Veni, vidi, non vici. Ok, so my Latin is crap, but we came, we saw, we could not conquer. Mainly because all the fun rides were shut. [insert sad face emoticon here]
After heavy rains overnight, Toyko dawned clear and bright, if decidedly windy, promising a high of 21degC. We left a hint before 10am, arriving at Fuji-Q around 11:30am. We'd caught a few glimpses of Mt Fuji's skirts, her head being encased in cloud, on the way in, but nothing impressive enough to warrant stopping the car for a photo.
As we pulled in, the carparks seemed deserted (not a good sign), and we could neither see nor hear any of the famous roller coasters operating - no clanking, no delighted screams, no nothing. When we found the entrance to the park, an area that should have been swarming on a Sunday, it was dead. I mean dead.
The ticket dude assured me that around half the rides were operating, albeit none of the roller coasters, and there was a 90min queue for the Haunted Hospital. Apparently while many of the rides operate in rainy conditions, they do not operate in high wind. We hummed and haa-ed, but in the end decided it wasn't worth the entry fees (~$50 for us four) plus 90mins standing around for the main non-roller coaster ride only a few of our group were going to go on. We did better than a group of American college students who, having been assured that the park was open and operating, had bought their tickets online.
Our two choices for food were either inside the park (entry fee plus inflated-price, probably crappy theme-park food) or at the adjoining hotel restaurant. We went the latter, which offered a limited menu of captive-audience hotel food priced options. We ordered fairly frugally from the menu (huge bowls of noodles, meat +/- vegetables (ie mushrooms) in soup for JD and me, spicy fried rice for Jos, wontons and bao for Ky; a couple of Y2000 set menus for Em's family. The nine of us were filled, but not overwhelmed (by quality, range or quantity) for ~$150.
I nipped out to take a few pics of the roller coasters in the worsening weather, and then we all piled back into the car, and Em drove us all the way back to Tokyo. On the way back, Mt Fuji was even less inclined to show off her glory, the cloud having settled in, dark and heavy with rain. The kids coped exceptionally well, only getting restless in the last half-hour or so (SpongeBob on the in-car video player helped somewhat).
I guess that just means we'll have to come back to Japan again, so we can ride the ridiculous roller coasters and others can walk through the Haunted Hospital.
After heavy rains overnight, Toyko dawned clear and bright, if decidedly windy, promising a high of 21degC. We left a hint before 10am, arriving at Fuji-Q around 11:30am. We'd caught a few glimpses of Mt Fuji's skirts, her head being encased in cloud, on the way in, but nothing impressive enough to warrant stopping the car for a photo.
As we pulled in, the carparks seemed deserted (not a good sign), and we could neither see nor hear any of the famous roller coasters operating - no clanking, no delighted screams, no nothing. When we found the entrance to the park, an area that should have been swarming on a Sunday, it was dead. I mean dead.
 |
| Yup, one tickt booth open, no-one waiting. |
Our two choices for food were either inside the park (entry fee plus inflated-price, probably crappy theme-park food) or at the adjoining hotel restaurant. We went the latter, which offered a limited menu of captive-audience hotel food priced options. We ordered fairly frugally from the menu (huge bowls of noodles, meat +/- vegetables (ie mushrooms) in soup for JD and me, spicy fried rice for Jos, wontons and bao for Ky; a couple of Y2000 set menus for Em's family. The nine of us were filled, but not overwhelmed (by quality, range or quantity) for ~$150.
 |
| That one on the left? I believe you go up the straight side, and down the other |
I nipped out to take a few pics of the roller coasters in the worsening weather, and then we all piled back into the car, and Em drove us all the way back to Tokyo. On the way back, Mt Fuji was even less inclined to show off her glory, the cloud having settled in, dark and heavy with rain. The kids coped exceptionally well, only getting restless in the last half-hour or so (SpongeBob on the in-car video player helped somewhat).
I guess that just means we'll have to come back to Japan again, so we can ride the ridiculous roller coasters and others can walk through the Haunted Hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment