Metsä Village + Moominvalley Park = Metsä Hanno
Metsä – A forest and lake environment with a Northern European ambiance opens at Lake Miyazawa, a wooded lakeside setting in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, in autumn 2018.
The natural environment will infuse Metsä, which means forest in Finnish, with a Northern European atmosphere and create a space that provides a truly enriching experience. Metsä will comprise two zones – Metsä Village, commercial facilitates offering a Northern European lifestyle experience (opening schedule – autumn 2018), and Moominvalley Park, a theme park built around the Moomins (grand opening schedule – spring 2019).
Moominvalley Park – the world devoted to the lovable residents of Moominvalley
The first Moomin theme park outside Finland will open at Lake Miyazawa in 2018-2019. The lake’s surroundings are similar to Finland, where Tove Jansson lived and created the Moomins.
In the Moominvally Park, visitors will get to know the Moomins and their friends and make wonderful new discoveries – Moomin House, the lighthouse and bathing hut that appear in the original stories, and several attractions going through the world of Moomins. The park will convey the charm of Moomin stories and the creative imagination of their author, Tove Jansson.
Moominvalley Park will also get several restaurants and a big Moomin Store with original park products.
Metsä Village – free admission
The village will allow visitors to experience something of the Northern Europe lifestyle. No entry fee will be charged for the village, and it will function as a public park where facilities and activities are close to nature. A covered European-style market, where visitors can purchase fresh local produces, arts, and crafts, and a hotel with en-suite saunas and a facility to enjoy lakeside glamping are also being planned.
Metsä Concept
Metsä is premised on the concept of imparting six values that will provide memorably satisfying an enriching experiences for each and every visitor. The experience of adventure, of discovery, of learning new things; natural experiences – a gentle breeze at the lakeside, soft grass under foot, the changing seasons; the satisfaction of achieving goals through one’s own effort.
Logos designed by the son of Tove Jansson’s niece
Co-founder of the Finnish Kobra Agency, James Zambra, the son of Sophia Jansson, Tove Jansson’s niece, was commissioned to create three newly released logos for Metsä, Metsä Village, and Moominvalley Park.
The inspiration for the Metsä logo is the forest that extends along the shores of Lake Miyazawa, which also provides the idea for the name Metsä – “forest” in Finnish. The Metsä Village logo captures the market image and other attractions scattered through the forest. The Moominvalley Park logo represents characters from the original Moominvalley stories.
Ambassador Program & hiring employees
Along with the development team, Metsä will recruit supporters who will plan activities inside facilities to enhance the appeal and value of the overall site. A description of this ambassador program and recruitment will be released on the Metsä Official Website in January 2017.
Metsä will recruit full-time, part-time and contract employees. An announcement on the start of hiring activities will be made in due course.
New Approaches in Local Renaissance
By integrating the Metsä concept with the ample natural assets of Hanno that intricately link people with nature, such as hiking trails nestled amid a lush green backdrop of trees and a public park where people can rest and relax, FGI and Hanno will work actively together to promote a local renaissance and to encourage the harmonization of natural and urban environments for both Hanno and neighboring communities to experience and enjoy.