Japan's theme park landscape is expanding well beyond its Disney and Universal anchors. With the country welcoming a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, its parks have become a major draw alongside its culture, cuisine and scenery. New Pokémon and Ghibli attractions are joining long-established destinations across the country.
Universal and Disney drive investment
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka opened in 2001 and became the first Universal park in the world to open Super Nintendo World in 2021, adding the world's first Donkey Kong Country area in 2024. Its permanent lands also draw on Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Minions, while limited-time collaborations have featured Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Pokémon, One Piece and Resident Evil, alongside seasonal Sanrio shows and parades. In 2026 the park announced its first expansion since 2001, with plans to invest up to 300 billion yen in new attractions across 60,000 square metres of nearby land.
Tokyo Disneyland opened on 15 April 1983 as the first Disney theme park outside the United States. It features seven themed lands, and together with Tokyo DisneySea it is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company under licence from The Walt Disney Company, making them the only Disney parks in the world not owned by Disney. Tokyo DisneySea opened in September 2001 across 49 hectares and added Fantasy Springs in 2024, a $2.2 billion expansion inspired by Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan. Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland is set for a 100 billion yen ($630 million) transformation, with a new Space Mountain due to replace the original coaster in 2027.
Ghibli and character attractions
Ghibli Park, inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, opened in November 2022 with three of its five themed areas; Mononoke Village followed in November 2023 and Valley of Witches in March 2024. It has no major thrill rides, instead offering a large-scale recreation of Howl's Moving Castle, a My Neighbour Totoro playground with a replica of Satsuki and Mei's house, and Catbus electric vehicles. In 2026 the park announced plans for a new indoor area inspired by the 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
PokéPark Kanto, described as the world's first permanent outdoor Pokémon attraction, opened in February 2026 at Yomiuriland in Tokyo. The 26,000-square-metre park spans Pokémon Forest and Sedge Town and features more than 600 Pokémon, a parade and two attractions. Elsewhere, Sanrio Puroland (1990) brings Hello Kitty and My Melody to an indoor Tokyo venue, while its outdoor sister park Harmonyland sits in Oita Prefecture on Kyushu. Moominvalley Park opened in Hanno, Saitama, in March 2019, and Sylvanian Park operates within a larger family leisure park in Ibaraki.
Thrill rides and record holders
Fuji-Q Highland, opened in 1968 near the base of Mount Fuji, is known for coasters including Fujiyama, Eejanaika and Takabisha, and hosts limited-time collaborations with anime franchises. Nagashima Spa Land, opened in 1966 near Nagoya, has more roller coasters than any other Japanese park, with 13 operating coasters including Steel Dragon 2000. Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-themed park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, is Japan's largest by area at about 152 hectares; in 2025 it opened Japan's first premium flying theatre with an 8K LED dome screen in partnership with Brogent Technologies.
Other parks round out the list: Legoland Japan (2017) in Nagoya; Yomiuriland in Tokyo's Tama Hills, with more than 40 rides and around 2.4 million visitors in 2024; Greenland in Kumamoto with roughly 80 attractions; Hirakata Park, Osaka's oldest, dating to 1910; Asakusa Hanayashiki, considered Japan's oldest amusement park, established in 1853; and Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura, a 49.5-hectare recreation of an Edo-period town in Tochigi.