New article went up on CNNgo – “Fantasy fairs: Tokyo theme parks for the stressed” (HERE).

No one does escapism quite like the Japanese, and no city provides more creative ways to escape than Tokyo. This is a city where stress (and finding ways to escape it) is concomitant with living. The theme parks in and around Tokyo are prime examples of Japan’s excellent escapism; literal temples to fantasy erected during Japan’s financial bubble which lasted until the early 90’s. Today there are 20 remaining theme parks near Tokyo (the indoor ocean and ski field both closed), one of which – Tokyo Disneyland – is the third most attended theme park in the world. According to the 2009 Theme Index, a report on global attractions and their attendance, over 13 million people visited Tokyo Disneyland in 2009, a 4% decrease from the previous year. But that decrease will do little to damage the profits of the Disney empire, instead it’s the smaller, more eccentric theme parks which are threatened by the current financial crisis.

Additionally the huge theme park developments across Asia (particularly China) are nearing completion, which will likely lead to fewer Asian tourists visiting Tokyo. Theme parks that are not visited die, and if you look in the right places you can see the evidence – parks abandoned and overgrown as ‘haikyo’ (ruins).

Read the rest HERE.

Photos from 2008 when Hannah and I went to Disneysea for the first time. In her hysteria she managed to convince me that we should wear matching Mickey face t-shirts.