SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Unique attraction is a hidden retro gem in a suspended state, and it might soon disappear forever. 

Japan is world-famous for top-class amusement parks, with USJ and Tokyo Disney Resorts being just two popular destinations that attract visitors. However, tucked away in quiet corners of the country, you’ll find lesser-known parks, slightly rusty and weatherworn, that are known as “B-grade attractions”.

So-named for their rundown appearance, these theme parks hold a lot of charm, standing like relics from a long-forgotten heyday, and we recently found one hidden on Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture.

▼ We only stumbled upon it while hiking the mountain, when a giant toad statue loomed into view, alongside the words “Gama Land”.

With “gama”meaning “toad”, this theme park is dedicated to the amphibian, and it’s aptly located because according to folklore, toads living on the mountain possess mystical powers.

Originally, this attraction was built as part of the same tourism development zone near the Mount Tsukuba ropeway base. Part roadside stop and part amusement park, Gama Land became known for its giant toad statue and handmade-style cave exploration attraction, which acted like a quirky walk-through haunted house.

Venturing into the grounds, we discovered that sadly, Gama Land is officially closed. With the park no longer operating, there are no staff or visitors around, and the facilities are certainly showing their age.

That doesn’t mean it’s totally in ruins, though, as the rides look like they could’ve been used just yesterday. It’s almost as if the park had been bustling with visitors one minute and then they’d all been suddenly spirited away, and as we walked around, this eerie sense of sudden abandonment grew more intense.

Feeling like end-of-world explorers walking through the mists of time, our only company was a giant toad, who watched over us with an unnerving perpetual stare.

With the buildings and signage left largely unchanged, the place felt frozen in time, displaying all the hallmarks of a classic Japanese B-grade attraction.

In its heyday, Gama Land was said to be “B-grade at its absolute best”, and the highlight for visitors was Toad Cave.

Though signs for the cave, dubbed a “Mystery Zone”, remained scattered throughout the park, we were sad to find it was now off-limits due to the park’s closure.

▼ Toad Cave, or “Gama Doukutsu” is written as “ガマ洞窟”

Luckily for us, we were in touch with someone who has a fondness for B-grade attractions, and they kindly shared photos of the cave from a previous visit, when the place was in operation.

▼ Filled with seemingly random exhibits, the cave had a wonderfully homemade feel.

According to our friend-in-the-know, the cave wasn’t so much scary as it was delightfully bizarre, displaying the kind of charm only a true B-grade attraction can offer.

Tickets to the cave were sold at the main building, which housed a souvenir shop on the first floor and an eatery on the second.

Looking at the photos, and the signs of life the park once had, made us feel an even greater sense of affection for it. The overall vibe was always retro, with a warm, handmade feel, and it once had many more coin-operated rides up on the rooftop, giving it the feel of a small rooftop amusement area.

Interestingly, the park looked even more run-down when it was in operation – the photo above shows what it was like when open, while the photo below shows what it looks like today.

▼ The stairs are actually more colourful today than they were back then.

Some of the playground structures were shaped like robots and rockets, giving us a glimpse into a vision of the future as imagined by people of the past.

The more we saw of the park, the more mysterious it became, with every step making us wonder what stories the place could tell.

If we could travel back in time, we’d love to go back and visit this park to see what it was like in its heyday. It left so many questions unanswered, but that was part of its indelible charm.

Despite the closure, the wonders of the site won’t be totally lost to time, though, as there are plans to reopen it in 2027 as an all-new tourist hub with accommodations, dining, a sauna, and hands-on experiences. Though the amusement park itself takes up a relatively small patch of land, the parking area is vast, so it will be interesting to see how the area will be transformed next year.

▼ The redevelopment project is being led by Bando Taro, a restaurant group known for operating Japanese dining chains across the northern Kanto region.

The plan is to make use of the existing facilities while transforming the site into a tourism hub, and developers say they will preserve some of Gama Land’s original signage and facilities to preserve its retro character.

▼ Hopefully the giant toad and the torii gate, lamps and offertory box will be preserved for the enjoyment of future visitors.

Once redevelopment is complete, the facilities will likely be much more polished, and it may well become a lively new tourist spot that attracts many visitors. While that sort of revitalisation comes with many benefits for the community, there’s also a feeling that the park as it currently exists, in its uniquely atmospheric, half-suspended state, is something that can only be experienced now.

Neither a tourist attraction nor quite a ruin, the now-closed Gama Land is a strangely captivating, hard-to-define space. Though it’s still unclear what the place will look like when it reopens in its new form, we have high hopes that it will retain some of its indescribable charm so that the echoes of laughter from years past can continue to be heard well into the future.

Site Information
Gama Land / ガマランド
Address: Ibaraki-ken, Tsukuba-shi,Tsukuba Tsutsujigaoka
茨城県つくば市筑波つつじケ丘
Website (Instagram)

Related: Mt Tsukuba official website, Mt Tsukuba Cable Car and Ropeway official website
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