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Okayama Joypolis
Location
Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Chūgoku, Japan
Status Defunct
Operated 18 July 1998 to 2 September 2018
Owner Sega (1998-2012)
Sega Sammy Holdings (2012-2018)
Operator Sega Enterprises (1996-2000)
Sega Amusements Kansai (2000-2005)
Sega Corporation (2005-2012)
Sega Entertainment Co, Ltd. (2012-2018)
Operating season Year-Round

Okayama Joypolis (Japanese: 岡山ジョイポリス) was a Joypolis branded game center and amusement park owned and operated by Sega Corporation, located in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Chūgoku, Japan on the Joyful Town complex. It operated for twenty-years, from 1998 until 2018. The venue initially traded as a theme park for its first decade before its attractions were entirely removed by 2008, rendering the venue as little more than a game center.

History

Exterior of the park in 2010

As a Theme Park

During the construction of Joyful Town, Sega intended to open a game center in the complex. However, it had been rumored that Joyful Town's management alongside the Okayama community requested a Joypolis park in its place.

As such, Okayama Joypolis was therefore constructed and opened with Joyful Town on 18 July 1998.[1] The park's theme was "American Amusement Stadium" and so in contrast to other Joypolis parks, the Okayama branch heavily focused on it's additional facilities, including American-style restaurants, the "Sega Karaoke" karaoke room, and the "Sonic Bowl" bowling alley. Another contrast was that Okayama Joypolis was more of a game center than a theme park (similar to the Sega Arena chain), but it still contained many attractions.[2]

Okayama Joypolis did not debut any newly-produced attractions, as the attractions that the park had were already featured at other Sega-owned venues prior to the park's opening. The park did not put much attention to them, and over the course of ten years, the only new permanent attractions added to the park were a Wild River and a 3D Adventure the Ride installment. These two attractions, alongside opening day attraction Murder Lodge were the only remaining attractions at the venue by 2007. A play area called "Naughty Square" also took up a majority of the venue's site.

Removal of Attractions

On March 23, 2008, the three remaining attractions at the park were removed from site. On July 13, the Sega Karaoke area was closed down, and was followed with Sonic Bowl's closure on the 17th. A indoor play area titled "Pocket Park", opened at the venue on July 16, 2011, replacing Naughty Square. Ryobi Bowl took over the space formerly housing Sonic Bowl.

With Okayama Joypolis solely functioning as a Game Center, management had transitioned to Sega's arcade division which seperated as Sega Entertainment Co, Ltd. in October 2012. Due to this, it remained the only Joypolis venue under direct ownership of Sega after the company sold Sega Live Creation and the other Joypolis parks to China Animations in 2017.

On August 6, 2018, it was announced that Okayama Joypolis would close permanently on September 2 to make way for redevelopment. Ryobi Bowl also closed on the same day.[3][4]

The venue was demolished in December 2018, and was soon paved over. As of 2024, it is home to the Forest City Grace Bus Terminal.

Former Attractions

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
3D Adventure the Ride Unknown Simulator Unknown March 23, 2008 Scrapped
Aqua Nova[5] Sega AM5
Digital Universe
Simulator July 18, 1998 2000's Scrapped
Fortune Museum[5] Sega AM5 Walk-Through July 18, 1998 2000 Scrapped
Horror Ride[5] Sega AM5 Tracked Simulator July 18, 1998 2000's Scrapped
Murder Lodge[5] Sega AM5 Walk-Through July 18, 1998 March 23, 2008 Scrapped
The Ring - 3D Sound Sega AM5 Walk-Through July 17, 1999 2000 Scrapped
Wild River Sega AM5 Simulator 1999 March 23, 2008 Scrapped

References

  1. "「岡山ジョイポリス」オープンのお知らせ". Sega. Archived from the original on 2000-09-17.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20000820144527/http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/atp/okayama/intro.html
  3. "セガ・岡山ジョイポリス、2018年9月2日閉館-「杜の街づくりプロジェクト」本格始動 | 都市商業研究所" (in 日本語). 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. "④"岡山JOYPOLIS"平成30年9月2日に閉店". 有限会社 ベスト.サービス (in 日本語). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Okayama Joypolis". Sega. Archived from the original on 1998-12-02.
Amusement Parks and Game Centers operated by Sega