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2.18 Floating Entertainment Facilities

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As the waterfront and the sea appeal to the general public, floating structures have been constructed to house entertainment facilities with a scenic 360 degrees view of the surrounding water body. There is a very large Floating Island (130 m x 40 m x 5 m) at Onomichi, Hiroshima. Designed to resemble the Parthenon of Greece, this amusement facility has a 3D visual image theatre, an aquarium and a marina (see Fig. 37). Another floating amusement facility is the Estrayer (128 m x 38 m), shaped like a ship, which is moored at the leisure pier in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The top deck is used as an event plaza while its deck below houses a movie theatre, restaurants and a game centre.

The first floating hotel in Australia was located at the Great Barrier Reef. It was built in Singapore and is seven storey high, 90 m long and 27 m wide. In case of a cyclone, one mooring end was disconnected and the wind would blow it around in a circle after everyone has evacuated. The floating heliport, tennis courts and pool may be disconnected and towed some distance from the hotel to ride out the storm. After one year of operation, the hotel was towed to Ho-Chi-Minh, Vietnam. It is now located in North Korea.

Hong Kong boasts of having a famous floating restaurant called Jumbo Restaurant. In 1991, Japan built a floating restaurant (on a 24 m x 24 m x 3.2 m pontoon) in Yokohoma (see Fig. 38). The pier, next to the restaurant, is also a floating structure. Very large floating structures are also used as fishing piers. For example, the 101.5 m x 60 m x 3 m floating fishing pier at Awaji Island (Watanabi, 2004).

 Fig. 37 Floating Island at Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan.

 Fig. 38 Floating Restaurant in Yokohoma, Japan.

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