Muscle Park Hokkaido

[arsenette]

Trying to get more information.. but seems the park is already going to close later this month..

musclepark.jp/chitose/chitose_news/?p=189

Yes.. it is confirmed. Chitose is closing just over a year after it opened. Last day is August 28th.

[TCM]

Wow, that's disappointing. Maybe it's the result of Sasuke not being too high in priority, maybe they lost a ton of money after the earthquake/tsunami.

[lhii789]

Muscle Park is closing on the 28...
Boy that's pretty sad, because it only lasted a year.
At least Odaiba lasted nearly 4 years.

[arsenette]

Yeah it's depressing but unexpected given how isolated it was over there. Almost all the pics I ever saw were pretty empty and when they didn't do a 1 year anniversary event I knew it was in trouble

[jfeathe]

Aug 9, 2011 15:24:44 GMT -5 arsenette said:

Yeah it's depressing but unexpected given how isolated it was over there. Almost all the pics I ever saw were pretty empty and when they didn't do a 1 year anniversary event I knew it was in trouble

You mean expected rather than unexpected, right?

Anyway, building a new Muscle Park from scratch must have been an enormous investment. Given the big investment, it needed to have done well right from the beginning which it clearly didn't.

It might have been smarter to have just renovated and advertised the Odaiba one.

[jfeathe]

OK, I just used Google translator and I interpreted the message differently from Arsenette:

translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmusclepark.jp%2Fchitose%2Fchitose_news%2F%3Fp%3D189

It almost seems to me that they're expanding and just closing for a little bit. The small text below the box is the most clear:

"For the future expansion of Muscle Park is ready to announce soon, will be officially presented at our WEB." It also says "The rest is just a short time."

It could go either way.

[lhii789]

Unlike Odaiba, where they announced the closing at least month ahead, this was announced very quickly (August 8) and the park is going to close in 20 days!! (August 28).

At least Odaiba had fairwell event, where SASUKE fans gathered and had fun.

But for Chitose, I don't see that happens because of very short notice. Also, depend on prefecture in Japan, like Tokyo or Kanagawa, it's not cheap to go to Chitose, since most case you take plane. It was easy for Odaiba because most SASUKE fans live close by.

I hate to say this, but this is pretty much final nail in the coffin to SASUKE Park, since I highly doubt that M9 want to build another Muscle Park any time soon.

So far things are not looking too good for SASUKE, first TBS/M9 gave priorities of broadcasting to U.S., and now Muscle Park is closing.......

[lostinube]

Aug 9, 2011 18:10:07 GMT -5 jfeathe said:

OK, I just used Google translator and I interpreted the message differently from Arsenette:

translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmusclepark.jp%2Fchitose%2Fchitose_news%2F%3Fp%3D189

It almost seems to me that they're expanding and just closing for a little bit. The small text below the box is the most clear:

"For the future expansion of Muscle Park is ready to announce soon, will be officially presented at our WEB." It also says "The rest is just a short time."

It could go either way.

Except that the kanji in the title of the announcement "•Â‰€" (the one that google won't translate) means to "stop doing business/go out of business."

[arsenette]

Aug 9, 2011 19:11:40 GMT -5 lostinube said:

Except that the kanji in the title of the announcement "•Â‰€" (the one that google won't translate) means to "stop doing business/go out of business."

Thanks.. Google has been so damn unreliable lately. Appreciate you getting that one word I couldn't even translate. Was told the gist but not the exact word. I'll put a post up tonight before I log out.

K Blog is done: ramblingrican.blogspot.com/2011/08/muscle-park-chitose-to-close-end-of.html

[jp554731]

I think if there were a muscle park in the US... they would do pretty well for themselves

[dudesky1000]

Aug 10, 2011 15:05:32 GMT -5 jp554731 said:

I think if there were a muscle park in the US... they would do pretty well for themselves

Are you kiddin' me? They'd be ridin' the gravy train!!

[arsenette]

I doubt they will do anything here in the USA of that nature. G4 would want a cut of that. I have no problems if they tried though. There's been people who would love even a traveling show like they had with that ninja challenge thing they had a couple years ago. Given M9's history though and how everything is evaporating from their table.. I doubt they will try to invest in a park away from their country.

[lostinube]

I'd say that economic conditions and the aftereffects of the Tohoku disaster probably played a role in the closing.

It was always a questionable decision to open the park in Hokkaido. While Sapporo is a big travel destination people generally go to Hokkaido in the winter (for skiing) and other seasons for things like the nature (flowers are a big attraction). While we know that UNCLI and some of the hardcore guys would travel there to tackle the course, very few people would go out of their way to go there.

Attractions that open and close is just something that happens here. During the bubble years there were tons of amusement parks that opened up because people had money and were traveling around. Now all of those parks are closed down but their remains stood around for years because no one wanted to buy up and redevelop the land. www.michaeljohngrist.com/ruins-gallery/theme-parks/

Also, Muscle Park was way too specific. Had it been opened during the time Kinniku Banzuke was around it might have succeeded more than it did, especially the Odaiba one. All-in-one amusement shops are much more appealing to a wider range of people: www.round1.co.jp/index.html

I don't think they have enough space to do this at TBS but one of the reasons (in my mind anyway) that Fuji TV does so well is the sheer amount of things that they do that the public can participate in: www.fujitv.co.jp/uso2011/index2.html

The festival that they had all of one time before a taping is a better use of M9's time than Muscle Park.

[arsenette]

Wow thanks Ube I remember the other amusement parks during the bubble and even it was referred to in the Miyazaki movie "Spirited Away".

I agree that they should do a small festival thing like they did for Sasuke 21 and charge admission. I think people would show up if not just to see the bigger obstacles from a distance. I think the problem though is that they have been doing Trials around the same time so that has been throwing a monkey-wrench into the timing of those events.

Agreed MP was a bit too specific. Talking to people who have visited or even just the one in Odaiba they much rather have gone to the other amusement parks because it ha more variety (and better food.. LOL).

I still think if they do something here in the USA that traveling show thing would work nicely since it's small and portable and don't have to worry about maintaining rent.

And finally I think the Tohoku disaster was the final nail in the coffin so to speak for MP but I do believe they were in trouble already. Even from the UNCLI posts they had the park to themselves even before the disaster.. I can imagine how badly it was after that...

[arsenette]

Last day was yesterday. They took down the main page but the blog page still remains as an archive. ameblo.jp/chitose-musclepark/

[arsenette]

Last night I was checking twitter and found a conversation between people that involved a rumor about Chitose Muscle Park reopening. I found an article! www.tomamin.co.jp/2011c/c11091703.html If Google is correct.. I can never count on it.. seems they are planning to reopen? or did they?

Actually it's not that at all. The building that housed Muscle Park has a new tenant. Seems though they are not only taking over the building but the park itself. Maybe not having M9 running it might make it last longer...

[lostinube]

I think people who are expecting all of the M9 stuff to still be around will be disappointed. This is what a US Land usually is:


Certain old Muscle Park attractions could stay because some of them are actually generic once you take away the M9 name: There is not much truly unique about Struck Out or Kick Target.

And I highly doubt they would leave the SASUKE set there. I'm sure the Muscle part of the name will be phased out over time.

www.outlet-rera.com/press/detail/000735.html
www.outlet-rera.com/shop/service/usland.html

[arsenette]

Hmm.. didn't the article mention that it will keep the 20 attractinons already from Muscle Park? Wouldn't that include the Sasuke set?

[lostinube]

Looks like they kept it. Still, if M9 isn't getting some kind of regular licensing fee then either all that stuff will change in the future or M9 is really stupid.
muslandre.exblog.jp/

[arsenette]

Oct 1, 2011 22:44:18 GMT -5 lostinube said:

Looks like they kept it. Still, if M9 isn't getting some kind of regular licensing fee then either all that stuff will change in the future or M9 is really stupid.
muslandre.exblog.jp/

Awesome find thanks!
Maybe they got a cut in the sale or M9 sold it to them? Either way that is making some of the Sasuke Park regulars happy so far on twitter. It's nice they are going to keep it. I think it was the better built one from the 2.