It only took a few days for the theme park Kyoryu (Dinosaur) Park Kisarazu to find a new home for its 65 full-size dinosaur models ahead of its Feb. 11 closure.
When the media reported Jan. 31 that the plastic models were to go on sale for a discount averaging 90 percent, the phone didn't stop ringing as people tried to reserve them, according to officials at the park in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. The total cost of making them came to some 200 million yen, they said, without disclosing how much the models sold for.
A 25-meter-tall brachiosaurus model that cost 40 million yen to create was priced at around 4.95 million yen, while a 1-meter-tall model sold for 33,000 yen.
Kamori Kanko Co., a Sapporo-based firm that runs ski resorts, hotels and other leisure facilities, has arranged to buy all of the models and display them at Teine Olympia, a leisure facility in Teine Ward, Sapporo, this summer. The facility has a ski resort running in the winter and an amusement park the rest of the year.
Kyoryu Park Kisarazu opened in April 2001, displaying about 55 dinosaurs at a time.
The park was also used as a set for the TV drama series "Kisarazu Cat's Eye" and became a popular tourist spot. But since the contract with the landowner will expire, the park's operators decided to close down.
"I'm glad to hear that the dinosaurs will continue to be together," said Kazumasa Kitazawa, manager of the theme park.
