Haikara't Yokocho

Haikara't Yokocho (はい!からっと横丁) is a small amusement park located on the Arukupōto reclaimed waterfront area of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, facing the Kanmon Straits. It opened on September 14, 2013, and is operated by Senyō Kōgyō (Izumi Amusement), an Osaka-based amusement-facility company with experience running parks such as Greenland and Yokohama Cosmo World. The park was developed under a ten-year fixed-term business lease on city land, following a public solicitation by the Shimonoseki municipal government in December 2011. It was the first amusement park in Shimonoseki since the closure of Shimonoseki Marine Land about 14 years earlier. The site covers roughly 8,000 square meters and is built around a 60-meter Ferris wheel with 36 gondolas, four of which are see-through. The wheel is equipped with air conditioning and a sightseeing tablet called "Kanshansha Navi." Around it are about eleven attractions, including the Family Banana Coaster, the shooting ride "Battle of Abyss," the card maze "Gururi Mori Daibōken," the carousel "SEA-gō-land," the swing ride "Ocean Swinger," the 360-degree theater "4D King," and a kids' ride area. The park also offers a fossil and gemstone hunting experience called Treasure Collection. The park targets roughly 500,000 visitors a year and recorded about 42,000 visitors in its first two and a half months. Its location next to the Shimonoseki Municipal Shimonoseki Aquarium (Kaikyōkan), Kamon Wharf, and Karato Market makes it part of a larger tourism cluster. The original ten-year land contract was set to end on October 31, 2023, but because visitor numbers at the park correlate with aquarium attendance and pedestrian traffic in the area increased roughly fivefold after opening, the city extended the contract with Senyō Kōgyō by three years, announced on September 11, 2023. The park continues to operate, hosting seasonal events, light-ups of the Ferris wheel for awareness days, and fireworks-viewing special openings.

Haikara't Yokocho opened on September 14, 2013, in the Arukupōto district of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on reclaimed land along the Kanmon Straits. The area had seen repeated development plans since December 2001 that were proposed and then stalled. Under Mayor Tomoaki Nakao, who advocated turning the Arukupōto area into a park, the city planned to attract an amusement facility as a short-term use of the eastern section. In December 2011, the city publicly solicited development operators for a ten-year fixed-term business lease. Senyō Kōgyō, an Osaka-based company with experience planning and operating Greenland and Yokohama Cosmo World, applied (another company also applied but withdrew just before the review). Senyō Kōgyō proposed a project to create a lively space centered on a large Ferris wheel, and after review it was selected as the intended operator. After coordination between the city and Senyō Kōgyō, a formal agreement for the development project was signed on December 26, 2012, and the park opened on September 14, 2013. It was the first amusement park in Shimonoseki since Shimonoseki Marine Land, which closed after being flooded by Typhoon No. 18 in 1999, about 14 years earlier. The park occupies an 8,000-square-meter site and is centered on a 60-meter Ferris wheel with 36 gondolas, including four see-through gondolas. It offers about eleven attractions, including the Family Banana Coaster. It aimed for about 500,000 visitors a year and recorded about 42,000 visitors in its first two and a half months. The land contract period was set to end after ten years, and the facility was scheduled to close on October 31, 2023. However, because the park's visitor numbers correlate with attendance at the adjacent Shimonoseki Municipal Shimonoseki Aquarium (Kaikyōkan), and because pedestrian traffic in the surrounding area increased about fivefold before and after opening, the city of Shimonoseki stated a policy of maintaining some kind of amusement function in the future, and considered developing an amusement facility in connection with an expansion of Kaikyōkan. With this, the area was set to lose its amusement park entirely, affecting both Shimonoseki and the Kitakyushu area across the Kanmon Straits in Fukuoka Prefecture (though a Ferris wheel alone operates at the Cha Cha Town Kokura commercial complex in Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu, and the Itozu no Mori Park zoo has some play equipment, but only a few small-scale rides including a Ferris wheel). After selecting a successor operator proved difficult, the city of Shimonoseki announced on September 11, 2023, that it would extend the contract period with Senyō Kōgyō by three years. The park has continued to operate, hosting seasonal events such as the Children's Fountain Plaza, light-up events for awareness days, and special openings for the Kanmon Straits Fireworks Festival.

• Development plan for the Arukupōto area begins, later repeatedly stalled.

• Shimonoseki City publicly solicits development operators for a ten-year fixed-term business lease.

• Formal agreement signed between Shimonoseki City and Senyō Kōgyō.

• Haikara't Yokocho opens.

• Shimonoseki City announces a three-year extension of the contract with Senyō Kōgyō.

• Original ten-year land contract was set to end; closure avoided by extension.

A compact, family-oriented seaside amusement park anchored by a landmark Ferris wheel, integrated into Shimonoseki's Kanmon Straits tourism area.

• Large Ferris wheel (60m, 36 gondolas, 4 see-through, air conditioning, Kanshansha Navi tablet)

• Family Banana Coaster

• Shooting ride "Battle of Abyss"

• Card maze "Gururi Mori Daibōken"

• Carousel "SEA-gō-land"

• Swing ride "Ocean Swinger"

• Rocking Tag

• 360-degree theater "4D King"

• Magic Bike

• Downtown (Skatter Ball, Bushel Basket, Can Shot, Ball Dogs, Goblet Toss)

• Amusement zone "Fun Spot"

• Kiddy Ride

• Battery car "GO GO Drive-kun"

• Treasure Collection (fossil and gemstone hunting experience)

1. 1はい!からっと横丁 公式ウェブサイトhaikarat.com
2. 2Haikara't Yokocho - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3はい!からっと横丁 - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org