We came here as early as 9 am. At Kawaguchiko Station Inn where we were billeted for two nights, 7am, we had a hearty Japanese breakfast fit for a King. Or a Princess if you don't mind. Haha. I checked the operating hours of the amusement partk and found we have enough time to check the Kawaguchiko Lake on day time. We went there the night before but all we saw were twinkling lights.
This morning, we got to see the Kachikachi ropeway. I asked R if he wants to try it and he said no. I did not mind. Wasn't too fond of the cable car either.
Then at around 9am, we hopped on the train going to Fuji Q. Fare is JPY 170 one way. Then entrance is around 1,400 JPY but we bought the free pass (i.e. ride all you can) for 5,200 JPY each.
Our first ride* was the eejanaika (ええじゃないか). R said he does not want to ride yet but my persistent nagging was effective, he had a change of heart. Haha.
"Eejanaika is the roller coaster with the most inversions in the world. Throughout the ride, the riders go through 14 inversions. However, most of these inversions are accomplished by spinning the seats rather than actually inverting the track."
Mind you, the queuing time was 1 hour. And it was just 9:12am!! Oh the throngs of people around! I'm not too fond of crowds. And R pretty much share my enthusiasm for large groups. The approx 30 second of ride is... To say the least... Overwhelming. I had the sense not to puke. But my guts really wanted to.
The next ride* wasn't too much of breeze either. We had to wait for 1.5 hours I guess. Then went to a mind numbing-Guiness world record holder as the highest roller coaster (from Jul 1996 to Jan 1997) - Fujiyama, you get the gist. Definitely worth the try. But at the middle of the ride, I kept asking myself what have I gotten myself into? Rawr!
We had lunch afterwards at an outside booth where you have to get the ticket first at a vending machine. It's cute and pretty efficient and if there's no English available, we can at least look at the photos. Prettier photo equals more appetizing food!
Since it was just a stall outside and there were clusters of tables around, we took our food over to the food stall with a roof above our heads. We bought ice cream from Baskin' Robbins which had a booth at the food court.
Boy was the sun relentless! It was pretty hot, I had to take off my inner shirt which was a heat tech. I was surprised of this summer turning autumn weather. Under a shade, you'd need a jacket. Under the sun, you'd need to wear thin shirts!
Now I'm writing while at the 1-hour mark.
I wish they'd just give tickets for the time when we're slated to go on the ride. Like Disneyland.
Queuing takes a lot of time. Good thing something came out of it. Like this entry. This was written while waiting at Dodonpa* (ドドンパ). First, Dodonpa attained the title of fastest roller coaster in the world. Then, it claimed the record for fastest acceleration. Today, it is ranked as the fourth fastest roller coaster; however, over the past decade, it has proved unbeatable when it comes to acceleration.
And I have a few observations about Japanese.
1. They seem to never run out of things to talk about. It's like they're constantly chattering. I don't understand a word of it so I have no idea what their topics might be.
2. They have more variety of children's games. For instance, after a rock-paper-scissor, the winner will point to a direction and the loser should not guess which direction it is, through a head motion. I can't seem to explain it well enough, confirming the fact that I don't understand it well enough.
3. They like uniforms. Friends have the same heart eye glasses with heart stickers near their eye. They wear the same GAP Jacket. They have the same bag. It seems that everywhere I look, I see groups with sort of the same ensemble.
Our last ride* was the world record steepest roller coaster at 121-degree incline! Takabisha. The excitement was mounting up. But the 2 hour wait was well, such a killer- a nervousness killer, that is.
4 great rides. One fine day. Thank you, Fuji Queue.
* If you don't have the ride-all-you-can pass, you will have to pay JPY 1000 for each of these four rides. They have ticket vending machines at the queue line.
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