I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but Beppu is planning to build an onsen-themed theme park! (Yet another reason to come to Kyushu). You might have seen the youtube video:

The amusement park is going to be called「湯〜園地」(yu~enchi – which is a homonym for the word meaning “amusement park”) and to get it off the ground, they’ve started a crowdfunding campaign! It’s on Campfire and since the whole page is in Japanese, I thought I’d translate the rewards to English for those of you who are interested.

Individual Courses

Thank 湯 (thank yuu – they all have puns) 3000 yen course:

– Thank you mail
– name in end credits of the memorial video.

蒸しべっぴょん 5000 yen course:

– scented mushi beppyon (蒸しべっぴょん) – It’s basically a scented stuff toy of the Beppu mascot. Although it’s modelled after a popular dish, the page wants you to know that “this is not edible”.
– name in end credits (of a memorial video)

July 29th, 30th, 31st Entry ticket 8000 yen course (limited to 3000 people):

This is actually separated into three different courses, but the only difference is the date. Basically, you get

– a ticket in the shape of a towel (and you have to bring the towel to get entry)
– name in end credits

If you’re planning visit Japan in July, you might want to get this.

And if you have 300,000 yen to spare, you can get:

– one year’s free entry to any onsen in Beppu that is managed by the city. There are a total of 17 different onsens, but it doesn’t include entrance to the amusement park (although if you can afford 300,000 yen, you can probably afford an additional 8000 yen too.
– name in end credits.

If you don’t want your name in the end credits, you can choose this option and just get a thank you mail:

There is a minimum of 3000 yen, but no upper limit. If, however, you choose to donate more than 3,000,000 yen, you have to deposit the money directly into their bank account and they’ll need you to let them know that you’ll be doing so ahead of time.

Company Courses

If you’re a company and have 1,000,000 yen to spare, you can get:

– 1 minute’s worth of fireworks on the 30th of July.
– your name announced as a partner
– special viewing seats
– name in end credits.

But if you only have 500,000 yen to spare, you can get:
– 一番風呂の権利: Basically, you get to go in one hour earlier than everyone else on opening day and enjoy the amusement park without having to deal with the crowds. You can bring up to 5 friends with you too.
– entry on one of the three days in July (they didn’t really talk about this in the “notes”, but I assume this goes hand in hand with the first perk)
– name in credits

And this is a 1,500,000 yen course:

– どこでも別府温泉権: They will deliver the onsen to you and turn your house/the location you choose into your own private onsen.
– name in end credits.

And for the one lucky company with 100,000,000 yen to spare, you get:

– to get the whole park for August 1st
– name in end credits

The campaign lasts for another 59 days, so if you want in, you should move fast. I’m kinda tempted to join but I wouldn’t know what to choose. Perhaps one of the entry courses?