The other day my husband asked me if I thought it was possible to “fake” a beach or to create an artificial one. I immediately remembered something the Japanese have done, which in true-Japanese style is a “fake beach” done on a grand scale – complete with permanent sunny skies, perfect warm weather, fabulous white sand and waves of all sizes.
And that’s not all. In Miyaki, on the Southernmost island of Kyushu, The Ocean Dome also has a fire-spitting volcano, rainforest complete with mechanical birds, a variety of rides (like white-water rafting!), and to keep with its 21st Century theme, its very own simulated “Boardwalk” or Seaside Pier, with restaurants, cafes and boutiques galore dotted with fake palm trees.
Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest indoor water park, The Ocean Dome of Japan measures 300 metres in length, 100 metres in width and has a retractable roof. The air temperature is constantly at a balmy 30 degrees Celsius, and the wind and humidity is closely regulated by a humongous computer which controls the entire operation.
Sanitized, chlorinated heated water make up the sea, and the 85-meter shoreline of pristine beach easily makes this place too perfect for words. And the price for this perfection isn’t too cheap. For a day’s entrance fee it costs $50 per person. Rides, buggy boards and extra stuff are at an additional price.
But the strangest this about this simulated Japanese “Garden of Eden” is a REAL beach, a mere 300-meters away.