Better late than never ever 5: Birtday girl part 2: Japanese national romantic roller coasters

Eirin also has a blog, which you should read. Or not. I really don't think I'm
qualified to tell you what to do with your life.

Treated myself to a fieldtrip as a birthday present to myself*. I actually just rudely attached myself to my lovely friend Eirin and her crew of Norwegians from Josai International University in Chiba on their overnight trip to Fuji-Q Highland roller coaster park, because I have literally no shame.

*one of several, actually. It always ends up being several.

Theme park Halloween-themed for the season, of course.

This is what everybody wants to see before taking a big terrifyin' 'coaster, right?

We stuffed our luggage into some coin lockers, and I remembered that when I love Japan I really really love Japan.

I mean seriously. Look at those guys. THEY ARE ADORABLE!!

The area around Mt. Fuji is also the home of Fuji-chan, Japan's most amazing mascot:

Happy-Fuji

I love it, I want to hug it, and I want to bring it home.

I mean, from the highway it just kinda looks
like the world's largest pimple.

Gotta say, I think I've always kinda underestimated Mt. Fuji. I've seen it from faaaar off thinking "yeah, it's cool. Cool mountain bro". But getting up close... Holy bovine quadruped that guy is imposing! It basically covers half the sky. And there are no mountains of any kind of comparable size anywhere near it, so it just ... it big, 'kay? It really, really big.

The view from the ferris wheel was okay, I guess :)

Thinking about the fact that it's an actual active volcano gives me the heebie jeebies!

But then I remember this:

Omg.

and I'm suddenly okay.

The Fuji-Q park actually has the world's coolest* rollercoaster.
*by some official measure I can't remember.

Going up the 70-something metres* on a clear day gives you the best view of Mt.Fuji I could imagine anywhere ever.
*I can't remember, do your own damn research!

Disclaimer: photo not actually taken from rollercoaster.

It was awsome.

I needed some time to recuperate after that, so we hung around the Hamtaro-area for a while just chillin' and eating foods.

This Hamtaro-ride was really quite terrifying, as it was really old and kept jerking abruptly.

The haunted house was visited, too, lest I forget.

Live actors running after you through a horror-movie set hospital. Pretty damn cool!







Unfortunately, even though it was a regular wednesday, the lines were long, everywhere.



Some people came prepared:

Queue-chair. Genious!

Some people in the past have clearly tried to cheat:

Life is a jrpg.

But it was a beautiful autumn day full of those gently changing leaves that everybody loves. With Fuji in the background I guess it was basically Grieg in a Fjord-level Japanese romantic nationalistic imagery.

The area, however, was trying really really hard to be France.

No really. They had an Eiffel Tower.

This is not what Japan looks like!

#ParisSyndrome

Anyway.

It's very very common in Japan to buy little gifties to people in your life whenever you've been on a trip. Something local or a bit special, often edible. For this reason, and because the Innovation Norway people are constantly travelling, we more or less always have tons of sweets and candies and cookies and stuff hanging around the office.

I decided to contribute, so I bought these astoundlingly beautiful Mt. Fuji-cookies:

 ART!