Tokyo, October 5, 2023 -- Mori Building Co., Ltd., Japan's leading urban landscape developer, announced today that it will temporarily lease individual portions of the former Palette Town complex site in Odaiba, Aomi district (ceased operations on August 31, 2022) to Katana Immersive LLC, a group company of Katana Inc., and TOM'S Inc., paving the way for two new state-of-the-art urban-entertainment facilities in the Tokyo Bay area. TOM'S CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY, the largest-scale electric vehicle (EV) go-kart circuit in Japan, will have their pre-opening on October 28 and the grand opening on November 23, followed by Katana group's IMMERSIVE FORT TOKYO, the world's first immersive theme park, will open next spring.

Immersive theater, a new category of entertainment, is attracting worldwide attention. The new facility, which will be the world's first theme park dedicated to immersive entertainment in an urban setting, is expected to attract visitors from around the world with its blend of immersion and excitement, surpassing anything offered by conventional theme parks.

EV karting is also attracting global attention as an environmentally friendly and sustainable motorsport. Since EVs generate little noise or vibration, races can be held unobtrusively at night or in urban areas, offering the potential to help revitalize Tokyo's nighttime economy. In addition, EV technological innovations in self-driving and energy-recovery are expected to contribute significantly to the automotive industry's ongoing evolution.

The former Palette Town complex, which supported the development of the Tokyo Bay area after opening in March 1999, featured diverse attractions, including the medieval Europe-themed VenusFort commercial facility, the MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless (scheduled to reopen in Azabudai Hills in January 2024), the Palette Town Giant Sky Wheel (Ferris wheel), the MEGA WEB interactive mobility theme park, and the Zepp Tokyo concert hall. The complex closed in August 2022 to make way for redevelopment and since then plans have been underway to create a vibrant new area. In order to maintain the area's vitality, however, IMMERSIVE FORT TOKYO and CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY will both open on a temporary basis while the idle site transitions to its next phase of development.

Going forward, Mori Building will continue to plan and promote highly promising urban development in the Tokyo Bay area, as well as pursue other initiatives aimed at enhancing the magnetism of Tokyo as one of the world's greatest cities.

IMMERSIVE FORT TOKYO

Immersive theaters offer highly physical and sensory experiences in which the audience actually enters the stage to participate in events and impact story narratives. In conventional theme parks and other forms of entertainment, the audience is separated from the stage, but in immersive theater no such boundaries exist, allowing the audience to become an integral part of the performance and enjoy more realistic experiences. Under this evolved format, the audience becomes part of the story and/or performance to enjoy a dramatic immersive experiences, with each participant encountering potentially hundreds of different experiences. Going forward, immersive theater is expected to attract further global attention by playing an increasingly important role in performing arts and entertainment.

IMMERSIVE FORT TOKYO, which will be the world's first immersive theme park*, will feature 12 experiential attractions centered on immersive theater. Additionally, six shops and restaurants will offer their own fully immersive experiences. Katana Inc. led by Tsuyoshi Morioka, a marketer and strategist with a proven track record in developing theme parks and entertainment facilities throughout Japan, will plan, develop and manage the project. As one of Japan's largest (approx. 30,000m2) all-weather, indoor theme parks, the immersive-experience facility is expected to generate intense excitement in the Tokyo Bay area as an urban entertainment facility spanning an all-new dimension, far exceeding experiences available at conventional theme parks, initially in Japan and later in global markets worldwide.

*World's first theme park consisted solely of multiple immersive experiences centered around an immersive theatre (researched by Katana Inc. in September 2023)

Facility Outline

• Official name: IMMERSIVE FORT TOKYO
• Location: Aomi 1chome-3, Koto-ku, Tokyo
• Opening: Spring 2024 (planned)
• Area: Approx. 30,000m²
• Attractions: 12
• Shops and restaurants: 6

CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY

EV karting, an environmentally sustainable motorsport, is gaining global momentum together with Formula E international EV car racing, which launched in 2014 and is now positioned as a world championship racing category alongside Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship (WRC), with leading automakers increasingly taking part. EV technological innovations for self-driving and energy-recovery in the facing field are expected to contribute significantly to the automotive industry's ongoing evolution. Furthermore, since EVs generate little noise or vibration, races can be held unobtrusively at night or in urban areas, offering the potential to help revitalize Tokyo's nighttime economy.

CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY, which will primarily feature EV racing karts, will be one of Japan's largest urban circuits and the only motorsports circuit in Tokyo's 23 wards. It was designed and will be operated by TOM'S, which develops EV cars for the All Japan Karting Championship, Japan's premier race kart event. Using specially designed EV race karts and simulators, the indoor and outdoor courses will provide both authentic urban racing and e-motorsports experiences through virtual reality (VR) and other means. Oversized VR and simulators will offer virtual experiences even for the elderly and those with physical limitations. There will also be go-karts designed specifically for children as young as three. As an urban-entertainment facility for all ages, nationalities and body types, CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY is sure to contribute to the vibrancy of the Tokyo Bay area.

Facility Outline

• Official name: CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY
• Location: Aomi 1chome-3, Koto-ku, Tokyo
• Pre-opening:October 28, 2023
• Grand opening: November 23, 2023
• Area: Approx. 11,000m²
• Capacity: Approx. 1,600 people

Location & Layout