Junglia Okinawa Opens With Dinosaur Adventures and Higher Ticket Prices for Overseas Tourists

A 70 Billion Yen Park Tests a New Tourism Model

Junglia Okinawa opened in July 2025 in Nakijin, northern Okinawa, with a 70 billion yen investment, 22 major attractions and shows, and a ticket policy that has become a central part of its debut. An adult visiting from overseas pays 8,800 yen for a day ticket, while a resident of Japan pays 6,930 yen.

The difference is 1,870 yen, or about 27 percent above the resident price. Foreign residents of Japan can qualify for the lower rate, making residency, rather than ethnicity, the basis of the policy. The arrangement has prompted debate about fairness, affordability and how Japanese attractions should earn money from growing international tourism.

Built on a former golf course, the jungle themed park covers 60 hectares, roughly 148 acres, in the forested north of Okinawa's main island. Its development cost is equivalent to about $476 million. Animatronic dinosaurs, balloon rides, adventure activities and luxury facilities form part of an effort to turn the area into a destination where visitors spend more time and money.

Katana Inc., the marketing firm led by CEO Tsuyoshi Morioka, spearheaded the project. Morioka is credited with revitalizing Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. His Okinawa venture combines a commercial ambition with a regional one: bringing visitors, employment and investment to a part of the island that receives less tourism than the central and southern areas.

As of July 31, 2025, Junglia's opening offers an early test of two linked ideas: whether a large new attraction can draw more tourists north, and whether charging overseas visitors more can help keep admission accessible for people living in Japan.

What Visitors Find Inside Junglia

Junglia's 22 major attractions and shows draw on its subtropical surroundings, with experiences ranging from a dinosaur chase to a spa visit. The park combines adventure and relaxation rather than relying on the established character brands associated with Disney or Universal Studios.

• Dinosaur Safari takes visitors on an off road adventure past 20 animatronic dinosaurs, including a T-Rex chase.
• Horizon Balloon offers hot air balloon rides with panoramic views of the subtropical forest and coastline.
• Buggy Voltage sends visitors through rugged jungle terrain in buggies.
• Zip lines and adventures among the treetops cater to visitors seeking more physically adventurous activities.
• Spa Junglia provides luxury spa facilities, open air baths, wellness amenities and an infinity pool certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest public infinity pool.
• Entertainment includes dance performances, fireworks and interactive wildlife exhibits featuring local species such as the endangered Okinawa rail.

The development also includes 15 restaurants and cafes, 10 retail shops and resort accommodations. Those facilities make it a destination for people taking a day trip as well as guests staying overnight, with places to eat, shop and relax alongside the attractions.

Junglia's website is available in English, Chinese and Korean, reflecting its intention to attract international visitors. Its potential audience includes nearby Asian markets such as Taiwan, South Korea and China, with the park looking toward a large pool of travelers within a flight radius of four hours.

Who Pays the Higher Admission Price?

Japan residents pay 6,930 yen, about $47, for an adult ticket valid for one day. Foreign tourists pay 8,800 yen, about $60. Children's admission costs 4,950 yen for residents and 5,940 yen for overseas visitors.

The children's price difference is 990 yen, or 20 percent of the resident rate. Adults therefore face a larger percentage increase than children: about 27 percent compared with 20 percent. Spa admission and combination tickets also have different prices for residents and overseas visitors.

Foreign residents can obtain the local rate by presenting proof that they live in Japan, such as a residence card or a utility bill. In practical terms, a foreign national living in Japan can qualify for the same admission price as a Japanese resident.

Residency checks are an important part of how the policy works. The verification process may vary between park entrances, and visitors have raised questions about how strictly the rules will be enforced, particularly for spa access. A consistent experience at the entrance matters to customers who need to know which ticket to buy and which documents to bring.

The policy was presented as a first for a major Japanese theme park. Its prominence comes partly from the scale of the development and partly from its explicit separation of prices for residents and tourists arriving from abroad.

Why Junglia Chose Two Prices

Junglia's management has explained the pricing as a business decision shaped by the weak yen. When Japan's currency is weak, visitors exchanging some foreign currencies can buy more yen, making Japanese goods, services and admission tickets more affordable for them.

The park aims to earn more revenue from those overseas customers while keeping prices accessible to residents. That places the spending power of international travelers at the center of the policy.

Other Japanese attractions have cited overcrowding or maintenance costs when considering higher charges for visitors from abroad. Junglia's explanation is more directly commercial: international tourism creates an opportunity to charge different customer groups different amounts.

For a family buying several tickets, the difference can affect the cost of a visit before spending on food, shopping or other facilities. For the operator, the same difference offers additional income from each overseas ticket while allowing the lower resident rate to remain in place.

The debate therefore reaches beyond whether 8,800 yen is affordable for an individual traveler. It concerns whether residency is an acceptable basis for setting admission prices, and whether customers understand and accept the reason for the difference.

How the Policy Compares With Other Destinations

Japan has already seen discussion of different admission charges at historic attractions. Himeji Castle and some temples have explored or experimented with higher prices for foreign visitors, often in connection with preservation costs or pressure from tourism.

Himeji City considered a plan to charge foreigners more, then revised it after concerns about fairness and the practical difficulty of distinguishing tourists from residents. The example shows why the details of eligibility and checks at the entrance can become as contentious as the price itself.

Internationally, different prices for local and foreign visitors are common. The examples extend from religious sites to monuments, national parks and museums:

• Thailand's Emerald Temple, Wat Phra Kaew, charges foreigners 500 baht while local visitors enter free.
• India's Taj Mahal charges foreigners up to 22 times the local admission fee.
• National parks in Madagascar may charge foreigners up to 33 times more than local visitors.
• France's Louvre Museum is due to introduce higher prices for citizens from outside the European Union in 2026.

Tourist taxes are also becoming more common. Venice and Hawaii are among the places implementing new fees to manage visitor impact and fund local services. In Japan, measures under consideration include a tourist levy in Osaka, as governments seek to balance tourism income with residents' quality of life.

An admission price and a tourist levy collect money through different routes. Junglia's policy sets the price of entering a private attraction; the tourist charges described elsewhere are intended to help destinations pay for services or respond to the effects of visitor numbers.

Why Northern Okinawa Matters

Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, attracts nearly 10 million tourists annually with its beaches, subtropical climate and distinctive culture. Most visitors spend their time in the central and southern parts of the island, leaving the north less developed as a tourism destination.

Nakijin is about 90 minutes from Naha, the prefectural capital. Junglia's location is a deliberate attempt to spread tourism spending more evenly, encouraging travelers to include the north in their plans rather than concentrating their stays elsewhere.

Local officials and business leaders hope the park will create jobs and bring more customers to hospitality and retail businesses. They also expect a major attraction to encourage improvements in infrastructure, including the transport connections needed to move visitors around the island.

Kansai University's economic projections put the potential ripple effect at 658.3 billion yen and 70,000 jobs in the first year. Over 15 years, the projected impact reaches 6.8 trillion yen and more than 880,000 jobs. These are forecasts of economic activity and employment associated with the development, rather than a tally of people already hired by the park.

A ripple effect describes spending that reaches beyond the initial business. Visitors may pay for accommodation, meals, transport and shopping, spreading income through other parts of the local economy. That wider spending is central to the case for building a major attraction in an area seeking more tourism.

Junglia also aims to showcase and protect the Yambaru region, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its biodiversity and endangered species. Drawing visitors north could support conservation efforts and cultural exchange, alongside the commercial benefits sought by the park and nearby businesses.

Fairness Concerns Meet Limited Organized Opposition

Critics of Junglia's admission policy argue that charging foreigners more can feel discriminatory and may discourage some international visitors. Supporters regard it as a practical response to differences in spending power, the weak yen and a pricing approach already used in other countries.

There has been little organized backlash against Junglia's policy so far. Many observers regard the additional charge as relatively modest for most overseas tourists, even though the adult price difference is substantial when expressed as a percentage.

Management has stressed that the policy is based on residency rather than nationality and that similar arrangements are common internationally. Foreign residents' access to the lower rate is therefore a central part of its explanation.

An analysis published by Japan Forward described the greater willingness of private operators to adopt different prices, compared with public facilities concerned about equal treatment and criticism:

Private companies are adopting dual pricing, but public facilities are more hesitant, citing fairness concerns,

The contrast matters because a private theme park and a publicly managed attraction face different expectations. Junglia is presenting its ticket structure as a commercial choice, while debates over public sites also involve how those institutions serve residents and visitors.

Government Support and the Dates That Matter

At Junglia's opening press conference, Katana CEO Tsuyoshi Morioka described the park as a new model for Japanese tourism, combining adventure, luxury and environmental stewardship. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended, underscoring the government's commitment to developing northern Okinawa and improving transport links.

Japan's wider tourism goal is to attract 60 million inbound visitors by 2030. Government and private businesses are increasingly focused on spreading visitors beyond crowded destinations, supporting rural economies and ensuring that local communities receive tourism revenue.

The dates surrounding Junglia's opening and the wider pricing debate show how the project fits into those plans:

• July 2025: Junglia Okinawa opens in Nakijin with different admission prices for Japan residents and overseas tourists.
• July 31, 2025: The park's pricing policy is attracting debate, with little organized backlash so far.
• 2026: The Louvre Museum plans higher admission prices for citizens from outside the European Union.
• 2030: Japan aims to receive 60 million inbound tourists annually.

Travel industry analysts suggest that successful results at Junglia could encourage other Japanese attractions to consider similar pricing. Its experience will also give operators a practical example of how visitors respond when a major theme park openly links ticket prices to residency.

Access, Branding and the Test of Repeat Visits

Junglia faces challenges beyond its admission policy. Its relatively remote location requires visitors to make a deliberate journey north, while limited name recognition means it must establish itself in a market containing familiar international entertainment brands.

Disney and Universal Studios can draw on well known characters. Junglia instead relies on its combination of dinosaurs, outdoor adventure, relaxation and natural surroundings. Attracting repeat visitors may be harder without an established character brand encouraging fans to return.

Its international presentation has also drawn criticism, including the use of images generated by artificial intelligence and awkward English translations on its website. For a park actively seeking overseas customers, its online presentation forms part of the experience before travelers arrive.

Junglia's opportunity lies in combining activities that appeal to different interests within one destination. A visitor can seek a dinosaur chase or a buggy ride, while another may be more interested in the spa, food or forest views. Resort accommodations allow the development to serve overnight guests as well as people visiting for the day.

The commercial outcome was still unknown as of July 31. The central tests are whether enough people make the trip, whether their spending reaches surrounding businesses, and whether the experience encourages them to return. Those results will shape how useful Junglia becomes as a model for theme park development and tourism pricing elsewhere in Japan and Asia.

Key Points

• Junglia Okinawa opened in July 2025 in Nakijin after a 70 billion yen development on 60 hectares of a former golf course.
• The park has 22 major attractions and shows, 15 restaurants and cafes, 10 retail shops, resort accommodations and a luxury spa.
• Adult admission costs 6,930 yen for Japan residents and 8,800 yen for overseas tourists, a difference of about 27 percent.
• Children's tickets cost 4,950 yen for residents and 5,940 yen for overseas visitors. Foreign residents can qualify for local rates with proof of residence.
• Management links the policy to the weak yen, overseas spending power and keeping admission accessible for residents.
• Kansai University projects an economic ripple effect of 658.3 billion yen and 70,000 jobs in the first year, with larger effects over 15 years.
• The park aims to draw more tourism to northern Okinawa, while facing challenges involving access, brand recognition, repeat visits and acceptance of its pricing.