Park Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
In 2012 Japan’s oldest continually operating
amusement park celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Thomas Clarke visits a whimsical world of elves and fairies outside Osaka
Hirakata Park Dowsing Mountain
Osaka’s stalwart amusement outlet L
ocated in the town of Hirakata on the outskirts of Japan’s second city, Hirakata Park opened its gates for the first time on October 6, 1912.
Although Tokyo’s Aasakusa Hanayashiki is technically older, opening in 1853, it was closed for 12 years from 1935 to 1947, giving Hirakata the bragging rights it enjoys today.
The family amusement park is home to 43 rides and attractions, including five rollercoasters, spread across a 40-acre hillside site. Still owned by the founding Keihan Electric Railway, the family park has suffered a little since the arrival in Osaka of Universal Studios Japan in 2001, but still entertains a respectable 1.2 million annual guests. Although elves and fairies provide a loose backstory, beyond the entrance plaza it’s hard to tell the park actually has a theme. Stepping through the turnstiles guests are imediately greeted by Dowsing Mountain, a large rock formation which is home to an unusual attraction. Here children explore the mountain searching for bags of treasure which get weighed in and exchanged for toys. On warmer days the Magical Lagoon around the volcano becomes a popular paddling area. Walking away from Dowsing Mountain, the theming all but ends. All of the park’s rollercoasters are family-friendly, with no inversions in sight. Catering for the smallest
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