“Only Three Rides”: Junglia Okinawa, One Year After Opening… Service Suspensions Persist Behind Improvements in Wait Times, Deepening the Rift with the Local Community

In the first part of this series, we reported on how “Junglia Okinawa,” now marking its first anniversary, has made repeated improvements in response to complaints that surfaced shortly after opening—such as “the wait times are too long” and “it’s too hot” ( click here to read the first part ).

However, while wait times for attractions have been significantly reduced, the number of visitors has dropped to less than half of what it was at opening. With limited air-conditioned rest areas, the grueling experience of walking around the park in the height of summer remains as challenging as ever.

So, just how enjoyable are the attractions themselves now? When a FRIDAY reporter actually walked through the park, a problem separate from the reduced wait times came to light.

While the wait time issue has been addressed, there’s now a problem with actually getting on the rides!

On the other hand, the length of wait times for attractions had improved significantly. While waits of 3 to 5 hours used to be commonplace, now the maximum wait is one hour, and most guests seem to be admitted within 30 minutes.One of the park’s flagship attractions, “Dinosaur Safari”—where visitors drive off-road vehicles through a dinosaur habitat—could also be experienced in about 20 minutes.

However—my joy was short-lived. I faced another problem: four attractions, including the popular “Horizon Balloon”—a highlight where you ride in a hot air balloon—were either out of service or under maintenance, so I couldn’t ride them.Four of the hands-on attractions requiring harnesses were operational but operated by lottery; I applied twice for the giant zip line “Sky Phoenix” but was rejected both times. Of the 16 hands-on attractions in total, I couldn’t even get in line for half of them.

While purchasing a paid pass would have allowed access without the lottery, a rookie reporter like me simply couldn’t afford the travel expenses plus an all-you-can-ride pass costing about 7,000 yen, on top of paying around 2,000 yen per attraction.

I should also mention food expenses. At lunchtime, on the verge of heatstroke, I made it to the “Panorama Dining”—the park’s only indoor restaurant, as mentioned earlier. I made a reservation on the spot and, 15 minutes later, finally stepped into the air-conditioned dining room. My drained energy began to return.

Once seated, the waiter recommended the 7,000-yen and 9,000-yen set menus, but I politely declined and ordered the “JUNGLA Balloon,” a pot pie modeled after the park’s iconic hot air balloon.It was small—just 15 cm in diameter—but the price was a hefty 2,800 yen. Glancing at the menu, I saw a long list of dishes ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 yen.

Ten minutes later, the pot pie arrived. Hidden inside the fluffy pastry was a rich beef stew. The portion size wasn’t quite enough for this reporter in his 20s, but it was delicious.

After walking around in the sweltering heat and losing the attraction lottery, this reporter was feeling pretty down—but the cast members’ warm hospitality soothed my spirits. To keep guests entertained while waiting for rides, they performed quizzes and one-liners. Their hospitality made me smile involuntarily.

One male employee said proudly, “The motivation among the frontline cast members is quite high.” He explained that this stems from a change in the approach taken by “Tō Co., Ltd.,” the company that spearheaded the park’s opening. The male employee continued:

“At the beginning, the USJ operations veterans brought in by ‘Tō’ were the ones giving instructions. However, their leadership was too strong, and the opinions of the front-line staff were often ignored, leading to dissatisfaction among many employees.

“But around a year after opening, they stopped interfering so much on the front lines. Mr. Morioka (Tsuyoshi, 53), the CEO of ‘Tō,’ didn’t even attend the first-anniversary event. They’ve also been promoting part-time employees to full-time positions, and they’ve started listening to feedback from the front lines. Everyone is working with a real sense of vitality.”

I spoke with several employees, and many of them were positive; I could sense their determination to change the current difficult situation. They also mentioned having a secret strategy to survive this year’s extreme heat.

“It’s called the ‘Summer Soak-It-All-In Operation!’ Water Rangers armed with water guns cool down guests, and we get the crowd pumped up with the ‘Squall Dance,’ where people dance while getting drenched. If you’re going to sweat anyway, you might as well get soaked and have fun!” (Ibid.)

Throughout the park, massive water jets shot up once an hour in various locations, and dance shows took place where visitors danced in the spray. As mentioned at the beginning, this reporter experienced it firsthand. To be honest, the effect was a bit underwhelming, but the enthusiasm of the staff trying to blow away the heat was genuine.

After that, I continued walking around the park and experienced a total of three attractions. At 5:00 p.m., when the park closed, I left Junglia.

The Deepening Rift with Local Residents

Another issue with Junglia—one that has been widely discussed in various media outlets since its opening—is the “friction” with the local community. We spoke with various local residents, including hotel staff and city hall officials in Nago City, but nearly all of them responded coolly, saying, “I’ve never even been there.”

The owner of a restaurant in Nago City expressed disappointment, saying, “To be honest, business at my place has been below expectations. I think people who go to Junglia get too tired to make the trip into town just to go out for drinks.” It seemed the anticipated economic benefits for the local community had not materialized.

On the contrary, some nearby residents even claimed, “In some ways, Junglia’s existence is threatening residents’ daily lives.”

“The speed limit on the surrounding roads is 40 km/h, but quite a few visitors drive over 60 km/h. Rear-end collisions are on the rise at intersections near Junglia, and residents are terrified. When we ask Junglia to take measures, they just brush us off, saying, ‘That’s the city government’s job’…”

While walking through Nakayama District in Nago City, which borders Junglia, I was approached by a man in his 70s who identified himself as the president of the local senior citizens’ association.

“There are many bitter melon and coffee bean farms in Nakayama District, and they draw water from the Nishiyabu River, which flows through the district, but the water volume sometimes drops to less than half. In June, a local spring that we’ve been using for nearly 60 years dried up.In April, we submitted a request to Nago City for an investigation into changes in groundwater, spring water, and the natural water cycle, and discussions have been underway in the city council since June.”

The chairman had cast a critical eye on the “Soak-It-Up Campaign,” which uses large amounts of groundwater—but Japan Entertainment, the operator of Junglia, responded as follows:

“It is clear from geological and hydrological structures, as well as various survey data, that there is no causal relationship between our company’s pumping operations and the decrease in the water flow of the Nishiyabe River.Furthermore, due to rainfall and other factors, the water level of the Nishiyabe River has already recovered to approximately the same level as before. At the same time, we recognize that it is of the utmost importance to dispel the concerns and misunderstandings of the local community and provide thorough explanations.”

One year after opening, while improvements were evident, challenges remained both inside and outside the park. To become one of Japan’s leading theme parks, the hurdles to overcome are high—and there are still many of them.

From the September 4, 2026, issue of *FRIDAY*