Snow may cover the landscape outside the Kenji World complex at Morioka, Japan, but inside it's always summer. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
Snow may cover the landscape outside the Kenji World complex at Morioka, Japan, but inside it's always summer. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
Terraced waterfalls and a kiddie pool, in foreground, provide calmer water fun for youngsters at Kenji World water park. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
A wave-making machine at Kenji World can produce waves as high as four feet. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
Airmen 1st Class Mychael Johnson and a friend, Airman 1st Class Zenetra Thigpen, splash into a pool after riding through a waterslide at Kenji World. Both are assigned to the 373rd Intelligence Squadron, at Misawa Air Base, Japan. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
Swimmers prepare to pass through a waterfall as they enjoy Kenji World's circulating river of water that encompasses the entire second floor of the indoor swimming attraction. (Wayne Specht / S&S)
MORIOKA, Japan — It’s always summertime just three hours south of snow-covered Misawa Air Base where artificial palm trees, water slides and a wave-making machine await visitors at Kenji World.
Enclosed in a cavernous climate-controlled building, the water park is a virtual Mecca to the swim set in frigid northern Japan, drawing 250,000 visitors annually.
Opened in 1995, Kenji World’s centerpiece is its indoor pool holding 1,500 cubic tons of water.
A wave generator creates waves ranging from shin-height to as tall as 4 feet suitable for some pretty decent boogie board rides.
Five water slides, three for tubers and two for rides on the seat of your trunks, terminate in separate pools. One- and two-person tubes with handholds are provided.
Youngsters can cavort in shallow wading pools, or try their daring on 5-foot-long waterslides in a terraced corner of the park.
On the second floor terrace is a 12-foot-wide moving river of water that passes through tunnels, strobe lights and water sprays while circumnavigating the wave pool. It takes a leisurely 10 minutes to make one revolution.
Hidden away in passageways surrounding the main pool are bubbling warm spas including ones with plastic goldfish that kids just love.
For a nominal fee, you can wrap yourself in hot towels and get a massage in the aesthetic room.
Uki-uki is a Hawaiian-theme restaurant offering entrees at reasonable prices, and if you forget to bring a bathing suit, racks of rental swimsuits can be found on the second-floor lobby. Prices begin at 200 yen (about $1.75).
Boogie boards and youngster-size swim rings can also be rented.
Kenji World’s temperate waters and summer-like climate agreed with several Misawa troops who came on a bus sponsored by the base’s Four Seasons travel center.
“I’m from San Bernardino, Calif., and I love getting into the water” said Airman 1st Class Mychael Johnson swimming with a friend, Airman 1st Class Zenetra Thigpen. Both are assigned to Misawa’s 373rd Intelligence Squadron.
Johnson said he came to Kenji World by luck. He won tickets in a contest at the base.
Misawa’s Four Seasons travel office sponsors bus tours to the attraction throughout the year. Cost is $40 for adults that include bus transportation and all-day admission to Kenji World. Call Four Seasons at 226-3555 to find out when the next trip is scheduled.
If you go to Kenji World on your own, weekday admission is 2,000 yen (or about $17.39) for adults, and (or about $10.43) for children ages 3-12. Fees are slightly higher on weekends.
Fees include locker space for valuables and access to shower rooms with complimentary shampoo, body soap and hair dryers. A Japanese-style onsen, or hot bath, is also on the premises and costs 600 yen (or $5.22).
Kenji World is open year-round from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Last entry is 8 p.m. daily.
If you go ...
Getting there: Take the Michinoku Expressway south from Misawa, which merges with the Tohoku Expressway, and get off at the Morioka interchange.
Tolls are steep: 3,650 yen (or about $31.74) each way.
Head west on Route 46 towards Akita for 9 miles, then turn left at the Lawson’s store on the right side of the highway.
Look for the Kenji World sign which is 4 miles from the water park. Total mileage is 117 miles each way.
Admission: There’s ample parking at the attraction. If you go to Kenji World on your own, weekday admission is 2,000 yen (or about $17.39) for adults, and about $10.43 for children ages 3-12. Fees are slightly higher on weekends.
What you get: Fees include locker space for valuables and access to shower rooms with complimentary shampoo, body soap and hair dryers.
A Japanese-style onsen, or hot bath, is also on the premises. It costs 600 yen (or $5.22).
When to go: Kenji World is open year-round from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Last entry is 8 p.m. daily.
