mezza Village, will also take into account local residents, with the area being maintained as a free-to-visit public park.
Several artistic renderings have been released of the park, one of which shows the Moomin’s iconic home, which will be explorable for visitors with elements such as Mama and Papa’s room, and Moomin and Little Mi’s room. The Ocean Orchestra will also feature, with the park’s version using projections to create an immersive experience for visitors.
Investment bank FinTech Global (FGI) is behind the development, which signed a Basic Agreement on Local Renaissance in 2015 with the city of Hanno to set out the development’s parameters, According to FGI, this agreement underpinned joint efforts to attract tourists to both the theme park and to Hanno.
Moomin Monogatari will oversee the project, which will be supplied in-part by Puuha International Oy, the Finnish playground equipment group.
The Moomin stories were first published in 1945 in Swedish by the Finnish writer and artist Tove Jansson, with the nine Moomin books and various Moomin comic strips since being adapted into animated TV shows worldwide.
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