Toshimaen

Never heard of an amusement park named Toshimaen? That’s okay, because this really wasn’t the most exciting place in Japan. The park lies in one of Tokyo’s residential suburbs and it’s easy to access by train. It seems as if this used to be a public park, which was later transformed into an amusement park. Unfortunately, you won’t get another chance to visit Toshimaen. The park was closed in 2020 and it will not reopen in its original state. Warner Bros is currently working on a Harry Potter-based theme park, which is scheduled to open in 2023.

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ROLLER COASTERS

Coaster enthusiasts were able to get four credits here. The park offered a small kiddie coaster, a standard Mack powered coaster called Blauer Enzian, a modern looking Arrow Corkscrew-ride and Cyclone. Cyclone was definitely the most interesting roller coaster, since this was a 1965 Togo ride. The layout was simple and it offered a strange experience, but Cyclone was also surprisingly smooth and fun. It looked old and tacky, but in a good way.

WORTH A VISIT?

Toshimaen offered a lot of funfair-style flat rides and some of them were oddly built on roof tops. The park looked outdated and most areas were in desperate need of an upgrade. That upgrade is now carried out, but I’m afraid that the existing Toshimaen rides will not survive. RIP Toshimaen, I’m happy that I was able to visit.

Did you get the change to visit Toshimaen before it closed? And will you miss it or are you convinced that Harry Potter will bring a huge improvement to this park? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.