The O park Bio Resort and Hotel will have their annual sky lantern event again in 2023. However, this year they have changed the name from “Satoyama Sky Lantern Night” to “Satoyama Winter Night”. It will only be on Saturdays and Sunday nights this year, between 7 and 8 pm. Moreover, this year the number of lanterns are capped to twenty; first come, first served, but they do accept advance reservations.
O Park was initially Opark (one word) when they re-branded in 2018, but they now use two separate words. Moreover, they now go by the full name of Bio-resort Hotel & Spa O park Ogose. The resort has had more name changes in the last four years than I’ve had hot suppers, as we say back in Ireland! You might know it as Opark, You Park or Yuu Park or Little Indian Village or Ogose Fureai center or maybe another name that I’ve yet to hear of!
Whatever you call it, it is a very nice camping and glamping spot in Ogose town. Furthermore, they have a great roofed barbecue area for day trippers. Moreover, it has several recreational facilities that can be used by the general public too. Including their indoor baths and pool. As well as a great play area for kids. It is one of several leisure facilities in Saitama Prefecture by the leisure company Onsen Dojo.
Satoyama Winter Night
The Sky Lantern event is open to the public as well as guests of the resort. The lanterns are made out of helium and use LED lights so they are safe for children to use too. There are five different colors to choose from. Participation costs 2200 yen per lantern, which may sound expensive, but the lanterns at Kawajima’s lantern night were 3500 yen this year! They only sell a maximum of 20 lanterns a night, so it is advised to book in advance. They are available on Saturday and Sunday nights from Saturday December 2nd 2023 to January 28th 2024. You can launch them (don’t let go of the string) between 7 and 8 pm on those nights.
The featured image (at the top of post) is from the official press release for this event in 2020. And the photo above is from the 2021 press release from Onsen Dojo. Onsen Dojo as the management company manage the press releases of O park and several other hot springs and leisure facilities around Japan. Facilities in Saitama on this blog include:
- Glamping, BBQ, Baths, Play at Opark (You Park) | OGOSE
- Comoriver Tokitama Himitsu Kichi| TOKIGAWA
- Award winning Ofuro Cafe Bivouac | KUMAGAYA
- Award winning Retro Tamagawa Hot springs and Sento | TOKIGAWA
Information
Event: Satoyama Winter Night 里山ウィンターナイト
Dates: Saturday and Sunday nights between Saturday December 2nd 2023 and Sunday January 28th 2024.
Times: between 7 and 8 pm
Cost: 2200 yen per lantern
Venue: Bio Resort Hotel and Spa O Park :
Venue Information
Address: 3083-1 Ueno, Ogose, Iruma District, Saitama 350-0415. View on Google Maps.
Access
Thanks to a shuttle bus that runs between Opark and two stations, Opark Ogose is quite easy to get to, even by public transport. The shuttle bus takes two courses: Ogose course and Moroyama course. The latter is very infrequent with only two buses a day, but it stops and picks up at both Bushu Nagase and Higashi Moro stations. However, the Ogose course goes once an hour. You can get it from outside the Ogose Tourist Office at Ogose Station. The 2022 timetable is here. The bus only takes about 6 minutes to / from Ogose station. You can also walk from both Ogose and Higashi-moro stations. It takes about 30 minutes on foot from both.
By car the nearest highway is the Kanetsu expressway. Both Sakado Nishi (Smart) and Tsurugashima exits are about a 30 minute drive from Yu Park. Please note that as Sakado Nishi is a smart interchange, you must have an ETC card to use it. There are a number of different car parks throughout the grounds. The one nearest the reception building holds about 40 cars.
More information about the resort in English:
On Google Maps
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beautiful colours