Richard Bannister

In any planned itinerary the occasional day is bound to fall foul of weather conditions. So it was with us today; the heavens opened in style just as we reached the first park of the day, Nagashima Spa Land. By noon, when the weather had yet to clear, we made the decision to abandon it outright in favour of Japan Monkey Park, reasoning that Steel Dragon 2000 would still be there on our next trip to Japan.

Unfortunately for us the weather was just as bad in location two, meaning that the only operational ride of the day was the Monkey Park ferris wheel. It was certainly frustrating, but these things happen from time to time. It transpired that even if we'd had good weather we would have managed just two of the four coasters, as there was a section of rail missing from the Eagle Coaster and the train of the powered Monkey Coaster was in several pieces, presumably the end result of the failed government inspections a few weeks ago. Complaining aside, however, Monkey Park certainly looks like a really nice park. We had ample time to walk around using our garden tickets, and saw a good selection of attractions, certainly enough to fill half a day. In fact, it is reasonable to say that we had more fun in a mostly closed Monkey Park than a mostly open Washuzan Highland. And that says it all really.

To conclude with a brief tip, those seeking to base themselves in the Nagoya area should seriously consider the Royal Park Inn, a scant three minute walk from the train station. The hotel restaurant was very good value, and the breakfast was absolutely superb, though I'm slightly dubious about the option of having flied lice and french fries with my breakfast.