Huis Ten Bosch (theme park) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Nagasaki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

that recreates the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

by displaying real size copies of old Dutch buildings. The name Huis Ten Bosch literally translates into English as "House in the Forest". It is named after Huis ten Bosch

Huis ten Bosch

Huis ten Bosch is one of the three official residences of the Dutch Royal Family, located in The Hague in the Netherlands. It has been home to Queen Beatrix since 1981. The other Royal palace in The Hague, Noordeinde Palace, is used for work-related purposes...

, one of the three official residences of the Dutch Royal Family, located in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

in the Netherlands

Netherlands

, which is the home of Queen Beatrix

Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

.

The park features many Dutch-style buildings such as hotels, villas

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

, theatres, museums, shops

Retailing

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

and restaurants, along with canals, windmills, amusement rides and a park planted in seasonal flowers.
Huis Ten Bosch, which opened on March 25, 1992, is located on Hario Island in the southern part of Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

, facing Omura Bay

Omura, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2009, the city has an estimated population of 89,891. The total area is 126.33 km², and includes Nagasaki Airport.-History:...

. Its location reflects historical relations between the Netherlands

Netherlands

and Japan, which began in 1609 when a trading post

Trading post

A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....

was opened by the Dutch in Hirado, not far from Sasebo.
The park is open daily from 9.00 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. (9.00 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. from December to February). A day "passport" ticket, covering entry and a number of attractions within the park costs 5,600 yen for adults and 4,400 yen for children. The park can be reached by JR train or bus from Nagasaki. It can also be reached by boat from Nagasaki Airport

Nagasaki Airport

is an international airport located west of the railway station in the city of Ōmura and north northeast of the Nagasaki railway station in the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan...

or from Sasebo.

The park recorded the peak of 4.25M visitors in 1996. However, due to the fall of the number of visitors caused by economic slump in Japan, the park declared bankruptcy in 2003 with debt of 220 billion yen. The rebuilding plan was sponsored by Nomura Principal Finance Co until March, 2010. H.I.S.

H.I.S.

is a travel agency based in the Shinjuku Oak Tower in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, specializing in low-cost package tours to various countries. The company was founded as International Tours Co., Ltd. in 1980 by Hideo Sawada, born in 1951, and renamed "H.I.S." in 1990.Within Japan H.I.S...

Co, a travel agency, took over the management by injecting 2 billion yen.

External links

Official website (English)
A 'theme park' that's an eco-friendly dream, C.W. Nicol, The Japan Times, 7 October 2004

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.