Japan’s onsen amusement park begins crowdfunding campaign with awesome returns for investors

The Mayor of Beppu is delivering on his promise of a hot spring amusement park with tickets, fireworks and home-delivered onsen water for patrons.

In November last year, the Mayor of Beppu in Japan’s southern island of Kyushu made news after pledging to open a special onsen amusement park in the city if his “Spamusement Park” promotional video reached one million views.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before everyone was watching and sharing the hilarious clip, which showed people enjoying onsen carousels and rollercoasters filled with hot spring water. It quickly reached one million views, which rose further to a total of three million this February, and the Mayor of Beppu responded with a heartfelt letter of thanks to the public, promising to go full steam ahead with the project.

If you missed the video, check it out below!

To help make the onsen water park a reality, the team behind the project recently announced that it would be calling for more assistance from the public, with a crowdfunding campaign looking to raise 10 million yen (US$87,980). The campaign began today, revealing some of the special offers in store for patrons.

In return for 3,000 yen ($26.39) donations, patrons will receive a personal thank-you letter from the Mayor, either by post or email.

For 8,000 yen, patrons can receive entry to the resort for a day, with a specially marked towel included in the package.

Larger donations of 300,000 yen ($2,638) will be rewarded with “Hot Spring Citizenship”, which provides free access to any municipally-managed hot spring in the area for a whole year. Companies can also contribute to the campaign, with sponsorship of a one-minute firework display available at a cost of one million yen ($8,794).

And for 1.5 million yen ($13,194), the famous hot spring waters of Beppu will be shipped directly to your door, anywhere in the country, so you can enjoy a therapeutic onsen in the comfort of your own bathtub!

All backers will have their names displayed in the credits of a special “memorial video”, and anyone who contributes 300,000 yen or more will also be able to enjoy a one-on-one drink with Beppu Mayor, Yasuhiro Nagano, who has been gaining popularity around the country for his enigmatic personality and fearless contributions to thinking outside-of-the-box on behalf of his city.

With 60 days remaining in the campaign, the crowdfunding project has already attracted 86 patrons, with contributions totalling 655,000 yen in less than a day. With admission tickets for patrons being offered for 29-30 July, when the park is scheduled to open, the team behind the campaign are running to a tight deadline. Let’s hope they get to their target goal of 10 million yen soon so our Spamusement dreams can become a reality!

Source: Net Lab
Featured image: Campfire/UenchiProject
Insert images: Campfire/UenchiProject

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