Harmonyland — Attraction in Hiji

I've been here a number of times over the years with my daughter, who is now 9 years old, and its my favorite amusement park! (She thinks its great as well!)

Harmonyland is a Sanrio themed theme park featuring Japanese characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody and Kuromi, Jewelpets, Sugarbunnies, and my personal favorite, Bad Badtzmaru. It's not huge, but it has a fair number of rides, including a big and small roller coaster, a spectacular Ferris wheel and and a two level merry-go-round. You can visit Kitty Castle (Hello Kitty's house with cute decorations) and Kitty Lab (unless they've replaced Kitty Lab with something new). My daughter's favorites are the Jet Coaster and Kitty Lab. Its mostly geared toward younger kids (10 and under, though any Hello Kitty fan will love it).

They have several live shows each day on a couple of different stages as well as a once-a-day parade which is amazing ("Welcome Noah" and a different one in the summer). Be sure to see the parade if you go (check the schedule for the time)! Search youtube for "Harmonyland Parade" if you want to see some footage.

The buildings and park are very well maintained and the landscaping is beautiful. Some folks have complained that the park is run down, but it doesn't look that way to me. I always notice people pruning or painting or cleaning. The folks working there are true to the Japanese tradition of excellent service. There's a fast food restaurant (Harvest House) that has decent food and a well-executed tree house theme. There's a also a "Sanrio's Girl Shop" that's full of extra-cute stuff.

Perhaps the best part is that the lines are short to non-existent. The occasional costumed Sanrio character comes out on the main square to meet the kids and kids (or adults) can actually spend several minutes interacting with Hello Kitty--not just stand in a long line for a brief photo. The downside is that park is so sparsely attended that they often close the lower half of the park (where an amazing boat ride is located) for most of the day, but they do make a point of opening the boat ride part of each day so everyone has a chance to see it. There may be Japanese holidays where the park is packed or weekends in the summer time, but I have yet to encounter crowds.

Across New Years they have a special "Illumination" event where the park is open until 10 pm. They decorate a huge swath of beautifully landscaped hillside with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lights and let all the guests wander through it. If you're there around New Years you should definitely see it.

Harmonyland is cheap for an amusement park these days, about $25 (at the current rate of 120 Yen to the dollar.) Compare that to Disneyland in California which is over $100 and is so crowded its hard to get around and you have to wait 3+ hours for a popular ride.

Note: I last visited Harmonyland about 9 months ago. They change the shows and rides occasionally so some things may be changed. I just looked at the the English language version of their website and it doesn't mention the parade under "live shows"., but it shows up on the Japanese version.

If you're in Beppu, there's a couple of other amusement parks nearby that are also fun. Kijima Kogen Park has a scary wooden roller coaster and other fun rides, though its really for older kids.

Harmonyland feels like you accidentally wandered into a pastel pocket universe where Hello Kitty and the entire Sanrio pantheon are quietly conspiring to heal your nervous system.

It’s Hello Kitty and Sanrio paradise, full stop but also something more. It’s an experience whether you’re alone, on a date, or rolling deep with family. I’m a grown man, and yeah, I loved it. Like, genuinely. No irony armor. Watching the parade cracked something open in my chest. I don’t even know why maybe it’s the mascots dancing like rent isn’t due, smiling like the universe is fundamentally kind. They’re out there cheering for nakayoku, togetherness, harmony, this gentle reminder that despite the constant psychic assault of daily life, things might actually be okay.

There’s something deeply medicinal about it. Life stresses you out, sandpapers your soul, then suddenly you’re standing there watching My Melody wave at you like she knows your secrets and forgives you anyway. For a moment, the mind shuts up. You smile. You breathe. You remember that joy doesn’t have to be complicated or cool.

It’s absolutely a must go for any Sanrio fan but honestly, even if you’re not, especially if you’re not. If you just want to de stress, unplug from the grind, and let a bunch of dancing mascots gently remind you that everything might be alright in the end. Just keep smiling 🌈✨

One of biggest attraction in this Sanrio theme park was the gift shops. There were many different merchandise of popular Sanrio characters featured in 3 to 4 gift shops located right after the ticketing entrance.

The theme park also had some fun rides, such as the car where you are moving in a carriage overhead and can get an excellent view of the surroundings, and you control the speed of the carriage by yourself.

Only issue we had was this theme park was not stroller or wheelchair friendly. No escalators or lifts to go from the ground level where the Hello Kitty Palace was located, to the 2nd level where most of the rides were. Be prepared to fold the stroller and carry it up and down.

Maps and directions were also only in Japanese, so we gave up trying to find the boat ride which was located somewhere at the bottom of the theme park. We also wasted time queuing for the Hello Kitty Palace, as we didnt know it was just to take a photo with Hello Kitty, which was a key interest and not worth waiting almost 1 hour.

Still a pleasant experience, though improvements can be made to be more family friendly (escalator?) and international (English map and description of the attraction).