Fukuoka Joypolis

Fukuoka Joypolis (Japanese: 福岡ジョイポリス) was a Joypolis branded amusement park located in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan, within the fourth and fifth floors of the Canal City Hakata complex. It operated for five years from 1996 until 2001.

History

Announcements for a Galbo venue in Fukuoka were made as early as December 1995, alongside Shinjuku Galbo and the flagship Tokyo Joypolis.^[1] However, after Ichikawa Galbo and Yokkaichi Galbo ended up becoming commercial flops for Sega; the company scrapped the Galbo chain altogether and Fukuoka Galbo would instead be opened under the Joypolis umbrella. However, as the park had already finished construction after the changes were made, it did not contain any proper Joypolis branding, with only generic "Sega" logos and a Sonic the Hedgehog statue adorning the exterior. However, it was the first park in the chain to use its then-new logo.

Fukuoka Joypolis was one of Canal City Hakata's opening day tenants and opened with the complex on 20 April 1996. The only new Sega-produced attraction format that debuted at the park was Aqua Nova,^[2] although an upgraded version of Ghost Hunters entitled "Ghost Hunters DX" appeared for a brief time.

On 24 September 2001, Sega announced that Fukuoka Joypolis would close for refurbishment and reopen the following month.^[3] The park was downsized into a game center and reopened as Club Sega Canal City in November.

Former Attractions

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Closed	Fate
AS-1	Sega AM5	Simulator	April 20, 1996	2001	Scrapped
Aqua Nova	Sega AM5 Digital Universe	Simulator	April 20, 1996	September 24, 2001	Scrapped
The Dead	Unknown	Walk-Through	July 24, 1999	August 30, 2000	Removed
Drift Cart	Sega AM5	Unknown	July 17, 1999	September 24, 2001	Scrapped
Fortune Museum	Sega AM5	Walk-Through	July 1997	September 24, 2001	Removed
Ghost Hunters II	Sega AM5	Tracked Dark Ride	April 20, 1996	September 24, 2001	Scrapped
The House of Lord Grandish	Human Entertainment	Walk-Through	1996	1999 or earlier	Removed
Murder Lodge	Sega AM5	Walk-Through	1996	September 24, 2001	Repurposed for Club Sega Canal City
St. Susperio High School	Human Entertainment	Walk-Through	1997 or earlier	1999 or earlier	Removed
VR-1	Sega AM3 Sega AM4 Sega AM5 Virtuality	Simulator	April 20, 1996	June 1999	Scrapped
Wild River	Sega AM5	Simulator	July 17, 1999	September 24, 2001	Scrapped

References

↑ https://retrocdn.net/images/0/0d/GameMachine_JP_513.pdf
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine (PDF). p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-07.
↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20011122023805/http://sega.jp/joypolis/fukuoka.html

This box: view edit Amusement Parks and Game Centers operated by Sega
Joypolis	Fukuoka Kyoto Niigata Okayama Shinjuku Tokyo Umeda Yokohama
Galbo	Ichikawa Osaka ATC Yokkaichi
Overseas Parks	Player's Arena Sega Republic Sega World Sydney SegaWorld London
Game Centers with Attractions	Club Sega Canal City Club Sega Chatan Club Sega Yokohama Sega Arena Hamaotsu Sega Arena Nakama Sega Arena Padou Sega Arena Toyohashi Sega World Cospal Sega World Hakkeijima Carnival House Sega World Rinku Sega World Utsunomiya
Overseas Arcades with Attractions	GameWorks Rio de Janeiro Sega Arena Taichung Sega's Time Out On the Court Sega VirtuaLand Sega World Bournemouth Sega World Oe

[1] ttps://retrocdn.net/images/0/0d/GameMachine_JP_513.pdf

[2] Sega Saturn Magazine (PDF). p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-07.

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20011122023805/http://sega.jp/joypolis/fukuoka.html

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