Nrthwnd Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 ^ Here's the TPR POV video of it, when they were there at the Resort. And sorry Itachi, for showing what you missed there . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 ^^Great question! And just to throw it in there...the speed at which you take those final barrel roles is terrifying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
805Andrew Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 ^ Here's the TPR POV video of it, when they were there at the Resort. And sorry Itachi, for showing what you missed there . Funny thing, I immediately searched for the Rusutsu one after you told me the difference and watched the Nagashima one (which I've ridden before) to compare against it but this is the first video that came up in my search from a different TPR trip. I love how crazy the girl's hair got 1:05-1:20 in the video. ^^Great question! And just to throw it in there...the speed at which you take those final barrel roles is terrifying! I noticed that when I saw the video - it looks like a batshit crazy ride where the second half is like being in a drying machine cycle. I'll have to get up to Rusutsu on a future Japan trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 ^ IMhO, it is non-stop relentless after leaving the lift hill. The top part warms you up for the bottom part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itachi Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share Posted May 6, 2018 Nice discussion about the Ultra Twister. That dive loop is exactly why I was looking forward to this particular Ultra Twister, since the others indeed have that moving platform. The speed in the latter half of Rusutsu's Ultra Twister seems totally crazy. Looks like a great ride! I loved Rusutsu Park. We went there during the TPR 2013 Japan Tour, and we really enjoyed how it was laid out, with plenty of space to just walk around, AND with lawn chairs and loungechairs available to sit on, in shaded areas....perfect! Top of the hill was great too. Did you get any shots of "Not-Fuji" while you were up there? Or were clouds covering it up? Too bad the Ultratwister wasn't open. Definitely unique amongst what few there are of them, still. Also, the Haunted Swing in Hokkaido Greenland is really well hidden, under the platform for the small monorail ride. I didn't really notice it myself, until I saw some kids actually lining up for it. Then I noticed the doors they usually have for this smaller kind of swing in Japan (there are others around), and I immediately knew that's what it was! Thoroughly enjoying reading through your Japan Adventures! Thanks for sharing all of them. Thank you! I did not get a shot of the "Not-Fuji" since it was quite cloudy, but I already assumed the mountain was quite big, judging from the foot of it. It's a really cool place indeed, so much space to just relax and enjoy the park! I totally missed the Haunted Swing, too bad! As you say, it's hidden very well under that platform. By the way great job on the Japan TR. I enjoyed reading about it and seeing about the lesser known/visited parks in Japan and can't wait to eventually go back to Japan to discover more of what it has to offer. Thanks! Even though I had the opportunity to go to Japan two times, I also can't wait to go back already. Such a great country, glad you like it too! --- Misaki Park and Ikoma Skyland After my time in Hokkaido I spent a day to get from Sapporo to Osaka by train. I crazy schedule, but since there were some amusement parks in the Osaka area I still wanted to visit, I just made the trip, which took almost 12 hours. Maybe I should’ve taken a flight, but I had a Japan Rail Pass and I have to admit I like taking trains quite a lot, especially in Japan. My original plan was to go cycling in some nice area near Osaka, but since Sapporo made me forget how crazy hot the more southern parts of Japan are, I decided not to do it after arriving in Osaka. Without plans, I decided to do some credithunting after waking up the following day. After looking up some parks with still a little bit of quality, I went on my way to the parks. The first park, Misaki Park was an one-hour train ride from where I was staying. Not too bad. An interesting but useless fact is that the operator of the train line serving the station in front of the park, is also the owner of the park. I went inside the park, and after finding out where I could buy ride tickets, the package deal for ride tickets proved to be just enough to do the roller coasters and the Ferris wheel. I still had to eat my breakfast, which I did, followed by the first roller coaster. This one is the only roller coaster outside of the United States made by Hopkins. It’s called the “New Wild Mouse," Hopkins’ take on a Wild Mouse. Well, it was not as good as a wild mouse, but overall, it was a nice family coaster. With decent speed and turns, it gave a smooth but not too exciting ride. A surprising ride in terms of builders and looks, but forgettable when it comes to the ride itself. I still enjoyed it though. A few meters next to the New Wild Mouse, I found the Child Coaster. It reminded me of the older kiddie coasters in the United States. Although I am not that tall, I barely managed to fit in. A decent ride for kids, and for me, just another credit. The last new coaster in this park was found on top of the big hill in the park. Jet Coaster is the second-oldest coaster in Japan, opened in 1957. Obviously, the coaster itself wasn’t that exciting, but because it was a terrain roller coaster, the ride was just splendid. It raced through the trees, with views over the area, and to top it off, a view over the ocean. The setting of this roller coaster was just fantastic! It definitely is not the best ride in the world, but the setting around this coaster make it a small jewel. I love these kind of rides. Besides that, the older staff member operating this ride was also really friendly and interested in where I came from. That kind of staff makes your day at an amusement park definitely better! At a dead-end, the Ferris wheel stood on top of the hill. The operator was dutifully cleaning the ride. It appeared she did not have much to do, although it was already summer break in Japan. The Ferris wheel was, also in this park, nice to ride. I love views! After this, I made a walk around the park. Although the park has quite some rides, mainly for kids, the zoo section of the park is also quite big. I don't really like Japanese zoos though, so I did not spend a lot of time on it. I left the park since it was time for the second park of today, Ikoma Skyland. For this I had to take the train again. A train ride later I was at a station at the foot of a mountain. The problem was, the amusement park was on top of the hill. Luckily, there were cable cars with incredibly cute cars going up the mountain. It took more time than I expected since the time schedule of the two cable cars didn’t connect to each other which meant I had to wait some time halfway through. On top of the mountain, the location of Ikoma Skyland turned out to be gorgeous. Because it is on top of a mountain, the park provides views over the whole wide area with lots of views points. Definitely a beautiful location. The coaster in this park was just a small one, namely, one of those SBF Visa spinning coasters which are popping up everywhere nowadays. Nice for the credit, especially since I was one of the first foreign riders because the ride opened not too long ago. Not that I care though, especially since the ride is so small. In that sense, visiting the park 15 years ago would've been better, when their were four bigger roller coaster including an Ultra Twister and a Shuttle Loop. After enjoying the views and the enormous roller coaster, I made a quick round in the park. The park actually has a broad line-up of rides, like most Japanese amusement parks. A family really could spend a day in this park. Still, in my case, I left after the quick round since I promised to meet up a friend in Osaka and didn’t want to risk the meeting time on the last cable car to the foot of the mountain, which would go 45 minutes later than the one I took now. Obviously, this wasn’t a day of high-quality parks, but I actually enjoy these smaller parks very much. In this case, the parks had splendid views of their surroundings, which really was the highlight of this day, and Misaki Park even had two surprising coasters. Japan seems to be quite a good country for people who like to credithunt from time to time, like me, since even the smaller parks do not disappoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now