Fuji Q Highland

13 Oct 2016

After the craziness of Tokyo, it was nice jumping on a bus to chill out for a couple of hours. We arrived at the West-Inn in Fuji-Yoshisa, which was a dodgy looking little hotel. It was actually in the most perfect location though, right opposite Fuji Q Highland, and super close to some great restaurants. The hotel itself was really comfortable and the staff were lovely, even offering to drive us to the bus station when we were out and about. Justine had the great idea of bringing a few Australian souvenirs with us, that we would leave for the staff at hotels because they were all so nice. At the West-Inn on our second day, we were stoked that one of the lovely room attendants had left us an amazing fluffy cake in the shape of Mount Fuji in return – adorable!

On the afternoon of our arrival, we checked out the buses that circled Lake Kawaguchiko. This was a really easy system that took you to some beautiful places around the lake. We decided to first visit the ice and wind caves, which sat right on the edge of Aokigahara, or the suicide forest. Some of the caves we have in Australia are much more spectacular, but the forest was beautiful. We jumped back on the bus to finish circling the lake, when the spectacular Mount Fuji came into view. Justine had the window seat, so I leaned over her to get a look when the bus turned. We haven’t played corners since we were kids, so my balance was off and I went flying across her lap. There was just something about Mount Fuji. It was truly magnetic, and I know that one day I will return in climbing season to get to the top.

I wanted to join in the Halloween fun that was taking place around Japan, and it was a great coincidence that there was a brilliant little outlet shop right near the hotel. I bought a lot of souvenirs from that shop (including more Kit Kats), and Mario and Luigi costumes. I was impressed that Justine didn’t take a lot of convincing to wear these the next day for our Fuji Q Highlands experience. Yep, we looked like stupid Western tourists, except this time we used our brains…

Having learnt from my experiences at DisneySea, I spent the night before Fuji Q meticulously planning our day. I knew exactly where the fast past booth was and the quickest way to get there. I also knew that you were limited to the amount of fast passes you could buy, and you had to select the time that you wanted them for. Once a certain amount sold out for each hour and ride, that was it – no more. I think Justine thought I was joking when I said that once the gate opened, we would be running to the fast past booth. I was not joking. Justine says this was the longest she had run in years. It cost us a small fortune, but I was incredibly grateful not to have to spend ¾ of the day in lines.

We had purchased the maximum number of fast passes that we were allowed to buy, and because Justine didn’t want to go on the greatest roller coaster there, she sold me her passes for that one so I could double my fun! There was only one coaster we didn’t get fast passes for…Dodonpa. Why? It was closed.  Once again my heart was ripped out because I just wasn’t prepared for the closure. This fast launch beauty still holds the world record for fastest acceleration (though not top speed,) rocketing out from 0-180 km per hour in under 2 seconds. I was more upset that Justine wouldn’t get to experience it, because it was the only exceptionally fast coaster of the whole trip. I really wanted to show her why I loved them so much, but it wasn’t to be. I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently Dodonpa is very temperamental and closes regularly if the weather it a little too hot or a little too cold. I suppose there wasn’t much time to sulk, because there were so many other fantastic coasters.

Despite the tragic loss of Dodonpa, it was a truly magical day at Fuji Q! There were some of the world’s best rides, and we commenced on Fujiyama, the king of coasters!  At this park, the staff loading the ride liked to shout the name of the ride at you – repeatedly. I already knew what ride I was on, so thought that was a bit weird. I guess they were trying to build some kind of atmosphere though, so yell away my friends. There we were, Mario and Luigi from Australia, heading up the first lift hill. Justine called me every name in the book, and I just hoped the Japanese people around us didn’t understand Australian swear words. Damn her scream was piercing on the way down, and I think I was laughing more at her reaction than the fun of the coaster. We used our second fast pass for another turn, but Justine needed a little break after that one. I had to learn to pace myself so as not to turn her off completely.

While my sister recovered, I jumped on a ‘Claw’ style pendulum swing called Tondemina, then we jumped on a little mad mouse coaster. We back tracked a bit to a couple of the smaller rides, and then went on an indoor flying ride called Fuji airways. This was probably the best of these type of rides that I have been on. It was like sightseeing for lazy people. We loved that the guy in the video which played while you queued up, had an impressive wig on which looked like Mt Fuji was resting on his head. 

Justine and I then jumped on a couple of cute kiddy coasters. One was a sky cycle called Hide and Seek in the woods, and the other was called A Little Ride on the Clouds. We got to ride in giant freaking adorable hamsters! Oh Japan.

It was time to get back to the big ticket items though, and next was Eejanaika. Yep, that got yelled out by staff too. I already knew I had no way in hell of getting Justine on that one, so soaked up the fact I had 4 fast passes to use for the one ride. I told my big sister I would be done in half an hour, but nope, welcome to the slowest ride loading in the world. Even slower than all the rides at Thorpe Park in the UK, it was torturous. I was right at the front of the queue, yet it took around 15-20 minutes to get one train loaded and on its way. There were safety checks galore, and just when you think the staff were done, they came back to do it all again. This might have made riders nervous, but I was just so damn excited I wanted it to start! This was a beauty of a wing coaster that is only the second 4^th dimension coaster in the world, after X2 at Magic Mountain. Tough call, but I think Eejanaika was better. It was the most intense coaster I have ever been on, and felt like my body and brain were in completely different worlds. You never knew what way your independently rotating seat was going to throw you, and the forces are just incredible. My four fast pass turns actually took closer to 1.5 hours (sorry sis!)

I was still salivating over Eejanaika when it was time to head to Takabisha – the world’s steepest coaster. I knew Justine was nervous about this one too, but I think she really wanted to get on a cracker of a ride knowing that Eejanaika was her limit. I didn’t think it looked that bad, and loved that there were some surprises in the dark section of the coaster at the beginning such as a drop and a barrel roll, before a fast launch in to the outside loop. Huzzah, we found a fast launch for Justine after all! After a bit of fresh air on the outside section of the track, you go back inside, but the ride ain’t over yet. You are then treated to a vertical lift hill, a little hang time at the top, then BAM – a 121 degree drop. Though it only seats 8 people at a time, the load was much quicker than Eejanaika. We had 2 turns, but I would have been quite content sitting on this one all day.

So after we had ridden all the coasters multiple times, there was only one experience left on my list – a Japanese haunted house. You had to pay extra for this, and there were no fast passes. Justine opted out but I wasn’t going to miss it. There was a problem however – you weren’t allowed to go in by yourself, and had to be with at least one other person. It was rather awkward trying to endear myself to Japanese people when I couldn’t speak their language, but I think I had enough sign language to show them how desperate I was to come and play. A group of 3 lovely people adopted me, and we waited in line for about an hour. It wasn’t all bad though, because you got to watch people as they exited the maze at the end, with hilarious results. People would come out running, screaming and even falling over. I couldn’t wait! The Ultimate Horror Maze was set in an asylum, and the staff did a really great job. People jumped out at you, ran after you, and found amazing hiding places for maximum effect. I found the whole thing really amusing. I blame my older brother and sister for regularly scaring the crap out of me as a kid, so I think that has desensitised me somewhat.

Far out it was just a brilliant day. The baked goodies, the coasters, the atmosphere, Halloween, and limited waiting times in a park that was really busy. How would we top this??

Justine and I had a day up our sleeves before travelling to Osaka, so went back to Lake Kawaguchico and I was able to indulge my love of the great outdoors further. The place had a really cute village vibe, with lots of markets and stalls around.

The gardens were beautiful, and I would have been quite content just walking around the entire lake. However Justine was (in her own words) getting over the serenity, so we had a look in the Mt Fuji visitor centre, a local shrine, and eventually made our way to the top of Mt Tenjo-yama via cable car. We had a spectacular view of Mt Fuji, and tasted some dumplings on a stick that were drowning in soy sauce (Justine laughed for a long time at the look on my face…I was not a fan). 

We rang a bell for health and love, and I lined up to rub the legs of a little rabbit statue, as that was meant to provide you with strong legs. I had been told that the stress fractures and cartilage deterioration in my knees meant that my sporting days were behind me, so I spent quite a bit of time with that rabbit!

We also saw a lot of statues and pictures around which showed a rabbit setting a raccoon on fire – what the hell Japan?! As it turns out, this was representing a Japanese folk tale, though I am unsure what the lesson to be learnt is? Don’t piss off bunnies because they are vengeful homicidal creatures??

I was desperate to get some exercise in, so badgered my sister to walk back down the mountain with me instead of taking the cable car. I assured her it would be quick. Quite some time later, I had lost all credibility.

I would quite happily come back to Japan and just base myself at Lake Kawaguchiko. It was a stunning, peaceful and varied place, which I would love to bring my mum to. It also had one mighty awesome fun park right next door, and mum is a pretty reasonable bag holder. Dodonpa you have not seen the last of me!