Fuji-Q Highland

Fuji-Q

The next morning we were up bright and early.  Junko-san, Masao-san and Mitsuko-san's third daughter, was there.  Junko-san and I are the same age.  We had a delicious breakfast--ham, eggs, toast, fruit, cucumbers, and tomatoes--from their garden-- and yogurt.  I was stuffed!

The original plan had been that Masao-san was going to take us to the bus station so we could catch a bus to Fuji-Q, but he decided to drive us all the way there--so nice of him!  Since his English was the most limited out of everyone, he and Emily mostly talked in Japanese, but they tried to include me in the conversation as much as possible.  He helped us get our bags into a storage locker at Fuji-Q before leaving.  We were all worried about Emily's large bag fitting in a locker, but we made it work. 

We said our good-bye's--and off to the park we went!  We stowed our cameras away, only having our phone's to take pictures with, so my pictures of the day are more sparse.

Fuji-Q, as its name suggests, is at the base of Mount Fuji--but because of the cloud coverage, we still couldn't see!  Arggh!  

The amusement park itself wasn't overly busy.  Our longest wait time for a line was under an hour for some of the busier rides.  Emily said that every other time she has been there that there has been over two hour wait times for the rides.  Wednesday is the day to go, then!  

I had a blast up until we rode the swings to help dry us off after the water ride.  I think that because there weren't any people in line for the swings after our line got on that they kept us on the ride for longer than normal.  Emily and I got off the swings just feeling nauseous, headachey and cold (not having dried off very much).  From that point on, the park became less fun because I just wasn't feeling the greatest.  However, we were both determined to have the most fun we could, and we avoided any rides that spin in circles.  The roller coasters were still fun--my favorite was Fujiyama, which used to be the world's tallest roller coaster.

Such a tiny van, and yes, Emily did fit--barely

Pretty picture with the lake in the background

Random KFC in the middle of pretty much nowhere

Same with the McDonalds

Our first glimpse of Fuji-Q!

Our ticket to the park!

 Our favorite non-coaster attraction was called "Biohazard."  It's a role-playing game where you are an inmate trying to escape from prison.  There are four stages, but we never made it past the first stage.  You have to find the "items," basically, hidden card readers throughout and sometimes your item can be X-ed out.  It is a race against the clock, and so much fun.  We were so close to making it past the first stage.  One item away.  This was one of the times we played.  Emily has the card that we almost made it.  The X's are the card readers we found but not for the items we had.  You can see we found one, but it got X-ed out.  The card readers were very cleverly hidden too.  False ones real ones, even hidden doorways to get out!

 

As you enter the park, you wind around this French themed street of shops

Fuji-Q's mascots--I think they look like the Power Rangers, and I was really confused for a bit until Emily explained

She's not excited at all.  One thing about the park that I thought was really cool is that they have lockers for you to put all your stuff in at every ride, so you don't have to carry it on the ride with you and have it get lost.  There are even rides that they make you take your shoes off and leave in the locker as well

For those who can't hack it---wasn't  us!

I'm really not sure why I took this picture...maybe because there was no just straight water in the vending machines

Japanese pizza.  There is corn (yes, corn!) and mayo(!) on it, along with a strange tasting marinara sauce.  It was the most interesting pizza I have had.  It wasn't horrible, but not something I will get again.

I convinced Emily to go on the ferris wheel because I wanted to get some aerial shots of the city and the park.  She rolled her eyes at me, but came along.  The ferris wheel was SO slow that within five minutes I was more than ready to get out.  We only did that ride once, but I did get some good pictures!

If you go on a water ride in Japan, expect to get wet!!!  In fact, they have rain ponchos that you can purchase for a cheap price before you go on the ride.  Emily and I scoffed.  The day wasn't hot, but it was warm (this was before the clouds moved in fully), and what is the point on going on a water ride if you don't get wet?  Well, we were completely soaked from head to toe.  The ride slows just after you hit the water, so you get the back splash of the water completely drenching you.  Unfortunately, after we went on the ride, the clouds moved in and it got chilly.  We were cold and wet and completely rethinking the not having a poncho idea.

The outside of the haunted house.  I am one of those girls who get scared (but not overly so--I get scared at the people in costume and the suspense)--and I have a man scream.  Emily, however, does not get scared.  She spent the whole time laughing at me.  It is kept pretty dark inside, so you are given a flashlight to help you navigate (the hospital).  The flashlight is on a timer and will turn off every few minutes or so.  The first time it happened, I was pretty upset that we got a bum flashlight--until we turned it back on.  Tricky tricky.

This picture always makes me laugh.  When we were waiting in line for the haunted house, there was a group of people in front of us.  Just before we went in for our picture, there was a big boom and the flash of the camera (to get people to look scared for the picture).  The girls in front of us freaked out, and Emily and I had a good laugh about that.  When it was our turn for the picture, we sat on the bench.  I was all prepared for the loud noise and the flash, but not for the bench to drop a few inches--hence my face.  Emily knew what was coming and was laughing at me.

It's eating Emily!

I love love this picture.  Due to lightning, the water rides were shut down for a short time.  The sky combined with the golden cats and the serene water with the roller coaster in the background just make for a perfect picture.

The "Engrish" at the bottom of the box on some chocolates