Join us as we discover one of Nara’s hidden treasure, Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park. Around a 30 minute train ride from Osaka, Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park first opened in 1929. With one of its iconic ride, the ‘Flying Tower’, this amusement park has 27 different attractions/rides along with a vast play area and many other activities for people of all ages.
Contents:
00:00 – Going to Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park
2:35 – Introduction to Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park
5:38 – Cycle Monorail, Eagle Fly, and Mini Pirate Ship
8:13 – Flying Tower and Puka Puka Panda
11:13 – Ikoma Yama View restaurant
12:29 – Chain Tower
12:59 – Go Kart
13:49 – VR Dream Egg and Hado Shoot
15:38 – Gold Rush
17:08 – Music Express
18:37 – End of Day
20:35 – Outro
Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Let’s go, let’s go Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park first opened in 1929 Along with one of their attractions, “The Flying Tower”
By the Kintetsu Railway Group because of the boom of the steel wire technology. Around that time, most of the railway companies were prompted to open department stores and amusement parks in order to bring in customers with a scenic view of Nara, Osaka, and even parts of Kobe,
Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park boasts a variety of attractions and activities both indoor and outdoor for people of all ages. As you can see, there’s even an outdoor playground with a rope cave along with other structures that the whole family can play with There’s even covered areas for resting nearby.
Was actually used for radio broadcasting back in the day? Now, it’s occupied by small rides for children Further down the road, we have a big Anpanman character along with a UFO catcher, the crane type machine, along with more small rides for children Across that is the SL Train ride.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to enjoy all 27 attractions they had here at Ikoma Sano Amusement Park on this day So, hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to return again and experience the rides we missed And perhaps even the “Haunted House” Here’s a map of the entire facility so you’ll know where to go.
As you can see in this 360 view, the park is pretty much empty It was on a Thursday and normally it’s much busier on the weekends and during break But, if you compare it to my visit to Universal Studios Japan during the same week, there’s a big difference!
One of the great things about Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park is that there’s no admission fee but you’ll need to pay for the rides and attractions Here, I’m lining up at the information booth which also sells all day passes and special tickets
I purchased all-day passes or the ‘Free Pass’ as it’s called here for all of us. It’s 3600 yen for anyone older than 12 and 3400 yen for children still in elementary school We will try to ride almost everything so it’s definitely worth it!
On this board are the instructions on how to fasten the all-day pass onto your wrist. Just make sure that it’s tight enough so the pass won’t slip off your wrist. On the bottom portion are the Ala carte prices for each attraction.
So, now that I have my free pass strapped on my wrist, let’s get started! ‘Cycle Monorail’ One of the few attractions where you have to use your own power to move the vehicle. You’ll need to pedal your way to the end where you’ll encounter breathtaking sceneries along the way
With a beautiful view overlooking Nara, this can be thrilling or scary depending on if you’re afraid of heights or not For me, I’m afraid so my son had a fun time messing with me by purposely going fast and then breaking halfway through the ride so that my fear of heights kicked in
Do you know the sensation of seeing something really beautiful… but also being scared out of your mind at the same time? Even with that, I would ride it again, albeit more slowly next time The ‘Eagle Fly’ An attraction that gives you the sensation of flying It looks more scary than it actually was
And turned out to be a fun experience You’re given the choice of going forward or backward and I chose going forward so was given this blue seat As you can see, I’m being pulled backwards by a cable and then released to go forward
My kids chose the red seat on the next go round because they felt it would be more scarier going backwards And although it’s not shown on the video, they’ll be pulled forward by the cable and then released so they go backwards on their way down The ‘Mini Pirate Ship’
This ride gave me all kinds of fit so don’t let the size fool you! I took it lightly because I thought it would be a smaller version of those giant pendulum ship rides you see a bigger amusement parks but, boy, was I wrong!
The ship rocks back and forth and gets slightly higher as time goes. The next thing you know, it’s much higher and then you’re practically looking straight down while the ship is at a 90 degree angle Then you start to feel your insides going up and down your stomach
And can’t control what you’re even saying! If you want to see me reenact this and make a fool out of myself, check out the following video for the full unedited POV for this Mini Pirate Ship ride along with several other gut wrenching adventures for me Ikoma Sanjo’s premiere ride and its oldest
From its opening in 1929, the ‘Flying Tower’ has remained unchanged and still attracts many visitors There are four planes and each plane of the ‘Flying Tower’ can hold up to eight passengers The ‘Flying Tower’ does cost 500 yen per person but is covered by the all-day ‘Free Pass’
So, my kids and I got our wristband scanned before proceeding to our desired plane. I let the kids decide and they pick the blue plane. Trevor and I made ourselves comfortable with the seats in the back
While Kiana went to the front compartment and got a bird’s eye view in front of the plane Reaching a height of 30 meters, the ‘Flying Tower’ oversees Japan in a 360 view Since Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park was utilized by Japan’s military during World War 2, its facility remained intact
It was during this time that amusement park and cable cars from other companies and locations were dismantled or taken apart as to provide valuable resources for the military, namely steel, aluminum, amongst others Only Ikoma Sanjo was spared because of its high altitude and peripheral view of Japan
So, the military used it during war time The ‘Flying Tower’ facility was used as a lookout and scouting purposes. It was thrilling but a peaceful ride at the same time. And as we end this ride, we next proceed to Puka Puka Panda ride.
A gondola type ride where up to four passengers can ride in one car. As we make our way up the flight of stairs, please note that you can use the all-day ‘Free Pass’ for this ride, as well Upon getting our wristband scanned, we enter the gondola
Besides a small mishap where I hit my head while entering the car, we prepare for the ride It’s a nice quiet ride that provides a scenic view of the entire park along with the landscape of Nara These are the moments that I enjoy being with my family on vacation and creating lasting memories!
The ‘Chain Tower’ A type of swing ride at Ikoma Sanjo with a partial view of the Nara landscape. The seats are configured as two per row so kind of side by side. To a point where my kids were able to hand a stuffed animal to the other during the ride
Have you seen that done before? The ‘Go Kart’ here at Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park is an attraction where you can ride by yourself or with another and drive a small car around a designed course Today, I’m making a big mistake by riding with my son.
I’m soon about to find out how he translates hours of Super Mario Kart play to an actual driving simulation So, after they scanned our all-day passes, we get into this small red car. And unbeknownst to me, what I intended for a nice ride turned out to be a ride to hell.
Here at Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park, there are two virtual reality attractions The first one is the VR Dream Egg As the kids get into the egg shaped pod, this attraction will cost you 500 yen in cash and is not included with the all-day free pass
So, after they are fitted with their VR glasses and secured in their pod, the real fun begins! They are then transported to a space age battle in which they must defend themselves and their alliance against enemy attacks You can see on the monitor exactly what they’re seeing in their glasses.
Trevor is experiencing the full realm of virtual reality using different senses and can’t contain his excitement The egg shaped pod moves around, too. So, this enhances the virtual reality experience makes you really feel like you’re in space doing battle At the end,
Trevor did feel the effects of the virtual reality and felt a little dizzy. So, please be cautious and let your attendant know if you’re feeling sick. Next up we have the ‘Hado Shoot’ attraction. This is another virtual reality attraction in which you are playing an arcade-like shooting game
You and your partner are tasked with shooting down multiple targets and try to accumulate points On the monitor, you can see what the players see through their glasses. So, unlike video games where you’re normally using a joystick, here you are equipped with a weapon on your wrist
In which you discharge powerful laser blasts to shoot down your targets Unlike the VR Dream Egg, this attraction is included with the all-day ‘Free Pass’ so take advantage of this unique experience! The ‘Gold Rush’ This is one of the most thrilling rides they have here at Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park. It’s a water slide that you ride in a log shaped vessel that navigates through a small tunnel of water in a very high place
On the first go around, we have Trevor in the front and Kiana in the back. And as the log comes down and splashes water, Trevor is freaked out while Kiana is laughing in the back and seems to be enjoying herself
On the second go around, we have Kiana in the front this time and Trevor in the back. For all of you wondering if I had the guts to ride the Gold Rush, I would have to say that this is one of the three rides that terrified me,
Mainly because of my fear of heights, but also knowing that I only had water at a very high location supporting me This ride is very deceiving. It looks really inviting with the rainbow of colors, and cute designs plastered on the seats and walls,
Along with the music in the background, it feels like a merry go round….. until you actually ride the thing This is included with the all-day ‘Free Pass’ so after my kids got their band scanned, they picked a car that they wanted to ride in And, as you can see,
There are only two of them for this ride while I shot this video So, as they grip the handle bars, the ride slowly starts to move forward and as Trevor waves, I start to remember seeing this type of ride at carnival’s previously
I noticed that there are slight inclines and declines in the ride and lots of them! The ride, of course, gets faster and faster while the music is playing. Not only that, after a while, the ride slows down and then goes backwards Slowly at first and then very fast.
Near the end of the day, the kids found these giant animal rides In order for these giant animals to move, you have to put in coins for it to operate. It only accepts 100 yen coins so please be aware. It’s located next to an NHK tower near the deep region of the park,
So, it may be hard to find The course, itself, is located in a parking lot area, so, there are limits to where you can drive the animals but they’re very slow moving and can only go forwards and backwards Next is the ‘Waku Waku Train’.
This was included with the all-day Free Pass. So, the kids took advantage of this ride. And, as you can see, the train is small so I don’t think I could fit my butt in there I took a video instead. And, as the train goes around in a circular track,
It doesn’t quite do a 360 twist, but it does at 180 degrees, and then twists back Something not death defying so perfect for little kids. Doesn’t my kids look so cute? The last ride was the adventure trolley known as ‘Toy De Truck’,
In which the passengers have to push the lever up and down in order for the train to move It was fun seeing my kids working in tandem and not squabbling over who pulls the lever On the way back, we briefly stopped by this game corner known as ‘Las Vegas’. As we explore inside,
You can see various small indoor type rides along with games for mainly kids But, note that you will need Japanese coins in order to operate these machines. My family and I really enjoyed our day here at Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park and hope we can come back one day again
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