Kobe built an amusement park for a world expo — 25 years later it closed

Portopia Land opened on Kobe's man-made Port Island as the amusement facility of the Portopia '81 exposition, beginning independent operation on 1 October 1981 under Hankyu Railway. For a decade it was one of the Kansai region's signature parks, drawing a peak 1.63 million visitors in 1991.

The decline came in waves: attendance fell after the park shut temporarily in the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, then kept falling through recession, diversifying leisure options and aging rides. The opening of Universal Studios Japan nearby in 2001 took what momentum remained. In 2003 Hankyu withdrew from the amusement business entirely; the facilities were transferred to Kobe City free of charge — partly to address ground-subsidence concerns on the island — and the city kept the park running under Kobe New Transit.

City ownership bought three more years, not a revival: annual attendance stagnated around 400,000. On 31 March 2006 Portopia Land closed after 25 years, with more than 20,000 people coming on the final day. IKEA Port Island opened on the site on 14 April 2008 — a furniture warehouse where the expo's Ferris wheels once stood.