Eejanaika (roller coaster)

Eejanaika
Eejanaika in its current (2014–present) brown track color and trains (April 2023)
Fuji-Q Highland
Location	Fuji-Q Highland
Coordinates	35°29′18″N 138°46′51″E
Status	Operating
Opening date	July 19, 2006
Cost	3,500,000,000 Yen ($31,601,283 USD)
General statistics
Type	Steel – 4th Dimension
Manufacturer	S&S Arrow
Designer	Alan Schilke
Model	4th Dimension Coaster
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	249.33 ft (76.00 m)
Length	3,782.83 ft (1,153.01 m)
Speed	78.3 mph (126.0 km/h)
Inversions	3 track inversions (14 including seat inversions)
Duration	2:10
Max vertical angle	89°
Capacity	1000 riders per hour
G-force	3.67
Height restriction	125–200 cm (4 ft 1 in – 6 ft 7 in)
Trains	5 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 20 riders per train.
Eejanaika at RCDB

Eejanaika in its original (2006–2013) red track color and trains (August 2007)

Eejanaika (ええじゃないか) is a steel 4th Dimension Hypercoaster at Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. The ride was the world's second 4th Dimension coaster. Eejanaika is taller, faster, and longer than its predecessor, X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The roller coaster, designed by S&S Arrow, is a "4th Dimension" coaster, a design in which the seats can rotate forward or backward 360 degrees in a controlled spin. This is achieved by having four rails on the track: two of these are running rails while the other two are for spin control. The two rails that control the spin of the seats move up and down relative to the track and spin the seats using a rack and pinion gear mechanism.

Eejanaika has the second "え" turned upside down for the roller coaster's official spelling. Eejanaika has several meanings, but is usually interpreted to mean "Ain't it great!" According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Eejanaika is the roller coaster with the most inversion with 14, although this is disputed because 11 of Eejanaika's inversions are inversions of the seat rather than inversions of the track.

Eejanaika's tracks were initially painted red with black supports, but following the addition of Mount Fuji to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a Cultural Site in June 2013, Fuji-Q progressively repainted its tracks to the current dark brown with grey supports between 2013 and 2014. Its trains were also updated around the same timeframe.

Ride experience

The 1,153 m (3,783 ft) roller coaster features 14 inversions, 1 zero-g roll, a fly to lie, 2 raven turns, and a half camelback twist. Unlike X2, Eejanaika's track layout resembles a horseshoe pattern, with an overbanked turn flying just over the U-turn between the station and the lift hill.

Just before departing from the loading station, following a pre-recorded safety reminder, the loading floors are lowered and a simulated siren is sounded. Ride operators clap and chant "eejanaika eejanaika" as the train departs from the station. As the train makes a 180-degree turn onto the lift hill, the cars are rotated 90 degrees backward before rotating back 45 degrees shortly before entering the hill. After ascending 76 m (249 ft), the train enters a pre-drop. During this lift, riders are facing backwards. The first drop is 65 m (213 ft) and is sloped at 89 degrees, at the base of which ride vehicles attain a maximum speed of 126 km/h (78 mph).

During the initial drop, the seat assembly is rotated so that riders are positioned facing the ground. Similar to X2, the seats are then rotated forward 360 degrees, simulating a front flip as the train descends the drop. The train then enters an inside raven turn, where the cars are rotated again halfway through the loop to create a "lie-to-fly" maneuver; however, unlike X2, the seat assemblies rotate backward 360 degrees, simulating a backflip, on the top of the raven turn, before riders transition to a prone position, facing forward. After exiting the raven turn, the trains traverse through a zero-g roll. The train twists clockwise for one full turn; at the same time, the seats rotate forward one full turn. This is followed by an overbanked turn and a half twist "fly-to-lie" maneuver, in which as the train twists counterclockwise one half turn, riders flip backward one half turn to return to the original position of laying on their backs. The train then enters an outside raven turn immediately followed by another half twist and half backward seat rotation. As the track levels out and the train enters the final brake run, seats rotate 90 degrees forward and riders briefly face downward before the seats rotate back to its initial starting position as the train returns to the station.

Incidents

• On August 4, 2006, brake noise caused an emergency stop, stopping operations until August 9.
• On December 13, 2007, a stopped vehicle suddenly started moving, and an employee who was inspecting work was caught between the vehicle and the rail, breaking his chest bone and sustaining a serious injury.
• On January 3, 2009, slacking of the hoisting chain of the lift caused an emergency stop, stopping operations for the day. Operations resumed the day after.
• On April 29, 2012, a bolt broke and fell from a running vehicle, hitting the forehead of a female pedestrian who was walking under the tracks, causing minor injuries. The ride was closed for two months until July 11, when Fuji-Q reopened Eejanaika with new safety procedures. Among those included closing a walkway between the tracks to the public from the torii in front of the first drop to the ride entrance (leaving only a pathway underneath the zero-g roll open), as well as the ban of wearing shoes while riding and ban of bringing audio/video equipment for the purposes of recording variety programs.

See also

• Alan Schilke, the inventor of the 4th Dimension roller coaster concept
• Ee ja nai ka

External links

• (in Japanese) Fuji-Q Eejanaika (official site)
• Eejanaika at the Roller Coaster DataBase