As car enthusiasts we desperately want Mitsubishi to show some sign of life, preferably by building a Lancer Evolution XI or even a new Pajero/Montero. Then we read about how instead of lending a helping hand to its car division, it’s building a gigantic theme park in Japan that will rival Tokyo Disneyland in size. The proposal was announced by the city of Yokohama last week.
The park will sit on a 173-acre plot of land northwest of Yokohama, in Asahi Ward. The land was formerly part of the Kamiseya Communication Facility and returned to Japan by the US Navy in 2015. Tentatively, the name is called Kamiseya Park, but the specific theme of the theme park hasn’t been decided yet. The proposal says it will draw from modern Japanese culture, which consists of technology, anime, and video games.
Sadly, there is no mention of cars anywhere except for the fact that the parking lot will serve about 4,500 vehicles. There isn’t a lot of public transportation access to the area yet, but part of the plan includes development of a train station and bus routes to the location.
Mitsubishi Motors’ parent company, the Mitsubishi Group, oversees an enormous number of companies, including truck and bus builders Mitsubishi Fuso, as well as train builders Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. So perhaps there is some opportunity to place Mitsubishi products front and center from the expected 15 million visitors annually.
As for the park, it’s being developed by another subsidiary, Mitsubishi Estate, which designs, owns, and manages a huge number of properties in Japan. Kamiseya won’t even be its only amusement park. From air conditioners to banking to mining, there’s almost nothing the Mitsubishi Group doesn’t do. Imagine being so vast that an entire car company is but a drop in the bucket of your businesses.
Not that Mitsubishi asked us, but we hope that there will be at least some nod to Mitsubishi Motors at the new park. We’d love to see an entire land based on the art of Shusei Nagaoka, but we’d settle for a small gallery of Mitsubishi vehicles where visitors can check out a Starion or something. The park isn’t scheduled to open until 2031, so there’s plenty of time to plan.
Mitsubishi Motors in the US is profitable for the first time in a long time. While a new Evo or really even a compact pickup or anything mildly interesting would be great, I doubt the old geezers at Mitsubishi would risk their profits.