Metsä ("forest" in Finnish) is a Nordic-themed entertainment complex in

Hannō is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hannō is located on the southern ...

, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The complex consists of Metsä Village, entertainment and leisure area which opened in November 2018, and Moominvalley Park, which opened in 2019. The park was initially planned to start operation in 2015 to mark the 100th birthday of

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and ...

. On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the opening would be delayed until 2017 at the earliest. On December 6, 2016, the opening date was further delayed to spring 2019. Situated in

, a city northwest of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, the site includes a Moomin zone for attractions, and a free public zone or park area. Entrance to Metsä Village is free, but Moominvalley Park has an admission fee for the park and some of the attractions. The complex was closed temporarily in April 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Metsä Village

Metsä Village is a large park and leisure area which is intended to evoke the happiness of the Nordic world through bringing visitors close to nature. The complex encircles Lake Miyazawa and is intended to resemble the Finnish countryside. Inside is a Nordic Market Hall selling Nordic themed goods, as well as Nordic restaurants. Visitors can also attend woodcrafting classes in the craft hall or rent Scandinavian-styled boats to row along the lake.

Moominvalley Park

The second

Moomin The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white ...

theme park in the world after

Moomin World Moomin World ( fi, Muumimaailma, sv, Muminvärlden) is a theme park based on the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. It was designed by Dennis Livson, and located on the island of Kailo next to the old town of Naantali, in Southwest Finland. The blueb ...

and the first one outside of Finland. Modeled after the universe of the Moomins, the park brings to life the valley where the characters live and play and thus has few traditional attractions and is aimed more at recreating the look and feel of the fictional

Moominvalley Moominvalley ( sv, Mumindalen, fi, Muumilaakso) is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Especially in the early books Moominvalley is depicted as a beautiful place with green slopes, rivers, f ...

. In keeping with the Finnish origins of the source material, many park attractions and signs are in Finnish. The park is roughly divided into four areas: Hajimari no Irie, Moominvalley, Kokemus, and Osabishiyama. Park attractions include: * Welcome Gate: The entrance to the park, which includes photo cutouts for guests to pose with. Intended to invoke the visitors entering a story book. * Little My's Play Spots (Pikku Myyn leikkipaikka): An interactive theater-type attraction for families that performs short programs starring Little My where she invites the audience to partake in her mischief. There is also a Little My themed gift shop (Pikkku Myy Kauppa). * Moominhouse (Muumitalo): A recreation of the iconic Moominhouse where Moomintroll and his family live. Tours are available at an additional charge. The interior of the house includes several scenes that are references to events in the stories. * Lighthouse (Majakka): A recreation of the lighthouse from Moominpappa at Sea. * Bathing Hut (Uimahuone): A recreation of the bathing house from the books. * Emma's Theater (Emma Teatteri): An outdoor theater performing short shows featuring the main characters from the books. Performances are in Japanese. * Oshun Oxtra (Merenhuiske): An indoor morphing theater that depicts the adventures of Moominpappa in his youth along with Snufkin's dad the Joxter, and Sniff's dad the Muddler on the "Oshun Oxtra". * Kokemus: The exhibition hall intended to highlight the life of creator

and the creation of the books. There is also a pancake restaurant, Lettula, in the Welcome Gate. The gift shop, Alku Kauppa, sells Moomin merchandise and includes collectible Moomin items only sold in Japan.

References

{{coord, 35, 52, 21, N, 139, 19, 45.6, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title Amusement parks in Japan Moomins Tourist attractions in Saitama Prefecture