In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the resort, we will reveal the fascinating story behind the amusement park. These hidden details and background insight into Rusutsu’s main attractions will make your next visit even more enjoyable.

 

Before we dive into the main body of the article, it’s important to mention that since opening 40 years ago, the amusement park has operated a special unlimited-ride ticket offering all guests unrestricted access to all rides and attractions. When the amusement first opened, this was highly unusual, with the vast majority of Japanese parks utilizing a system of individual ride tokens where customers had to pay for each ride/attraction individually, in addition to a park entrance fee. This style could be inconvenient and expensive for families.

 

We wanted to create a fun environment where both parents and children could enjoy themselves without worrying about additional tickets. To achieve this, Rusutsu Resort opened from day-1 with an unlimited-access-ticket, with all rides and attractions included in the entrance fee. While commonplace today, at the time in Japan, this ticketing style was unique and only available at Rusutsu. This helped the Rusutsu amusement park pioneer the unlimited use ticket here in japan. In the poster, the text roughly translates to “All-you-can-play-land” Thanks to this innovative ticketing system, to this day guests, can enjoy over 60 unique attractions at the amusement park. Next, we will cover the background stories of the 10 major thrill rides.

㊙Inside story 1｜The worlds only Ultra Twister ride with a dive loop！

While there are numerous Ultra Twister rides located all over the world, Rusutsu’s Ultra Twister ride is unique and the only one in the world. We often receive enquiries from international rollercoaster enthusiasts for information on this ride. What makes this ride unique？

 

The standard Ultra Twister ride features a short pause and tilting section of track after the upper section has been completed before descending backwards (switchback) to the lower track. However, the Rusutsu ride does not feature a pause and switchback but instead dives straight into the lower section in a thrilling dive loop, completing the lower section of track with passengers continuing to face forwards. As the car does not pause it creates an exhilarating experience with an incredible sense of speed. This unique attraction is not to be missed.

㊙ Inside story 2｜Japan’s oldest corkscrew ride

Rusutsu’s corkscrew ride is the oldest outdoor corkscrew (spiral) style rollercoaster in Japan. Created in the USA in 1977, this ride arrived in Rusutsu via the ‘Yatsu Amusement Park’, in Chiba Prefecture. Since the original opening of the amusement park, this ride has proved popular with Rusutsu guests. The track layout is the same as when it was previously located at the ‘Yatsu Amusement Park’ however, thanks to thorough regular maintenance and painting, this ride is still in great condition and running smoothly after 43 years of operation in Japan.

 

The brakes on this classic rollercoaster are manually operated! While the ride has been carefully designed to safely stop and the end of each cycle using its automatic breaks, this emergency braking can be harsh and uncomfortable for riders. Therefore, skilled staff manually operate the breaks to smoothly stop the ride and ensure a comfortable experience for riders. These days most rides in the park are fully automated, however, this unusual manual breaking can still be seen occasionally on classic attractions.

㊙Inside story 3｜Rare magic carpet ride

This old-fashioned magic carpet ride was once commonplace in amusement parks all over the world. However, in recent years they have almost disappeared in Japan due to their age and complex controls. Only a handful of rare examples remain. We are proud to operate one of these classic magic carpet rides, and while the operation and maintenance can be complex, this ride is popular with both the staff and guests.

㊙Inside story 4｜A roller coaster which changes colour every year

If you have visited Rusutsu numerous times, you may know the Mountain Jet Coaster features two cars with different colours and designs. One car is black while the car other is purple. During the Green Season, one car is in operation while the other car undergoes scheduled maintenance. This rotation pattern changes every year, if you look at old photographs of the Mountain Jet coaster, you can tell if it is an odd or even year depending on the colour car, like a detective examining clues.

 

For Green Season 2021 the purple-coloured car in operation. Our staff are always checking the color.

㊙Inside story 5｜The dedicated staff behind the ‘lively vegetables’ attraction

A unique retro style kitchen based musical attraction where vegetables and cooking utensils come to life to sing the song ‘Let’s, Cook’. This ageing historical attraction often requires dedication from our staff to ensure it can continue operation. As the original manufacture is unknown staff have to use ingenuity to maintain this classic attraction. Previously the audio track was stored on an ‘8-track’ tape recorder, however, when this experienced issues, park staff successfully replaced this original recorder with a CD audio track and reprogramed the attraction so it could continue to delight guests. This attraction can only continue to operate due to the dedication and skill of our dedicated staff.

This blog continues in part 2

As the amusement park has been in operation for over 40 years there have been several unique challenges behind the scenes. However, this amusement park has continued to develop due to the passion shown by the staff and management. In the next part of the blog, we will learn even more stories behind Rusutsu’s most popular rides.

Please visit the special 40th-anniversary website！

If you would like to know more about the history of Rusutsu, please visit the special 40th-anniversary website.
Additionally, we are currently holding a competition where up to 1000 participants can win accommodation vouchers. Applications close on 31st May 2021

Rusutsu Resort Special 40th Anniversary Site