Osaka is actually quite close to Nara…. Not to be outdone though, here are a few of our own pictures of our visit: Everything on the walls were painted by hand. The first part of our day was stressful because of timing factors, the second part of our day was a Disney knockoff that was hysterically funny and the third part of our day was, well, hungry (grin). Alles nur eine Frage der Zeit… . Well, it certainly wasn’t anywhere in sight. Pity it took almost a half-hour because the “hill” was a half mile of a residential neighborhood with winding streets and a canal through the center of it. • The time […], #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } Probably one of it’s last days… so sad to have it gone now. 3 sets of bats. In 2016, the park was demolished, meaning no more visitors could stop by to photograph its creepy forgotten rides. According to large new signs in Japanese AND English, SK Housing had finally taken full control over Nara Dreamland, threatening to sue every unauthorized person caught on the premises. Hey, who am I to say no to free ice cream? Explore thecrypt's photos on Flickr. via mirror.co.uk. Because I was alarmed and curious, so I went to Nara Dreamland more often than ever before. Probably “Final destination: junkyard!”. Not photographers, not urban explorers, not the media – not future plans, not schedules, not people involved; not to anybody, not about anything. But Nara is still worth visiting! Re: Disneyland clone - Nara Dreamland Japan! Oh my, my first real glimpse of Nara Dreamland was also my last then. When my buddy Hamish made a call just before SK Housing started prep work (in early September), their answer was that they are not talking to anybody about anything. I hadn’t realized that I had driven by it on the way to Nara before. Ooooooo….now, THAT’S pretty. Without a zoom. (MODERN-DAY NOTE: This was before Disney’s California Adventure had  Flik’s Flyers, Golden Zephyr or Silly Symphony Wings…). Same with the monorail station – and before you ask: No, I have no idea what happened to the monorail train. (For all your *Nara Dreamland* needs please have a look at the *Nara Dreamland Special*. …and Steve saw they had some sort of meat dish for about $20.00. The island could only be accessed from a Disney resort boat or a Walt Disney World Cruise and was known as a premier tourist destination from the 1970s to the 1990s. In the two weeks since October 23rd the demolition crew not only got rid of the massive metal Screw Coaster, they literally tore through the wooden Aska roller coaster. Disney was absolved for this because the amoeba could have bred anywhere. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The wheels move up and down the side of the log at a snail’s pace, which therefore SSLLOOWWLLYY rolls the cheetah to and from the embankment! Walk up the stairs, go across, go down the stairs. Much more often. (In German we fittingly say “Kleinholz machen”, turning it into small pieces of wood / firewood.) A view of the rest of the property, and beyond, from the highest hill in the complex. The kiosks look so friendly, so inviting, so well-themed…well, maybe if you’re going to a jail. Some more hand-painted wall decorations. ( Log Out /  A closer image of one side of the street. During my first couple of visits I realized that the amount of stored scaffolding was changing, yet none of it appeared in the park. I’m pretty sure by next year it’ll be gone completely. And the guys were hungry too. The neighborhood on the way to Shugakuin Imperial Villa. This HUGE fountain encompasses most of “the hub” area (this view is looking towards the train station). Or maybe it’s papier mache. Back in 2005, Hurricane Katrina left a trail of devastation when it touched down the city of New Orleans. Thanks to Cartarsauce Theatre here is a 2005 visit to Nara Dreamland. No, REALLY! – most of the vegetation along the road had been completely removed during my absence, too, so everybody could have a good look from the outside at what was happening… At the same time gates were fortified and holes in the fence were fixed. Not in English, anyway. Really high-tech. https://www.facebook.com/AbandonedKansai/. Still it’s sad. They said the guy was wonderfully nice….gave each of them a plate, utensils and dipping sauce (and a set for me too, for when I came back) and there was LOTS of food. It was rebranded as "Discovery Island" in 1978, and it featured a range of exotic animals, an aviary, flamingo pool, and a beach for tourists. Shot taken after we exited out boat (nope, it didn’t sink!). Nobody seems to know exactly the line of ownership, but before the current owner SK Housing and the last operator, the supermarket chain Daiei, there was at least that father and son duo… and probably somebody else as over the years I saw variously labelled signs trying to scare urban explorers away, including LA Investment (エルエーインベストメント) and KK Dreamland (株式会社ドリームランド) – the latter being rather ridiculous as a kabushiki kaisha is a stock company, and I doubt that Nara Dreamland ever had been one. We eventually got it, as well as our bus to Nara, and there it was…Dreamland! […] not to look!) Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, Timothy McVeigh inspiring new generation of hate-filled 'monsters': FBI records, School pressure, sick lawmakers, go-cups: News from around our 50 states. Instead pretty much all of Main Street USA was gone – security on scooters guarding both gates, the one on the upper street and the one at the main entrance. (Speaking of which – if you use information from this or any other article on Abandoned Kansai for your own work, please have the decency to link back; thanks a lot!) So this was a “must see.” And see it we did…we got there at 2:45pm and the park was scheduled to close at 5pm…more than enough time, right? Me walking away from one of the ancient buildings. I would like to know the name of it, so that I can ask for it again. Its started to attract a bunch of vagrant types anyway and was a hazard. Even if visitors were allowed, you probably wouldn't want to check out the area anyway. I know it wasn’t the prettiest anymore, and that it was already pretty well documented, but there’s such a difference in seeing these places in person as opposed to looking at them on a screen. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Don’t know if you can read it, but it costs almost $20.00 to park there (parking is VERY expensive all over Japan) (MODERN-DAY NOTE: Remember, this was written in 2005, when $20 to park WAS expensive). It closed in 2006 due to dwindling attendance. We almost wet our pants laughing at that one! We bid out goodbye to the guy and his wife and took their picture before we left: It didn’t look particularly seaworthy, but we figured if worse came to worse and we sank, the water couldn’t have been more than a few feet deep and w we’d be able to walk to shore. Even if you’d go today you would probably be disappointed with what’s left. for discount tickets to Walt Disney World. The boat was not on a track (I guess when the Dreamland Founding Fathers came to Disneyland to steal their ideas, they couldn’t see through the murky water of the REAL Jungle Cruise ride to tell that the boats were on a track) and the driver (the guy with the red windbreaker that says STAFF) just pressed a button to start a pre-recorded shpiel so he could drive the boat uninterrupted. I have no idea. Seriously, just watch the first video at the end of this article! (What happened to it? Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Since I’ve gotten home though, I’ve found this website, (MODERN-DAY NOTE: the original website I linked to no longer exists. As for you visiting Japan: There are still plenty of places worth visiting – especially not abandoned ones! Only 2 of them still flapped their wings. Nara Dreamland, a Japanese version of California's Disneyland, was left abandoned before being demolished in 2016. Before we left the nice, unwittingly hysterical man, Joe said, “This food was very, very good. An hour and a half later, we were back at Kyoto Station, finding our express train to Nara. Abandoned Kansai always has been and always will be your #1 source for all things Nara Dreamland! I wasn’t that fortunate. Wonder where I could watch a match of sumo wrestling? Here’s the monorail, with the Matterhorn in the background. Native #1 looks like he had a stroke. Not. But you can read all about it with a quick search of NARA DREAMLAND) is a small amusement park that was built in the early 1960’s. It was located in Nara which is on the east side of Greater Osaka in Japan. The demolition of Nara Dreamland should be finished by now. , This was supposedly included in our itinerary for our trip to Japan this 2017, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing Nara Dreamland by that time! I have no idea, they probably took it to another construction site.) Their website also have some nice video links of the place. What that will be? Das heißt im Klartext, Nara Dreamland ist nun gänzlich eingestampft? …and Bumper Boats. thecrypt has uploaded 1221 photos to Flickr. I dunno. A week later I saw that the removal of the plants along the main road had begun and that the gutting of Main Street USA was almost completed. i wonder what they gonna build instead of it,keep up the good work or looking on it for us . Its indeed the end of an era, but lets not forget that Nara Dreamland closed because there was a sharp decline in attendance. . Anything that's been abandoned is creepy to begin with, but abandoned Disney parks have a particularly unsettling quality to them that's hard to shake. ( Log Out /  It was a dream project of a Japanese businessman who was inspired during his trip to the USA. Someone must’ve used a real gun to shoot the hippo, cuz it was deader than a door nail. Much, much faster. I gave the deer-in-the-headlights look to the driver and said, “Shugakuin, kudasai?” [Shugakuin, please? We have plenty more just like it and would love if you decided to hang around and clicked the button on the top of this page to follow our blog and get emailed notifications of when we post (it’s usually just once or twice a day). Made it back to Nara Station…a tiny train station, so no food there, but we figured we could get something at Kyoto Station when we got back there. The Dreamland Skyway was closed, by the way. As you may be able to tell from my description, except for the English handout they gave us, I had NO idea of what this place was (grin). What was in the cave? Do you know how far through the demolition SK Housing are and any contact details for SK Housing? In 2007 (until 2016) it was very special, because complete and closed theme parks are uncommon in every country. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Among its victims was the Six Flags amusement park in the area. And “not orbs.”. Between the walking and the steps and the lack of most snacks, I’m gonna lose a LOT of weight this trip. So that, my friends was the Dreamland version of an alligator in a death spin. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And they were sitting there, grilling the food! Of course, we’d have to fumigate ourselves after being in the scuzzy water, but…. Ooooo….scary tiger! I love what they did with their landscaping. But just because the world’s most famous abandoned  (closed? Nara Dreamland and the articles about it were always very, very special to me – and I’m excited to reveal some other amazing locations soon… , i think the same is happening to Shodoshima Peacock Garden – when i visited it a year ago, there was demolition in progress, Yeah, according to the satellite view on GoogleMaps the Shodoshima Peacock Garden is gone now. At one point he looked at Joe and then at Steve and said, “Your son?” We burst out laughing at that (well, Joe and I did [grin]) and I pointed to Joe and said, “No, my husband!” The guy said, “Oooohhhhh!” But then he got this really confused look on his face, looked at Steve, looked back at me and said, “Who three?” We laughed again and said, “He’s a friend.” “Ooooohhhh!” Then he pointed to the woman behind the counter and said, “My wife!” The guy must’ve been embarrassed that he referred to Joe as Steve’s son, so he gave me an ice cream cone.