World's first One Piece amusement park to open in March

When you live in a manga- and animation-obsessed country like Japan, you get to experience certain associated perks that don’t exist in any other country in the world, like an amusement theme park dedicated to the immensely popular One Piece.

Since its debut in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in July 1997, One Piece has become the best-selling manga in history. Translated and released in 35 different countries and regions and with a worldwide circulation of almost 400 million volumes, the manga is still going strong, getting published every Monday in Jump,itself with a circulation of 3 million a week. That kind of popularity will get you your own amusement park.

On March 13, Tokyo One Piece Tower will open its doors to the public, becoming the first-ever One Piece-themed amusement park in the world. The park, called Tokyo One Piece Tower, will be located in Tokyo Tower’s Foot Town. According to Amusequest, the entertainment company responsible for planning the park, we can expect various attractions and live entertainment that can’t be experienced anywhere else, with everything based on the TV anime. There will also be restaurants and shops where you can buy limited edition goods. It sounds like it’ll be paradise for fans of the long-running manga and anime series!

Other than the planned opening date, the only other information so far is concept art for attractions relating to members of Captain Monkey D. Luffy’s Straw Hats crewChopper, Nami, Brook, Zoro, and Robin. But will there be characters other than the Straw Hats?! Surely many people will be hoping to see fan favourites such as Luffy’s brother Ace, Red-Haired Shanks, Trafalgar Law, and snake princess Boa Hancock, but as of yet there’s been no word on whether they’ll feature. Hardcore fans all have a few favourite scenes that have stayed in their hearts, and the islands that the pirate crew has landed on have all had their own unique and unforgettable charms. Hopefully some of these will also be incorporated into the complex to really bring the One Piece experience to life.

Below is some of the concept art for the attractions. We can’t wait to see what they’ll be like in reality!

One Piece’s very own theme park