Tokyo One Piece Tower, the small One Piece theme park in Tokyo Tower, is closing. But first fans can visit for free.

One Piece has been a massive hit for decades now, and if you've had any interest in anime or manga since we've entered the 21st century, then you've probably heard of Luffy and his crew of pirates. For fans of the series, the Tokyo One Piece Tower has been a go-to destination in Tokyo for the past five years (and right inside Tokyo Tower itself, too). But the outbreak of COVID-19 has changed many things about the way we live and the way our economy functions, and unfortunately Tokyo One Piece Tower is not exempt from the current situation. After summer 2020, this anime attraction in central Tokyo will be gone for good.

On July 4th, the tower posted the official announcement on their website, stating that the small theme park would be closing down for good in just a few short weeks, on July 31st. While the announcement itself left out any details of why the closure was happening, the reasons were fairly clear to anybody paying attention to the practicalities of Tokyo life in the past few months. As you can see from this Japankuru page detailing Tokyo closures/reopenings, Tokyo One Piece Tower has been closed (with just a few short exceptions) for a solid four months, starting all the way back on February 28th, following the lead of many other big city attractions. While the intentions were good, trying to keep the entertainment facility from becoming a hotspot for coronavirus infection, Tokyo One Piece Tower clearly suffered from the lack of income. With little hope in sight for any sudden economic revival, it seems that four months was the limit, and the indoor theme park is closing for good.

But before tearing down all the Tokyo One Piece Tower attractions and closing the doors for good, the theme park is having one last hurrah: two weeks of free tickets, which were available via online lottery during the first half of July.

Of course, just because the attraction is closing doesn't mean they're being entirely careless. Only a controlled number of free tickets are available for each of the final opening days, so the Tokyo One Piece Tower can limit crowds and cramped spaces. To make it even more special for the limited number of visitors, they're also offering a special "finale menu" with a variety of limited-time only desserts at the park's restaurant Cafe Mugiwara, and a last round of live performances of the One Piece show "Marionette." (The two final nights of Marionette will also be shown live on YouTube, but there's no news on whether this will be available to watch in all regions or not.)

While it's truly saddening that this popular attraction was pushed into closure by such unfortunate circumstances, at least we can hope that the biggest One Piece fans in Tokyo will get a chance to visit Tokyo One Piece Tower one last time before it closes its doors for good!

Future travelers won't be able to see Tokyo One Piece Tower, of course, but if you're planning a trip and hoping to visit some anime-themed destinations, check out our Event Calendar! You'll find out what's going on throughout Japan, including events like this manga exhibition in Roppongi and this Evangelion pop-up cafe in Shibuya. For more anime news, check here or follow Japankuru on twitter, instagram, and facebook!