EPCOT Japan Area Shut Down Effective Immediately

An area in the Japan World Showcase Pavilion at EPCOT has shut down without any fanfare from Walt Disney World Resort. Here’s what we know about the sudden (and hopefully temporary) closure.

On August 11, WDWMagic reported that the Garden House sake kiosk in the Japan World Showcase Pavilion at EPCOT had abruptly closed. Beige construction walls now surround the building, preventing guests from approaching the kiosk.

The location, which normally serves sake and other beverages to Disney Park guests, is not serving EPCOT visitors at this time. Instead, Walt Disney World Resort is urging guests to visit the small sake bar inside Mitsukoshi Department Store, the Japan World Showcase Pavilion’s biggest gift shop.

Signs on the construction walls read, “Garden House is planting something new. Please visit the Sake Bar inside Mitsukoshi. Arigato!”

In June, construction walls appeared in a walkway space steps from the Garden House, but the kiosk continued serving sake and other beverages. The new construction walls extend from those walls and are likely related to that project.

Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t shared any information about its plans for the Garden House kiosk or the nearby walkway that was walled off in June. However, permits for the latter have labeled the area as a “Gashapon Kiosk.”

Gashapon are mystery capsule machines that originated in Japan and have skyrocketed in popularity across the United States in recent years. Users insert either coins or tokens into machines featuring toys, accessories, and other items inspired by existing popular characters or original artwork.

The rest of the Japan World Showcase Pavilion at EPCOT is operating normally during this mysterious construction work. It’s unclear if the construction walls will extend anywhere else in the area.

Which EPCOT World Showcase Pavilion is your favorite? Inside the Magic would love to hear from you in the comments!