rollermonkey Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 My ship pulled into Himeji, Japan late in August, but I had already been to Himeji Central Park, so I figured I would explore some of the lesser known parks in the area. I also hoped to get to Space World and check out Zaturn. If everything worked out, Zaturn would be my 600th coaster. Off we go! Slope Car is similar to Slope Shooter, but with mechanical brakes instead of the Flintstone System. Tegarayama Yuen is a kiddy park about a 10 minute walk from Himeji Station. I call these 'bucket' coasters. They were selling Kobe Beef for the bargain price of only 300 dollars per kilogram! The amusement area looks pretty nice from over here. The wedding chapel is between the two areas. An overview of the gardens and hotel. Yum! Fruit flavored Ferris Wheel! The other coaster is more family sized. (RCDB had zero on this and Tojoko, so I was investigating more than anything.) This little coaster reminds me of Peekaboo Town at Hirakata Koen. The amusement area looks a little more temporary. The garden, wedding and hotel area of the park look very nice. The next morning I worked my way over to Kobe Fruit and Flower Park. This was actually my second attempt at this park. This was one of the few open rides the first time. Here's some of that waterpark with the coaster in the background. How did I get to LAX? This coaster travels around the waterpark. More like a mini mine train than mouse, it wasn't too bad. The name of this coaster is Hill Billy Rail Road Texas Bronco. Yeah. Whatever. I've seen a lot of strange seat belts outside the US. This wasn't the first coaster with SCUBA straps for a lap belt! New for 2006 was this kiddy coaster. Not too far away is Tojoko Land, possibly now named Toy's Kingdom. This park had a small surprise. Hey! Where'd the loop go? I don't think I've ever seen a carousel like this. Anybody else? So... What's with the pink dancing thing? They are dismantling the large shuttle loop. It seems that they are trying to skew the park towards a younger audience and this was the most intense ride in the park. Separate unload station. There I am! There I go! Looks like it's going to work out! Yuck. It's got those new OTSR's. I hope they don't $uck as bad as they do on some of the other rides with them. The catch car on this thing is huge! I don't remember any of the other ones being as long as the train. Still working... I was very disappointed in the unthemed station. the rest of the park is so nice! Well, it's running now... The big question I had was whether or not I'd get schwacked by the Intamin Curse! Zaturn really is just a slightly larger Stealth. Zaturn towers over Space World's entrance building. I did get to see the 'Liftoff' show, but I was really let down. I expected it to be much louder. That's it! Zaturn looked pretty sweet after dark. As we left the rain came down again. This show was kind of weird, too. See! The goddess of coasters. Twisted, tangly, num nums. Venus is... Zaturn looks so small from up here! The day got pretty bleak, but once the rain passed we did get in the rest of the rides. Here's a different view of my favorite coaster in Japan! Cool twin boat flumes. Have a nice time today! Don't talk to strange sailors! Taking a picture of having my picture taken? And you have to cross this little drawbridge when you get off. The second train is the same colors but reversed. The transfer track is between the load and unload platforms. The onride photo is after the brakes. How long is the trip to Zaturn at this speed? Some more pictures of Zaturn for you before moving on to the rest of the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutterflower Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 nice pics Himeji Central Park is supposed to of just got that relocated looper but as of yet ive only seen the pictures of the track in the parking lot. (if you look on google earth you can see the track on there too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Chris, Nice pics, can't wait till we go next year to Space World. Japan is an awsome country, I really miss it. Counting the days already for the TPR trip. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Hey, when did Stealth decide to move over to Japan? Well done on hitting 600 credits Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Cool TR Chris It looks crazy hitting that small bunny hop after that big hill on Zaturn. Any pics of Titan? And Congrats on the 600 JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 haha what a freakin' dork! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas2 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Lol cool pics! That kid in the first photo looks like he's really trying to survive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Nice TR! I have really wanted to see some pics of Zaturn. The bunny hill looks like it is 40-50ft! Is there any airtime on it? -James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Jeff, Titan, as big as it is, is surprisingly difficult to get decent pictures of. The out and back layout is mostly behind other large attractions such as the river rapids, the log flume mountain and the large building housing the indoor coaster and the motion simulator theaters. I have a couple pictures from the ferris wheel but they aren't any better than what you see on RCDB. Sorry! ParkTrips, you're just jealous! Nuff said! James, There is some air as you float up the top hat, and a little as you drop off the other side. The 'second' hill has pretty strong floater air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Great report! These were actually the first images I've ever seen of Zaturn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 I actually sent them to Duane at RCDB two weeks ago, and I waited to let hime post them first. (I always give him various periods of time for exclusivity, I've been chatting with him online for more than 6 years. He never gets around to them before I get tired of waiting and post them here though! This time he was uploading damn near all the coasters in Japan without photos from Lisa Scheinen's last 5 trips out here. That woman is a machine when it comes to coasters! She's got me beat in Japan by about 50 coasters, and I LIVE here!) I'm glad everyone likes them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttonman700 Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 fantastic TR! If you go back to the park with Slope Car, take some video of this thing! I'd love to see it in operation. Thanks for the TR again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutterflower Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 This time he was uploading damn near all the coasters in Japan without photos from Lisa Scheinen's last 5 trips out here. That woman is a machine when it comes to coasters! She's got me beat in Japan by about 50 coasters, and I LIVE here!) Haha i know the feeling ive been helping Duane with coasters in Asia for years. When Lisa started to head out there, Japan was pretty much sorted and ive been just working on the chinese rides since then. She must of been to damn near every park youve got out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baclueless Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Hey Chris, Just curious, but how many coasters have you ridden in Japan? We loved the country so much, that we are planning a repeat trip back in 09......yeah, not as cool as R&E going back 3/4 times in a couple of years, but still exciting. we are just glad we got there when we did, because sooo much has closed in the past year.........BMRX.......Aska..... But for us....we hit around 145 coasters in 27 days...not too shabby, but we will be back for more! As for Tegarayama Yuen....how can you beat free admission...2 bucks a coaster....and 3 coasters.....plus they opened each coaster one by one for us, because they really werent opened yet! Gotta love Japan! matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 ^Hey! We don't go *that* much! Maybe over Xmas though! Seriously, for us it was never about the credits! In fact, I think on next years 'group adventure tour' Robb and I will only get like 5 credits each! Japan is just so cool, even if the credits they do have are weird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baclueless Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Elissa, If I could go back every year, and not get one new credit.....I would STILL be the happiest camper ever! There was something that was special about that country. Sean, Jim and I still talk about this trip like it was yesterday. To the people that are going on this trip; you will never be the same. This country is everything and more.....why do you think R&E head back there more than England? But the reason for us doing the craziest trip ever, was because when WE DO go back, we will know what parks we need to spend more time out, and what parks we can just pass on. But to tell you, even the smallest, out of the way parks were definately worth every yen! matt DSC01327.zip Sean,Jim and I (middle) with the crew at Sendai Highland who opened the coasters for us during the typhoon.....only in Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 fantastic TR! If you go back to the park with Slope Car, take some video of this thing! I'd love to see it in operation. Thanks for the TR again! Actually, I have video of Slope Shooter (which is a far more interesting 'coaster') in the Amateur Professional forum: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25655 I'm coming next year, even though I'll get a maximum of 2 credits! For baclueless: My Japan count is 160. Sadly, that's where it will stay until next year, as I leave for Chicago in 9 days. I wish I could have gotten to more places, but it seemed like we (my ship) were hardly ever home! Tegarayama Yuen was 500 yen for admission, but that is still a pretty inexpensive park! The free pass was like 1800 yen or something rediculous like that. I've had a very few parks over here that were less, but they were city parks and charged no admission but had only one small coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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