We’ve seen pictures of creepy abandoned places in Japan before, but what about creepy abandoned places that are still open for business?
Wonderland is an amusement park in Fukui Prefecture that by all accounts should not exist. There’re no cars in the overgrown parking lot, locks on all the condemned buildings, and all the signs are rusted and discolored. And yet, they’re still open, pretending as if nothing is wrong.
Oh and did we mention they’re hiring?
When we first heard about Wonderland, it sounded like a joke. All the characters looked like bad Disney knockoffs, and the amount of sugar-coated cuteness on their website is enough to make you puke.
Still, we decided to check the place out. All the kids and happy young couples they advertised on their website look like they’re having fun, so maybe it’s not so bad. The website it said that they were open every day all year round, so we just hopped on a train on a random Thursday to see it for ourselves.
This is the sight that greeted us:
▼ Oh. Uh. I guess we’re the only ones here….
▼ Is, uh, is Wonder-Bear supposed to have his face slashed through?
▼ So, that’s not blood on that sign, is it?
▼ “I’ll be your friend forever… and ever… and ever….”
Needless to say we were a bit freaked out, so we pulled up the phone number on the Wonderland website and gave them a call. Thankfully somebody actually picked up, and we told them we were standing right outside the park about ready to pee ourselves.
They told us that they were closed on Thursdays, but open every other day after 1:00 p.m. We asked if that meant they weren’t a barren gateway to Hell but actually an amusement park, and they said yes. The Segway rides, mini golf, and go carts were open, but everything else was closed. We were free to walk around and explore but were not allowed in any of the buildings.
Unfortunately we had happened to come on a Thursday, so we were only able to walk around the park and take pictures of what we saw. This is the record of our Wonderland journey:
▼ Maybe this peeling, painted-over map can help us?
▼ Some say the statues are actually children who dared wander into Wonderland on any day but Thursday.
▼ No matter where you’re standing, his eyes are always looking right at you.
▼ If you listen closely, you can still hear the children’s screams, echoing for eternity.
▼ “The things I’ve seen… the things I’ve seen….”
▼ Do you like the sound of rusty chains swinging in the wind?
▼ One of the many signs covering the buildings and games, warning us not to enter for “noncompliance with building codes.”
▼ Some of the buildings house former prizes for games, never having known the love of a child, rotting away in resentful isolation.
▼ The entrance to a haunted house is a lot less scary when you’re already inside one.
▼ The Donald Centipede
▼ Too late for Jurassic Park original, too early for Jurassic World, right on time to make you wish you’d stayed home.
▼ The mini golf field. Anyone brave enough to walk through all that to get here on an “open” day should at least get a free hole-in-one ice cream coupon.
▼ The Segway riding area. Don’t ask why the ground is stained red.
▼ Through the silence you can hear a voice….
▼ “Come play with us,” it beckons.
▼ “We’ve been waiting for so, so long.”
▼ “You’ll have so much fun.”
▼ “You’ll never want to leave, ever.”
▼ “We love Wonderland….”
Well we somehow managed to escape Wonderland’s terrifying grasp on our psyche, and on our way home we asked some people who lived nearby if they knew anything about the park. They all thought it had been closed for years, after having some sort of accident. They haven’t seen anyone go inside in forever.
We didn’t bother calling Wonderland again, but when we got back we did check their website again. It says that they’re hiring, specifically looking for someone new to manage the place. It doesn’t specifically say you have to be a vengeful undead spirit to be hired, but we can only assume it would look good on your resume.
Just in case you find yourself in Fukui Prefecture and want to check this place out for yourself, here’s the information below. Just remember: we assume no responsibility if you are absorbed into the park’s demonic consciousness during the visit.
Park information
Wonderland / ワンダーランド
Address: Fukui-ken, Sakai-shi, Mikunicho Kado 7
福井県坂井市三国町加戸7
Open 1 p.m.-???
Closed Thursdays (apparently)
Website
Images: ©RocketNews24
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