---
title: Who Operates Mollyfantasy? The Family Playgrounds in AEON Malls and the Role of Purikura Photo Sticker Machines
url: https://joelin.cc/en/p/9830
source: https://joelin.cc/en/p/9830
lang: en
pubDate: '2026-10-12'
date_modified: '2026-10-12'
description: Mollyfantasy is AEON Fantasy’s family amusement chain. Explore its operator, history, customers, and the role of purikura machines at 216 documented Japanese branches.
author: joe
ai_role: ai_only
translation_of: /p/9830
about:
- name: AEON Fantasy
sameAs:
- https://www.fantasy.co.jp/
- name: Mollyfantasy
sameAs:
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92437201
mentions:
- name: AEON Fantasy
sameAs:
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11286058
- name: AEON
sameAs:
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q271413
- name: FURYU
sameAs:
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11333792
---
# Who Operates Mollyfantasy? The Family Playgrounds in AEON Malls and the Role of Purikura Photo Sticker Machines
## Summary
モーリーファンタジー (Mollyfantasy) is a chain of family amusement facilities operated by 株式会社イオンファンタジー (AEON Fantasy) inside AEON shopping centers. イオンファンタジー began in 1988 as an internal venture at ジャスコ, AEON’s predecessor, and was incorporated in February 1997. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market, with AEON holding 60.47% as of February 28, 2026. Its official website reported 806 locations across all brands as of August 31, 2026, while the モーリーファンタジー website listed 380 locations when checked on September 24, 2026.
The official positioning centers on children and families. The brand page lists rides, claw machines, and medal games as representative attractions; it does not list purikura photo sticker machines. Using FURYU’s official machine-location map, photobooth.joelin.cc documents 216 モーリーファンタジー branches with purikura machines in Japan, with 531 machine-model registrations across 45 prefectures. Of these branches, 141 are tagged as offering ID photos, and 179 have イオン in their addresses. The 216 figure counts branches this site has confirmed have purikura machines. It uses a different scope from the official website’s 380 locations, so the two figures cannot be subtracted from each other.
No official information was found on costume loans, makeup stations, curling irons, or changing rooms. Official LINE account offers and flat-rate unlimited-play plans are designed for the amusement facility as a whole, rather than specifically for purikura. The company’s PURI SPOT PALO is a purikura specialty shop located alongside a claw-machine shop. Only one location, at 博多マルイ, was officially confirmed; it opened in March 2024.
### Key facts
- モーリーファンタジー is operated by 株式会社イオンファンタジー. The business began in 1988 as an internal venture at ジャスコ, AEON’s predecessor, and the company was established on February 14, 1997.
- イオンファンタジー is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. イオン株式会社 held 60.47% as of February 28, 2026.
- Official website location counts: 806 across all イオンファンタジー brands as of August 31, 2026; 380 for モーリーファンタジー when checked on September 24, 2026.
- モーリーファンタジー’s official brand page focuses on children and families and does not list purikura machines among its representative attractions.
- photobooth.joelin.cc documents 216 モーリーファンタジー branches with purikura machines in Japan, with 531 machine-model registrations across 45 prefectures, checked on September 24, 2026. This is a branch count, not the company’s total location count.
- Of the site’s 216 branches, 141 are tagged as offering ID photos, and 179 have イオン in their addresses.
- No information on costume loans, makeup stations, curling irons, or changing rooms was found in モーリーファンタジー’s official materials.
- イオンファンタジー’s history: it began as ジャスコ’s “アミューズメント事業課” in 1988, was incorporated in 1997, listed on JASDAQ in 2002 and the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section in 2005, and began expanding into China and ASEAN countries in 2007. The official location table reported 806 locations in Japan and 498 in eight overseas countries as of August 31, 2026.
- PALO officially targets young adults and older customers; モーリーファンタジー targets children of elementary-school age and younger, their families, and older adults. Official counts as of February 28, 2024 were 37 PALO locations, 212 TOYS SPOT PALO locations, and 59 PRIZE SPOT PALO locations.
- PURI SPOT PALO is イオンファンタジー’s purikura specialty shop format, located alongside PRIZE SPOT PALO. One location was officially confirmed: the 博多マルイ shop, which opened on March 22, 2024.
モーリーファンタジー (Mollyfantasy) is a family amusement facility inside AEON shopping centers, operated by イオンファンタジー, a listed subsidiary of the AEON group. Purikura machines are one of many types of machines here, rather than the main attraction: the official brand page talks about children and families, and its list of representative attractions does not include purikura machines. But because there are so many locations, and because they sit amid shopping-mall foot traffic, you will often come across purikura machines inside モーリーファンタジー when looking for them in Japan.
This article is a company study in the series on Japan’s purikura distribution channels. For a comparison of ten operators and the three layers of manufacturers, venue operators, and brands, see the [series overview](/p/9820). This article focuses on モーリーファンタジー alone: who operates it, how it is positioned, and what role purikura machines play inside its locations.
モーリーファンタジー inside イオンモール登美ヶ丘 in Nara, March 2012. The facility occupies part of a shopping-mall floor, an immediately visible difference from a street-front arcade. Photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima, [CC0 public domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), [original image](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MollyFantasy_Tomigaoka_store.jpg).
## The operator: イオンファンタジー
モーリーファンタジー is operated by 株式会社イオンファンタジー (AEON Fantasy). It began in 1988 as an internal venture at ジャスコ, AEON’s predecessor, and was formally incorporated in February 1997. The official company profile describes its main business as operating “amusement facilities” and “playgrounds” inside shopping centers—in other words, amusement facilities and indoor play spaces within malls.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | 株式会社イオンファンタジー |
| Origins | An internal venture at ジャスコ, AEON’s predecessor, in 1988 |
| Established | February 14, 1997 |
| Listing | Listed on JASDAQ in February 2002, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section from February 2005, and moved to the Prime Market in April 2022 |
| Parent group | イオン株式会社 held 60.47% as of February 28, 2026; AEON itself is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market (8267) |
| Scale | Capital of ¥1.829 billion; consolidated revenue of ¥93.3 billion (FY2026); average workforce of 7,974, with part-time employees converted to full-time equivalents |
| Locations | 806 on the official website, covering all イオンファンタジー brands, with the website specifying August 31, 2026 as the reference date |
| モーリーファンタジー locations | 380 on the official website, checked on September 24, 2026; the location search page displayed “380 results in total” |
The table contains two location counts with different scopes. The 806 figure covers all イオンファンタジー brands: alongside モーリーファンタジー, these include PALO formats, indoor playgrounds, and claw-machine specialty shops. The 380 figure is the result of the モーリーファンタジー brand’s own location search. Both come from the official website, but their reference dates also differ.
The company’s positioning shapes what its locations look like. イオンファンタジー is not a chain of street-front arcades; almost all its expansion takes place inside AEON shopping centers. This is why this site classifies it as a venue operator, yet it feels distinctly different when compared with street-front arcade chains such as GiGO and タイトーステーション. Shopping centers themselves—such as イオンモール and PARCO—form another layer, discussed separately and outside this series.
## History: from a department within ジャスコ to locations in nine countries
イオンファンタジー began as a department within a retail group, rather than as a company. The official message from management says it started in 1988 as “アミューズメント事業課,” an amusement business department established as an internal venture at 株式会社ジャスコ. The timeline below is compiled from the official company profile, checked on September 25, 2026.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1988 | The internal venture “アミューズメント事業課” began within ジャスコ |
| February 1997 | 株式会社イオンファンタジー was established |
| March 1997 | Began operations on March 21 by taking over locations from ジャスコ, now イオン株式会社; in the same month, to change the par value of its shares, it merged with ファンタジーアイランド, the nominal surviving company, and adopted its current name |
| February 2002 | Listed on JASDAQ |
| November 2003 | Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Second Section |
| February 2005 | Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section |
| April 2006 | Acquired all shares of 株式会社マイカルクリエイト, then merged with it in August of the same year |
| September 2007 | Established a wholly owned subsidiary in Beijing, now 永旺幻想（中國）兒童遊樂有限公司; this marks the beginning of overseas operations in the official history |
| July 2009 | Introduced the children’s play area “ファンタジースキッズガーデン” for the first time at the モーリーファンタジー与野 location |
| December 2010 | Opened the first location of the indoor playground brand “キッズーナ” in Omiya |
| March 2011–July 2017 | Established subsidiaries in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam in succession |
| June 2015 | Merged with 株式会社ファンフィールド |
| April 2022 | Selected the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market; in the same month, recast the corporate credo used since its founding as its “purpose” |
| November 2022 | Held a celebration marking “1,000 locations worldwide” |
| End of August 2026 | Official website location table: 806 in Japan and 498 in eight overseas countries |
This timeline can be divided into three periods.
- The initial period involved becoming independent within the group: in 1988 it was still just a department within ジャスコ; in 1997 it became a company and took over its parent’s locations; from 2002 to 2005 it progressed from JASDAQ to the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section.
- The domestic strengthening period included acquiring マイカルクリエイト in 2006 and merging with ファンフィールド in 2015. The introduction of young children’s play areas and indoor playgrounds in 2009 and 2010 extended the business from “game machines” to “spaces where children can play.”
- The overseas period began in Beijing in 2007, followed by subsidiaries in five Southeast Asian countries between 2011 and 2017.
The location table in the official company profile, dated August 31, 2026, lists 806 locations in Japan and 498 in eight overseas countries, making nine countries in total. The heading on the same page gives a total of 1,294 locations, which does not match the sum of the two table figures, 1,304. This article uses the figures in the table.
The モーリーファンタジー brand also operates beyond Japan. The official business introduction lists Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia as its markets, with 598 brand locations as of February 28, 2024, including モーリーファンタジーｆ and Tiny Mollyfantasy. The official history does not state when the モーリーファンタジー name first came into use.
## Brand positioning: an amusement facility for children and families
モーリーファンタジー’s official descriptions consistently center on children and families.
- The company’s business introduction says its starting point is being “bright, clean, safe, and reassuring,” serving a broad customer base centered on children and their families.
- The brand page describes モーリーファンタジー as family entertainment that brings smiles to everyone in the family.
- The official business introduction identifies its target customers as children of elementary-school age and younger, their families, and older adults.
- It has areas divided by age, such as “のびっこ” for ages 0–2 and “わいわいぱーく” for children from infancy through the early elementary-school years.
- The representative attractions listed by the company mainly consist of rides, crane games or claw machines, medal games, and pretend-play equipment.
Neither プリクラ nor プリントシール機 appears in this list. The official brand page does not name purikura machines as a representative attraction. This is key to understanding モーリーファンタジー: purikura machines are present, but the company does not treat them as a selling point.
That differs markedly from the usual image of Japan’s purikura customers: young women, friends, couples, and people taking costume photos, known as コスプリ. モーリーファンタジー’s core setting is families taking their children to the mall on weekends. A purikura machine is simply one of the machines available in that setting.
## The place of purikura machines: what this site’s data shows
Although the official materials do not emphasize them, purikura photo sticker machines—called プリクラ in Japanese and often “貼紙相” in Hong Kong—are fairly common in モーリーファンタジー. The purikura database I maintain, [photobooth.joelin.cc’s モーリーファンタジー page](https://photobooth.joelin.cc/brand/mollyfantasy/), documents 216 branches with purikura machines in Japan, with 531 machine-model registrations across 45 prefectures, checked on September 24, 2026.
This figure needs to be considered separately from the official website’s 380 locations. They measure different things:
- The 216 figure counts branches where this site has confirmed, location by location, that purikura machines are installed. This site does not include branches without purikura machines.
- The 380 figure counts all locations listed in the company’s official location search.
- The two figures cannot be subtracted from each other. A branch missing from this site only means that we currently lack data to confirm it; it does not mean the branch has no purikura machines.
Several characteristics emerge from these 216 records.
### The source is FURYU’s official machine-location map
The source field for all 216 records points to FURYU’s official map of locations with its machines. In other words, we see モーリーファンタジー’s purikura machines from the manufacturer’s side. Each record lists machine-model names, such as Meidy, CENTI:U, and わたウサ. The limitation of this source must also be clear: it reflects machines registered on FURYU’s map, rather than a complete inventory of every purikura machine in each facility. For the manufacturer’s background and financial reports, see [the transformation of Japan’s purikura leader FURYU](/p/1918).
### ID-photo functions are common
Based on facility tags on FURYU’s map, this site records 141 of the 216 branches as offering “ID photos,” 107 as offering “full-body photos,” 57 as having the “latest models,” and 39 as supporting “group photos.” A branch can have multiple tags.
The ID-photo function, called “証明プリ” in Japanese, uses a purikura machine to produce headshots for identification documents or résumés. At a family-oriented venue inside a shopping center, this practical use exists alongside ordinary purikura entertainment.
### Almost all are inside shopping centers or large retail stores
Of the 216 branches, 179 have an イオン shopping center or store name in their address, such as イオンモール, イオンスーパーセンター, or イオンタウン. The remaining 37 are inside shopping centers or large retail stores with other names, such as ビバモール, ゆめタウン, アル・プラザ, and ダイエー, as well as large-format retailers such as トライアル and ミスターマックス. This matches the company’s description of its business as operating amusement facilities inside shopping centers.
Taken together, these three observations make the role of purikura machines at モーリーファンタジー clear: they are not the reason customers make a special trip. They are one type of machine the facility offers to passing mall visitors—for a fun photo, or for an ID photo.
## Purikura-related services: what is available and what is undocumented
Some venue operators in Japan add services around their purikura areas, such as costume loans, makeup stations, and curling irons. The table below summarizes モーリーファンタジー’s official information on these services, checked on September 24, 2026. Prices and opening hours vary by location and change frequently, so this article does not list figures; consult the official pages.
| Service | Available / undocumented | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Purikura machines | Available at some branches | This site documents 216 branches with purikura machines; the official brand page does not list them as a representative attraction |
| Costume loans for コスプリ | No information found | No information on this service was found in official brand-level materials |
| Makeup stations | No information found | No explicit explanation was found in official materials |
| Curling-iron loans | No information found | No explicit explanation was found in official materials |
| Changing rooms | No information found | No explicit explanation was found in official materials |
| Official LINE account offers | Available | Adding the account as a friend lets users choose one benefit; the offers cover game machines generally, rather than purikura specifically (official explanation) |
| Flat-rate unlimited-play plan, マイよくばりパス | Available | The official page does not explain whether the plan applies to purikura machines (official explanation) |
| Restrictions based on gender or entering alone | No information found | No relevant rules were found in official materials |
The point of the table is that none of the supporting services directly related to purikura could be documented in モーリーファンタジー’s official materials. The available offers and plans are designed for the amusement facility as a whole, rather than for purikura.
Compared with Japan’s purikura venue operators overall, this finding is unsurprising. In this site’s compilation of Japanese コスプリ venues, costume loans are concentrated in locations that promote purikura as a signature attraction, such as タイトー’s brooming areas and GiGO 池袋2号館. No official information on this service was found for family-oriented operators based in shopping centers. Venues where visitors can borrow costumes are collected in the [list of コスプリ venues in Japan](https://photobooth.joelin.cc/japan/cosplay/).
## Other names under the company: the PALO family and PURI SPOT PALO
モーリーファンタジー is not イオンファンタジー’s only brand. The official brand introduction page also lists モーリーファンタジーｆ, PALO, TOYS SPOT PALO, PRIZE SPOT PALO, the クレーン横丁 family, and Feedy Diner&Arcade. The official positioning of several names relevant to this article is shown below.
| Visual identity | Name | Official positioning and target customers | Official website location count |
|---|---|---|---|
|  | モーリーファンタジーｆ | An amusement facility for everyone from children to grandparents; target customers: children of elementary-school age and younger, their families, older adults, and young adults | 9 locations as of February 28, 2024 |
|  | PALO | An amusement space with the slogan “MY PLACE, MY STYLE,” encouraging people to play in their own way; target customers: young adults and older | 37 locations as of February 28, 2024 |
|  | TOYS SPOT PALO | A capsule-toy specialty shop; target customers: children through middle-aged adults | 212 locations as of February 28, 2024 |
|  | PRIZE SPOT PALO | A claw-machine, or prize-game, specialty shop; target customers: children through middle-aged adults | 59 locations as of February 28, 2024 |
|  | PURI SPOT PALO | A purikura photo sticker machine specialty shop located alongside PRIZE SPOT PALO; target customers: no official information found | 1 officially confirmed location, checked on September 24, 2026 |
The key distinction in this table is the customer base. モーリーファンタジー names children of elementary-school age and younger and their families; PALO names “young adults and older”; TOYS SPOT PALO and PRIZE SPOT PALO target children through middle-aged adults. The same company uses different names to serve families and younger customers separately.
PALO, TOYS SPOT PALO, and PRIZE SPOT PALO all operate in Japan and Malaysia, while モーリーファンタジーｆ operates only in Japan. The location counts are dated February 28, 2024 in the official business introduction. These were the most recent brand-level figures found for this article. The company-wide total of 806 locations refers to a different date, August 31, 2026, so the figures cannot be directly added, subtracted, or compared. None of the names in the table is a standalone purikura brand formally designated as such at the company level.
This site separately documents 44 venues with purikura machines under PALO-related names. Under this site’s classification, they are not included on the モーリーファンタジー brand page and do not count toward the 216 branches discussed earlier.
One example approaching a “purikura brand” deserves a further note: PURI SPOT PALO (プリスポットパロ).
- It is a purikura photo sticker machine specialty shop sharing a space with the claw-machine specialty shop PRIZE SPOT PALO.
- The official press release describes it as a shop stocked with the latest purikura machines.
- The only officially confirmed location is at 博多マルイ, which opened on March 22, 2024.
- It has no separate brand introduction page. In the location search, it appears as a facility filter, rather than as a brand tab.
PURI SPOT PALO therefore looks more like a format イオンファンタジー has installed alongside another business within one location. It has not yet reached the status of purikura brands such as brooming and eggnam, which have their own brand pages and names used across multiple locations. For a broader comparison of venue operators developing their own purikura brands, see the section “Venue operators are also developing their own purikura brands” in the [series overview](/p/9820).
## Placing it back in the series
When I compiled information on Japan’s purikura industry in September 2026, I divided the relevant companies into three categories: manufacturers make machines, such as FURYU and SEGA; venue operators install machines, such as arcade companies where purikura is just one type of machine on the premises; and brands run shops specializing in purikura, such as girls mignon, Photoism, brooming, and eggnam. モーリーファンタジー belongs to the venue-operator category.
Within that category, it is a particularly “un-purikura-like” business: its parent is a retail group, its locations are inside shopping centers, its customers are families and children, and its official brand page does not list purikura as a representative attraction. That makes it a useful point of comparison. The same FURYU machines serve very different people when installed in an Akihabara arcade versus a family amusement facility inside イオンモール.
For how Japan’s purikura industry developed over thirty years, including manufacturers entering and leaving the market and the origins of listed companies, see [a thirty-year history of Japan’s purikura industry](/p/9821). For the broader industry picture across Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, see the [main purikura industry article](/p/5848).
## Related reading
- [More than 40% of Japan’s purikura machines are in arcades: the three layers of manufacturers, venue operators, and brands, and the parent companies of ten chains](/p/9820)—the series overview, comparing ten venue operators in one table
- [A thirty-year history of Japan’s purikura industry](/p/9821)—Japan’s purikura industry from 1995 onward
- [The transformation of Japan’s purikura leader FURYU](/p/1918)—financial reports and business transformation at the manufacturer level
- [A report on the development of Taiwan’s photo sticker machine and Korean-style photo booth industries](/p/5848)—the main purikura industry article
- [モーリーファンタジー branches with purikura machines](https://photobooth.joelin.cc/brand/mollyfantasy/)—the 216 branches documented by this site, searchable by prefecture
- [Purikura machines inside AEON shopping centers in Japan](https://photobooth.joelin.cc/japan/malls/aeon/)—all purikura venues in AEON-affiliated shopping centers, regardless of operator, with their floor locations
Sources: イオンファンタジー’s official website (company profile, message from management, business introduction, 1,000 locations worldwide, モーリーファンタジー brand page, モーリーファンタジー location search, brand introduction, PALO, PRIZE SPOT PALO 博多マルイ location, and 博多マルイ location opening announcement), the イオンファンタジー press release on PR TIMES, FURYU’s machine-location map, and the Japanese data layer of this site’s photobooth.joelin.cc.
Unless otherwise noted, sources were checked on September 24, 2026. The history and positioning of the various named formats were checked on September 25, 2026. The brand identity graphics come from イオンファンタジー’s official website. The PURI SPOT PALO image is the sign cropped from a photograph in the official 博多マルイ opening announcement. These images are used solely for identification.
The original Chinese article was published on September 25, 2026 and updated on September 30, 2026. The machine-model registration count was corrected from 532 to 531 on September 25 following a correction to the photobooth database’s SEGA consolidation rule. The market figures and research dates above retain the original article’s historical scope.
Article keywords: モーリーファンタジー, Mollyfantasy, イオンファンタジー, AEON, purikura machines in Japan, プリクラ, family amusement facilities in Japan, Japanese arcades, purikura ID photos, PURI SPOT PALO
## FAQ
### Which company operates モーリーファンタジー?
It is operated by 株式会社イオンファンタジー, an AEON group company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. イオン株式会社 held 60.47% as of February 28, 2026. The business began in 1988 as an internal venture at ジャスコ, AEON’s predecessor. Its main business is operating amusement facilities and indoor playgrounds inside shopping centers.
### How many モーリーファンタジー locations are there?
The モーリーファンタジー official website listed 380 locations when checked on September 24, 2026. Across all brands, イオンファンタジー’s official website reported 806 locations as of August 31, 2026. Separately, photobooth.joelin.cc documents 216 branches with purikura machines. This counts branches where the site has confirmed the presence of purikura machines and uses a different scope from the official total location count, so the figures cannot be subtracted from each other.
### How did イオンファンタジー begin?
The official message from management says it began in 1988 as “アミューズメント事業課,” an internal venture department at ジャスコ, now AEON. 株式会社イオンファンタジー was established in February 1997 and began operating locations taken over from ジャスコ in March. It listed on JASDAQ in 2002 and the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section in 2005, and began establishing subsidiaries in China and Southeast Asia in 2007. The official location table reported 806 locations in Japan and 498 in eight overseas countries as of the end of August 2026.
### Can you take purikura photos at モーリーファンタジー?
Yes, at some branches. Purikura machines are one of many types of machines in the facility, and the official brand page does not list them as a representative attraction. photobooth.joelin.cc documents 216 branches with purikura machines, including 141 tagged as offering ID-photo functions. You can check the machine models at individual branches on photobooth.joelin.cc’s モーリーファンタジー page.
### Does モーリーファンタジー offer costume loans or makeup stations?
No information was found in official materials. モーリーファンタジー’s official information does not describe costume loans, makeup stations, curling irons, or changing rooms. In Japan, venues where visitors can borrow costumes and change outfits for purikura are concentrated in locations such as タイトー’s brooming areas and GiGO 池袋2号館.