There's an amusement park in Japan where you can explore all of Spain on a small scale: Don Quixote, La Tomatina, and an outrageous paella

When planning a trip to Japan, one considers many stops. None of them involves visiting a little piece of Spain. Yes, you read that right. In Japan, about 6,314 miles from home, there's an amusement park that will make us feel like we haven't left our beloved Iberian Peninsula. The Land of the Rising Sun surprises Spanish travelers with representations of some of the most emblematic places in the capital, the south, or Barcelona. These representations are so unbelievable that many ask themselves once there: Am I dreaming? Well, no, it's not a dream; it's a reality. That's why today we'll explore everything about La Villa Española de Shima, the most unusual place you can visit in Japan.

The Japanese do not spare any details. When one visits the Warner Park in Madrid, you are greeted with cartoon-themed decor from the moment you walk through the gates, complete with cartoon music playing from the speakers or "epic" soundtracks. This fully immerses you in the park, and as we know, the Japanese do not skimp on detail. You may not have those lively soundtracks here, but the tunes welcoming you are even better: Bamboleo by the Gipsy Kings or Obí Oba Cada Día Te Quiero Más by Príncipe Gitano, among others. But it doesn't stop here; who typically greets you at Warner Park? Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Buzz Lightyear... Who do you think will greet you here? None other than Don Quixote and his faithful squire Sancho Panza. With such a welcome, what awaits us inside the park promises to be exciting.

Let's review some of its most important and curious areas and attractions. Starting with the main dining areas and entrance to the park, where you can feel like you've traveled to the capital with the faithful recreation of the Plaza de Cibeles, complete with its iconic fountain, and even a smaller version of a mayor square, quite well done. Among other buildings, the Replica of the Gate of the Pomegranates in Granada, churches of all types, and even the sculpture of Philip III on horseback stand out.

Another place you must not miss is the Xavier Castle Museum. A reproduction of the birthplace of Francis Xavier, the first Christian missionary to visit Japan. Delicately built to scale, the building itself represents significant historical meaning. Inside the museum, you can see a replica of the polychromatic ceiling of the Altamira cave, among many other elements of Spanish culture. You have to see it to believe it, but this is not even half of what we still have to discover in the park.

Among its most appreciated attractions, we find the Iron Bull roller coaster, which runs through a replica of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. If here we have the famous "teacups" that make you more dizzy than entertained, in Japan they've come up with La Tomatina, which is essentially the same concept, but you spin around tomatoes representing the famous festival in Buñol. Among these "gentler" attractions, we also find Gaudí's Carousel or the 360 Fantasy World of Dulcinea.

Without a doubt, there's an aesthetic that the creator of this park has particularly enjoyed, and that is the mountains of the famous Montserrat in Catalonia. This mountain has given its name to the Great Montserrat, a roller coaster designed to resemble the rocky towers situated on the suburbs of Barcelona, in northeastern Spain. This attraction is detailed almost as much as its sister, the Splash Montserrat: a water ride that goes through Montserrat and concludes with a big drop that splashes everyone riding it.

If you're feeling hungry, don't worry, because if we backtrack to the Mayor Plaza, we'll find a restaurant called "Alhambra." Though they claim to faithfully represent typical Spanish food, it leaves much to be desired in certain aspects. To whet your appetite, you might order a generous portion of ham, chorizo, croquettes, and Spanish omelette. Nothing out of this world. If we're feeling brave, we can order the paella - or the rice with things as many call it when it can't be labeled paella - which at 30 euros is a price not worth paying. For dessert, some polvorones or churros, which do not disappoint even this far from home.

With a full stomach... what would someone in Spain most want to do? Well, yes, it's the same here. If you stroll through the themed areas and arrive at Andalusia, aside from finding a small white village with cobblestone streets, you might find a few closed businesses with a padlock that reads "siesta," a Spanish custom that many countries would like to adopt in their daily routine.

This park is located in the town of Shima, two hours from Osaka by train. It opened in 1994, but it seems that it hasn't become widely known among Spaniards until these last few years, where influencers and media have emphasized its existence. More known in the dance world, as auditions are held every year in Madrid and Barcelona to hire dancers, performers, or jugglers who want to work there. Currently, the admission fee to the park is around 36 euros for adults and 25 euros for children.