Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)

Huis Ten Bosch
	Aerial view of Huis Ten Bosch
Location	1-1 Huis Ten Bosch Machi, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3292, Japan
Coordinates	33°05′02″N 129°47′17″E / 33.08377°N 129.78812°E
Status	Operating
Opened	25 March 1992
Owner	Huis Ten Bosch Tourism Co., Ltd.
General manager	Katsuhiko Sakaguchi
Theme	Netherlands
Slogan	Japan's Largest Theme Park
Operating season	Year-round
Attendance	2.54 million (as of September 2019)
Area	152 ha (380 acres)
Website	english.huistenbosch.co.jp

Huis Ten Bosch (ハウステンボス, Hausu Ten Bosu) is a theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan, which recreates the Netherlands by displaying life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings. The name Huis Ten Bosch translates into English as "House at the Woods/Forest". It is named after Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, one of the three official residences of the Dutch royal family. The park features many Dutch-style buildings such as hotels, villas, theatres, museums, shops, and restaurants, along with canals, windmills, amusement rides, and a park planted with seasonal flowers.^[1]

Overview

Huis Ten Bosch opened on 25 March 1992, and is located around 12 km southeast of Sasebo on Hario Island, essentially an area of reclaimed marshland on the main coastline of Kyushu facing Ōmura Bay. Its location in this area of the country reflects the historical relations between the Netherlands and Japan,^[2] which began in 1609 when a trading post was opened by the Dutch in Hirado, an island off the coast of Kyushu around 35 km northwest of central Sasebo.

Huis Ten Bosch is open daily from 9.00 AM to 9.30 PM between March and November, and from 9.00 AM to 8.30 PM between December and February. Huis Ten Bosch Station, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company, serves as the station for trains arriving from either Nagasaki or Sasebo. The park can also be reached by boat from Nagasaki Airport or Sasebo via Huis Ten Bosch Marina and Harbour.

The park recorded a peak attendance of 4.25 million visitors in 1996. However, the number of visitors later declined due to an economic slump in Japan, and the park declared bankruptcy in 2003 with debt of ¥220 billion.^[3] The rebuilding plan was sponsored by Nomura Principal Finance Company until March 2010, when H.I.S., a travel agency, took over the management by injecting ¥2 billion.^[4]

In 2015, the Henn na Hotel (変なホテル, Hen na Hoteru, lit. "Strange Hotel") opened at the park.^[5]^[6] It is officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the first robot-staffed hotel.^[7] However, this hotel proved unpopular and was refitted as the Hotel Rotterdam, reopening in October 2023.^[8]

In popular culture

Huis Ten Bosch was used as the set for the 2022 Netflix limited television series Run for the Money^[9].

Gallery

Replica of De Liefde [nl] which was the first Dutch ship to reach Japan in 1600 with William Adams and Jan Joosten
Replica of a Dutch canal and the Dom Tower of Utrecht with New Year illumination.