Check in with the velociraptor at the world’s first robot hotel

May 13, 2016 2:17 AM

Japan has a national gift for holding in balance the stateliness of tradition and the marvel of novelty. So it ought to come as no surprise that on the western margin of the archipelago, on a serene bay in a remote area of the Nagasaki Prefecture, there is an enormous theme park dedicated to the splendors of imperial Holland. It follows with perfect logic that the historical theme park’s newest lodging place is the world’s first hotel staffed by robots.
posted by ellieBOA (12 comments total)

Japan is also an expert at marketing. They really get how to do it. And right now, as Japan continues to successfully massively boost inbound tourism, we're talking about Nagasaki and the Huis Ten Bosch theme park (of interest to Chinese inbound visitors, the largest cohort of foreign tourists as of February 2016).

That's the entire point of the robots. Word-of-mouth marketing to attract people to a corner of Japan other than Tokyo or Hokkaido. Well played, Japan!
posted by My Dad at 2:31 AM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]

This is relevant to my interests.
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 3:08 AM on May 13, 2016 [3 favorites]

The park, three times the size of Tokyo Disneyland, cost an estimated $2.25 billion to build and was bankrolled in large part by one of the biggest Japanese financial institutions of the time. (It did not, however, have the distinction of being the institution’s biggest error: the lending of $2 billion to a woman who claimed to be able to read the mind of a fortune-telling ceramic toad statue.)

what

(I'm guessing that it has something to do with the Jin Chan...)
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:48 AM on May 13, 2016

Previously
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:11 AM on May 13, 2016

Wait... The Netherlands had velociraptors? You'd think they'd have done better in their various wars...
posted by Wretch729 at 7:57 AM on May 13, 2016 [4 favorites]

Huis Ten Bosch also just announced a "Kingdom of Robots" opening in July with a robot museum, and a restaurant run by robot chefs. Evidently no one in Japan has seen Westworld.

I'm going in November, will report back unless I become assimilated.
posted by Gortuk at 8:19 AM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

They requested the raptors as part of their Marshall Plan aid package. And, hey, they haven't been invaded since.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:20 AM on May 13, 2016

Velociraptors were not mentioned in the History of Japan video.
posted by Gor-ella at 8:47 AM on May 13, 2016

what
I googled, and it looks like Nui Onoue is woman. The toad's whereabouts remain unknown.
posted by fings at 12:30 PM on May 13, 2016

"Imperial" Holland?
posted by MartinWisse at 9:03 AM on May 14, 2016

Anytime velociraptors are involved I approve, but, this is particularly awesome!
posted by aaabbbccc at 4:23 PM on May 14, 2016

"Imperial" Holland?

Yup!
posted by tobascodagama at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2016