Arakawa Amusement Park, Amusement park in Nishi-Ogu, Tokyo, Japan
Arakawa Amusement Park is a municipal amusement park in Nishi-Ogu, Tokyo, covering about 30,000 square metres along the Sumida River. Its Ferris wheel, built by Senyo Kogyo, has a 38 m ring and stands 40 m tall, with 28 six-person gondolas, four of them glass-floored. The wheel's pale green lattice carries red capsule gondolas and gold lettering reading あらかわ遊園.
The park opened in May 1922 on the site of a former brick factory that had stopped operating after a fire, founded by factory owner Hirooka Kanbei; some accounts credit the Oji Electric Tramway company instead. Its early facilities were an onsen bathhouse, a performance hall and restaurants rather than rides. Sold in 1932 amid financial trouble, it became an army anti-aircraft position in 1942 and a ward-run park in 1950. A major rebuild in 1991 shaped the layout, and after closing on 30 November 2018 it reopened on 21 April 2022.
The park's name, Arakawa Yuen, dates from its 1922 opening on the site of a brickworks that had stopped after a fire. The mini steam train has run since 1950, and the Fureai House holds a small museum of Toden tram material opened in May 2011, with a model of the Arakawa Line and an N-gauge layout visitors can operate.
The nearest train stop is three minutes away on foot, and the entrance is suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. Weekdays tend to be less crowded, allowing visitors to use rides without long waits.
The park's cafe, Café 193, occupies a converted Toei 6000-series tram car nicknamed "Ikkyū-san." The same series ran on the Toei Arakawa Line, whose Arakawa-yūen-chimae stop is a three-minute walk from the gate. A small museum opened in May 2011 in the Fureai House displays Toei tram materials and a model of the Arakawa Line, and visitors can try driving an N-gauge model railway.
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