If you’re seeking for an alternative experience while traveling in Japan, Huis Ten Bosch will be a perfect choice. Located in the north of Nagasaki, Japan, the Dutch theme park has many special things to offer. Let’s discover Huis Ten Bosch in our travel guide.
I. What is Huis Ten Bosch?
Huis Ten Bosch (ハウステンボス) is a Dutch theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan. It resembles the Netherlands by displaying life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings in the Middle Age. Also, there are various attractions such as games, museums, windmills, wooden houses, beautiful canal, etc.
With several restaurants located in every corner of the streets, you can enjoy delicious food from all over the world. At night, Huis Ten Bosch is really lively with its famous light show.
Huis Ten Bosch is a small version of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
II. Where to stay in Huis Ten Bosch?
The hotel systems in Huis Ten Bosch are impressive. There are various hotels located in and outside the park, such as Hotel Europe, Hotel Amsterdam, and Watermark Hotel Nagasaki, and Hotel Forest Villa
Also, you can stay at Fukuoka or Sasebo / Nagasaki and make a day trip to Huis Ten Bosch.
>> Book travel tours in Nagasaki
III. Discovering Huis Ten Bosch
You’ll be surprised when visiting Huis Ten Bosch because it doesn’t look like any place in Japan. In fact, it brings the feeling of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Visiting Holland in Japan? Crazy thoughts, right? No one visits Japan and thinks “Oh we should take a canal tour and observe the beauty of tulip field”.
Honestly, I didn’t, either. I didn’t imagine that one day I would visit “Amsterdam” in Japan, but I went there, and the trip was great.
Let me take you to the park with full of Dutch architecture and delicious food.
1. Huis Ten Bosch station
Welcome to Huis Ten Bosch!
Huis Ten Bosch station is the final stop for Fukuoka – Huis Ten Bosch, so it’s really easy to get to this theme park. There are toilets in the station so just make sure to use it :)
There’s a beautiful bridge that connects the station to Huis Ten Bosch island. Following the bridge, you’ll enter the entrance gate. You can buy tickets there.
After entering the gate, it’s time to buy the ticket for Huis Ten Bosch
2. How much does it cost for Huis Ten Bosch? – Ticket price
There are different types of tickets that you can purchase. Here is the ticket price
Tips: Carry your ticket all the time
You have to show your ticket EVERYWHERE in this theme park.
Because it’s divided into different areas, you’ll need to show your ticket when you get to a different part. Also, you need to show your ticket to the attractions because Huis Ten Bosch offers different ticket package with and without attraction.
So, my advice is NOT TO LOSE your ticket! You won’t able to move around or enjoy any activity here without a ticket.
Passing through the gate, you will see this lovely architecture.
3. Canal Tour
It can’t be Amsterdam without Canal tours, right?
You can take a Canal Tour around Huis Ten Bosch and explore many beautiful Dutch buildings.
4. The Dutch Village
The architecture resembles Amsterdam – the heart of Netherlands.
Huis Ten Bosch Windmill
Here is how Huis Ten Bosch looks like from above. You can take an elevator to the highest point of this theme park and observe the scene.
A beautiful building in Huis Ten Bosch
There are some museums that you can visit in this theme park as well.
5. At night
At night, you can be blown away by the illumination display. The whole park is light up with colorful lights and parade. Huis Ten Bosch at night has a magical and romantic atmosphere at that time, so don’t miss out the night there.
The night parade is one of the reasons why you should visit Huis ten Bosch
The royal palace in Huis Ten Bosch
Huis ten Bosch Palace is a royal palace in The Hague in the Netherlands. This Palace was built for Queen Beatrix in 1981, and it was the home of Princess Beatrix until early 2014.
Visitors are required to pay an extra fee to visit this palace. The design is really beautiful, so it’s worth a visit.
After visiting Huis ten Bosch Palace, it’s time to watch fireworks!
Don’t miss the firework at 9 pm!
Note:
- No Weed is Allowed: Even though it resembles the Netherlands, it’s illegal to buy and smoke weed here. So, the atmosphere is a bit different from the “real” Amsterdam, where you can get high easily just by walking on the street.
- No Red Light District: There’s no red light district in Huis Ten Bosch either. I was expecting something like that before I went, but Huis Ten Bosch was still a theme park for all ages.
IV. What to eat in Huis Ten Bosch?
There are various restaurants, food stands to choose from. Kyushu island is famous for ramen, so it will be great to have a bowl of hot ramen after a whole day discovering the area.
Kyushu has the best ramen in Japan, and the restaurant serves amazing ramen soup with cheap price.
Also, Sasebo burger is a must-try food if you visit Nagasaki. This burger is really famous in the region, and it’s tasty too!
Sasebo burger is simple but yummy!
If you’re looking for something cold, yogurt is a great choice
V. How to get to Huis Ten Bosch?
You can take a direct train from Hakata station, Fukuoka to Huis Ten Bosch station. The journey is around 2 hours, and it’s the final stop so you won’t get lost (If you get on the correct train of course). Hakata Train Station is huge, so make sure that you’re on the right train.
Also, you can check out the JR Kyushu Train.
You can use the JR Kyushu Rail Pass for this train. I recommend purchasing JR Kyushu Rail Pass if you’re in Kyushu. In order to buy this pass, you must fulfill these 2 requirements:
- Hold a passport issued by a country other than Japan.
- Reside outside Japan and are visiting Japan on a short-stay visa.
You can ride Shinkansen with this Rail Pass as well.
I hope you will have a nice trip to Huis Ten Bosch! XO
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* This article was updated on 30th April 2018
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How interesting! I had never heard of Amsterdam in Japan before and doesn’t it look just like it! Thanks so much for the handy details for visitors to use the rail pass – I must remember that! And no weed allowed… lol!
It looks really similar to Amsterdam, doesn’t it? Rail pass is really necessary if you want to travel cheaply around the area :)
Japan sure does have everything, doesn’t it! I certainly wouldn’t expect a Dutch influence though! This is super unique – and at the same time, not overly surprising that it exists in Japan! The architecture and buildings are incredible over there, so they really can create anything they want. How fascinating! Although Japan is very strict on drugs…so not quite the ‘true’ Amsterdam experience ha ha!
Haha, I agree with the “drug” part! Lots of people visit Amsterdam, or Netherlands in general just to try some weeds… so this is not “true Amsterdam” ^^
This is such a fantastic park Ha! I’m so impressed by how they got everything right, including the Dutch grey weather! Great tip about not losing your ticket; I’ll remember that. And yes, I’m not surprised there’s no smoking weed or a red light district here!
Thank you, Lisa. It’s really important not to lose your ticket here ;)
This is so cool! I can’t believe this is in Japan, wish I had seen this post before traveling to Fukuoka.
Thank you, Kim. This place is in Nagasaki, so it’s not far from Fukuoka!
Whoa, what an interesting and totally unique concept. I love the idea of being able to visit two places at once! Though I’ve never been to Japan, Huis Ten Bosch seems to be a spot-on replica of Amsterdam. So cool!
Hope you can visit this theme park one day. It’s an interesting place to go in Kyushu island :)
Japan is really blessed with a lot of theme parks. And this is the first time I’ve heard about Huis ten Bosch. Will probably consider it when I visit Japan next year. But Nagasaki seems too far to me.
It’s truly difficult to reach Nagasaki, but this theme park is something you should go! It’s special because it looks like Amsterdam but in Japan!
This does look like Holland. And it looks really beautiful. I have heard that there is so much to see in places other than Tokyo and this place does prove that. Thanks for sharing this
It’s true that there’re so many beautiful places in Japan to visit besides Tokyo!
Wow this sounds like such an offbeat place to visit in Japan. Your tip about carrying the ticket all the time and not losing it once you enter the park is so helpful. I have a very bad habit of doing away with the ticket once I clear the entrance.
Thank you, Tania. It’s really important not to lose your ticket!
This theme park is so beautiful. I’ve never heard of it before and I’d never have guessed that it was in Japan if I just had to see the photos. Haha, to the note on weed and the red-light district.
I think the weed and red-light district are the only differences haha xD
I couldn’t believe there was such a place in Japan until I visited it.
Wow, this is so odd! I’ve never heard of this and didn’t think something like this would ever exist ha! Very interesting and clever, looks very much like the Netherlands!
Thank you, Danielle, for sharing your opinion. This theme-park really looks like the Netherlands :)
This looks like Netherlands or Belgium, it is so similar. Loved the detailed write-up. We would have never thought about a Dutch garden in the Japanese world. Beautiful shots of the fireworks.
Thank you. This place resembles the architecture of Netherlands so it’s really unique :)
Wow! I had no idea about this. :) So cool, it looks lovely!
Thanks!
I am so surprised with this! It looks a lot like amsterdam!! This is something I would definitely visit if I travel to Japan (which I really want). Is there people living there, or is it just for tourists?
Thanks for sharing and for all the info!
This is just a theme park so there are hotels for tourists :)
I live in The Netherlands and I had no idea this park existed! Lol! It’s so cool! I’ll definitely add it to my bucket list!
Great! You will love the park for sure :)