Have you ever been to a rooftop amusement park? When I was a child, I used to look forward to going to the rooftop amusement park of a department store every weekend. I am sure that there must have been many people who were taken by the hand by their mothers or fathers to go there as well.

It is now said that the number of such facilities is drastically decreasing nationwide, and many people may not even know that there are amusement facilities on the rooftops of department stores. Currently, only the Nagoya Matsuzakaya store is operating in Nagoya City.

This time, I went to Nagoya Matsuzakaya and approached the charm of a retro and nostalgic rooftop amusement park!

Matsuzakaya was originally founded in 1611 as "Ito Gofukuten" (kimono store). It is a long-established department store representing Nagoya that has been in business for over 400 years.

It is said that the idea of inviting people not only indoors but also to the rooftop began in 1907 when the Mitsukoshi drapery store opened the "Hanging Garden". Equipped with a fountain, pond, wisteria trellis, bonsai trees, a rotating panorama, and telescope, it was intended for the upper class and rich people of the time. In the Taisho era, it began to be used as a venue for events.

It wasn't until the Showa period that playground equipment and rides were installed. Rooftop amusement parks have spread across the country as department stores have changed from a place to buy luxury goods to a place where families can enjoy themselves.

You can go to the rooftop amusement park from the connecting passage on the 8th floor of the main building. (Also possible from the 9th floor) Matsuzakaya is up to the 10th floor, so please do not go to the top floor.

When you go outside, the grounds are full of retro rides and games. There are many vehicles such as Anpanman (famous Japanese animation character), Thomas, trains and planes.

Speaking of rooftop amusement parks, this is the go-cart! It is very nostalgic and makes me feel excited. There are fewer of them than there used to be, but I am glad they are still around.

I decided to try riding it! picture? No, I'm not kidding.

Staff Ishikawa-san chose Anpanman! Insert 100 yen and depart.

Is it just my imagination that the back view looks lonely? We're all grown up.

She says it's a lot of fun! Even if an adult rides, you can enjoy returning to your childhood.

The ride takes approximately two minutes. There used to be a panda ride, but I have not seen it. It is a pity (crying).

When you finish riding, you will receive a boarding certificate! This is great for children!

It is also attractive that it is not built like a general amusement park

Matsuzakaya has a wide variety of rides, especially rail rides. There is a wide variety, including Shinkansen (bullet train), trains, and Thomas. It is also well maintained.

The animals placed here and there were also strangely surreal and had a good taste (laughs)

Parents and children can ride together "Go Go Thomas"

Anpanman train

Coin-operated electric playground equipment (mover) that moves up and down when a coin is inserted is still alive. It looks like a lot of fun.

Since it was a weekday, there were no one in the park. It is a pity that since there are many playground equipment available for children to play with.

Basically, you can play for 100 yen to 200 yen, so it's a nice point that you can fully enjoy even with 1,000 yen.

The letters of "Skyland Matsuzakaya Rooftop Amusement Park" are retro and nice.

Next, I moved to the game section. The medal game is also quite substantial. It's inside a tent, so you can enjoy it even when it rains!

I also miss UFO Catcher. According to Sega's information, this is the fourth generation "New UFO Catcher" released in 1991. The background music of the standby music is the opening song of "Chibi Maruko-chan". Oh how I miss it!

After a long time, I decided to try it. Well, how much can I get?

Set your aim.

Well, it's not going well.

Once you start playing UFO catchers, you'll want to keep playing until you catch them. (Laughs) I got the result for 800 yen! I struggled unexpectedly. Many recent UFO catchers have weak arms and are difficult to catch, but the UFO catchers here have strong arms. (The rest is a matter of sense.)

The prizes are all for children, so it is easy for them to try!

Shoji: "I love Kuppy Ramune."

Ishikawa (from Hokkaido): "People from Nagoya think that Kuppy Ramune is a national specialty, but actually it's not."

Shoji: "Huh????"

Kuppy Ramune is not nationwide?! Here, I learned a shocking fact. I was surprised that it wasn't sold nationwide even though it was so delicious. There may be many other things that are not common sense among people from other region.

In this game, if you play once, you can get a ticket that gives you one free ride. You can play games for 100 yen, and you can even ride a ride! On rainy days and after sunset, you can exchange for 20 medals.

It had been a long time since I had visited a rooftop amusement park, but it was a more enjoyable place for adults than I had expected. According to the staff, many celebrities visit during their breaks, partly because there are not many people around.

In an era when there was not much in the way of entertainment as there is today, the rooftops of department stores were like paradise for children. On holidays, families would go to department stores together, buy toys, and eat at restaurants. The spinning candy wagon inside a revolving stand was like a dream come true.

Small children can only ride a limited number of rides at large amusement parks due to height restrictions. However, at a rooftop amusement park, even small children can ride the rides and there is no admission fee. Please enjoy the nostalgic rides and retro atmosphere.