Miyazaki: Playground for Kids Welcomes Adult; Renovated to Be Outdoor Activity Center, Camping, Surfing

By Jun Kobayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:54 JST, May 24, 2025&

MIYAZAKI — A camping area with large, luxurious tents opened last year on the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture. The facility was installed at Kodomo no Kuni or Children’s land, a former playground for children. But it is popular with adults.

Kodomo no Kuni is in the Aoshima area in the southeastern part of Miyazaki City. It is a prominent tourist destination in the prefecture.

The area is part of the Nichinan Kaigan Quasi-National Park. Some of its attractions are Aoshima Island in the Hyuganada Sea and the remarkable wave-shaped rocks surrounding it, known as the Ogre’s Washboard — a designated natural monument of Japan.

Established in 1939, Kodomo no Kuni enjoyed considerable popularity among families, distinguished by its tropical flora and attractions, including a Ferris wheel.

However, as time passed, it became difficult for the facility to survive, so it has reinvented itself as a tourist attraction centered on outdoor experiences, offering adults a chance to have an enjoyable time filled with childlike wonder.

Rides removed

For a few decades after World War II, Miyazaki was a place people could easily travel to for an exotic atmosphere, as overseas travel was a distant dream for most Japanese people. The Aoshima area became a popular honeymoon destination for people born during the baby boom.

However, this popularity waned after Okinawa’s return to Japan in 1972. Subsequently, Kodomo no Kuni experienced a decline in visitors from its annual peak of 1.65 million in the 1970s, a drop attributed to a diversification of ways to enjoy leisure time and a decreasing birthrate, ultimately resulting in substantial deficits.

By 2017, large rides like a roller coaster and the Ferris wheel had been removed to pave the way for a redevelopment plan focused on outdoor activity facilities.

Since its redevelopment in 2024, Kodomo no Kuni has seen increasing popularity, particularly for its convenient combination of camping and other activities, leading to a recovery in visitor numbers, according to an official of the campground.

Easy access to surfing

Last year, a campsite for glamping and other types of camping, as well as a clubhouse with a restaurant, were developed on the about 120,000-square-meter grounds facing the Hyuganada Sea.

Also last year, Murasaki Sports, a sporting goods retailer, opened its largest store in Japan on the hotel grounds adjacent to Kodomo no Kuni. The store provides surfboard rentals through a subscription service, making outdoor activities both on land and sea readily accessible.

Kodomo no Kuni is run by Miyazaki Kotsu, a local bus operator that aims to attract visitors of all ages, including those who visit the rose garden on the ground and play at the park golf course. These facilities have been there since before the redevelopment. Park golf is a sport that originated in Japan based on golf so that even elderly people can enjoy it.

“We want to continue drawing new pictures on this land, without being fearful of adapting to change,” said Ryuzo Nishikubo, an executive of the company.

Kodomo no Kuni

Kodomo no Kuni is about a 15-minute drive from the Miyazaki Interchange on the Miyazaki Expressway, or a 1-minute walk from Kodomonokuni Station on the JR Nichinan Line. Aoshima Island, which has a circumference of about 1.5 kilometers, is surrounded by the Ogre’s Washboard rock formation and can be reached by a bridge. The Aoshima area is also known as a surfing spot, and recently the number of people moving there has been increasing.

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