After finally getting the Togo pipeline coaster at Nagashima Spaland after 2 failed attempts, I still had one personal Japanese coaster vendetta to settle, which meant going back to Tokyo (10 years since I left there), and I had a long weekend recently to get it sorted.
I originally had a Friday off work, so had booked a very late flight for Thursday night to get me in first thing on Friday morning, with the intention of grabbing breakfast/coffee somewhere and heading immediately out to Fuji Q since there was no way I wanted to hit that place on the Saturday.
However, schools in Hong Kong were suddenly closed on the Wednesday, and once it was confirmed that they would also be closed on the Thursday, I ditched my original flight and got a new one to leave on Thursday morning, meaning that I’d get to central Tokyo mid afternoon that day, giving me a bit more time there and meaning I wouldn’t be heading straight to a park immediately after an overnight flight. Thanks protestors/rioters!*
*delete according to political affiliation
The focus of the trip was a third visit to Fuji Q, but I decided I’d also try a few +1s since I didn’t really need to see or do much else in Tokyo. I was staying in Shinjuku, and the hotel was only a few stops on the metro from Tokyo Dome, so I headed there that first evening.
Tokyo Dome City
This hadn’t really been on the cards, but I had extra time now and it was nearby. On my first visit, there had been 4 coasters, and they still had 3 when I was living in Tokyo (Thunder Dolphin, Linear Gale and the spinner), but since then they’d closed all of them but Thunder Dolphin.
It gets dark very quickly in this part of the world, so I decided to wait for a night ride on Thunder Dolphin. Also, since my last visit, they’ve added that ugly netting all along the track.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a new coaster appeared earlier this year, taking up part of the space where Geo Panic used to live. If it weren’t for this popping up, I probably wouldn’t have gone to be honest.
It’s a family, launched shuttle coaster and is actually pretty decent. The forward circuit is in complete darkness. You return to the station and are launched through the same circuit backwards, but this time there’s a bunch of cool lighting and music.
This being Japan though, there are some stupid rules. I had a very small bag with me, expecting to leave it in a bin somewhere, but you had to take everything on with you. “Finally, some common sense,” I thought. “I can take this small bag onto this small family coaster.” But no. I had to put my bag into another bag which they provided. I could only take that bag on.
There was other new stuff which I didn’t bother with, such as some 3D cinema shooting thing and a new/different haunted house. I didn’t bother with a wristband though. The place is free to enter and I only wanted the new cred and a Thunder Dolphin reride, so I just bought individual tokens.
The area looks nice at night, with a restaurant “street” along one side. I got a traditional Japanese crunchwrap supreme from Taco Bell for dinner.
Thunder Dolphin was much as I remembered it: an amazing first drop followed by not much, but elevated due to its location. I used to use it as my quick coaster fix when I lived in Tokyo since it’s pay-per-ride and open in the evenings, so was easy to call in after work. It’s aging well at least and is still very smooth.
And that was it. I think I spent about 90 minutes here including dinner and was back at the hotel by around 7pm. Fuji Q next.
I originally had a Friday off work, so had booked a very late flight for Thursday night to get me in first thing on Friday morning, with the intention of grabbing breakfast/coffee somewhere and heading immediately out to Fuji Q since there was no way I wanted to hit that place on the Saturday.
However, schools in Hong Kong were suddenly closed on the Wednesday, and once it was confirmed that they would also be closed on the Thursday, I ditched my original flight and got a new one to leave on Thursday morning, meaning that I’d get to central Tokyo mid afternoon that day, giving me a bit more time there and meaning I wouldn’t be heading straight to a park immediately after an overnight flight. Thanks protestors/rioters!*
*delete according to political affiliation
The focus of the trip was a third visit to Fuji Q, but I decided I’d also try a few +1s since I didn’t really need to see or do much else in Tokyo. I was staying in Shinjuku, and the hotel was only a few stops on the metro from Tokyo Dome, so I headed there that first evening.
Tokyo Dome City
This hadn’t really been on the cards, but I had extra time now and it was nearby. On my first visit, there had been 4 coasters, and they still had 3 when I was living in Tokyo (Thunder Dolphin, Linear Gale and the spinner), but since then they’d closed all of them but Thunder Dolphin.
It gets dark very quickly in this part of the world, so I decided to wait for a night ride on Thunder Dolphin. Also, since my last visit, they’ve added that ugly netting all along the track.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a new coaster appeared earlier this year, taking up part of the space where Geo Panic used to live. If it weren’t for this popping up, I probably wouldn’t have gone to be honest.
It’s a family, launched shuttle coaster and is actually pretty decent. The forward circuit is in complete darkness. You return to the station and are launched through the same circuit backwards, but this time there’s a bunch of cool lighting and music.
This being Japan though, there are some stupid rules. I had a very small bag with me, expecting to leave it in a bin somewhere, but you had to take everything on with you. “Finally, some common sense,” I thought. “I can take this small bag onto this small family coaster.” But no. I had to put my bag into another bag which they provided. I could only take that bag on.
There was other new stuff which I didn’t bother with, such as some 3D cinema shooting thing and a new/different haunted house. I didn’t bother with a wristband though. The place is free to enter and I only wanted the new cred and a Thunder Dolphin reride, so I just bought individual tokens.
The area looks nice at night, with a restaurant “street” along one side. I got a traditional Japanese crunchwrap supreme from Taco Bell for dinner.
Thunder Dolphin was much as I remembered it: an amazing first drop followed by not much, but elevated due to its location. I used to use it as my quick coaster fix when I lived in Tokyo since it’s pay-per-ride and open in the evenings, so was easy to call in after work. It’s aging well at least and is still very smooth.
And that was it. I think I spent about 90 minutes here including dinner and was back at the hotel by around 7pm. Fuji Q next.