Japan: Tokyo Dome City / Hanayashiki

[Gazza]

Both of these parks are small stops you can make when sightseeing around Tokyo. Both accessible via multiple rail lines.

Tokyo Dome City

 

 

https://www.parkz.com.au/parks/JP/Bunkyo_City/Tokyo_Dome_City/

Home to the famous Thunder Dolphin, a hypercoaster in the middle of a city. As far as the layout goes, the drops are impressive, but it is let down by a lack of airtime, and the ops are a bit sluggish, though they were running two trains at least. The weather was cold, so they have hot air blowers in the station aimed at the wheels to keep everything running warm.

Basically you head up the cable lift, a decent first drop (I was 2nd row) , overbanked turn, then a bit of a speed hill on top the building where you get a tiny bit of air, then a good overbank and drop through a hole in the building, yet another overbank through the ferris wheel, another longer, more drawn out speed hill. Next you curve up onto the roof of the building and do a bit of a trick track....essentially a straight bit of track with a few banked kinks in it (up here they could have easily done some bunny hops to spice it up) . Finally there is a curved drop off the building into a set of brakes, so the train is still carrying heaps of speed at the end.

It's absolutely worth a ride, but at the same time its B&M levels of hypercoaster excitement.

I would have done the ferris wheel but the light was dissapearing fast so I wouldn't have been able to photograph much.

Panic Coaster Back Daaan was a great suprise. I thought it was just a Gerstlauer family boomerang clone indoors, but it's not, its very unique.

Imagine something like Firechaser Express where the station is a dead end with a switch track.

But what makes this one different is there is no 2nd switch track partway through the layout to reverse the train (Like in firechaser where the factory explosion scene is) Instead the track feeds back into the switch track at the station, so you arrive back in the station facing backwards.

So the ride starts off with projection onto the walls and floor of the station with a cartoony bomb bouncing around. It detonates and you are launched into a layout like this in darkness.

When you get back into the station, more projection and another cartoon bomb, before you are launched out backwards into the course a 2nd time, but this time all colourful orbs light up the ride area and mirrors on the wall make it feel like a kaleidoscope.  The backward launch of course means you are reversing into the station at the end, so everything is reset for the next group of riders.

I was out of energy so i didn't go looking too hard to find the Dive shooting dark ride, I did a lap around and had a look at the dark ride area before calling it a night.

 

Hanayashiki

https://www.parkz.com.au/parks/JP/Taito_City/Hanayashiki_Amusement_Park/'

This park is another small easy to visit one, and the reason to go is because it's the oldest park in Japan and hosts the oldest coaster in Japan.

It's right in the heart of Asakusa, next to Senso Ji Shrine and Hozomon Gate and Nakamise Shopping Street, so you'll probably end up near it anyhow.

It's also in walking distance of Skytree.

Kicking myself I walked right past this without realising it was a small madhouse/haunted swing ride.

The park really does feel like it was decorated by the old lady in the fibro house at the end of your street.

It feels a bit like LPM, what with the coaster doing a lap around the park, and the abundance of Zamperla flats.

Roller Coaster was fun, fairly brisk, it only does one lap around the park though, so not that long.