Ken's Random Adventures of 2013 Trip Reports Thread

I absolutely love Sea Paradise! Blue Fall is amazing, and the other rides are fun as well. That's really cool about the Whale Shark! When I was there last they had Beluga Whales, but no Whale Shark. We also loved the pay to pet animal parts. They had some super cute kittens and puppies. Also, did they have the foot cell eating fish bar there anymore?

Bit behind on trip reports. Just caught up now. Excellent report and was great reading back over the Japan trip. Thanks for sharing!

I loved Blue Fall and I have to say the fake drop side was good but the best for me was the 100% straight down drop sides. Awesome!

^ I preferred the straight drop as well. The fake drop was a neat experience though.

I absolutely love Sea Paradise! Blue Fall is amazing, and the other rides are fun as well. That's really cool about the Whale Shark! When I was there last they had Beluga Whales, but no Whale Shark. We also loved the pay to pet animal parts. They had some super cute kittens and puppies. Also, did they have the foot cell eating fish bar there anymore?

I didn't see it anywhere but I really wasn't in the aquarium that long. But the do have a piranha tank you can stick your hand right into... if that's your thing?

I like this update! Blue Fall looks so gigantic! Japan is on my ''have-to-do list''! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

^ Thanks!

Next update coming soon.

Hello again all! Here is our next stop... Nagashima Spaland!

This day started bright and early as we had to pack our bags and get them put in storage since we had to pick them up later for our flight to the northern island. We also had to be at the park early so the Travel Channel could film us on Steel Dragon.

After another train ride we were met at the station by a convoy of Taxis to take us to the park. They dropped us off at the back of the park where we went through an employee gate and the film crew had us sign our release forms and they took our picture before we were let into the park to wait as they finished getting their POV and we watched as Matt and Lauren were filmed for the show.

White Cyclone While they filmed the park opened up White Cyclone for us so we could get some ERT. The ride wasn't bad at all actually but I only grabbed one ride as Steel Dragon was ready for us.

Steel Dragon 2000 This is the star of the park so I was really looking forward to the chance to ride it! I love Morgans so I was really looking forward to this one! They also just switched out their old trains for a new train by B&M so I was also looking forward to this. Unfortunately though the ride was rough. It was still a fun ride and I'm glad to had the chance to ride it though.

Wild Mouse The park has a twin Wild Mouse and we were warned that most days they only run one side and that was the case today.

Ultra Twister Next was my very first Ultra Twister and this ride did not disappoint! The switch backs are a very weird feeling and the twists are pretty fun.

Bob Karts Next was this this really weird ride. You sit in your car and choose how fast you want to go through the course.

Looping Star Unfortunately today would be the day most of the rides would be closed fortunately though both Schwarzkopfs are open! First was Looping Star. She was running great.

Shuttle Loop The next was my first shuttle loop. The launch is a lot of fun!

Children Coaster Next up for our credit was the Tivoli kiddie coaster. Nothing special.

Peter Rabbit Coaster Our last credit today was the powered coaster.

After this we did the giant Frisbee and got some Curry for lunch.

Haunted House While some in the group did the Star Flyer we did the Haunted House. It was pretty long and had several good scenes.

Giant Wheel Aurora Next up was the Giant Wheel for some photos and to take a break in the A/C.

Giant Viking Next me and Sean wanted to try the giant swinging ship. They only run in every 15 minutes which we didn't realize when we got in line so we had to wait in the direct sunlight. The ride was about the same as your typical swinging ship.

Steel Dragon was closed for 30 minutes for scheduled daily maintenance so we got inline for a quick ride before we had to meet the group to head out. We grabbed a ride in the back.

After that we met the group and got our taxis back to the train. We picked our bags up at the hotel and headed out to the Airport. The nice thing about Japan airports is how efficient everything is. We had our group checked in and at our gate in about 30 mins. While we waited for our plane we grabbed a snack.

The flight was uneventful and was a nice break for a nap. We got into Sapporo after dark and grabbed another train to the Sapporo station where we had a short walk to our base camp for the next few nights.

Next up Hokkaido Greenland, the sights of Sapporo and the Beer Museum!

One our way to Nagashima Spa land!

There she is!

Our group being being dropped off.

Looks nice so far.

What we are all here for!

We watched several test runs.

The film crew was also busy getting their POV.

The new trains do look nice though.

There are the stars Matt and Lauren.

A look at the lift hill.

"Brought into Ban"

While the crew is busy setting up lets head over to the park's other huge coaster!

We will get to the mouse later.

It was pretty fun! And looks nice too!

Finally our turn to ride!

A closer look at the trains.

Next credit

A look at the trains.

Bob Karts was next and really fun!

The first of two closed Intamin 1st Gens.

Sigh... I do love these rides.

But hey atleast the Schwarzkopfs are running!

Pretty

Next up was the Shuttle Loop

Launch

I loved this ride!

Ohhhhh

Glad to see Nagashima Spa Land keeping theirs.

This park loves their swinging ships!

Next up the kiddie coasters.

Pokémon is still going very strong in Japan!

Steel Dragon towers over everything in the park.

Lets do the Corkscrew!

There is the station.

Ohhh...

It will probably open in like 15 minutes.

Another look at Looping Star

The Haunted House

Lets do the wheel

Steel Dragon doing its thing.

White Cycone

The Twin Wild Mouse

Pretty nice park.

Over view of the Looping Star

White Cyclone over the bay.

The layout of Steel Dragon

Even from above White Cyclone is impressive!

The train looks so tiny compared to the rest of the structure.

Going down...

Seriously not bad!

The enterance

The Giant Viking Ship

A view of the wheel and convenient if you forget your watch.

Good bye Nagashima!

In Japan there is no TSA... there is just Ninjas!

Next up Sapporo

^The ninjas are much more effective than the TSA!

Nagashima Spaland looks like big fun - and reminds in many ways of a permanent carnival with their Swinging Ships, Frisbees, TopSpin, Looping Starship, etc. While a little weird it looks like the management bought everything they could get their hands on in the 70s - why else would they buy a Looping Star AND a Shuttle Loop AND a Corkscrew. If they are commited to keep all the cool classics they have this could become a kind of live theme park museum.

^ I was thinking the same thing. It surprised me that they had two Frisbees!

Nice trip report, by the way!

Must get to this park.

I love how Nagashima has an Intamin Looping Starship, both a Schrarzkopf Looping Star and Shuttle Loop, AND an Ultra Twister. It's like if AstroWorld had a big Japanese cousin....

Nice recap of the day.

Steel Dragon felt like a rough B&M to me. Nice ride but not as good as I had hoped.

Looping star - Wow, this was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn;t expecting much but this ride tracked perfectly was very smooth and really enjoyable. Wish i'd have ridden it again.

Ultra Twister - This are weird but very cool. When you arrive back at the station you are just lost for words at what just happened.

The huge pirate ship looked incredible but I was quite disappointed when I rode it as the smaller (normal sized) versions seem to provide a better ride.

The ninja's at the airport were neat! This airport also had the magic machines that allow you to take opened and unopened bottled drinks through security with you. I was furious when I went through security on my journey home through Charles de Gaulle as they made me throw away my last bottle of Pocari Sweat. oh well, it was France afterall.

Why does Japan have to be SO AWESOME?!?!

So many cool and unique rides, especially that Ultra Twister. Can't wait til I can eventually make it there!

The ninja's at the airport were neat! This airport also had the magic machines that allow you to take opened and unopened bottled drinks through security with you. I was furious when I went through security on my journey home through Charles de Gaulle as they made me throw away my last bottle of Pocari Sweat. oh well, it was France afterall.

That machine was really awesome! It is a shame we will probably never see this installed over here.

Great trip report! Wow I didn't know they had an Intamin Looping Starship/Space Shuttle ride!

I'm curious, what exactly is Bob Karts? Is it a go-kart track or an Antique Auto-style ride?

Great trip report! Wow I didn't know they had an Intamin Looping Starship/Space Shuttle ride!

 

I'm curious, what exactly is Bob Karts? Is it a go-kart track or an Antique Auto-style ride?

Sorry I didn't get any photos of it. But here is a photo from the index.

It's like a powered Alpine Slide and you get to control the speed.

Nice trip report! That was a good day, despite the Travel Channel shoot delays....

Great update! I loved Nagashima Spaland. Ultra Twister was the best part of the park for me, and I'm so glad it's still there!

The next morning we woke up early and grabbed breakfast before heading to the train station with the group to head to our first park on the northern island Hokkaido Greenland!

After a train ride and another Taxi race we finally made it to the park. Now this park isn't super big and we ended up not spending a lot of time here (But it freed us up for some time in Sapporo!) but it was a somewhat nice park, some areas were run down. But the park had some super friendly staff.

Wani Wani Coaster Our first stop was the kiddie coaster, nothing special about it.

Dragon King Next was the park's inversion coaster by Senyo. It has a loop and two corkscrews and some head banging.

GO-ON This is the park's "big" coaster. The ride ops on this were super friendly and waved us up the exit so we didn't have to walk all the way around through the queue. The ride it self looks neat from the distance but is nothing special. Fun though.

Go Karts The park had a go kart track under GO-ON so we took a spin (some literally). Wasn't super fast and you can't pass but it was fun.

Haunted House Next we did the park's ride through haunted house. The scariest thing was the car flipped over half way through. They also had a walk through.

Mirror Mazes The park had two mirror mazes so we did these to. The staff on both were fun and was challenging us to race through it.

The park also has crazy house which we did too.

Torokko Coaster This was the park's conveyor belt coaster. At the same time Robb and some more of the group were approaching the ride and so we packed 12 adults on the ride to see if the belts would hold us!

The park also had a second go kart track around a lake which we did before grabbing lunch in the park's only restaurant.

Giant Wheel Next we did the giant wheel before heading to meet the group to head back to the city.

As we were leaving we grabbed a group photo and made our way to our taxis. I enjoyed my visit to the park and it exceeded my expectations.

After we got back to the hotel a group of us made our way around the city with our first stop the Botanic Gardens just around the corner it was kind of nice. Next we made our way to a park going through the city where we passed protests, plant auctions, many vendors, concrete slides, blue beer, and ELVIS! Also passed the Sapporo clock tower. But we had a more important destination in mind!

Sapporo Bier Garten We had 100 minutes off all we could drink beer and all we can eat mutton, but it was all about the Genghis sauce! The meal was delicious and the beer was good but than we made our way back to the hotel but first we stopped for more beer.

It was a great day but we had another early morning ahead of us!

Next up Rusutsu Resort!

Welcome to Hokkaido Greenland!

The park had a very nice entrance even with a little show!

Once inside we were attacked by TOGO animals!

Dragon King. The park really liked their green paths.

It wasn't that bad.

Next up was GO-ON

I'm not sure if this was decoration or if they just forgot this here.

The station

Once again more colored paths

Next up was the Go Karts

TPDave doing his thing

One of the park's "Midways"

The main "Midway"?

The walk-through. Nothing really stood out.

The dark ride. Watch out for the random flipped over car half way through. I think they forgot it too.

One of the other "midways"

Torokko Coaster

The cars

Here you can see the conveyor belt lift. The brakes are also a conveyor belt

Bench the Ride?

The other Go Karts was next!

The loading area.

Matt heading out. I'm pretty sure the sign says "Pretty please do not hit our cute smiling turtles. It will bring great sadness"

The lake

Nozzy coming back in

It is a fun little ride though. It even intertwines with the log flume

The park had cars from the ferris wheel placed randomly through out the park.

The park also had some peddle boats.

There were several funny stories about these from some of the other people on the tour.

Not sure what this sign is or why I took a photo of it but it is funny.

Next we ate at the park's only restaurant. I'm pretty sure the name really is just HAPPY

Next we took the ferris wheel!

An overview of the main entrance

Torokko Coaster in the distance

Wani Wani Coaster

Dragon King

They also have one of these

GO-ON

You can see that the go karts were at one time alot longer.

Around the tree

Notice the tires for the brakes

Thanks for a nice visit Hokkaido Greenland!

This is our next stop. We looked at flowers and stuff.

Pretty

Eh?

Very Canadian. Just needs more beavers and hockey!

On the way to the park we passed these protests.

There were 3 of em!

Nice smoking building

Moving towards the clock tower

Japanese Elvis!

Japanese cowboys.... what we seen next may have scared several of us for life.

The park was VERY active

Who wants to ride in this?

We passed this auction of various plants.

See clock

looks nice

John is ready to go!

Jason modeling his bib. Sitting down wind of the grill we defiantly needed these.

After having nearly 2 hours of beer where do we go? For more beer!

100 minutes? Plenty of time!

The Sapporo beer museum!

Pretty

Shall we confess our sins now?

Made it!

Who would of guessed we are visiting an amusement park on the next update?

Gotta love the "all-you-can-eat-and-drink-in-100-minutes" Sapporo bier garten.

Very Canadian. Just needs more beavers and hockey!

And beer! Gotta have beer, too!

We could have stayed at the Bier Garten a little bit more (MORE MEAT).

We still had about 20 minutes left of our 100. But we (burp) did okay.

I love the feel of Sapporo, such a cool different vibe Japanese city.

The colored paths are a little strange. It kinda looks like someone had fun with sidewalk chalk. The blue path with the circles looks like defunct/drained bumper boats ride!

It looks like a fun park for what it's worth!

But the park had some super friendly staff.

Including a expert team of traffic directors.

Haunted House Next we did the park's ride through haunted house. The scariest thing was the car flipped over half way through.

The haunted house also had those horrifying wobbly orange gates.

The walk-through. Nothing really stood out.

Wasn't this the walk-through with the explosive beheading?

Mirror Mazes The park had two mirror mazes so we did these to. The staff on both were fun and was challenging us to race through it.

I think it was Elissa who brought up an interesting point regarding the mirror mazes, which was that this park has attractions run by independent operators, who each get a bigger cut of the profit if they get more guests (ie. scans of the wristband). So the mirror maze operators would try to get us to go through multiple times (thankfully, I didn't get lost the second time). It's the same reason that the Ultratwister "Megaton" at Southern Mitsui Greenland famously encourages people to ride multiple times.

The park also has crazy house which we did too.

Which, like a lot of other Japanese haunted attractions, had us wearing headphones (I think the story was that we were getting our hair brushed?).

Not sure what this sign is or why I took a photo of it but it is funny.

It's a clever "Danger: High Voltage" sign with Raijin, the Japanese God of Lighting & Thunder. "Don't go past this fence, or you're gonna die!"

Great TR! This was a nice little park with fun employees!

Watching these guys direct traffic was the highlight of my day. Look at how precisely those cars are parked!

Japan's Olympic Car Parking Team.

^ Complete with a very nice bow!

Haunted House Next we did the park's ride through haunted house. The scariest thing was the car flipped over half way through.

The haunted house also had those horrifying wobbly orange gates.

Oh god, The Orange Gates

The walk-through. Nothing really stood out.

Wasn't this the walk-through with the explosive beheading?

I forgot about that! I missed seeing it though. Didn't we keep trying to get it to trigger again?

Mirror Mazes The park had two mirror mazes so we did these to. The staff on both were fun and was challenging us to race through it.

I think it was Elissa who brought up an interesting point regarding the mirror mazes, which was that this park has attractions run by independent operators, who each get a bigger cut of the profit if they get more guests (ie. scans of the wristband). So the mirror maze operators would try to get us to go through multiple times (thankfully, I didn't get lost the second time). It's the same reason that the Ultratwister "Megaton" at Southern Mitsui Greenland famously encourages people to ride multiple times.

Makes sense. They were really good at it though!

The park also has crazy house which we did too.

Which, like a lot of other Japanese haunted attractions, had us wearing headphones (I think the story was that we were getting our hair brushed?).

That was a really good one. I keep getting these small mad houses confused with each other. We did so many!

Not sure what this sign is or why I took a photo of it but it is funny.

It's a clever "Danger: High Voltage" sign with Raijin, the Japanese God of Lighting & Thunder. "Don't go past this fence, or you're gonna die!"

Ah! I see it now!