Korakuen Amusement Park / Tokyo Dome / LaQua
Compiled by Cornelia 31 January 2000

Korakuen Amusement Park (hours change with the season)
1-3-61 Korakuen, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8575
tel: 03-3817-6098, fax: 03-3817-6185
Official web site for Tokyo Dome City:
http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/
Amusement Park attractions: http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/attractions/

This park is located at a loose conjunction of several subways and Suidabashi station on the Sobu/Chuo JR line, right next to the Tokyo Dome Stadium (fondly nick-named the Big Egg).

Opening times are currently 10:00 to 21:00 but always check before going!
One day pass is 3900jpy for an adult, 3400jpy for a junior/senior high school student & a senior over 60, Y2100 for elementary student, and Y1300 for 3-5. Night passes after 5pm are discounted 1000jpn for adults and older students. You can also just pay per ride. See prices at web link above.
Really Old Feedback received: "Yesterday on Monday 10 July 2000, they were open until 22:00, so the summer hours are much longer."

There has been an endless parade of changes to this park, both in construction, a closure for a year due to a fatality, changes in ticket prices and pricing systems, and complete overhaul of rides, since I started this page. Now they finally put up a coherent English page on their site. So I don't need to keep this up anymore! However, I leave what follows as a historical footnote to just how complicated a simple trip to the Amusement Park could be here in Tokyo, once-upon-a-time! Most of the rides below are gone now. So refer to the link above. That's how fast things can change in Japan! There is now a bowling alley, that wasn't there before, as well as a rollerskating rink, bouldering (climbing wall), golf and baseball practice. Who knows what it will all look like in another 10 years.

Feedback received: "25 April 2002: New pricing system, changes noted below."
Admission only (then once inside you can buy ride tickets):
Was 1500 yen, now 1000 yen, further night time reduction 800 yen - adults
Was 800 yen, now 500 yen, further night time reduction 400 yen - children 3 to 11
In all cases children under 3 are admitted free.

Admission plus 5 rides:
Was 3100 yen, now 2000 yen, further night time reduction 1600 yen - adults
Was 2200 yen, now 1500 yen, further night time reduction 1300 yen - children 3 to 11

Admission plus all rides:
Was 4100 yen, now 2800 yen, further night time reduction 2000 yen - adults
Was 3200 yen, now 2200 yen, further night time reduction 2000 yen - children 3 to 11

Admission plus all rides plus special attractions -- NOT CLEAR IF THIS TICKET STILL EXISTS!
(Hero Show, Wonder-Bird Mystery [Gencho-meikyu], Horror House) "All Free Ticket" is only available on Sat., Sun., holidays and School Vacation days:
4900 yen - adults
4000 yen - children 3 to 11

If you change your mind once you are inside with an "admission only" ticket, you can buy an all-ride ticket for 3000 yen (same price for adults and children). You can not exchange your 1500 yen "admission-only" ticket for an "all rides" ticket and pay the difference. There is also a coupon booklet for 3000 yen available inside which has a 3500 yen value. Same day same ticket re-entry with hand stamp through either gate is OK if the gate is open. (This could be good since there is a McDonalds in the basement of the Marunouchi Korakuen subway station).

Guest Services:
Japanese and English maps of the park's attractions are available from the display just through the gate.
Information desk not only answers all questions, but also will page a member of your party, or help with lost property.
Coin operated storage lockers are available near both gates. Items that do not fit in lockers may be checked at the information desk (small fee).
A nurse is on duty during opening hours at the first aid stand located in Coaster Land to the left of the Haunted House.

RIDES:
There are age and height restrictions on most of the rides.
*- available in the rain
+- available for kids under 3 (must be accompanied by an adult)

Geopolis:
1 Geopanic 700 yen *
2. Hyper Illusion 600 yen *
3. Zombie Paradise 500 yen +*

Parachute Land
4. Sky Flower 500 yen
5. Sky Trip 300 yen
6. Linear Gale 900 yen

Tower Land
7. Flying Carpet is no more. It is being replaced by "Spinning Mouse" (provisional name) to be opened sometime in March 2000.
8. Tower Hacker 800 yen

Coaster Land
9. Kiddy Swing (pictured at right) 200 yen (a huge hit with my 3-yr old! - C.K.)
10. Twin Hurricane (pictured near top of page) 500 yen
11. Tea Cup 300 yen +*
12. Carousel 300 yen +
13. Love Express 500 yen * (My 3-yr old did it with me, but it was a near disaster, she was certainly not going again! - C.K.)
14. Super Tele-combat 300 yen
15. Kiddy Ride 200 yen +*
16. Super Shuttle 500 yen
17. Mini Rail 400 yen +
18. 2-way Jet Coaster 700 yen
19. Topspin 500 yen
20. Merry-go-round 400 yen +* (The Carousel is similar for small kids, and 100 yen less.)
21. Ferris Wheel 500 yen +*

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS:
22. Haunted House 500 yen *
23. Wonder-Bird Mystery 500 yen *
24. Friday the 13th/"Jason Goes to Hell" CLOSED PERMANENTLY.
25. Kids Pocket (pictured) 400 yen * (All kids over 1 year old have to pay. This was also a huge success for my 3 year old. It includes a small electric train, a triple sliding board, a ball room, a TV with ongoing Teletubbies, some soft blocks, a play area with some miniature cars and a plastic castle, etc. Unfortunately accompanying adult also has to pay 400 yen. Open only Sat., Sun., holidays, and school vacations)
26. Open Air Theater 600 yen (about 30 minutes, only open weekends & holidays)
27. Don Chuck Stage free: 10:45 and 13:30 (shaking hands and receiving autograph afterwards costs something though; the show was based on the Ojamajo DoReMi cartoon, and the voices struck me as mostly screeching, sigh, my daughter (3) was fairly interested, about 30 minutes)
28. Umezz Land free + (a play area which has some interesting features i.e. a very large painted figure of a child that just fell on its chin which the kids can climb on, a circle of miniature store fronts selling vegetables and such.)

ARCADE GAMES at four locations all coin operated:
29. Pit In Carnival
30. Carnival Avenue (there was a "video game" for dancing! you have to hit the lit squares under your feet in the right rhythm)
31. Carnival
32. Carnival Station

SHOPS AND FOOD:
33. Baseball Cafe (has two sections, one open to the amusement park and one open to the outside)
34. TwinS
35. Future Pal
36. Funny Fork
37. Food Plaza (a carton/straw of milk here was 200 yen)
38. 1st Ballon
39. 2nd Ballon
40. Foods Magic
41. Ke-Bab Station (sauce on kebab pocket is pretty spicy, great for me but not so good according to my daughter - C.K.)
42. Sweet Pocket
43. Hello
44. Dream Factory

Toilets are western, fairly nice. Only two of the rest rooms have handicapped stalls and changing tables. The crossover between the two sections of the park is an underground passage including two staircases. There are no escalators or elevators.

Some other places to eat outside the amusement park within a few yards of the entrance gates:
The LaQua side has a lot of restaurants, including a conveyer belt sushi, and a Bubba Gump.
Winner's is on the Hakusan side (sort of a California Italian type of restaurant) 11:00 - 22:30, tel: 03-3817-0608
Marunouchi line station building has some fast food places:
McDonald's
Vie de France bakery
If you walk a bit further there are restaurants (including Sizzler) inside Tokyo dome Hotel.

The JRA (Japan Racetrack Association)
On the far side of the Tokyo Dome Hotel you can go watch the races on racing day, and place your bets. There is no language help for this though. At least not yet.

Do you know anything that should be added to this page? Please tell us.