Pop Japan

The Nara Dreamland was once the most celebrated theme park in Japan, until the Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983.

In 1961, the Nara Dreamland opened, with designs based on the famous Disney theme park. Kunizu Matsuo, the founder, initially planned on just franchising Disneyland, but his company, Matsuo Entertainment Company (MEC) were not able to complete the deal with Disney, due to the licensing fees. Thus MEC just created their own design annd made history in this side of Japan.

Upon the opening of the Tokyo Disneyland, theme park goers apparently decreased for Nara Dreamland, leading to its permanent closure ing 2006.

Photo by thecrypt auf flickr.com. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Tags: nara dreamland, tokyo disneyland, most celebrated them park in japan, kunizu matsuo, matsuo entertainment company, licensing fees