The 'spamusement' park included a roller coaster filled with foam
A spa-themed amusement park, which first started as an internet campaign intended to promote the 2,000 onsens (or hot springs) in the Japanese city of Beppu, became a reality this month.
The existing Rakutenchi theme park in Beppu was “re-purposed” over a single weekend and renamed “Yu-Enchi” – a play on the words fun and spa – with a number of rides being transformed into having an onsen theme.
Riders on the park’s roller coaster were drenched in soapy foam before going out onto the track, a merry-go-round featuring bath tubs was introduced and a number of spa-themed group activities were organised around the park.
The park is a result of a tongue-in-cheek video – showing guests sitting in a roller coaster, waist deep in onsen water – launched by the mayor Beppu last year.
Mayor Yasuhiro Nagano promised to make the ‘spamusement park’ a reality if the video got one million views – which it did in the matter of days.
Beppu is famous for having more than 2,000 onsen – or hot springs – and the video was part of the mayor’s plans to promote the city as a wellness tourism destination.
Once the 1m view milestone had been hit, Nagano kept his promise and the city raised more than ¥33m ($US300,000) through crowdfunding alone in order to bring the park to life.
The park was opened for three days – from 29 July to 31 August – and attracted more than 12,000 visitors.
See the original video of the park below
The media attention created by the park and the viral campaign over the past year has seemingly worked, too.
The ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa will include a public onsen bath, spa and pool, and the 89 bedrooms will each feature their own private onsen with water from a local hot spring.
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A spokesman for the Buppa tourist department said the city is discussing safety issues, such whether they could run hot water inside a roller coaster
A spa-themed amusement park, which first started as an internet campaign intended to promote the 2,000 onsens (or hot springs) in the Japanese city of Beppu, became a reality this month.
The existing Rakutenchi theme park in Beppu was “re-purposed” over a single weekend and renamed “Yu-Enchi” – a play on the words fun and spa – with a number of rides being transformed into having an onsen theme.
Riders on the park’s roller coaster were drenched in soapy foam before going out onto the track, a merry-go-round featuring bath tubs was introduced and a number of spa-themed group activities were organised around the park.
The park is a result of a tongue-in-cheek video – showing guests sitting in a roller coaster, waist deep in onsen water – launched by the mayor Beppu last year.
Mayor Yasuhiro Nagano promised to make the ‘spamusement park’ a reality if the video got one million views – which it did in the matter of days.
Beppu is famous for having more than 2,000 onsen – or hot springs – and the video was part of the mayor’s plans to promote the city as a wellness tourism destination.
Once the 1m view milestone had been hit, Nagano kept his promise and the city raised more than ¥33m ($US300,000) through crowdfunding alone in order to bring the park to life.
The park was opened for three days – from 29 July to 31 August – and attracted more than 12,000 visitors.
See the original video of the park below
The media attention created by the park and the viral campaign over the past year has seemingly worked, too.
The ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa will include a public onsen bath, spa and pool, and the 89 bedrooms will each feature their own private onsen with water from a local hot spring.
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Intercontinental to open first onsen resort POSTED 23 Jun 2017. BY Jane Kitchen InterContinental Hotels will open its first onsen resort in the Japanese city of Beppu in
2019.
The US spa industry is continuing its upward trajectory, achieving an unprecedented milestone
with a record-breaking revenue of US$21.3 billion in 2023, surpassing the previous high of
US$20.1 billion in 2022.
Short-term incentives for exercise, such as using daily reminders, rewards or games, can lead
to sustained increases in activity according to new research.
