Huis Ten Bosch is my favourite theme park in Japan. Tucked away in Nagasaki prefecture, it’s a massive park that recreates the look and feel of a Dutch town — complete with canals, windmills, tulip gardens, Dutch-style buildings and landmarks like the Dom Tower, and even a palace.
The park is especially famous for its flower festivals like the tulip festival in spring and rose festival in early summer.
There are a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, and snack stands housed in European-style buildings. From teppanyaki, to French full course meals, to sausages and beer and créme brûlée.
You’ll also find souvenir shops, artisan stores, and an arcade full of boutiques throughout the park. Even the vending machines and rubbish bins are cutely themed!
The Dom Tower is an observatory deck that you can go up to view the park day or night from the 80m high.
Depending on the season, Huis Ten Bosch can transform to an illumination show after sunset. There’s even a canoe tour you can enjoy down the night canal.
Other than its scenic charm, the park also has a variety of rides, virtual reality experiences, and an outdoor adventure park with zip liners, obstacle courses, and sky walks.
There’s a lot to do and I’d say one day is not enough, so staying in a themed hotel in or next to the park is worth it. The European styled hotels can be luxurious albeit a bit pricey, but the more modern robot-staffed hotel with a dinosaur concierge can be a cheaper alternative.
What’s amazing is that you can actually live here as a permanent resident!
There’s a scenic residential area called Wassenaar with ~250 homes and every resident gets a free yearly pass to the park.
Getting there
Huis Ten Bosch is a 7min walk from Huis Ten Bosch Station.
- From Nagasaki City: The trip takes about 1h 15min with a direct train from Nagasaki Station.
- From Fukuoka (Hakata Station): It takes around 1h 45min, with direct train options available.
- From Kumamoto: Travel time is about 2~2.5 hours.
- From Tokyo: It’s best to fly over to Nagasaki or Fukuoka airport first, unless you want to catch the bullet train to Hakata.
- From Nagasaki Airport, you can take a high-speed boat or bus to Huis Ten Bosch.
- From Fukuoka Airport, you can take the express bus (reservation required) to Huis Ten Bosch.
While it’s in the Kushu Island and far from Tokyo, Huis Ten Bosch is a 🥇(=worth planning a trip) around on #myrevisitlist.
[Photos taken Mar 2014, Apr 2018]
Leave a Reply