HANA YASHIKI: Asakusa’s Vintage Amusement Park

2 Aug 2007 Category: Architecture, Features, Japan

HANA YASHIKI: Asakusa’s Vintage Amusement Park

The retro-flavoured decor is awesome! In the background you see the two-seat machine called “Carnival” which swirls around while its stage is gradually tilted to an angle of 12 degrees. In the foreground, our genki intern Dean being constantly thrilled by this amusement park's surprises.

Folks visiting Tokyo often ask what places we’d recommend: For today, forget about those flashy super shopping malls and that huge theme park outside of Tokyo (you know the one…) and follow PingMag to HANA YASHIKI! In this lovely old-school, and by today’s standards small, amusement park in Asakusa, you’ll actually find the oldest roller coaster in Japan! Besides a creepy haunted house, which will make you feel as if you slipped back into kind of simpler times - and lots of childhood nostalgia. What a retro feeling! One of our prized interns, Dean from England, will show you the way…

Written by Ryoko
Translated by Rie

When you walk through the gate of Hana Yashiki, the first thing that strikes you is an innocent-looking Melody-pet Panda Car. What? If you drop a coin into the slot, this peculiar machine starts playing music and moves with the melody. Hop on, it’s so cute!


Dean looks a bit grumpy as the weather wasn’t so nice. So, let’s rather focus on this miniature shapes of the buildings and the machines…

… including a “Melody-pet Panda Car” for a ride, playing pleasant music.

The Swan is elegantly moving around in a pool of water and is extremely… well, cute, of course! And especially popular among small girls. The exciting part comes when it starts splashing water. But don’t worry, you won’t get wet. Just enjoy this relaxing ride.

“The Swan” ride moves faster than you would expect. Kids absolutely love it!

What’s the essential ingredient of any amusement park? A merry-go-round! Of course, Hana Yashiki has one, with gorgeous and impressive decorations and sweet, nostalgic sounds that take both kids and adults off to a fairy tale world. Brings back sweet childhood memories!

The brilliantly shimmering merry-go-round puts you in a dreamy reverie you can’t get enough of. Eventually, we had to pull Dean off it…

Built in 1953, this roller coaster is the oldest in Japan and one of the most popular attractions at Hana Yashiki. The speed of 42 km/h is surely not that fast compared to more modern coasters - but its creaking wooden construction creates a strong feeling of fear during the ride…
Check out the clip below for Dean’s adventurous ride!

This amusement park isn’t just old: In fact, the history of Asakusa Hana Yashiki dates back to the Edo era. Hana Yashiki was founded in 1853 as a flower garden as hana means flower in Japanese. Back then, it mainly focused on the meticulous cultivation of tree peony and chrysanthemum. Later on, exotic animals such as tigers and bears were shown and there were sideshows like a puppet show or a Varied Tit’s performance. More and more attractions were installed until it reached its current style. In the past, it was only the upper classes that used to visit the park. Today it became a symbol of the old and quaint district of Asakusa, and especially in the summer, many families come.

An old guide map from days gone by. At that time, it was more like a zoo than an amusement park.

Dean tasting frozen treat which has been pretty popular with kids in the past. Ah, brings back old memories!

A Hana Yashiki orange lantern. The highly-stylised character ‘hana’ and serves as the park’s name, meaning ‘flower.’

After this refreshing break, let’s go back to the attractions! The next is called Disk O which spins you in one direction while plunging you in another. This huge attraction was the very first of its kind in Japan, launched during the Exposition of Global Harmony in 2005, where it was ranked the No.1 frightening ride! Oh my!

A new attraction at Hana Yashiki, “Disk O.” Its intensive centrifugal force makes you dizzy…

Next, we went to the Happy Bridge, surrounded by bright green foliage and the refreshing sounds of a waterfall. A cheerful one, indeed! There are some red and golden carps in the pond below. We are convinced that there aren’t so many amusement parks that feature such a beautifully traditional Japanese style.


The ice cream is also exceptional here!

Our tip: It’s said that you can get happy if you walk over the “Happy Bridge.” Seemed to work for us.

After we rested for a moment on the Happy Bridge, we went on to the Thriller Cars: a ride running through a western-style haunted house. My personal impression was the shaky and creaky cars we rode in were much scarier than the actual monsters in the haunted house…

After the Thriller Cars, we headed to the Japanese Haunted House. But, here it is “No Spoilers Allowed,” and we can’t tell you too many details. Suffice to say that it instils some true psychological terror…


Entrance of “Thriller Cars:” What would be scarier - sitting in these small cars or the monsters lurching inside?

Beware! You can see this scary succubus from the outside. That got us truly frightened…

A painted monster on the wall…

… and a fierce werewolf wielding a sword!?

The very scary Japanese haunted house!

While we were walking along the fortune-telling street, one of the fortune-tellers called out to us. This lady saw Dean and was quite excited about reading his palm. But her excitement soon faded once she had a look. “Contrary to my expectation,” she bleakly said, “this guy will not be popular with girls.” But you know, Dean, you don’t have to believe all…!

After this experience we headed for the Carnival Corner where fair stalls line the street to cheer up a somewhat disappointed Dean. A full array of old-time games like a shooting gallery and super-ball scooping were here only to soothe his letdown.


Here’s the fortune-teller who was dying to read Dean’s palm…

However, Dean cheered up a bit after seeing this colourful game.

Yeah! Go for it!

The cute red-and-white-striped Kids’ Ferris Wheel is just what the name says: a small wheel for small kids. And we really tried to squeeze Dean into one of the cars. But be careful! If you let your guard down, its motion will suddenly change.

If an adult rides the “Kids’ Ferris Wheel,” he resembles Gulliver in “Gulliver’s Travels.”

Next, we went to the Surprise House for some strange experiences. As the objective of this house is to surprise you, we won’t tell you what actually happens inside. But something WILL surprise you, for sure…

Oh! “The Three Little Piggies!” They are the motif of the “Surprise House.”

To come to an end, this last image shows Hana Yashiki’s landmark, the Bee Tower, which is a floating candy house in the air. It gets elevated up to 45 meters from the ground and you can enjoy a panoramic view of Asakusa’s retro-flavoured town from the tower.


The inside of the house is bigger than it seems from the outside.

Hana Yashiki’s landmark “Bee Tower”

We would like to thank the staff from Asakusa Hana Yashiki very much for their cooperation. Could you understand our fascination with Hana Yashiki, so closely connected to the history of Asakusa? You must visit if you have a chance this summer!

68 Comments

  1. dean is hilarious, where did you get this dude from!? is his face out of rubber?

    Posted by: monkee on August 2nd, 2007 at 7:51 pm

  2. Jezuz christ …. embarrassing photos

    Posted by: Lars on August 2nd, 2007 at 8:02 pm

  3. What’s up with ze germans in Tokyo?

    Posted by: Smell Meister on August 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 pm

  4. Never knew there’s such a park in Asakusa!

    Posted by: clara on August 2nd, 2007 at 10:48 pm

  5. wow! I had no idea there was an amusement park in Asakusa…but to be honest, it looks kind of sad. Where were all the other park guests?

    Dean is adorable, by the way.

    Posted by: sachi808 on August 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 pm

  6. Dean = awesome
    This park = amazing

    I’m visiting Tokyo again in a few weeks. I think I’m gonna go to this park. Thank you for giving me this great tip. This kind of place, a really old place for fun, really touches my heart. I can’t thank you enough for this info.

    Posted by: JB on August 3rd, 2007 at 1:59 am

  7. So funny when White ppl get so fascinating with the East

    Posted by: lol on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:40 am

  8. How come no one else at the Park, spooky park.

    Posted by: T.zuki on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:41 am

  9. im also visinting tokyo this year.. thanks for all the info you’ve published!! ..
    it’s always very nice :)

    Posted by: bi on August 3rd, 2007 at 3:31 am

  10. Hahahaha!
    That’s so cool!
    I can’t wait the day I go to Japan!

    Posted by: Akai on August 3rd, 2007 at 6:37 am

  11. JAPAN…..!!!!!! I`M COMING!!!!!!!…..

    Posted by: yosica on August 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 am

  12. Come on all you dorks! Come to Japan and hang out with Dean!

    Posted by: toshio! on August 3rd, 2007 at 10:55 am

  13. zomg sooo cute
    Dean = hilarious, prized intern indeed

    Posted by: Z on August 3rd, 2007 at 11:36 am

  14. hehe..Dean is such a nerd!
    Love to visit that theme park someday. :)

    Posted by: Magsy on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm

  15. WOW i really love this…..

    Posted by: antoniobliss on August 4th, 2007 at 11:58 am

  16. I am coming to Tokyo 8/20 from Seattle… loved the piece on the vintage amusement park and plan to visit. I am also looking for craft/sewing/quilt shops and shows from8/21-8/27… any tips

    Posted by: Janie on August 5th, 2007 at 1:25 am

  17. Dean looks like Opie Taylor.

    Posted by: antoniobliss on August 5th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

  18. And there’s more:
    http://10megatons.com/content/index.php?path=./photos/5.%20winter%20amusement%20park

    Posted by: solidox on August 6th, 2007 at 8:59 am

  19. haha, that roller coaster looks mildly scary, perfect for me! although i imagine i would puke anyways… haha

    Posted by: Troy! on August 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

  20. will definitely check this out.

    Posted by: selena on August 9th, 2007 at 9:42 am

  21. That swam looks great! Painted in pastel shades and with big eyes staring at you…

    Posted by: Lu! on August 17th, 2007 at 5:33 am

  22. Okay, this is no Disney Sea, but I have been to Hanayashiki and it is well worth the visit. It is small and charming and it has ONE OF THE SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSES I’VE EVER BEEN IN!!! J.C.! It was scary! No, not the haunted ride-through attraction, but the walk-through haunted house or “ghost house” as the park employee told me. If you like a good psych-out scare, go on this one. It’s interestiing how the Japanese idea of haunted houses are so different and much more horrifying than western ones. Some of the stuff they have in there would not pass our “standards and practices” at all! Too gory and too scary! Even at Namja Town (another Tokyo amusement park — inside a giant mall called “Sunshine City”) has a horrifying haunted house attraction. Okay, enough of this. Just go and enjoy!

    Posted by: Anonymous on September 24th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

  23. kool…

    Posted by: me on February 16th, 2008 at 10:34 am

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  25. wow the best images :)

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