Hyogo prefecture’s Nijigen no Mori amusement park is nothing short of an otaku's dream come true, with anime- and manga-themed attractions including a Crayon Shin-chan adventure park and an area dedicated to Naruto, which opened last April. Next summer, the park will add a new section featuring the gargantuan lizard known for perpetually destroying Tokyo. This time though, Godzilla is heading east to this outdoor theme park on Awaji Island in Hyogo.
The 120m-long Godzilla is modelled after the version in the 2016 movie ‘Shin Godzilla’: it will have a spiky back resembling jagged volcanic rock and a wide-open mouth ready to devour anything in its way. Much like all good theme park rides, there’s a back story as to why you are suddenly encountering Godzilla in an idyllic amusement park.
In this case, you are tasked with taming the giant reptile and bringing it to the National Awaji Island Institute of Godzilla Disaster. Equipped with a toy gun, you shoot it from the outside or while zip-lining through its 55m-long insides. Poor Godzilla, perhaps it just wants to play and is merely misunderstood.
We certainly can’t wait to get to know Godzilla up close. However, this new attraction still has yet to announced a definite opening date – all we know is it's scheduled for summer next year. In the meantime, we’ll have to make do with the one attacking Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku.
Prefer something in Tokyo instead? Here's a guide to the anime and manga attractions in Tokyo, and don't miss the city's many character cafés.