SO to preface this, I've had the fortune of being to Thorpe Park (Sp?), Chessington, Alton Towers, Universal America, Busch Gardens, Sea World (Florida) and the German equivalent of Chessington (the name of which I can't remember). In citing this list of visited theme parks, it's come to my attention that I rather like visiting these places. It's also come to my attention that I much prefer visiting parks of an activity orientated nature. I go for the park, not for the theme.
I've also been to (what I would consider) a large number of them, so I've got some experience with which to compare.
First up, Universal Studios.
This was the hottest day I've experienced in Japan, so we hit all the water rides we could find. Being the Summer holidays, it was completely jam packed.
I previously uploaded a picture to this blog, of this very scene.
Take a look at these videos, and that was pretty much the scene. Every ride had at least a one hour queue, so we didn't get to go on many. I've probably mentioned this before, but the company you take to these places is what it's all about.
I've been on school trips to parks, where everyone is too cool to go on rides, and they just hang around looking at backsides all day, drinking coke in a 'on the weekends this is a beer,' fashion.
Sod that, I'm here for jollies of another nature. So I would pop in the headphones and join the lines - and while that's an acceptable way to pass the time in a line (at least if you're comfortable alone with your thoughts for that length of time) it really is more interesting with someone else.
If you couple this with the inevitable language barrier, you can cut right through the inane chatter that encircles the really interesting stuff. With difficulty comes reward, and I learned a number of interesting things about Japan both here, and at Disney.
For example, the younger generation still considers the war a major influence on Japanese culture, not just in the americanisation of the East, but in the way they view foreigners. They're forgiving of us, as if we controlled their destiny. I find it fascinating that they would forgive us, me, as that implies complicity on my part. This isn't isolated to a few individuals, a number of people have spoken similarly - the sentiment is shared.
Another interesting aspect of this is generational. If I speak to someone of my fathers generation, they consider their Western counterparts forgiven, but not exempt. Their children (i.e my generation) are exempt because it's 'in the past.' I'm pretty sure my father didn't have anything to do with the war, but as I keep insisting, we can only interpret events around us through our own experience; even events concerning others. Empathy, compassion, concern, respect - everything that relates to our communication with others is based upon ourselves first. These conversations seem to validate that, and show how simple (see: self-orientated, not necessarily selfish) we really are.
It's also interesting to see how willing some people are to talk about the war, and how reluctant others are. At first I thought the older people at work were more willing than the younger people, but I've since found younger people who relate their grandparents stories. One involved a grandparent training on a naval base near Hiroshima, witnessing the explosion, then passing through a week later. A lucky break for that man, not so lucky for the hundreds of thousands of others who died immediately, or were affected afterwards.
SO there I was, sweating my gonads off talking with my partner in crime, about her grandads involvement in the war. An interesting experience.
Of the park itself - it's more theme than park. There were a vast number of tiny snotbags running around, and I found it indicative that there were very few high impact thrill rides - with only one noteworthy rollercoaster. They're all about the show and spectacle here. They manage to cram a relatively large amount of park into the space though, as there were a number of multi-level areas, something I didn't really notice elsewhere.
I would probably go again, if I could guarantee shorter queues (i.e outside of Summer vacation).
Disney Sea was much bigger, but also attracted much bigger crowds. The same problems of overcrowding and heat were apparent. We opted for the shorter lines and therefore smaller rides, foregoing to tower of terror (the only thing I wanted to go on!). I'm sure I can pester my way to a picture at a later date, so I'll upload one when I get the chance.
The main difference between TDS (Tokyo Disney Sea) and USJ (Universal Studios Japan) is budget. That difference becomes apparent the moment you get off the train, as you immediately jump onto a park owned tram that takes you through the park, depositing you at the ticket office.
I should add that this isn't without a walk, and I was pretty tired by the time we got to the ticket gate (in fairness we made several long-winded wrong turns). The park is the same, built around an extremely large lake area, with an amphitheatre effect around the entrance. Interestingly, the shows they put on focus on the flat area, rather than the naturally steep walls (as I would assume to be the logical place for most people to see the displays). Obviously Japanese people like not seeing anything. Especially when they're standing behind me, as I cloud the vision of two people entirely, or three partially. This results in the normally docile natives becoming somewhat agitated, and me being pushed further and further back.
The budgetary differences are also apparent when the shows begin. At Disney, the displays are large, lavish affairs with fireworks and gigawatt sound systems. Gigawatt will not be far away from the reality either, I can assure you.
Of technical note is a giant volcano that emits massive flames during the various shows. We were at least 250 metres away, with it around 75 metres above ground level, and we still felt the heat from the emissions. I don't know about you, but that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The first I realised of this great, fake mountain being a prop was the heat it emitted. Not the noise (barely audible considering the sound systems) or the appearance (everything looks fake and plastic) but the heat from it actually working. And then I started thinking, what other interesting technical accomplishments were on display?
One of the rides takes you underground. Tunnel building is nothing special these days, even if the entire ride is underground. The tower of terror was ruddy tall, and impressive for that and the top-heavy nature of the ornamentation. Designed in a cartoon 1920's New York style, it had that uncertain toppling look (obviously the main ride is a simple free-fall attraction, but the facade was interesting). The monorail running around the park was efficient and ran every six minutes, although you had to pay for it, those cheeky bastards. The display at the end of the evening was a show for the technophiles and ten year old girls, whom my date ended up turning into when she saw all the cutesy nonsense.
They had a rather large (5m wide, 8m long, 6m tall (roughly)) floating island/boat that sprung inflatable flowers, shot water at everyone and floated around. It was all very heterosexual.
The night-time show was something else entirely, however.
Check out this link for a great photo that shows the madness.
There were dragons, fireworks, lasers, more loud sounds, volcanic activity, projections onto cascades of water fired across the lake; everything I'd never seen before. Pretty impressive stuff.
They had a rather large central island covered in LED's of sufficient density to present images for the audience. Taking Fantasia as their theme, they showed a number of scenes from the film, and had displays going on around this centre. There were a number of framerate hiccups during the display however, and I'm not sure whether they were deliberate, or whether the pilot was reading his e-mail when he shouldn't have been.
They had giant representations of dragons and whatnot, fully mechanised, shooting water and fire all over the place.
About 300+ metres away, outside the park, they had a large rig with projectors shooting images onto the sides of buildings and scenery. They were comedic because they were obviously massive, but they looked exactly like their scaled down brethren, like something you'd see in a meeting room or classroom. The only difference was the difference in dimensions. People were walking around in front of them (probably cooking themselves) and tinkering with things while the show was playing. All you could see were silhouettes, but I'm pretty sure they were adjusting the height of the projection with the twiddly feet things you find on most projectors.
So overall, this show was a million dollar ode to american excess, using (probably) Japanese tech. I don't really care about the contents of the show, but the technical aspects were impressive.
My impression of Japanese theme parks is rather simple - they're for kids and girls who like cute shit. For rides, stick with Europe and america.
The singing guy who had me in hysterics had a performance in front of one of the big shopping malls in Yokohama on the same day we'd planned the Disney Sea trip, so I couldn't see him. Next time... Next time.
Of other things that happened, I am <-- this --> close to enrolling at Aston university. I've been given a password and university e-mail address, I just need to send in a form promising not to cheat, and then I'm enrolled.
Funny story - I couldn't find a passport sized photo of me, so I photo-chopped a picture of me standing with a glassblower in Korea, taking only my face. Unfortunately it has a few bright gold chinese characters in the background, so I don't know whether they'll accept that particular picture.
This will also leave my wallet substantially lighter, but at the end of it I hope to be employable in jobs that are more interesting, namely those involving universities.
I spent the best part of four hours travelling to a rugby team in Tokyo, who are mainly foreigners. They weren't great, but then again there was a mix of newcomers and old-boys, so who knows how they'll perform on match day. They think they're pretty good, with a number of cups and league topping performances (they play around Tokyo). Of note, there was a south sea islander who weighed 102 kg's, and who plays in the centres at 12. Imagine playing outside him, that would be the easiest game plan ever, providing a free two on one every time he got the ball. He weighs damn near forty kg's more than the average Japanese man. Damn.
That's pretty much it for the recap. Other stuff happened that I found interesting, but I was pushing it with this length of post in the first place! I won't try my luck with your patience any further.
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