The Fuji-Q Coaster That No Longer Exists
Old write-ups about Fujiyoshida still send visitors looking for Do-Dodonpa, the coaster that once hit 180 km/h in under two seconds. It is gone. Fuji-Q Highland pulled it from service and dismantled it in March 2024 after riders suffered neck and spine injuries, and nothing has taken its place. If a listing still calls it “Japan’s fastest coaster,” that listing is years out of date.
What’s actually running at Fuji-Q
Fujiyama, the park’s veteran ride, still tops 130 km/h across a 2,045-meter track. Takabisha holds the world record for steepest drop, at 121 degrees past vertical. Eejanaika is a fourth-dimension coaster with rotating seats and 14 inversions, and Zokkon, a motorbike-style launch coaster, opened in 2023. The Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear, a roughly 50-minute haunted-hospital walkthrough, is worth the detour if you can handle it. Park admission is free; individual rides run about ¥2,000 each, or a One-Day Free Pass costs ¥6,000 to ¥7,900, priced dynamically by date. Past three rides, the pass wins on cost every time.
The free landmarks nobody prices right
Arakurayama Sengen Park, reached by climbing 398 stone steps behind Shimoyoshida Station, frames Mount Fuji behind a vermilion five-story pagoda built in 1962. Fujiyoshida City cancelled the 2026 cherry blossom festival here over crowding and resident complaints, so do not expect food stalls or a scheduled event during bloom season. The park stays open, but the observation deck can mean a one- to three-hour wait at peak bloom. Go at sunrise instead, any time of year, for the same view with none of the line.
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja, the historic trailhead shrine for Mount Fuji pilgrims, costs nothing to enter and deserves more time than most day-trippers give it. Its forest holds cedars over 1,000 years old, and its wooden torii gate stands 18 meters tall. Ten minutes further east in Oshino village, Oshino Hakkai’s eight spring ponds run clear after decades of filtering through Fuji’s lava layers. The public ponds are free; the private Hanano-go pond costs about ¥300.
Verdict: the theme park earns its reputation, but the shrine and the pagoda deliver more per hour spent, and they’re both free. Spend a sunrise morning on those two, then save Fuji-Q for the afternoon once the day-tripper crowds thin out. For getting up toward the 5th Station itself, see bus tours in Fujiyoshida before you plan your day.