Little Universe, a theme park in iias Okinawa Toyosaki Mall, made its debut last spring, and with it brought an interesting mix of miniature and digital worlds.

The theme park is on the third floor of the mall and offers visitors the opportunity to feel like a giant amongst replicas of old Japan’s townscapes, including Ryukyu Kingdom and Tokyo in the 80s, and also to take a trip into the future with fun tech exploration using augmented reality (AR).

Although I had heard a lot about this new spot, I was unsure if an old guy like me, whose aged eyes struggle even with looking at a flat computer monitor, could have fun there. But my first experience of touring the park turned out great.

3D Photo Studio

Litte Universe Okinawa has 10 main attractions, and this studio is the first stop. A staff member guided me into what looked like Iron Man’s laboratory, where I was surrounded by multiple cameras pointing in all directions and taking various photos of me.

After, I installed an app on my phone and found my little alter ego appearing on my cell phone. By clicking on icons, I could manipulate this “Mini Me” like a video game character. I could even film the avatar doing some dance moves or skateboard tricks. Creating your own avatar at the 3D Photo Studio is an additional fee of 1,500 yen (about $9.80) and using the app your avatar can explore each attraction alongside you.

Infinity Tunnel and Mirror Lane

Next, I moved into a fluorescent blue tunnel and thought I would be able to detect a trap if I let my avatar go first. However, the further into the tunnel I walked, the lower the ceiling got. I felt like I was latterly becoming small like the digitized version of myself.

Waiting on the other end of the tunnel was a maze-like space illuminated with red and green light tubes. The area was surrounded by mirrors, creating an illusion of expansion. Being surrounded by mirrors, the number of lights was multiplied by many times.

Just like I did with the tunnel, I first let my mini me scout the maze. When it was my turn, I proceeded slowly, careful not to bump into a mirror or trip over a light tube, but it was fun.

Ryukyu Kingdom and RETRO TOKYO

Once I’d cleared the maze of lights, I moved onto the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429-1879) replica exhibit on a 1/80th scale. Here, a miniature Shuri Castle and surrounding structures like Shurei Gate, Una Forecourt and Omongusuku were depicted along with small figures representing local residents on the beach and a parade of envoys around the castle.

Personally, I was intrigued by the old landscape where an inlet and some rivers were still covering the west portion of Naha. I let my small avatar explore the old capital, passing by figures of locals and crossing a bridge over the inlet. On the mobile phone app, dozens of notable locations were highlighted. As I successfully reached all of them with my avatar, a staff member gave me a snack as an award.

The next miniature world transported my avatar and I to 1980s Azabu Juban District in Tokyo. The replica was just as detailed as the Ryukyu Kingdom exhibit. There were elaborate buildings filled with office workers, highways with cars and even miniature stores like Seibu Supermarket, Hiranoya Stationery Store and more. The replica even had an arcade packed with miniature teens and kids enjoying themselves.

With the speaker in the area pumping out pop songs of the 80s, I was transported back to the heyday of Japan’s bubble economy.

RYU-KYU Universe

Although the miniatures of Okinawa and Tokyo are the main features, there were more fun attractions to explore.

RYU-KYU Universe is projection mapping which digitally recreates landscape of Okinawa onto the white walls of a room of about 4,300 square feet.

Watching the scenes seamlessly change from Shuri Castle to Heiwa Dori Market with the point of view constantly being on the move, I was under the illusion that I was touring the island in a futuristic vehicle.

There was also a separate room called “The Kaleid Scope” where a series of underwater images were projected. Seeing so many fish and coral reflected not only on a big monitor but also on mirrors on the walls was breathtaking.

Toy trains and nostalgia

As I was almost at the end of the tour, I spotted a big set of toy railroads named “Ritoreeru (little rail).” Several small trains were busily going on the intricately woven rails that formed a miniature metropolis. There was also a separate set of rails that replicated Keibin Tetsudo, a railway that used to be in service in Okinawa.

As I was fascinated by the carefully replicated Yonabaru and Naha stations and the adorable small train, I almost forgot the time.

Although I was not expecting myself to spend a long time at the theme park, when I finally left the park, more than two hours had passed.

According to Rikako Hokama, a manager of Little Universe Okinawa, this theme park is still evolving.

“We typically introduce something new every month. In December, we had a new content (program) every week,” said the manager, noting that Tokyo Tower will be added to RETRO TOKYO, as will Hado VR games in the near future.

Little Universe offers so many new technologies and detailed nostalgia that it would be worth multiple visits.

Little Universe Okinawa

• GPS Coordinates: 26.157752, 127.650975 (on the third floor of iias Okinawa Toyosaki shopping mall)

• Hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. (10 a.m. – on Sat., Sun., and holidays)

• *Open 7 days a week. Last admission at 7 p.m.

• Admission: 2,800 yen for 18 years old and above, 2,100 yen for ages between 12 and 17, 1,600 yen for ages between 4 and 11. Free admission for 3 years old and under.

• *Making an avatar costs an additional 1,500 yen.

• *Through Jan. 2025, a special discount is offered to cover both the admission and making an avatar (2,500 yen for 18 years old and above, 2,000 yen for ages between 12 and 17, 1,500 yen for ages between 4 and 11, and 500 yen for 3 years old and under.

For more info, check out the website at https://www.little-universe.com/en/index.html

Camp Kinser

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