Haunted Fun
At the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida is the Labryinth of Horrors. That's the official name of the attraction but it is more commonly called the Haunted Hospital.
At the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida is the Labryinth of Horrors. That's the official name of the attraction but it is more commonly called the Haunted Hospital.
First off is the line. It is a notoriously long wait because of how they only let people in at a very slow rate. This makes sense because the inside would otherwise become overrun with people and thus ruin the experience, especially the surprises. I mean how is a visitor going to feel spooked when they see what is meant to befall them only seconds before with a different group? The first time I visited the theme park years before I passed on the attraction because the line was 5 hours. It was a shame because they had a special Resident Evil theme going at the time.
On top of the wait the attraction is an extra 500-yen than the normal admission price. If you like you can also purchase a glow in the dark Omomori for 300 yen. It’s supposed to be like a traditional Japanese protective charm that keeps the actors in the hospital at bay.
As my two friends and I were waiting in line, they had a video explaining the rules to the attraction. It featured some young woman dressed up as a nurse who spoke in a creepy fashion. The rules were no photography, no touching anything including the actors, no stopping, no startling the other people, no food, no drinks and so on. Our total wait time was luckily only 45 minutes.
Walkthrough
Walkthrough
(Spoiler Alert!!)
When we finally get to go in we entered into a room with about a group of 25 people. A female nurse asked everyone to sit down for a video presentation. The room itself was the hospital’s main reception area. The movie screen lowered from overhead and the video played. It was a bunch of creepy random clips of patients and staff in the hospital saturated in blue. There was hardly and dialogue. The video ended with a mother dying while her daughter is crying by the bed. Then a dummy corpse dropped from the ceiling in front of the video screen. It was completely unexpected but rather silly. I was not at all impressed with this first part of the attraction.
After the video the nurse took us into another room and explained the rules (they have a sheet in English for those who don't speak Japanese). Then the twenty people were allowed to enter through a door in their smaller groups. We went in, the three of us American guys. When our turn came up we were led in to what was an X-ray room and sat on a bench. In front of us was some camera apparatus. Right before our picture was taken the bench suddenly dropped an inch while air jets shot in from the sides, none of which startled us. Again I was unimpressed. The nurse then gave us a penlight and directed us to another door. This is where the actual walkthrough began.
Since I had the penlight I became the point man. The door led to a staircase that went up. There was hardly any lighting. I flashed the penlight around looking in dark corners and behind doors. There was no one. We got to the top and walked along a corridor and into a surgery room. Inside were two actors, a nurse with a man in a wheel chair. Both were covered with zombie makeup. They were supposed to be evil spirits. The two remained still until we passed by and then began to follow us without saying a word. None of us were scared.
30 seconds or so behind us was another group of three girls. The zombie pair focused on them and scared the trio senseless. We continued on winding through corridors and entered various rooms. The course was clearly marked with signs that had big red arrows on them. Occasionally, there were also pink doors that said ‘retire’. These were for anyone who was so afraid they needed to exit the haunted hospital mid way through.
The course went on in a random fashion at times going up and down staircases. It was surprisingly long and I don't remember the order of everything, but certain areas did stand out. One room was filled with shelves and jars that had nasty organ like objects in them. Another had stacks of discarded televisions. Some had medical equipment like hospital beds, a CT scanner or an EKG machine. The place definitely had the look and feel of an abandoned hospital.
As for the actors they were far and few between. Some were clearly visible when we entered the room while others came out of hiding spots. They didn’t always try to startle the point man either. Many remained unseen long enough to go after the other people in the group. Other times there was knocking on walls or from the floor below. A few air jets shot out here and there. Dummy corpses were placed in certain areas. Due to the poor lighting you couldn’t tell right away if they were actors or not. But the surprises were spaced out. At one point I think I passed through five rooms without anything happening.
The actors come up close but do not make physical contact. About 10 minutes into the walkthrough one eventually startled me as I turned a blind corner. But I then laughed and continued on. Meanwhile other people in the place reacted by screaming. The actors followed them and played off their fears. Some of the actors had flashlights they would shake and others had little instruments in their mouths that made a weird clicking noise.
At one point we came to a room with blue lockers that had only a narrow space between them. This was quite creepy because as I turned the corners I couldn’t see what was ahead. In the end though nothing happened. The same occurred within a room full of large sacks, some of which were suspended from the ceiling. I kept half expecting something but again nothing. Things like that kept us guessing.
Halfway through the hospital we had to give our penlight to some guy sitting behind a table. Without our penlight the rooms naturally appeared much darker, and what little light there was sometimes cut in and out. In one room a bright ceiling fixture suddenly came on, flashed twice and went black. This effectively blinded all three of us for about four seconds. It was completely unexpected and had us on edge. I expected someone to then come and startle us but no one did.
The final part of the walkthrough was sectioned off with a door. A lit up sign indicated when groups could enter one after the other. When it was our turn we entered in and quickly came to a long narrow corridor. All along it were closed doors. About halfway through one opened and an actor came at us growling. We weren’t frightened. We continued ahead to the end turned right and there was the exit.
On the way back into the park was a shop and a counter for visitors to buy the photo that was taken in the X-ray room. 500 yen for a photo or 300 yen for a smaller sticker. In our picture we were all smiling at the camera.
(Spoilers End)
The Verdict
Length: Excellent. The course is supposedly only 700m but according to Guinness that’s the world’s longest haunted walkthrough. With all the twists and turns it certainly feels much longer. Walking at an average pace the attraction is supposed to take 45 minutes start to finish.
Setting: Again excellent. The place never was used as a hospital, but it sure looks like one. The use of lighting was also very carefully thought out. There are many dark places where actors can hide but most are empty. I imagine the actors move around regularly to make repeat walkthroughs different for the visitors. It being my first time it was all new, and I was excited to push forward to see what was next. It was as much an exploratory experience as it was a haunted walkthrough.
Value: Good. For 500 yen (about five bucks) on top of normal admission price (4,500 yen) it is definitely worth the extra money. Unless you plan on returning to the theme park in the future you’ll never have a chance to visit something quite like it. I do however think it should be included in the standard admission price. If the haunted hospital is the only part of the theme park a visitor wants to see there is a cheaper option available. A basic entrance pass can be purchased for 1,200 yen which does not allow admission to the parks other attractions. That would bring the total to only 1,700.
Scare Factor: Good. I’m the kind of guy who is not scared by horror films or the like, so I myself never felt frightened. But at the same time I was constantly looking out for surprises. On four occasions I was startled. Once by a dummy, two times by actors, and one time by a bright light. I would only laugh and move on. Other visitors, especially girls, were screaming at all times through our walkthrough. For those who couldn’t handle it the 'retire' doors were available for a quick escape. The group behind us fled about halfway through. Foreign visitors must also realize the scariness is geared towards Japanese people and thus different from what you would find in a haunted house in America. It is more subtle, more quiet, more creepy. No psycho with a fake chainsaw is going to come out and suddenly chase you.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion
In my opinion the haunted hospital is a must for anyone who goes to Fuji-Q Highlands. If you are visiting Tokyo the park is about 2 and a half hours away by train. When you get off the station is right next to the park entrance, literally only 50m away from the ticket window. If you make the trip out it is best to go with the regular admission price so you can enjoy the other attractions, especially the three roller coasters, Eejanaika, Fujiyama and Dodonpa. But on crowded days you will have to wait several hours for each attraction. Going to the park on a weekend or in the month of August is a complete waste. From what I hear, the best time to go is from November on during the week. The park will close earlier at 5pm but you’ll see much more than on other days.
The following is a youtube link of the haunted hospital from a Japanese variety show. It is pretty much just a glimpse of what is inside and mostly spoiler free. I’ve also thrown in some POV videos of the parks other big attractions.
The worlds longest haunted walkthrough.
Other Attractions
Other Attractions
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