October 20, 2016
On the 19th, Justine and I got back on the train to Kyoto (feel free to scroll down if you just want the fun park stuff!) We had heard a lot about this beautiful area, but the masses of tourists killed a lot of the ambience. We explored the majestic Tenryuji temple and gardens and the bamboo grove at Arashiyama. A Geisha was good natured enough to pose for photos with tourists in the grove, but you had to pick your timing to get a shot without a billion people in it.
We headed up the hill to Arashiyama Monkey Park, but Justine gave up about half way up and waited for me at the bottom. I thought the park was pretty overrated, but did enjoy the premise that the humans were the ones in the cage, while the monkeys got to roam free.
I absolutely loved the Fushimi Inari Shrine with so many bright orange gates scattered around the hills. Justine again got her fix about half way through the gates, then headed back down for some cute little market stalls. I don’t climb half way up a hill not to get to the top, so I kept going. Being a cat lady, I loved the friendly stray cats that wove their way through the gates.
We were in Japan just as the leaves were changing to the deep reds of autumn. I have no doubt that Kyoto would have been even more beautiful two weeks further into the season, in addition to spring when the cherry blossoms would have bloomed. It felt like we had packed in a huge amount of stuff for one day!
It had now been three days since I had been at a fun park, and it was time to rectify that situation. After Fuji Q and Nagashima Spa Land, Washuzan was the park in Japan I most wanted to visit. This park was not known for great rides, but it was known for a Sky Cycle. I have been on these ‘bicycle riding on a coaster track’ rides before, but never one that travelled on the edge of a cliff.
After catching several trains to reach Kojima in Okayama Prefecture, I amused myself waiting for the bus by admiring a large pair of jeans stuck to the wall. Apparently this town was known for making denim. Well, I guess it beats being known for a crazy Brazilian themed fun park with rusting rides and confusing souvenirs. Oh wait, that experience was only ten minutes away.
Upon arrival, my stomach dropped as I had a National Lampoon’s ‘Wally World’ moment. The gates were closed, there were no cars in the car park, and no people around. Being an obsessive organiser, I was angry with myself for arriving on a date when the park was closed. As I walked up to the front gate though, a staff member approached and handed me a brochure. The park was opening in a few minutes, yet I was the only person who had arrived so far. Scanning the brochure, I got my fix of Engrish with phrases such as ‘Let’s find new type of excitement!’ ‘Get prize on the rhythm of samba!’ ‘Food court with lots of menu!’ I also familiarised myself with the park mascots Chupy and Chuly, two creatures that could pass for mice, hamsters or chipmunks.
At 10 am on the dot, I excitedly stepped in to the park, aware that there would be no queues as yet and so I had pick of the rides. I first went to the Ultra Twister, which was fairly close to the entrance. I enjoyed this one at Nagashima, and so this exact copy was predictable but fun.
Next I made my way to a coaster called Standing Coaster Backnanger. There were so many damn stairs to get there, that I suspect the park is limiting its visitation to those without heart conditions. At the top of the stairs, I had a beautiful view of the Backnanger, in all its rusted glory. How the heck did this coaster still have approval to run when it looked like it was about to fall apart?
Having already told my family that I would be happy to die on a rollercoaster, I took off to the load area. Looking around, I was aware I was the only visitor at the coaster. I was now wondering whether this was because the park looked a little unsafe. Pushing those thoughts to the side, I gave my camera to the ride operator who was happy to take a few photos of me being the only person on the rollercoaster. This was a first in my life, and I wanted to capture the moment. This coaster was actually pretty decent. It runs backwards up a hill lift, before dropping in to a loop and continuing on a winding track back to the start. I rode a second time, so I could try out the front and back rows. I think the ride operator enjoyed practicing his English with me, which made me feel terrible since my Japanese was atrocious. I waved goodbye, and set off on another long hike to the next ride.
Aware that the Chupy coaster would be closed (seems to be traditional for every park in Japan to have at least one coaster closed at all times), I kept walking until I got to the bungee jump. Look, I’m normally up for anything, but jumping off a platform on to a mat at a rusted park where I cannot understand any of the safety instructions, was not on my to do list. Instead, I went to the Turbo Drop. As detailed already, I am not a fan of drop towers. As I was the only one in the park still, again I could not miss the opportunity to go on one by myself. I had some regrets as the staff pulled down the harness, as most of the padding had worn away and the ride felt quite jerky. As always, I hated the ride up, hated the waiting even more, but enjoyed the quick drop to the ground. I am fairly sure staff were gesturing that I should go again, but with the Sky Cycle in site, my eye was on the prize.
I was yet to see any other visitors, so jumped on, did up the useless seatbelt, sung along to Copacabana, and laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all. The views really were spectacular, but the ride itself was average. You had control of the little carriage as you pedalled along, but you couldn’t get any significant speed. There was somewhat of a fear factor though, as the risk of falling to one’s death felt real. After a second turn, I stopped past the giant ferris wheel and put my feet up for 15 minutes as I rotated slowly.
Not bothering to stop for the kiddy rides like the carousel, I walked back towards the entrance as the Brazilian Samba show was about to start at the outdoor theatre. At this point, I really believed that someone with a hidden camera would jump out and shout ‘surprise,’ as the park was still deserted and starting to feel a bit creepy. Either that, or I was in the middle of some zombie apocalypse. The dancers were in bright costumes adorned with sequins and feathers, doing their best to entertain the crowd of just me. Feeling bad that their talents were not being appreciated, I sat in the front row and clapped along. A few moments later I got dragged up on stage to participate. There I was in the middle of Japan, dancing with people who looked like they had been hired from South America, in front of hundreds of empty seats. 20 years of dance experience got me through the steps ok, but I just can’t pull off a sequinned bikini these days, so I looked like a stupid western tourist. I thanked the dancers, cringing at the potential promises they were made about enhancing their careers in a foreign land, and continued on my merry way.
I visited the food court to find out about ‘lots of menu’ and purchased some weird donut-like food item that was apparently Brazilian. I felt the eyes of all the hospitality staff on me, as they desperately looked for someone to interact with as I strode past their empty stalls. I found a beautiful empty skate rink, and was bitter to see they only hired out roller blades and not roller skates. I love roller skating, but was not willing to give the blades a go without knee pads. Still grumbling about rollerblades being ‘so 1990s,’ I wandered back to the Backnanger, as I knew a changeover was about to occur. At lunch time each day, the backwards facing train gets replaced with a forwards facing standing up version. I love the ingenuity of having different experiences on the same track.
Back in the queue area, I could not find the ride operator. I wondered whether he had gone on a break, but after a few moments I located him towards the top of the hill lift, applying a paint of coat to the outside part of the coaster track. Sure he had no harness on preventing him from tumbling over the edge, but he did have a hat. Sun safety is important. Guilty at interrupting the staff member from his painting, I tried to explain how grateful I was for another turn. Standing up coasters are normally pretty fun due to the novelty factor alone, but this one was rough! I think the standing up version may affect whether or not I have any children in the future. I can only imagine how uncomfortable this would be for males. Regardless, the standing up version was still good fun and worthy of a second turn.
Two hours in and I had gone on all the rides on my list multiple times, so I explored two more attractions. One was a bit like a petting zoo for children. The experience was very depressing, with the animals looking a little off colour. One animal was hedgehog-like, but not even Google could help me figure out what it was. It looked like it was dying. I also found a tortoise leashed to a fence, and it had a rope stuck around its leg. I alerted a staff member who went to undo the rope, but I really wanted to just smuggle him out and place him in the ocean.
My final attraction was a horror house called ‘Cavern Quest.’ After 5 minutes of the staff member trying to explain something in Japanese that I was too stupid to pick up, I realised I needed to pay extra money for this attraction. My horror house experiences in Japan to this point had been great, so I was looking forward to finishing on a high note. This was not the case, as I realised that when weird things are being yelled at you but you can’t understand what they mean, it loses some of the charm. I basically wandered through a little concrete maze with some flashing lights and a few tricky parts to work out where to go next, but was glad to be out of the heat for a bit. Cavern Quest did not live up to expectations, so I headed to the souvenir shop on the way out. What souvenirs would you expect to see at a Brazilian themed fun park in Japan? I was hoping for a shot glass, but instead found jelly filled boobs, note pads with drag queens on the front, the usual sweet treats, and various random bits and pieces that made no sense. I was relieved to see the shop ‘offered raincoats on a rainy day and Cairo on a cold day,’ although this didn’t help my level of confusion.
As I departed the park just three hours after I stepped inside, I spied a family of four walking in, and a young couple. Hooray, it wasn’t a zombie apocalypse after all! Despite its flaws, the novelty factor alone makes Washuzan Highland a nice little park. I couldn’t wait to tell my sister about one of the strangest days in my life. The staff were lovely and I really hope a nice injection of funds can help keep the rides going and improve conditions for the animals at the petting zoo.
As I had got through the entire park in record time, I stopped off at Himeji Castle on the way home (which was a lot busier.) It was pretty cool to wander through the beautiful gardens and recently renovated castle of the world heritage site. The views were very impressive from the top levels, and the internal details were exquisite. A few coasters, a bit of culture – what else could a girl want?
Roller Coaster Ramble 