Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park

Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park (ポップタウン住道オペラパーク) is a regional shopping center in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the local company Okawa Sogyo Co., Ltd. (大川創業株式会社). It is located about a three-minute walk from Suminodo Station on JR West's Gakkentoshi Line. The center is anchored by Keihan Department Store and Daiei Gourmet City, and it also houses specialty shops, a clinic center, and cultural facilities. Its name combines "Pop Town," derived from "popular," with "Opera Park," a reference to the opera-house concept that guided its redevelopment. The origins of the center date to the early 1970s, when Okawa Sogyo was established in May 1971 and the first buildings opened in 1972. Over the following decades the complex expanded through repeated additions, including a bowling alley, an ice-skating rink, food markets, a clinic center, and additional wings. In the 2000s the older core buildings were rebuilt, and in October 2010 the complex reopened as Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park. The redevelopment was intended to create a regional shopping center with a department store as its core, while also contributing to local culture through a pipe organ and regular concerts. Today the center operates under the corporate umbrella of Okawa Sogyo, with Pops Holdings Co., Ltd. as an affiliated group company. Its main tenants include Keihan Department Store, Daiei, Fast Retailing, Nitori, and Nishimatsuya Chain. The facility includes the main building, the fifth building, the Opera Park South Wing, the Opera Park East Wing, the Pop Town Clinic Center, and the Pop Town Shijonawate Sunrich. The center positions itself as a community-oriented regional shopping center that serves the daily needs of residents in the Daito area.

The history of Pop Town Suminodo begins with Shotaro Okawa, who resumed business in Suminodo, Daito, in 1949 and established Okawa Gofukuten Co., Ltd. in 1972. He secured about 3,000 tsubo of land in front of Suminodo Station with the aim of building a shopping center. However, when he sought financing, the bank refused because Izumiya had already entered the opposite side of the station in 1968 and it was thought that Daito could not support multiple supermarkets. The bank suggested that financing would be available for a bowling alley, so a bowling alley was opened instead. To realize the shopping center, Okawa invited Daiei as a core tenant and obtained construction financing through that relationship. Okawa Kogyo Co., Ltd. was established on May 8, 1971. The name "Pop Town" was derived from "popular." On July 28, 1972, Building No. 1 opened with a bowling alley, cultural classrooms, and a restaurant area. On August 1, 1972, the Pops Meitengai opened in the basement of Building No. 2. On November 30, 1972, Building No. 2 fully opened with the Daiei Suminodo store and 51 specialty shops. The bowling alley, however, performed poorly from the start and remained in the red even after Daiei opened. Facing difficulty repaying loans, the company opened a pachinko parlor called Niconico on January 8, 1974, despite opposition from Daiei. Although it occupied about one twenty-second of Daiei's area, it generated about 60% of the high rent income, helping to restore performance. In September 1975, the basement parking area of Building No. 1 was renovated into the face-to-face food market Hops Food Center, which housed multiple butchers, greengrocers, and other food shops to create competition and allow comparison shopping alongside Daiei's self-service format. In October 1976, the first floor of the bowling alley was converted into an ice-skating rink. The success of Hops Food Center prompted a competitor called "Jumbo Market" to open across from Daiei, and 14 tenants of Hops Food Center were poached. In response, on April 16, 1977, the piloti in front of the bowling alley entrance was converted into the open-mall Hops Mall, and Takigawa Furniture opened in the former restaurant space on the first floor of Building No. 1. Hops Food Center also engaged in daily price wars, and Jumbo Market closed after about a year. On March 16, 1979, Building No. 3 opened as "Kane no Naru Machi," centered on restaurants, to make effective use of the parking lot after closing. On July 8, 1979, the Daiei store in Building No. 2 was expanded. The opening of Building No. 3 resolved the arrears in loan repayments that had continued since opening, and management normalized. However, because there were no nighttime customers as in city centers or terminal districts, the restaurants that moved in fell short of expected sales and withdrew one after another. In December 1983, a multi-story parking garage was added, increasing parking capacity to about 1,000 vehicles. In July 1984, Building No. 4, the Clinic Center, opened with internal medicine, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and a pharmacy, all open on weekends, so that patients could shop while waiting. In September 1985, the site of the former Jumbo Market was purchased and Building No. 5 opened with Lucky Suminodo store and 21 specialty shops on the first floor and cultural classrooms on the second floor. In July 1990, Hops Mall was expanded. In April 1993, a game center opened in the former rehearsal room of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra in Building No. 1. On September 25, 1993, the basement restaurant area was renovated into a food stall village. After the 20-year contract with Daiei expired and because the facility was small, there was a need to expand. However, repeated additions had developed almost the entire site. In 1993, a redevelopment concept was announced for a "town with an opera house," utilizing the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. The concept envisioned a site of about 37,400 m2 with an opera house modeled after Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu (about 20,000 m2), a department store building modeled after Spain's El Escorial monastery (about 33,000 m2), a GMS building modeled after the Alcázar of Toledo (about 15,000 m2), a specialty shop area modeled after the Generalife gardens of the Alhambra in Granada (about 20,000 m2), a hotel building modeled after the Segovia Cathedral (about 33,000 m2), and a parking building for about 2,200 cars (about 80,000 m2), with a total floor area of about 244,700 m2 (about 195,760 m2 subject to floor-area ratio). However, the site was in a neighborhood commercial district with a floor-area ratio of 300%, making the planned ratio of about 523% impossible. After approaching Governor Knock Yokoyama shortly after his inauguration, the company succeeded in getting a relaxation to 600% placed before the city planning council, and the project proceeded as "Kansai Opera Park." On March 6, 2008, the Opera Park South Wing opened with Daiei Gourmet City and others, and Buildings No. 2 and No. 3 were closed. On October 5, 2010, the rebuilding was completed and the facility opened as "Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park" with Keihan Department Store and Daiei Gourmet City as core tenants. Building No. 1 and Building No. 5, which house Kohnan and Daiso, remained in their existing buildings and continued operating. The rebuilding considered town development that would serve as the face of Daito City, and the center advocates a regional shopping center with a department store as its core, small-scale but community-oriented. Because the area was where Spanish missionaries conducted missionary work during the Sengoku period, the exterior was modeled after El Escorial monastery to create a townscape, and community facilities such as a Spanish plaza were also developed. Furthermore, because Shinichiro Okawa was a music lover who also served as a representative of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, a pipe organ was installed and regular concerts were held by the "Opera Park Yuyu Ensemble," aiming to be a facility that contributes to regional cultural development. The construction of the opera house, which had been included in the 1993 concept, was still part of future plans at the time of the opening of Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park.

• Okawa Kogyo Co., Ltd. established.

• Building No. 1 opens with bowling alley, cultural classrooms, and restaurant area.

• Pops Meitengai opens in the basement of Building No. 2.

• Building No. 2 fully opens with Daiei Suminodo store and 51 specialty shops.

• Pachinko parlor Niconico opens.

• Hops Food Center opens in renovated basement parking of Building No. 1.

• Ice-skating rink opens on the first floor of the bowling alley.

• Hops Mall opens; Takigawa Furniture opens in Building No. 1.

• Building No. 3 opens as 'Kane no Naru Machi' restaurant area.

• Daiei store in Building No. 2 expanded.

• Multi-story parking garage added, increasing capacity to about 1,000 vehicles.

• Building No. 4 Clinic Center opens.

• Building No. 5 opens with Lucky Suminodo store and 21 specialty shops.

• Hops Mall expanded.

• Game center opens in former Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsal room.

• Basement restaurant area renovated into food stall village.

• Daiei Suminodo store closes.

• Opera Park South Wing opens; Buildings No. 2 and No. 3 close.

• Rebuilding completed; opens as 'Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park' with Keihan Department Store and Daiei Gourmet City as core tenants.

Community-oriented regional shopping center with a department store as its core, serving the daily needs of Daito residents.

• Keihan Department Store

• Daiei Gourmet City

• Specialty shops

• Pop Town Clinic Center

• Pops General Cultural School

1. 1ポップタウン住道オペラパーク 公式サイトpop-town.net
2. 2会社概要｜ポップタウン住道オペラパークpop-town.net
3. 3ポップタウン住道 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
4. 4Pop Town Suminodo Opera Park - Wikidatawikidata.org