Japan is set to open an 'adults only' theme park featuring a 'torture house' where visitors will get a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Japan is one of those diverse countries that offers everything from Kyoto's breathtaking temples and gardens to Tokyo's electric energy and neon-lit streets. We've seen ambitious tourism projects emerge worldwide. Saudi Arabia is home to some controversial developments, including MrBeast's theme park (which has faced recent criticism) and its centrepiece 'The Line', which is a proposed 105-mile linear city that developers claimed could accommodate 9 million residents by 2030.
And while North Korea has surprisingly become a travel destination for some, others might favour Japan's adults-only theme park, which promises a Westworld-style experience.
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Come 28 March, visitors can walk through time in a recreated Edo-era Kyoto that transforms a full-scale samurai movie set into an interactive historical world complete with live dramas and gambling halls. The samurai-themed park, known in English as Uzumasa Kyoto Village, features entire streets of activities, from flower arranging and tea ceremonies to escape rooms and 3D mazes.
Notably, the 'Evening Gambling' mirrors a traditional Edo-era gaming house that actually doesn't accept real money. Instead, it's 'your heart's desire' that you put on the line.
More bizarrely, the Adults-Only Torture House is one not to be missed. In this experience, visitors are treated as criminal suspects and escorted into a mansion filled with historically accurate torture devices.
According to the official website, this event 'opens at night and is only open to adults.'
"You find yourself lost in Edo period, suspected of a crime, and led to a torture mansion," the website explains. "Inside the mansion, you'll find a variety of torture devices recreated by the studio's art staff. This immersive experience will teach you about the dark history of interrogations and the judicial system in Edo period through the experience of being tortured."
For those wanting a calmer experience, the samurai park also offers village tours, fortune-telling sessions and a performance called 'The Bride's Procession and Cherry Blossom Banquet,' which follows disturbing rumours that are circulating through Kyoto on a wedding day. Guests can watch local authorities investigate the mysterious incident before witnessing an entertaining sword fight staged during the wedding procession.
The park will also feature a ninja show and a unique exhibition celebrating a century of Japanese period dramas filmed in Uzumasa.
Tickets went on sale yesterday (19 February) so if you're keen to step back in history, now's your chance!