A Harry Potter studio tour park will open June 16 in Tokyo, the first of its kind outside Britain, giving fans access to behind-the-scenes experiences, including the chance to see the sets, original props and costumes of the popular films.
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo -- The Making of Harry Potter is a walk-through tour designed so that fans can step into the fantasy world of the films, based on the novels of the same name by British author J.K. Rowling.
It will be the second such facility following Warner Bros. Studio Tour London -- The Making of Harry Potter, which opened in Britain in 2012 and has had over 17 million visitors, said the operator Warner Bros. Studios Japan LLC.
The Tokyo version will be the largest indoor Harry Potter attraction in the world, and visitors can expect to spend around four hours exploring the only Harry Potter studio tour park to open in Asia, it said.
The tickets, set at prices of 6,300 yen ($48) for adults, 5,200 yen for high school and junior high school students and 3,800 yen for children aged 4 years and older, need to be reserved in advance. Sales of tickets for slots between June 16 and Sept. 30 began on March 22.
The theme park features a replica set of Platform 9 3/4, used by students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to catch the Hogwarts Express and travel into the wizarding world. Visitors to the park can board a replica of the fictional steam locomotive.
The park will feature restaurants and cafes serving British delicacies such as afternoon tea, fish and chips, and roast beef, as well as a shop, set to be the world's largest Harry Potter store, with items exclusively made for the Tokyo version.
At a recent event organized to announce the launch date of the facility, Japanese actress Mana Ashida, an enthusiastic fan of Harry Potter, said, "There are activities that can only be experienced in the Tokyo (studio tour). I want to visit multiple times."
The park, located in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, is being built on what was the 30,000-square meter site of Toshimaen park, formerly one of the largest amusement parks in Tokyo, which was closed in August 2020 after nearly 100 years.
