Rakutenchi

Rakutenchi is a children’s paradise, a theme land of innocent playfulness and excitement. First opened in 1929, Rakutenchi has long held a special appeal and nostalgia for the Japanese, especially if they have visited as a young child. The fun for any young child, and the young at heart, starts on either one of the funicular railway’s wide-eye cat or dog cable cars, which climb 260 metres on a very steep slope to the park’s main entrance high on the side of Mt. Tateishi-san. From here a panorama opens up over Beppu and Beppu Bay to the Kunisaki Peninsula.

Children, however, may not notice the view as their attention is quickly drawn to the rides including the Big Flower Ferris Wheel, Big Suspension Bridge, Astro Rider, Merry-Go-Round, Frog Hopper and Circle Monorail. A variety of animals including penguins, meerkats, chimpanzees, monkeys, donkeys, flamingoes, peacocks and goats are in residence, along with marmots, rabbits and mini-pigs that children delight in petting. A duck race is particularly popular.