The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1926–2020
Toshimaen ran for 94 years — Seibu closed Tokyo's playground for Harry Potter
Tokyo's Toshimaen amusement park opened in 1926 and closed on 31 August 2020, its 22 hectares given to a state park plan and a Harry Potter studio tour.
Toshimaen · Seibu Holdings · 2020-08
What happened
Toshimaen opened in Nerima, Tokyo in September 1926 and for 94 years served as the city's neighbourhood amusement park — 22 hectares of rides, a pool and the Carousel El Dorado, billed as the world's oldest working wooden merry-go-round. Generations of Tokyo children grew up on it; it was less a destination than an institution.
The end came not from falling crowds but from a better use of the land. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government wanted most of the site for a public park, and Seibu Holdings agreed to sell. On the remainder, Warner Bros. and a consortium including Seibu Railway, Itochu and Fuyo General Lease would build the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo on roughly 30,000 square metres.
The park held its closing ceremony on 31 August 2020 after a final day of long queues and message boards full of farewells. Seibu Holdings head Tatsuya Yoda told visitors: 'I hope that you will remember that Toshimaen was once here.' The Harry Potter studio tour opened on the site in 2023.
Why it happened
- The land was worth more to a metro government and a film franchise than to a local amusement park; the new tenants outbid 94 years of history.
- Toshimaen's model — an ageing ride mix at neighbourhood prices — could not out-earn its own site in a rising land market.
- Seibu chose exit over renovation: the sale funded a clean withdrawal instead of a rebuild it never committed to.
The lesson
When a metro government wants your land and a global franchise wants your site, an ageing local park cannot win on rent — Seibu traded 94 years of Toshimaen for a Harry Potter studio tour.
Aftermath
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter opened on part of the site in 2023; the rest of the grounds is being developed as a public park.
Sources
- Blooloop — Toshimaen closes, making way for Harry Potter studio tour Tokyo (closed 31 August 2020 after 94 years; opened September 1926 in Nerima; 22-hectare site; Tokyo Metropolitan Government to purchase the majority of the land from Seibu Group; Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo on ~30,000 sqm with Seibu Railway, Itochu and Fuyo General Lease; Seibu Holdings head Tatsuya Yoda: 'I hope that you will remember that Toshimaen was once here')
- News On Japan / NHK, 1 September 2020 — Tokyo's Toshimaen closes its doors after 94 years (final day Monday 31 August 2020; crowds and farewell message boards; home to the Carousel El Dorado, described as the world's oldest working wooden merry-go-round; Harry Potter theme park scheduled for 2023)
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