East Meets ACE – Part 8: Tokyo Joypolis / 東京ジョイポリス
On Friday, September 28 we left Keio Plaza Hotel for the last time. This was a very nice hotel, and of particular note they offered three breakfast options: Western, Mixed and Japanese. The first morning we had gone to the Western Breakfast, which was very good, but the rest of the mornings we went to Mixed Breakfast, which gave us the opportunity to sample Japanese items without forgoing all of our Western favorites. As the Japanese Breakfast started later and since we had a later departure, we decided that this last morning would be a good opportunity for a true Japanese Breakfast.
Richard, Vanessa and I were served a set menu with a lot of different items, most of which I liked. Some we traded off to each other. While I would not have wanted to have this breakfast every morning, it was a very good experience and I would do it again in Japan.
Once on the buses we made our way to the first of three parks this day, Tokyo Joypolis in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Operating since 1996, this is an indoor theme park built around video games and spread out over three floors. Most of the rides revolve around games, and many use simulation. We had about two hours here, but it just about took all of that to get all of us on the relatively low capacity coaster.
1st Floor
Gekion Live Coaster (Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH, Enclosed Spinning Coaster, 2012)
This custom spinning coaster with an inversion is part video game and part coaster as it stops at various points along the way for games before releasing the car to the main part of the ride.
It was originally named Veil of Dark.
It is fun, although with its low capacity it was a challenge to get everyone through in time, but I think all who wanted to ride got on – 1 ride.
Other rides on this floor include Halfpipe Tokyo, a next generation extreme ride; The Joypolis Explorer, a treasure hunt to solve the riddle of an “old document”; and Pirate’s Plunder, where you shoot skeletons for hidden treasure.
2nd Floor
Rides here include: Transformers Human-Alliance Special, a 360 degree spinning shooting ride; The House of the Dead 4 SP, shooting zombies in a ruined city; Sonic Athletics, a run to victory; Tower Tag a Virtual Reality Shooting game; and Storm G, a simulatedBob-sleigh with 360 twist.
3rd Floor
After our coaster ride we really only had time for one more attraction, so we went to the third floor and chose:
Mystic Mansion – Tale of Pandemonium – This was an interesting simulator type ride that used a rotating platform, 3D effects and other special effects for a horror presentation, which was quite fun – 1 ride.
Other attractions on this floor include: Fortune Forrest, which tells the future; Biohazzard, Resident Evil 7; Wild Wing, a glider tour of virtual world; Wild Jungle Brothers, an adventurous jeep tour of a jungle; Wild River the Treasure Hunt, a simulated rapids ride; Phoenix Wright Ace in Joyopolis; The Room of the Living Doll, a horror attraction; Unsearchable – The Orb Hidden in Basement, a challenge to find hidden treasure and escape; Lola & Carla the Beauty Contest; and Joyopolis Sugoroku, a long & winding attraction through Tokyo.
They have one defunct roller coaster in their history, Spin Bullet (Masago Industrial, Enclosed Spinning Coaster, 1996-2011), also known as Speed Boarder and Rail Chase the Ride.
This is a unique park, more like a life-size arcade than an amusement park. It would have been interesting to have had enough time to try out a few more attractions.
Up Next: Yokohama Cosmoworld
Ronny's Travels 