Yagiyama Benyland

Yagiyama Benyland (八木山ベニーランド) is an amusement park located in the Yagiyama area of Taihaku-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It opened on April 14, 1968, as the first full-scale amusement park in the Tohoku region, three years after the neighboring Yagiyama Zoological Park opened. The park sits directly across a road from the zoo. Its name derives from Beniko (紅久), the real estate company that managed the Yagiyama area and is the parent of the operating company, Eighty (エイトリー). The park offers roughly 30 attractions ranging from thrill rides to family and children's rides. Its symbol is the "Beny Mark," a circular design enclosing the Japanese character "ベ" with the dakuten dots as eyes and "へ" as a mouth, evoking a child's smiling face. The mark inspired the mascot characters Beniño (a boy) and Beniña (a girl). The park's theme song, created for the 1968 opening, became widely familiar across Tohoku through television commercials and is used in local high school baseball cheering and as a chance theme for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles professional baseball team. Benyland operates seasonally, typically from early March until the following year's Coming of Age Day (mid-January), with limited weekend and holiday openings in late November to mid-December and early January, and full closures from mid-January to early March and late December. It forms the "Minami-Tohoku Amusement Park Council" together with Linaworld in Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture. Key attractions include the Yagiyama Cyclone roller coaster (introduced 1988), the second-generation Ferris wheel (1992), the Corkscrew (1980), Mega Dance (2002), Aero 5 (2015), Mini Cyclone (2023), and Pirates (planned for 2026). The park has weathered events such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and the retirement of its historic Jet Coaster in 2022 after carrying an estimated 8 million riders without accidents. Benyland remains a beloved local landmark in Sendai, appearing in local media, anime set in Miyagi such as Haikyu!! and Wake Up, Girls!, and even inspiring a parody commercial by Nissin Cup Noodle in 2020.

Yagiyama Benyland opened on April 14, 1968, as the first comprehensive amusement park in the Tohoku region, three years after the opening of Yagiyama Zoological Park. At opening it had 15 attractions, including a jet coaster, go-karts, teacups, a swing ride, and a space rocket. Some of these, such as the jet coaster, go-karts, and teacups, remain in operation after relocations or renewals, while others like the swing ride and space rocket were later removed. The park expanded its attractions over the years, adding a Ferris wheel and, on April 27, 1980, the Corkscrew, a double-looping coaster that was notable for its large scale and foreign-made machinery. In 1980, annual visitors peaked at approximately 500,000. On June 3, 2007, the first Sendai Cosplay Festival was held at the park with about 400 participants; a second event, the Halloween Festa, drew over 700 participants from Tohoku and the Kanto region on October 28 of that year. On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake damaged the foundations of some rides, forcing a closure until operations resumed on April 15, 2011. In 2017, ahead of the park's 50th anniversary, Aogaku (Sendai) acquired naming rights for the second-generation Ferris wheel, which was named "Ferris Wheel ~Presented by Sendai Aoba Gakusha" for two years starting March 11, 2017. In 2020, the park closed for 42 days from April 11 to May 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening on May 23. The park's theme song, created for the April 14, 1968 opening, became familiar across Tohoku through commercials. Long of unknown authorship, it was revealed in July 2006 when first released on CD that the lyricist was Fuyuhiko Masaki and the singer was Fusako Amachi; the composer was later identified as Nobuyoshi Koshibe in 2007. The song has been used in local high school baseball cheering and as a chance theme for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. It also appeared in the anime Haikyu!! and Wake Up, Girls!, and Sendai-born rakugo performer Yoichi Shunfutei uses it as his entrance music. In January 2020, Nissin Cup Noodle aired a parody commercial for Miyagi Prefecture based on Benyland's commercial. Over the decades, attractions have been added, renewed, or retired. The original Ferris wheel (1971) was replaced by the second-generation wheel in 1992. The Jet Coaster, in service since 1968, retired on November 14, 2022, after carrying a cumulative 8 million riders without accidents. The Pirate Ship Pirat, introduced in 1982, closed after an incident on April 12, 2024, when an aluminum pipe near the mast broke and decorations fell into the passenger seats; a successor, Pirates, is planned for March 2026. The park continues to operate seasonally and remains a local landmark.

• 2026

  Pirates attraction planned for March introduction.

• 2024

  Pirate Ship Pirat closes after April 12 incident; successor planned for 2026.

• 2023

  Mini Cyclone introduced in March.

• 2022

  Jet Coaster retires on November 14 after 8 million cumulative riders.

• 2020

  Closed April 11 to May 22 due to COVID-19; reopened May 23.

• 2018

  Kids Train Tozai Line introduced.

• 2017

  Naming rights for Ferris wheel acquired by Aogaku; named from March 11.

• 2015

  Aero 5 introduced.

• 2011

  Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 causes damage; park reopens April 15.

• 2007

  First Sendai Cosplay Festival held on June 3; second event on October 28.

• 2002

  Mega Dance introduced, relocated from Toshimaen.

• 1992

  Second-generation Ferris wheel introduced.

• 1988

  Yagiyama Cyclone coaster introduced.

• 1982

  Pirate Ship Pirat introduced.

• 1980

  Corkscrew coaster installed on April 27; annual visitors peak at about 500,000.

• 1971

  First Ferris wheel introduced.

• 1968

  Yagiyama Benyland opens on April 14 as the first comprehensive amusement park in Tohoku.

• 1968

  First photo session held on July 7 with Ultraman Seven, Kaiju Booska, and others.

• 1930

  Yagiyama Amusement Park opens.

A local, family-oriented amusement park serving Sendai and the wider Tohoku region, with a nostalgic, community-rooted character.

• Yagiyama Cyclone

  Roller coaster introduced in 1988, Arrow Dynamics, 600m length, 25m max height, 55° max slope, 70 km/h, 3.7G.

• Ferris Wheel (2nd generation)

  Introduced 1992, Mezzetti Industrial, 24 gondolas, 32.4m diameter, 35m max height, Italian illumination.

• Corkscrew

  Introduced 1980, Arrow Dynamics, 430m length, 22m max height, 42.5° max slope, 4-person 6-car trains.

• Mega Dance

  Introduced 2002, relocated from Toshimaen, Huss, 140° max slope, 5G.

• Aero 5

  Introduced 2015, Zamperla, 2-person 5-car trains, 109m length, 14.8 km/h, said to be Japan's slowest coaster.

• Mini Cyclone

  Introduced March 2023, Mezzetti Industrial, 4-person 4-car trains, 270m length, successor to 2022 retired coaster.

• Pirates

  Planned for March 2026, Zamperla, 35-person capacity, successor to Pirate Ship Pirat.

• Kids Train Tozai Line

  Introduced 2018, 4 cars, 166m track, modeled after Sendai Subway Tozai Line 2000 series.

• Go-karts

  Introduced 1968, course relocated 2006.

• Teacups

  Introduced 1981.

• Merry-go-round

  Classic carousel.

• Benkei-go

  Introduced 1989.

• Ducks

  Introduced 1969 as Crazy Car, renewed 2005.

• Rockin' Tug

  Introduced 2008.

• Tripping Car

  Introduced 1996.

• Mystery House

  Introduced 1971.

• Archery

  Introduced 1968.

1. 1八木山ベニーランド | 宮城仙台の遊園地benyland.com
2. 2八木山ベニーランド - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
3. 3Benyland - Wikidatawikidata.org