User:Esquire Gennai/sandbox

Introduction
“The amusement park” in Japan, their meaning, purpose, and target have changed over time. In the past, the amusement parks were a place for the wealthy people to spend their money and time. However, in modern age, they have become more and more popular for the general public. It has changed as a place for them to spend the holidays with their families.

There are many definitions of “Amusement Park”. Generally speaking, if there are playground equipment in the park, it is called “Amusement Park”. On the other hand, there are many theories that is called “Amusement Park”. Example 1 is that Botanical Garden. There is amusement facility without amusement equipment. Example 2 is that the place which open temporarily for festival. People have to pay a fee for entering the ground, so it is called “Amusement Park”. According to Hashidume, the conditions of “Amusement Park” are the development of an open space for everyone to enjoy, and the development of amusement machines.

Generally, “Hanayashiki” is the first amusement park in Japan which opened at the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), in 1835. At the beginning of the park, it was a botanical garden where the main attractions were tree peonies and chrysanthemum work. Around 1872 (The beginning of the Meiji period), an amusement facility was established. However, it was closed in 1942 because of World War II. After that, its park restarted in 1947 as “Asakusa Hanayashiki”.

Nonetheless, there is the different perspective that “Takarazuka New Hot Spring (宝塚新温泉)” is the first Amusement Park in Japan (Nakajima). It was built in 1911 as an amusement park institution (the founder’s intention), but it was closed in 2003. In fact, they changed their name many times.

The longest-running amusement park in Japan is “Hirakata Park” in Osaka. It has operated since 1912, so it has been running for more than a century. From the time of starting to now, they did renewal construction.