Sunday, April 24, 2005
Mitsui Greenland
I had a rare day off on Friday. So naturally, I assembled some friends, and went to Mitsui Greenland, Kumamoto's amusement park.
I wasn't expecting much, I thought it would be somewhat small with some not-too-exciting rides, not unlike Playland back home. But after paying 5100 Yen entrance fee, I knew I'd be in for a pretty good day.
First, since it was a Friday in the middle of April, there was hardly anyone there. There was a few high school groups (shouldn't they be taking school trips to museums or something?) but there were hardly any lines. I tried a few kinds of coaster that I had never tried before; one where you are strapped in standing up, and another where you are suspended. There were definitely some good coasters there. As for other ides, there was a giant ferris wheel that promises a view of Nagasaki, a couple haunted houses that weren't scary at all (unless you're a high school student) and a few water rides. They also had a bunch of rides with engines, such as the bumper boats, two different go-kart courses, and a slalom cart course.
A couple of highlights: I stepped up to the plate of the game where you have to swing a hammer and hit a target, then a scale will tell you how strong you are. When I went in, there was no one around, just my friends, but before I took my first swing, a whole bunch of Japanese high school boys came out of nowhere to watch me. Since I look big and strong, I didn't want to disappoint, but it made me a bit nervous and the potential to be embarrassed was there. It reminded me of when tons of Taiwanese people watched me play a punching/boxing game when I was there. With the pressure on, I swung, and luckily got a perfect 100 points much to the delight of the onlookers. I won an inflatable hook that I planned on giving away to a student at school, but I think it was poorly made cuz it kept on deflating. Oh well, several people witnessed my 100-point swing, so that can't be taken away. I also played this cork shooting game where I knocked two boxes of candy off the shelf. Meanwhile my friends didn't win anything combined all day. It's all about the bragging rights sometimes.
I wasn't expecting much, I thought it would be somewhat small with some not-too-exciting rides, not unlike Playland back home. But after paying 5100 Yen entrance fee, I knew I'd be in for a pretty good day.
First, since it was a Friday in the middle of April, there was hardly anyone there. There was a few high school groups (shouldn't they be taking school trips to museums or something?) but there were hardly any lines. I tried a few kinds of coaster that I had never tried before; one where you are strapped in standing up, and another where you are suspended. There were definitely some good coasters there. As for other ides, there was a giant ferris wheel that promises a view of Nagasaki, a couple haunted houses that weren't scary at all (unless you're a high school student) and a few water rides. They also had a bunch of rides with engines, such as the bumper boats, two different go-kart courses, and a slalom cart course.
A couple of highlights: I stepped up to the plate of the game where you have to swing a hammer and hit a target, then a scale will tell you how strong you are. When I went in, there was no one around, just my friends, but before I took my first swing, a whole bunch of Japanese high school boys came out of nowhere to watch me. Since I look big and strong, I didn't want to disappoint, but it made me a bit nervous and the potential to be embarrassed was there. It reminded me of when tons of Taiwanese people watched me play a punching/boxing game when I was there. With the pressure on, I swung, and luckily got a perfect 100 points much to the delight of the onlookers. I won an inflatable hook that I planned on giving away to a student at school, but I think it was poorly made cuz it kept on deflating. Oh well, several people witnessed my 100-point swing, so that can't be taken away. I also played this cork shooting game where I knocked two boxes of candy off the shelf. Meanwhile my friends didn't win anything combined all day. It's all about the bragging rights sometimes.
