CoasterForce's Favourite Japanese Rollercoasters

[Matt N]

Hi guys. As you may have seen over in the Dutch coaster poll topic, I've decided to go to a more faraway land for this month's poll due to many of you suggesting the option. I was undecided between Japan and Australia, but this month, I decided to tackle my first Asian country, and do CoasterForce's Favourite Japanese Rollercoasters! I'll definitely be doing Australia next month, so the Aussie coasters certainly haven't been forgotten about, but I decided to try Japan first to gauge some idea of the sort of sample size I could gather from the Eastern regions, as Japan seems like the most visited Eastern country by this forum's members.

So, if you want to participate, just post your top 10 Japanese rollercoasters below! You have until 30th September 2021 at 11:59pm to post your lists if you want them to be included, so if you want to influence the poll, post your list down below!

As one final aside; because people asked me in the last poll, I should clarify that for dueling coasters, could you please amalgamate them together, if you wouldn't mind? If you do rank them separately, go with your highest ranked out of the group as your overall placement for that group of coasters. I only request this because I can merge things together if people split them, but I can't extrapolate placements for particular sides in the case of someone not splitting them.

So if you want your favourite Japanese rollercoasters to influence the list, then get posting! I can't wait to see what CF's favourite Japanese rollercoasters are...

 

[davidm]

Just so you get some stats....

1.Nagashima Spa Land / Steel Dragon 2000
2.Fuji-Q Highland / Eejanaika
3.Parque Espana-Shima Spain Village / Pyrenees
4.Tobu Zoo Park / Kawasemi
5.Fuji-Q Highland / Dodonpa (should clarify ; "ridiculous hill" not "big loop" as not ridden that version)
6.Yomiuriland / Bandit
7.Universal Studios Japan / Space Fantasy The Ride (rode it as Space Fantasy, not any of the overlays)
8.Fuji-Q Highland / Fujiyama
9.Tokyo Dome City / Thunder Dolphin
10.Universal Studios Japan / Hollywood Dream: The Ride

 

[Projektion]

Wew, a "Coasterforces favourite X coasters" region that I have more experience with than just 1 or 2 parks.

1. Hakugei @ Nagashima Spa Land
- My #1 overall, absolutely incredible ride with a bonus that the ops don't push the restraints down like other on RMCs I've done.

2. Flying DInosaur @ Universal Studios Japan
- Just riding it during the day, I knew it was going to be a top 10 coaster, but my final ride (front row night ride) pushed it up to #3 in my overall ranking. Just an incredible ride.

3. Eejanaika @ Fuji-Q Highland
- Pure, unbridled insanity, to the point that it hurts it's ranking a bit for me. It's just a complete sensory overload and is just a bit too much.

4. Dododonpa @ Fuji-Q Highland
- That launch. It doesn't really do much else other than the launch, but just getting that 1 ride where I got caught completely off guard on the launch completely made the ride worth it.

5. Arashi @ Nagashima Spa Land
- Went in with tempered expectations cause of people generally talking down the S&S freespins, ending up blowing me away. Only real downside are the vests, they tighten really bad over the course of the ride. If the vests were better, I honestly think I'd have it over Eej.

6. Hollywood Dream: The Ride @ Universal Studios Japan
- Another one that kind of surprised me. Towards the start of the day it was pretty weak, but as the day went on and it had a chance to warm it, it ended up being pretty decent and surprised me with how good it ended up being.

7. Shuttle Loop @ Nagashima Spa Land
- My only shuttle loop. Kind of surprised how much I liked it.

8. Diavlo @ Himeji Central Park
- To be honest, this was a bit of a blur since I cred rushed Himeji as weather was taking a bit of a turn, but I think this is how much I liked it.

9. Bandit @ Yomiuri Land
- A really fun ride, especially for night rides. There's only really one hill that pulls airtime, but its surprisingly decent. Main downside for this one is just those trains, the seats are tiny even for me and I'm short.

10. Acrobat @ Nagashima Spa Land
- Its pretty good. I was kind of disappointed by the Pretzel loop given how much people hype them up but it didn't feel that intense.

 

[emoo]

Eejanaika / Fuji-Q
It's too ridiculous for words.

Flying Dinosaur / USJ
One of the best including a 540° roll.

Steel Dragon 2000 / Nagashima Spa Land
So long and tall with large bunny hops for days.

Fujiyama / Fuji-Q
I had some great rides with other people cracking up.

Do-[do]donpa / Fuji-Q
A simple ride in essence with a dramatic launch & and trains. Either version is right about here.

Hollywood Dream: The Ride / USJ
Going backwards makes this ride but even the normal way is fun enough. Nice sparkling LED trains, lovely stuff.

Kawasemi / Tobu Zoo
Just like the other megalites - great.

Space Fantasy: The Ride / USJ
Absolutely love the scene with the baubles hanging from the planets rings, overall its cool.

Ultra Twister / Rusutsu Resort
Instead of a weird mechanic to reverse the cars direction mid ride, it has a dive loop that's so obvious & fantastic.

Milky Way / Greenland (Arao)
It's a favourite, far from the best but I have a real soft spot for the blue still standing side.


I'd really hope to put Pyrenees and Hakugei near the top of this list one day.

 

[Serena]

Oooh, I've been looking forward to this:

1. Hakugei. The most forceful airtime I've ever experienced is on that double-up. It left my thighs covered in bruises! The inversions on this coaster are absolutely flawless. An amazing, intense ride.

2. Thunder Dolphin. Fun fact, Thunder Dolphin has my favourite first drop of all time. Always gets me right in the tummy. I've only ever ridden this beauty at night and wow, the views it gives of Tokyo all lit up

3. Takabisha. That holding break is very daunting! Great layout, snappy launch.

4. Fujiyama. I can't wait ToGo back to Japan to ride this huge, hilarious thing again as I was sadly spited on my last visit to FujiQ in 2019.

5. Acrobat. One of my favourite flyers. Love the turquoise track. The pretzel loop felt slightly less intense than others (which was a good thing!)

6. Steel Dragon 2000. The first half kept making me grey out, but the second half is pure floaty airtime goodness.

7. Raging Spirits. Not an amazing coaster but it just looks cool.

Okay, I am clutching at straws now. Interesting how my list starts with 2 amazing coasters then goes downhill so fast into mediocre cred territory. I need to get to USJ and have a less spiteful day at Fuji Q!

 

[rctneil]

1. Dodonpa (FujiQ Highland)
2. Ultra Twister (Rusutsu Resort)
3. Space Fantasy (Universal Studios Japan)
4. Eejanaika (FujiQ Highland)
5. Kawasemi (Tobu Zoo)
6. Galaxy Express 999 (Aqua Stadium)
7. Hollywood Dream (Universal Studios Japan)
8. Steel Dragon 2000 (Nagashima SpaLand
9. Raging Spirits (Tokyo DisneySea)
10. Surf Coaster (Sea Paradise)

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Eejanaika, because it's not only my favourite Japanese coaster, but my favourite coaster of all time.

Honourable mentions go to Kawasemi, Fujiyama, Hollywood Dream (backwards), Zaturn, and Dodonpa. Mostly everything was pretty crap.

 

[Rollercoaster David]

1 - Hakugei, I mean It could never be anything else. This is my #1 roller coaster in the world and I’m not sure if anything will ever top it. As an added bonus me and Serena’s first ride was caught on camera

2 - Flying dinosaur, the best flying coaster in the world. The insane first element zero g roll into raven turn is mind blowing.

3 - Dodonpa, the original. I only got to ride this once and surprisingly the launch is not what I remember. Instead what I remember is the insane ejector air that you got going over the top hat in the front seat and the stars itl eft me seeing on the brake run.

4 - Steel Dragon 2k, It’s the longest roller coaster in the world and looks absolutely massive. The drop is great and the endless airtime hills on the return to the station are awesome. Again I’m lucky enough to have a video of me and Serena on the ride

5 - Bandit, a unique hyper terrain coaster that is kind of unlike anything else, so deserves a top spot. When I first rode you had the option of getting soaked with water cannons during the first drop, but this was not very clear for non english speakers!

6 - Takabisha, The drop is such a tease, but the rest of the ride is fun, even in the rain.

7 - Thunder Dolphin, honestly quite a strange coaster that goes round a shopping mall and has a really weird banked section next to smelly air conditioning outlets. What’s not to love?

8 - Kawasemi, it’s an intamin mega lite - nuff said

9 - Diving Coaster Vanish, It’s a stunning visual at night and to date the only roller coaster I’ve been breathalysed before riding to ensure I wasn’t drunk.

10 - Arashi, TBH I’m still not entirely sure if I enjoyed this ride or not, it was such a crazy assault on the senses that it still makes my head spin when I think about it today! From a distance it looks like your standard free spin joker/batman clone, except those rides tend to flip you 2-3 times at most. This flips you 11+ times. The camera man who rode it with me wasn’t being paid enough !

 

[Gazza]

1) Haukgei - The perfect RMC
2) Flying Dinosaur - The perfect flying coaster
3) Pyrenees - Phenomenal invert, loved the high speed turn into the cobra roll
4) Takabisha - Really solid fun layout
5) Kawasemi - Plenty of Ejector air, but it defintley feels a bit more rigid in its approach to airtime
6) Hollywood Dream - A delight
7) Steel Dragon 2K - Big and fun but not that creative
8) Dodonpa - All about the launch, but i think the dark tunnel diminishes the sense of speed a bit. And its bouncy
9) Thunder Dolphin - Pretty good but not enough air for a hyper imo.
10) Fujiyama - This thing is suprisingly good

Honourable mentions go to Space Fantasy, Spin Coaster Runway and Panic Coaster Back Daaan and Acrobat.
Eejanaika was closed for me.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

1. Eejanaika
2. Hakugei
3. Flying Dinosaur
4. Pyrenees
5. Hollywood Dream
6. Arashi
7. Fujiyama
8. Acrobat
9. Steel Dragon 2000
10. Bandit