rollin_n_coastin Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) ^Thanks Bill! Now that enough time has passed, I'd really have a hard time deciding which trip I enjoyed more because both Scandi and Japan were so different but equally as memorable. The solution is simple, really. Fans of TPR trips will just have to do both. JAPAN 2013--CULTURE AND COASTERS Day 0 - Arrival Culture - Kiyomizudera Day 1 - Tobu Zoo and Nagoya Day 2 - Universal Studios Day 3 - Hirakata Park and Osaka Umeda Sky Building Day 4 - Yokohama Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise Day 5 - Nagashima Spaland Day 6 - Hokkaido Greenland and Sapporo Beer Garden Day 7 - Rusutsu Resort Day 8 - Joypolis and Tokyo Teleport Day 9 - Fuji-Q Highland Culture - Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama Day 10 - Tokyo Disney Days -1 and 11 - Around Tokyo - Aqua Stadium, Harajuku, Shibuya & Shinjuku DAY -1 - EARLY ARRIVAL DAY Up now is a jump back to the official/ unofficial early arrival day in Tokyo at our hotel in Shinagawa, which is also home to the Aqua Stadium and the indoor Intamin Galaxy Express 999. Before the rest of the early arrival group arrived, there was a chance to head out and explore one of the "must see" areas of Tokyo, Harajuku. This district is primarily the trendy fashion district but for tourists, it's like an amalgam of j-pop, fashion, rock and Japanese kitsch. The pedestrian areas of Harajuku street and Takeshita street are where you're likely to run into Harajuku girls, live anime-like people and cool t-shirts. After meeting up with TPR later in the day, it was off to Aqua Stadium and then our first group dinner of yakatori in Shibuya, where some of us were much more adventurous than others. "Fresh chicken" anyone? It sounded great, until we found out that fresh meant raw in this case. It was night of trial and error ordering, which was actually a lot of fun when you think about it. I stuck with the less adventurous food and it was delicious. I'm a huge fan of yakitori. Shibuya is the district with major shops and restaurants. The train station cross walk is the busiest in the world. Shibuya station is also home to the statue of Hachiko the Akita. It was made in memory of the the dog that for 10 years following its owners death, would travel to the station each night at the same time that his owner, Professor Ueno, used to arrive after work before walking home together. It's a fantastic story and worth looking up. Picture time! Saying good bye to our Kyoto breakfast and lunch place. Is there any better way to travel? Our first hotel at Shinagawa, home to the Galaxy Express 999! With bags dropped off, it was off to Harajuku. Why not? The busiest part of the district. This street's name is very hard to forget. Oh yah, we crashed a wedding. Back to the hotel. My room mate arrived and this is what having only one outlet in the room looks like in 2013. The Aqua Stadium was conveniently attached to the hotel. The pre show for this coaster is worth it alone? A great little Intamin indoor looper. Arriving at Shibuya station. Wait for it... Wait for it..... There we go! World's busiest cross walk--after work hours. Our first group trip at a Shibuya yakitori restaurant. Sir, your fresh chicken. The cooked chicken was really good. Yakitori is like the Japanese version of chicken wings in terms of how and when you eat it. Oh, I kinda sorta ordered chicken cartilage...I didn't know it but that's what I ordered... By now, you've guessed that Ben is the only adventurous one on that side of the table. Heading back to the hotel we got to take part in one more "mass crossing" The statue of Hachiko that stands outside of Shibuya station. The Shinagawa prince has great taste in lighting. This was such a great day to kick off the official trip. Edited February 15, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) JAPAN 2013 - THE LAST DAYS ....and we're back to the last two days of the trip. After Disney, a few of us spent the remainder of our last weekend in downtown Tokyo, giving Shibuya and Shinjuku another look through. Our hotel was in Akasaka, where TBS is located. After leaving Disney, we spent the afternoon in Shibuya, spending a lot of time in Tokyo Hands department store, which seemed like it had an infinite number of floors full of every department imaginable. At night, we headed to Shinjuku's Golden Gai neighbourhood. This area looks like the Japanese version of a European borgo and is the polar opposite of Shinjuku's Times Square-like area. It has a 1/2 dozen alley-like streets lined with house-size bars and restaurants. If you're over six feet tall, you'll probably have a few issues getting into these places but it's great for everyone else to watch you try. Our timing wasn't perfect as we went on the night that most places were closed, including our main reason for visiting: Cambiare, the antipasto bar themed to Dario Argento's Suspiria. Hey look, there's another reason to get back to Japan. We still found a great small bar with a bar tender that anyone could feel comfortable telling their life story to. I'll end Japan 2013 by saying that this was one of the most amazing trips ever. It was the perfect balance of experiencing Japan and feeding the coaster nerd in us all. You can't not check out the Tokyo Sky Tree. Tickets were gone for most of the day so unfortunately didn't get to go up. If you're stuck with not being able to go up Sky Tree, Tokyo Tower usually isn't too busy and also has great views of the city. Picking up a few supplies for last night parties. The best giant crispy cuttlefish snack ever? Had to do the obligatory walk by the Hilton's wedding chapel before heading out, one last time. Good byes suck. Japan's version of a downtown Disney. As much as saying good bye is horrible, at least another day in Tokyo would help pacify the sadness. Arriving at our Akasaka hotel, next to TBS Love Japanese Italian restaurants! Lunch models Back at Shibuya station The best department store ever. Lots of ways to make your iPhone personally yours. Ninja star fridge magnets? Sure. Why not? Making our way through the Shibuya cross walk one last time. At night, we were at the Shinjuku's Golden Gai district. Hearts sunk when we finally found Cambiare and it was closed. We still had an great night at this bar. A final walk through Shinjuku for the trip. My last day. Jenn, Travis and Nick had left so there was time for a last look around before heading to the airport. TBS square. This was also by far the hottest day of the trip. I was soaked walking 200 ft from the hotel to the subway. I was so glad that it wasn't even close to being as hot as this last day during the trip. Now knowing what a real transportation network is like, I feel bad for people visiting Toronto. A few snacks for the flight home. Oh. I know. So, that's it. Time really flies by. Just when you think it's completely over, Air Canada brings out the best snack ever. Made it home with a bit of Japan for family and friends. Edited February 15, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPRFan20ESH1 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Japan is a nice place to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) SCANDINAVIA 2009--A BLAST FROM THE RECENT PAST Arrival and Day 2 - Copenhagen and Tivoli Gardens Day 3 - Bakken Day 4 - Hansa Park So I promised myself that I'd finally do a Scandinavia TR before the next Scandinavia trip. I'm clearly running out of time. TPR's Scandinavia 2009 trip was, I think, my favourite trip to date. It was amazing on so many levels and I'm extremely excited for everyone heading over in about a month's time. With that, enjoy this blast from the recent past! Up first is arrival day in Copenhagen and Tivoli Gardens. My camera was acting up for Bon Bon Land. Not to worry, there are hundreds of Dog Fart Coaster pics out there, just use the "search" SCANDINAVIA 2009 - ARRIVAL/ AROUND COPENHAGEN Hotel Number 1 - Intro to European hotels. The main bus from the airport was arriving later so a few of us took the opportunity to check out Copenhagen. A little creative art. The post card view of the opera house. The first ever TPR International Snack Exchange! Back at the hotel meant it was time for.... Edited May 27, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) SCANDINAVIA 2009 - TIVOLI GARDENS COPENHAGEN Day 2 of the trip took us to Tivoli gardens. A beautiful place with some crazy rides and Wagamama. All was good with the world. Seriously, the flat rides here are insane! At the time, a Star Flyer that tall was mesmerizing and terrifying. I still think it's the nicest one built to date with the new one at Grona Lund giving it a run for its money. There also happened to be some insane bumper cars here, even more so than Knoebels. This was the first part of the trip where a ride operator seeing a TPR wrist band meant getting an extra long or multiple cycles. On a Huss Flic Flac, it can honestly work against you by the fourth non-stop cycle. Demonen, as a roller coaster, proves that you can cram a lot of awesome into small places. Oh, and Vertigo, will give actually give it to you. My favourite flat ride by far. Turbo Boost is a must. The crown jewel, Rutchebanen, was every bit the classic experience that I'd personally been looking forward to. Enjoy the pics! Just a short walk from the hotel and we were finally at the world famous Tivoli Gardens Pantomime shows still happen here. This was a great part of the day, without a doubt. The brake man lives on here. Comfy? Our behind the scenes tour. Yes, the ride is very, very old. Only men were permitted to be ride operators here at one time. Not sure what could possibly give that away. No brake man wants their name on this wall. If they are here, it means that the train that they were operating was traveling a touch too fast and jumped the track. It takes a day or two to get everything operating again. Anyone else pee there pants a bit on these things still? Vertigo. Oh, in Scandinavian theme parks, there are multiple ways to hurt yourself in every fun house. It's awesome. Huh? What? Where? A trip to Denmark wouldn't be complete without... A Hans Christian Andersen dark ride This was actually really well done. One of many drop rides that I avoided. On site brewery, of course. A bit more around the gardens. The bumper cars that just wouldn't be allowed in America. My first Wagamama. Signing in for Vertigo, our last chances to ride for the day. We had an odd number of people. Jon made new friends. Edited May 20, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattguyver Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Awesome pics! 11 more working days till I get to see these first hand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran1962 Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Great pics Jason Thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories That trip meant so much to me It set a very high bar That was my second TPR extravaganza and I was much more at ease. The one bus gave us all a great chance to get to know each other really well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperShawn Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Soo excited ! Keep the updates coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Some awesome photos from my home park! Vertigo truly is one of the most bad-a$$ rides in the world, there really is no comparison! (The only other one in the world, that originally opened in Milano, is now for sale on Technical Park's homepage, they are "only" asking € 400,000. I wonder who might pick it up, Drayton Manor wanted one, but I hope for you in the US to get it). But if you are going on the Scandi trip you can NOT miss Vertigo, it is one of the MUST rides, even if it has a 1h line. I absolutely recommend doing it as early as you can, as the line only get longer the later it becomes. No whossing out! If you can't stand spin and puke machines, it's an experience just to stand beneath it and watch it go into turbo mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the comments! ^^Fran: A pleasure. I knew that I would enjoy re-visiting this trip a lot and so far, that's definitely the case. That was my second TPR trip as well. ^Jakob: I'll gladly take that ride and put it in my back yard, if there was room. Agreed in that you definitely need to get on it early. I think I rode it four or five times at least that day. Watching it is great but as an "expert pilot", it drove me bonkers watching people sort of waste their ride by not doing anything with the plane lol Edited May 22, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Oh, god, the Flic Flac! I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I rode that thing. Tivoli was a beautiful park--great food, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) ^Couldn't agree more. The food was great. Quite honestly, every meal at every park ended up being insanely above expectations. color=#0000BF]SCANDINAVIA 2009--A BLAST FROM THE RECENT PAST[/color] Arrival and Day 2 - Copenhagen and Tivoli Gardens Day 3 - Bakken Day 4 - Hansa Park SCANDINAVIA 2009 - BAKKEN We now head to the world's oldest amusement park, Bakken. This park also has some great smaller rides and flats. Bakken is also home to a second classic wooden coaster, Rutschebanen, which we were lucky enough to see up close as part of our tour. I believe this was the last year that the coaster operated with a brake man since new trains were ordered at the time and are on the coaster now. The biggest surprise for me here was Tornado. The best spinning coaster ever. Why? I'm trying to remember but quite honestly, the whole ride was literally a high speed blur Enjoy the pics! Here we are at the world's oldest amusement park Tornado.... ...looks innocent enough. The food here was fantastic. This was our first taste of a Scandinavian buffet. Bakken's Rutschebanen A little up close and personal with Rutschebanen Guest brake man! Hey, the train is still going and on the track so it was a total success. Oh wait, didn't everyone make it back? Tornado car A little bit more of the park. You couldn't help but bust a move while waiting for the next train... Men, you will eventually need to use one of these. Good luck and really, hang on tight gosh darn it. So this happened. Thankfully there weren't any children to push out of the way.. I still don't really understand these rides. But it take some great pics. Swamp water and all. Of anyone "looked the part" here, it's Bill. Ancient simulator ride. Terry clearly loved it. We'll end with the most popular pinball machine on the trip. Edited May 27, 2014 by rollin_n_coastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Two things. Flic Flac in Tivoli was freekin' out of it's mind! The ride op kept us on it, and spinning FAST, for several minutes, almost ten it felt like. Will not ride it again. Tornado in Bakken was freekin' out of it's mind! The lift hill alone is worth riding it again and again. Can't wait! I wish we had one built and themed like this in our home park. Great Retro Tour Jason. It's getting me so happy and excited to going back there in a few weeks. Looking forward to more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran1962 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I am SO GLAD you got a picture of me at the buffet spread in Bakken (that's me on the right) Believe it or not, that spread is one of my strongest memories of the trip I'm not a very adventurous eater but I LOVE HERRING There must have been about 15 different kinds of herring on that table I never saw such variety before I was in heaven! And Tom was busting a lot of moves all through the trip I remember him singing "Umbrella" by Rihanna on one particular rainy day So Funny!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 This report is awesome before the upcoming Scandi trip. Getting even more excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I am SO GLAD you got a picture of me at the buffet spread in Bakken(that's me on the right) Believe it or not, that spread is one of my strongest memories of the trip I'm not a very adventurous eater but I LOVE HERRING There must have been about 15 different kinds of herring on that table I never saw such variety before I was in heaven! I totally agree, Fran. That is one of The Best Memories I have of Bakken. Their awesome buffet, there. And if the upcoming Tour doesn't have it as our lunch, I would gladly go to it later, and pay to eat there, again! Thanks for getting that shot, Jason! "We dine on many, many herrings..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Awesome stuff Jason!! I suddenly remembered how crazy that Tornado thing was! This park was so much fun, it's a shame they haven't got a brake man on the coaster anymore but I'm sure it'll still be an awesome ride for all the Scandi people this summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I learned a valuable lesson at Bakken--do not go to the men's room just before the buffet line forms, or you end up all the way in the back. Bakken was a lot of fun--especially the ghost train with the extra "surprise." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Really cool that they let Robb operate Rutschebanen's brakes. I can't see more pictures of tornado! I want to try it so badly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 SCANDINAVIA 2009--A BLAST FROM THE RECENT PAST Arrival and Day 2 - Copenhagen and Tivoli Gardens Day 3 - Bakken Day 4 - Hansa Park SCANDINAVIA 2009 - HANSA PARK We took a detour from Scandinavia to visit the Germans in Sierksdorf, just off the Baltic Sea. Walking around this town was truly a European experience. Located here is Hansa Park, originally the first German Legoland until becoming Hansland in 1977 and finally Hansa Park in 1987. The park shared their expansion and update plans with us while we visited and it'll be really cool to see how they've come along since. This was a huge favourite for me since there were more ways to really hurt yourself on the inflatable bouncy orbs, the "mid" high ropes course and above all, my favourite Eurofighter out there, Fluch von Novgorod. The theming on this ride, while not completely finished at the time, was incredible. The attention to details lasted from the moment you enter the queue to the moment you leave. Except for the last jump into the station, this is the probably the smoothest Eurofighter around. Overall, a very nice family park with a great atmosphere and oh yah, a great mascot. It also doesn't hurt to have a classic Schwarzkopf. When people the world over come this far north in Germany to visit roller coasters, the national media takes note. Hansa Park will look like this one day, if not already. A little peak of the park's new launched Eurofighter. Heading to Fluch von Novgorod The gardens seem to be a huge part of theme parks at this part of the world, complete with boat tours. Let's give it a go. What's next? Maybe this works now? It was down all day when we were there and is made by the Star Flyer folks. a little high ropes action. These were somewhat terrifying. Nessie, the parks classic looping Schwarzkopf Time to check out the gardens.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Awesome, Jason! I had forgotten how much we all really did in Hansa! Except that (&*^%@# Taco Bell Ride (what I call it) never did re-open, best of my knowledge. And those insane guys in the indoor bumper cars! Running around and around, from exit to entrance, riding and riding and riding these things. Freeks. Edited May 27, 2014 by Nrthwnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attack7 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Come with us Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Fulch von Novgorod was a great ride--even though I had no idea what it was about. Edited May 27, 2014 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 ^ Vikings. It was all about Vikings..... More or less. It's a great coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Great photos! Gonna visit Hansa for the first time next spring for the opening of Kärnan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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