About the Park
Nagashima Spa Land is a "local" theme park located near Nagoya. I call it "local" because it is not tied to any major theme park brand like Disney or Universal Studios. Nonetheless, don't let the word "local" fool you. It is a large park with 12 roller coasters and an adjoining water park (open only during summer).
I visited the park during winter - so no water park experience. In fact, I visited the park just 3 days after the Japanese New Year. BIG MISTAKE! The park is very crowded and queues were very long. Average wait for the big 3 roller coasters (Steel Dragon 2000, Acrobat, Hakugei) is about 90 minutes. In addition, the operations there are quite mediocre so the queue often feels like it is no moving.
Getting There
Nagashima Spa Land is NOT directly accessible by train. You need to take a bus either from (a) Kuwana Station or (b) Meitetsu Bus Center at Nagoya itself. I personally took option (a). For this option, you can take either a Kintetsu Railway or JR train to Kuwana station, before transferring to the bus. The bus ticket is 540 yen and IC cards (Japan's equivalent of Ez-Link) are accepted. Bus frequency is approximately 30 minutes.
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| Already, the anticipation is building up! Steel Dragon 2000 can be seen from very far away! |
[NOTE] The buses have a limited capacity. As such, try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled bus departure to secure a seat. If the bus is full, you will be forced to wait 30 minutes for the next one. This is especially true when leaving Nagashima Spa Land in late afternoon (it happened to me).
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| Oh no! There is no way I am getting on that bus. |
Entrance Area & Tickets
Tickets can be purchased at the bus alighting area. Note that during the time period which I visited, there was no online tickets available so I have to join the mob and queue for a ticket. I think Nagashima Spa Land should seriously consider online ticket sales.
Just like many Japanese Theme Parks, you can either buy an entrance only ticket or an all ride pass (5200 yen). If you buy an entrance ticket, you will have to pay for each of the individual rides. This is good for family members who doesn't like roller coasters or people who don't plan to stay the whole day. If you are not confident at using Japanese ticketing machines (yes, ticketing machines are all in Japanese), then it may also be a good idea to get an all ride pass.
[NOTE] Nagashima Spa Land do offer express tickets for major roller coasters. Express ticket cost 1000 yen PER RIDE. If you only buy an entrance ticket, you need to pay for the express ticket ON TOP of the ride ticket. There are 2 ways you can get an express ticket. 1) Use a ticket machine inside the ride queue, or 2) Pay 1000 yen directly to the ride staff (inadvisable unless you can speak Japanese).
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| An example of a ride ticket kiosk with express ticket. Note that the 1000 yen price is on top of the ride ticket price of 1500 yen! |
The entrance area is like a kids area. There are a variety of family rides like carousel, mini viking, kiddy coasters and coin operated mini-rides. The kids area is entirely outdoors though some of the rides are sheltered. I personally find that it offers a really good variety but I personally prefer the large indoor (and air-con) kids area like those in Universal Studios Japan or Chimelong Paradise.
Okay, now for the part you are really here for - the roller coasters!
Arashi - S&S 4D Coaster
Up-down, left-right, front-back. These are the 3 dimensions. So what is the 4th dimension? Basically, a 4th dimension (4D) coaster is one whereby the seat will flip as the ride goes along the track. On Arashi, the seat flipping is random - the number of flips will depend on your weight and the weight of your partner. From my ... observation ... on Youtube, it seems that the number of flips increases as the weight of the riders increase.
During my ride, I was able to get just 3 flips. However, few flips ≠ not intense. In fact, the ride constantly taunts you that it will flip you upside down, then it will suddenly recover as you are taking a drop. Although the ride is merely 8 stories high and probably never exceed 30kph, it is actually one of the most intense roller coasters I have taken.
On the day I visited, Nagashima Spa Land only operated one side of the ride. Either that or the Japanese don't know they can enter from the other side. As the ride capacity wasn't fully utilised, I had to queue 30 minutes even though it was in the morning just a short while after opening.
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| If you look carefully, you will realise that the seats on the left side is empty! |
Steel Dragon 2000 - Longest Coaster in the World
This is the most iconic ride of Nagashima Spa Land. I mean, it is 30 stories high, over 2km long and reaches over 150kph! When you are taking the bus to the park, you can see the ride for miles. In fact, I cannot even get a good overview photo of the ride (actually, I could, but I did not have time to ride the ferries wheel to do that)!
As the signature ride, the queue is obviously long. Even though they are running 2 trains, the queue was never shorter than 90 minutes throughout the day. Also, the staff was quite inefficient at dispatching trains. Basically, they will wait until the rides from the previous train has vacated the platform before assigning seats to the next group of riders. As such, although the ride is only about 4 minutes, the interval between train dispatches was over 6 minutes.
Once on the ride, the true scale of the experience will really hit. The lift hill is long, very long. You see the other rides - drop tower, star flyer, ultra twister, etc disappear below you. Then, you hear a click and feel a jolt. Yes we have reached the top. Except NO. This is just the halfway point of the lift hill. Another 15 stories more to go! The ride is so tall that it requires 2 chain lifts to get you to the top. Trust me, at that moment, you can really hear the "sh!t just got real" reaction among the fellow riders.
The ride itself is ... great. The first drop feels it will go on forever due to the height, but as the angle is not too steep, it is actually not very scary. The ride also offers a lot of airtime and the seats are quite comfortable. There were a few points of the ride where it got a bit rough (particularly near the mid course brake run), but it doesn't really spoil the fun. I particularly love the bunny hops near the end - small but full of floater airtime. A+!
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| The bunny hills (lower track) at the end is my favourite part of the ride. |
Since the ride is so big and the intensity is manageable, I say this is an excellent bragging rights roller coaster if you want to say "I have done a huge scary ride" but don't have the stomach for something truly intense (like Hakugei).
Ultra Twister
Actually, this is one of my bucket list roller coasters. I mean, you cannot really find these TOGO ultra twisters outside of Japan. Unfortunately, on the day I visited, it was closed for maintenance. In fact, it is the only large roller coaster at Nagashima Spa Land that I did not get to ride.
Acrobat - Better than Flying Dinosaur?
Next on my list is Acrobat, a B&M Flying Coaster. Basically, instead of riding in a seated position, your seat will turn into a prone position so you feel like you are flying. For coaster nerds, you probably also know that Acrobat is a clone of Manta at Seaworld Orlando. I think there is a good reason why Nagashima Spa Land chose to copy this ride.
The layout is just ... almost perfect ... for a flying coaster. There are a couple of intense moments but the ride as a whole is very smooth, graceful and relaxing. There are several swooping turns that just let you feel like superman gliding through the air. When you go though barrel roll / zero G rolls, you just feel like a kid being tucked in bed.
I queued for 40 minutes and was assigned to take the front row. Note that the staff is very particular that you don't bring anything on the ride. Yes, even TISSUE PAPER IS NOT ALLOWED!
Some people say that Flying Dinosaur at USJ is better, but I beg to differ. Flying Dinosaur may have higher intensity, but Acrobat really delivers the essence of what a flying coaster is about - the joy of flight. A+.
Hakugei - Asia's first RMC!
This is the reason I visited Nagashima Spa Land. Ever since I saw the POV of the first RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction) hybrid roller coasters in the US, I always wanted to ride one. In fact, I purposely delayed my trip to Nagashima Spa Land just so as to wait for this ride to open.
First impressions, the ride is really beautiful. Many roller coasters use the normal "Microsoft PowerPoint" blue. But Hakugei uses azure blue for the tracks, which contrasts perfectly with the white support structure. The suns rays reflect off the while and makes the ride feel like it is alive.
As the queue was about 2 hours, I decided to spent 1000 yen and get an express pass. Man it was worth it. This ride is intense, fast paced and really comfortable. Right off the station, you go though a few bunny hills which already throw you out of you seat. Then the first drop - 80 degrees, over 15 stories. Half the height of Steel Dragon 2000's but twice the intensity. The ride is filled with airtime, inversions and even some elements that are not found on other types of coasters. There are just so many good moments on this ride that I cannot identify a specific best moment. But if you force me to choose, I say the 0 G stall is quite an interesting experience (basically, you roll upside down, hang for a few seconds and get weightless while upside down).
I was so impressed by the ride that, after getting off, I immediately spent another 1000 yen to purchase another express pass for the ride. I was really lucky to be able to ride on the first and last row, and for this ride, I find the first row to be more intense.
After the trip, and made my coaster count, I realised that this was coincidentally my 50th roller coaster (and my 6th for the day, I rode Corkscrew and Looping Star before Hakugei). I did not plan for it! What a great ride to commemorate the occasion!
Cockscrew - Arrow Classic
Remember Corkscrew at Genting Highlands? The version at Nagashima Spa Land is supposed to be better than the one at Genting. Yet, it is a long time since I had such a boring ride on a roller coaster that goes upside down. What more can I say? NEXT...
Looping Star - Surprisingly good
This is the 2nd of 3 classic looping roller coasters at Nagashima Spa Land. After the disappointing Corkscrew, I was pleasantly surprised by this ride. The initial drop is quite sudden and surprisingly intense for a ride of that size. In addition, you get good hang time on the loop. Really goes to show that old rides are not always bad.
Shuttle Loop
This is another classic ride. It is also the only launched roller coaster at Nagashima Spa Land. Basically, you can launched forwards, though the loop, up a spike, then reverse back into the station. The launch is decent, very comparable to Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars at Hong Kong Disneyland. Decent.
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| When you try to take a photo of the ride but the trees look nicer |
Other Roller Coasters & Attractions
In addition to the 8 big coasters, Nagashima Spa Land also has 4 family coasters - a classic Japanese style Jet Coaster, a wild mouse and 2 kids coasters. Since I don't want to queue 1 hour to ride kids coasters, I was only able to secure a ride on 1 of the kids coasters.
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| The only kids coaster that I got to ride at Nagashima Spa Land. |
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| The Jet Coaster is the largest of the Family Coasters. In fact, if this were at a smaller park, it may actually be a signature attraction. |
Park Operations - Worst in the world?
Of interesting note, Coaster Studios commented that Nagashima Spa Land has one of the worst operations. While I agree that there is much room for improvement, it is not as bad as it looks. Many of the "slow operations" were on the older rides where there are no facilities to assign seats. Hakugei actually had the best operations among my A+ coasters. My main complaints for that day are that Acrobat only operated 1 train, and only 1 side of Arashi was utilised. Trust me, if you experienced Happy Valley ride operations before, you will think Nagashima Spa Land is quite decent.
On most roller coasters, there are shelves for you to put your belongings. While this is a nice touch, it is also a source of slow operations. Basically, the staff will wait until everyone has claimed their belongings before letting the next group of guests into the loading area. While it reduces the chance of lost or stolen belongings (which is quite rare at theme parks in general), it makes the queue move agonizing slow.
On most roller coasters, there are shelves for you to put your belongings. While this is a nice touch, it is also a source of slow operations. Basically, the staff will wait until everyone has claimed their belongings before letting the next group of guests into the loading area. While it reduces the chance of lost or stolen belongings (which is quite rare at theme parks in general), it makes the queue move agonizing slow.
I did my usual fasting to get more rides on coasters, so I cannot comment on the food. And since it's Japan, I don't think I need to comment too much about the toilets.
The Verdict
Nagashima Spa Land has an amazing roller coaster collection. In fact, it is the first time where there are so many roller coasters that I don't have the time to take a single non-roller coaster ride. Not only that, it has a really strong top 3 in Hakugei, Steel Dragon 2000 and Acrobat - my first theme park with 3 A+ roller coasters. I know this is still less than some European or American theme parks, but I think for the Asian without too much cash, this is the closest that you can be to roller coaster heaven.
- Roller Coasters: ☆☆☆☆☆+☆
- Thrill Rides: ☆☆☆☆
- Shows: ☆
- Family Rides: ☆☆☆☆
- Theming: ☆☆
- Operations: ☆☆☆
- Overall: ☆☆☆☆☆
Want more coasters, look out for these posts:
- Happy Valley Shanghai - Best Coaster Collection in China
- Knights Valley Shenzhen - home to my 2nd favourite coaster (dethroned by Hakugei)
- Chimelong Paradise - my first A+ coaster, but down graded to A due to the bell curve!
- Hirakata Park - the complete opposite of Nagashima Spa Land!
