Gaia Series 16 : Energize Japan With Leisure

Two years ago, Seibuen Amusement Park in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture underwent renovations at a cost of 10 billion yen. It now boasts a retro Showa-era atmosphere and its main feature is a shopping street modelled after the 1950s. Its Godzilla-themed ride is one of its most popular attractions. Visitors get a first-hand experience of the fight between Godzilla and King Ghidorah. There is also an immersive element, turning it into a game that utilises the entire park. The guests are in a commando unit protecting Japan. They must find hints hidden within the park, solve a mystery and have 30 minutes to evacuate all the citizens until the giant monster comes. 

Such innovative ideas are the work of a company called Katana Inc. It was founded in 2017 by Tsuyoshi Morioka, who is well-known for rebuilding Universal Studios Japan. The company, which has about 70 employees, is behind many such initiatives. An example is the Tasogare Express Dining Train. It vibrates as if it is running on real tracks and offers passengers great views too. So they can enjoy their meal in a very different and unique atmosphere. The Dining Train is not just a restaurant but an attraction too. 

The company has also ventured into immersive theatre, which is popular in Europe and the US. A show will be performed, where a murder case unfolds while getting the audience involved. The “actors” will talk to the audience and loop them in so that they feel they are part of the “situation”. “Mystery on a Luxury Train” is an initiative led by Katana’s Creative Director Tomoe Okiyama.  There are two shows in the afternoon on the weekends, spanning 90 minutes each. The experience costs 5,400 yen per person and comes with an afternoon tea set. 

Katana’s next new business is glamping, which allows people to enjoy the outdoors while also having a glamorous lodging experience. The facility is a 30-minute drive from Kobe's urban district, near the peak of Mt Rokko. Its development began in July 2022. Katana’s glamping experience focuses on food, with a full outdoor cooking experience. The team leader is Katana’s Marketing Director Hiroshi Hamatake. He tried something new. He filled a wooden box with bonito flakes and mackerel flakes, which form the “soil”. He adds leafy vegetables to it to make it resemble a garden. He is trying to simulate a harvest or the idea of “making food from scratch”.  

The team also thought of creating the “perfect steak”, using “perfect” ingredients, “perfect” tools and a “perfect” recipe. Mr Hamatake thus visited a livestock farm in Aioi City, Hyogo Prefecture, followed by a meat-packing plant. He then returned to Katana’s Osaka office, where he assembled his team to test out "the perfect steak". He prepared a 1kg bone-in steak and grilled it on a custom-made barbecue grill.  

Katana CEO Mr Morioka visited Kobe City, Hyogo. The glamping facility is located near the peak of Mt Rokko, which overlooks the city. This location was chosen for various reasons. Rokko can be a summer resort and a ski resort in the winter. Rokko was bustling with tourists from the 1960s to 1990s. but due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the diversification of leisure activities, it has been losing tourists year after year. In the past, there were more than 200 company-owned resorts, but now there are less than 50. So the purpose of developing the glamping facility here is also to revitalise the area.

The company wants people to enjoy life among nature, so the facility was named Nature Live Rokko. Its manager is Tatsuya Oishi. From each of the five cottages here, one can see the beautiful port city of Kobe. The living room is connected to a terrace. There is also a hammock on the balcony. 

A month before its opening, Katana invited some members of the public to test out the lodge. Mr Hamatake believes the key to its success lies with the staff who support the guests' eating experience. This is where glamping attendants like Tomoka Ishida come into the picture. The meal included a salad that is “harvested” from the wooden box resembling a garden and bouillabaisse with a whole fresh fish caught in the Seto Inland Sea. Nature Live Rokko opened in May 2023. It has a firepit made from a real tree truck that is 300 years old. There is also a space designed to look like a bird’s nest, made from branches of trees in Rokko. Visitors can go inside and drink tea or coffee while enjoying the laid-back atmosphere. 

Katana is also working on constructing a giant theme park in Nakijin Village, Okinawa. There used to be a golf course here. Katana will develop the theme park while utilising the nature and terrain of Yambaru. The various attractions being discussed will incorporate various activities that one can enjoy among the area’s nature. The groundbreaking ceremony of the theme park was held in February 2023.  

Tips:
1)    Visit Seibuen Amusement Park for its Showa-era retro atmosphere
2)    Try out glamping at Nature Live Rokko, surrounded by Mt Rokko’s gorgeous nature