OSAKA -- Citing huge losses in customers and revenues due to the opening of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Hankyu Corp. will pull out of the theme park business, closing its two affiliated parks over the next year.
Takarazuka Familyland has a history that goes back to the Meiji Era, opening in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1911, while Kobe PortopiaLand opened in the port city in 1981. They will effectively close by next April, Hankyu officials announced earlier this week.
Both parks were estimated to be running an annual deficit of 2 billion yen to 3 billion yen for the past five years, and company officials determined it would be impossible for either facility to ever operate in the black.