Kijima Kogen Park

photo by Martin Lewison · CC BY-SA 2.0

‘Jupiter’, 1992: Japan's first wooden roller coaster, 60 thousand pine boards.

Amusement park on a plateau between Beppu and Yufuin (15 minutes by car from either), with over 30 attractions, plus an adjoining hotel and 18-hole golf course. Its flagship attraction is ‘Jupiter’ (ジュピター), opened in 1992: the first all-wooden roller coaster built in Japan, which remained the only one of its kind until 1994. The structure uses about 60,000 Oregon pine (米松) boards, fitted together without nails at the main stress points. It appeared in the film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994).

Mid-sized theme park, open since the '60s, now known above all for the historic Jupiter roller coaster and for the view over Beppu Bay from the plateau.

ℹ️ Open 10:00–17:00 (check seasonal hours). Admission only: adults (13–59) ¥1,500, children (age 4 to elementary school) ¥600. Admission + unlimited ride pass: adults ¥5,500, children ¥4,600 (the pass can also be bought after entry, for ¥4,000). Single ride on Jupiter ¥1,300; minimum height 120 cm, not open to over-65s. Tel. 0977-22-1165.

🚉 Inoseto bus stop · 28 min walk

Sources: kijimakogen-park.jp · kijimakogen-park.jp

All series · Open the map