Fuji Q Highland!

(I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures, but I will provide pictures I've found online)

Last weekend me and two others went to Fuji Q Highland! For those who don't know what it is it's an amusement park located in Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture. It's actually close to where we are so we thought, "what the heck let's go!" and so we went! Fuji Q is one of the things that Yamanashi is known for (aside from Mt. Fuji). Compared to Six Flags (Magic Mountain) it's smaller. I've never ridden any of the bigger rollercoasters at Six Flags so I can't really compare the rides. Though, I can say, the rides that we rode were loads of fun!

Eejanaika Track

The first ride we took is known as ええじゃないか (Eejanaika). Which translates to "Isn't this great?" The name fits the ride perfectly! A lot of people compare it to X2. I've never ridden X2 so I have no say. I've heard that they're made by the same company (so don't say that it copied X2). Anyway, the line was long. We waited about 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was a long wait. What was interesting was that there were several tvs as you progressed through the line that showed a bunch of Fuji Q commercials featuring power ranger-like characters doing shenanigans around the park. Very amusing and just plain ridiculous lol The whole time we were in line I was freaking out a little because going to Fuji Q was actually a spontaneous decision for me. I didn't really plan on going, but I somehow ended up going. I was afraid of getting on the ride because, like I said, I've never ridden any big rides so this was like a huge step for me. I didn't know how the ride would be like at all. Well, when it was finally our turn the anxiety kinda went down a little, but I was still nervous. After putting our stuff in lockers and taking off our shoes we got onto the ride. When everyone were seated and secured the floor beneath us went down. At that point I knew there was no return. Btw, you go backwards on this ride.  Also, as you slowly make your way out workers wave and cheer for you (which I find quite amusing). We slowly ascended then soon the sits turn so that instead of looking at the sky you're looking at the ground and that's where the drop is. That part was super scary for me because as we dropped no air would go into my lungs. Basically, I couldn't breathe! That scared me so much, but after the drop I was able to breathe again, but the ride didn't calm down at all! Not only was the track crazy, but you're also moving around like crazy because the seats rotate the whole entire time! The whole time I was on that ride I screamed and laughed. I think I either laughed because I was laughing off the fear or I was laughing because it was totally not what I expected (I honestly didn't know what to expect lol). The photo taken with me on the ride shows me laughing lol (Writing about this makes me want to ride it again XD)

After we got off Eejanaika we took a small snack break then we headed out to our next ride. The next one we rode was Fujiyama. It's on the other side of the park so we walked there. The line was shorter for this one and we waited for about 40 minutes. While waiting I felt more ready since I just rode Eejanaika which was already crazy for me. After the ride I realized you can never be ready... at least for me lol The ride freaked me out while I was on it. Not as crazy as Eejanaika, but it was rougher. There were a lot of turns and hills. No rotations or anything, but the hills were tough cause everytime we ascend then descend at a steep slope that's when I have a hard time breathing. It was also the only ride where I kept thinking "is it over yet?" lol it was kinda long. It was completely not what I expected, though! I don't know why but I expected this ride to one of the smoother and calmer rides (I think it was cause the track on the brochure made it look that way) and was it the complete opposite lol it was still fun, though!

Right after we got off Fujiyama we went straight to the next ride. We were going to ride Takabisha, but saw that it was another 1 hour and 40 minute wait so we decided to check out the next ride, Dodonpa, first. The wait was about an hour long. Dodonpa is a very interesting ride. First of all, when you're in line outside you can hear the Dodonpa theme song where the only words you hear are "dodonpa" in very sensual voices. We couldn't help laughing every time we heard it lol It did get annoying after awhile especially when you're in line for more than an hour... So, let me tell you more about Dodonpa. Dodonpa has a speed of 172km/hr (about 106m/hr). It's not the fastest rollercoaster but I believe it has the fastest acceleration. It goes 172km/hr in 1.8secs!!! Let that wrap around your head. When I first heard about that I literally freaked out! I mean I've never been in such speed in such a freaking short time! Thoughts rolled through my head of how my body would take it  and stuff. Seriously, 172km/hr in 1.8secs?! Is that even safe?!?! Well, apparently since people ride it and still live lol It really isn't that bad really. When we finally got on the scariest part was the beginning. We were slowly rolled into a tunnel and the first thing I see to my left are lights. Not just ordinary lights, but those lights they have at races or something. Then all of a sudden you hear "Launch Time! 3...2...1... *beep* *beep* GO!!!!" and WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH you go. That first pitch felt like the first drop of the other rides I rode in which I couldn't breathe (seriously, every rollercoaster there was a point where I couldn't breathe which was probably the only scary part for me). The ride was able to maintain it's speed of 172km/hr. The ride also only took 60 seconds to complete despite the track going from one end of the park to the other. It was short, but man was it fun! I'd definitely ride it again! Actually, I wish I can go and ride it again right now XD lol

After getting of Dodonpa my two friends decided they wanted to check out the Haunted House before the park closes (For some reason businesses in Japan close way too early. Fuji Q closed at 6pm that day and we got there are 12pm and waiting in line took away a lot of time). I didn't want to go into the Haunted House so I decided to check out a gift shop. 10 minutes later I get a call from them saying that the Haunted House had closed at a few hours before because there were too many people. They were deeply disappointed by that. They plan on going again just to go into the Haunted House xP

It was about 4:30pm at the time and we decided not to ride Takabisha since the wait was too long and we wanted to get our money's worth from the Free Pass that we got. So, the next place we went to was the Gundam attraction called Gundam Crisis. I was super excited about this one because I love Gundam and that attraction was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Fuji Q. Honestly, I had no idea what the attraction is. I just saw that it was Gundam so I had to go lol We waited in line which was small actually. The attraction opened at 5pm. This wasn't a rollercoaster or anything. It's like a sort of game-type attraction. Basically, we were given these PDAs and they let us loose into these rooms where we had to find these small red screens where we had to scan with our PDA. We had to find data for rebuilding a gundam. We had to find leg, arm, body, head, etc data. People were just scrambling around trying to find the data we needed. I only managed to find the arm and leg data before we had to proceed to the next room. In the next room, there was the body of a gundam and there were computer screens surrounding it and in here you had to find the screen in which you can install the data you have in your PDA. You had to find the right one in order for it to install. There were also some that would delete your data. I had one of my data deleted. There were also red screens where you can get more data if you found the right one. If all the data were installed then we succeeded. I only managed to install two, but as a collaboration we managed to win. We ran into the Shelter Room where we watched what is supposed to happen because we fixed the Gundam. This attraction was actually really fun and really hectic! I'd play again since this time I actually know what I'm doing lol I didn't really know what I was doing when I was playing. I just followed people XD

The next place we decided to check out was Evangelion World. I'm not a fan of Evangelion, but one of my friends is so we went there next. We weren't sure what it was going to be and it turns out it was like a museum that had a bunch of Evangelion figures, drawings, a bunch of random stuff, and life size figures of the mechs (are they called mechs?) from the anime. It was pretty impressive. If you're a fan of Evangelion I think you'd really like this place (my friend sure did). Near the beginning there's a room where there's a chair and a desk that's lit up on the top. You can do the infamous pose (sorry I'm not exactly sure what they call it, but it's pretty popular). The pose that the main character's dad is known for. My friend did that and the picture she took was hilarous lol Like the real thing! but creeper lol. As we proceeded there were several places where you can take some good pictures. I found this one spot where there's a small bench and there's a cut out of a character (which I assume is one of those perverted characters) who has one leg on the bench and one arm resting on his leg and he's leaning over and looking as if someone was sitting there. So, I had the idea to go sit down on the bench and react to his pose in a "you're scaring me" kind of way. I had my friend take a picture and send it to me. My other friends seem to really like that picture lol and I do to. Every time I look at it I become highly amused. Now I know how anime girls feel like XD lol Not too far from where that was there was a life-size figure of the main Evangelion mech, which I believe is called Unit-01? It's not the entire body, but just the head and shoulders. There was a clip playing on the side. I think it plays parts from the anime/movie because the statue reacts to the clip like when they talk about how there seems to be something wrong with Unit-01 and smoke appears from the mouth and the eyes go crazy. I thought it was really impressive. My favorite part of the attraction (aside from taking a picture with the creeper cutout lol).

By the time we got out of the attraction we only had 15 minutes left before the park closes. Right next to Evangelion World was a ride called Pizza-la. Since we  had time to spare we decided to go ride it. There were only a few people in line so we didn't wait long. Actually, not even half the seats were filled when we were on it lol The ride is basically like those viking-ship rides that swing back and forth except this one has the sits rotating in a circle as you're swinging. I guess they call it pizza-la because it's circular like a pizza? Actually, I have no idea why they call it. I like to call it the Pizza ride lol also one of the Fuji Q commercials has one of those power ranger members trying to ride this one while holding a box of pizza. Get it? Riding Pizza-la with pizza? Well, I thought it was funny :P

So that ends our Fuji Q Highland Trip. Some things I forgot to mention: It was really cold that day despite it being blue skies. Riding the rides was even colder. I remember getting off each ride and have my throat feel cold and scratchy, but totally worth it. Also, every time you finish the ride and reach the end people clap and cheer for you. It actually feels good having people cheer for your lol So yeah, Fuji Q was awesome. More awesome than I expected! It makes me want to go ride the ones at Six Flags (what are the height restrictions anyway?). I'd definitely go back again :D It was so much fun! And I want to get a chance to ride all the rides! I highly recommend going there!

Also, some tips for those who want to go in the future:
1. It closes early and considering that lines will be long I suggest going at an early time. Arriving after 12 is probably too late. Especially when you purchase a Free Pass.
2. How the rides work here is you have to pay to ride each ride. That's why I suggest purchasing the Free Pass. It's the most expensive, but it allows you to ride any ride without having to purchase the tickets. You can totally get your money's worth. We sure did.
3. Bring a jacket! or something warm because it does get cold. I'm not sure if that's the same case during the summer, but probably not?
4. If you want to get your money's worth on the Free Pass I suggest riding the expensive rides first. The expensive rides are probably the funnest, too, so that shouldn't be a problem. Though, the lines are longer.

Fuji Q Highland may not be as big as Six Flags, but it sure is fun! I'm glad I went :D