Is the ‘Sky Cycle’ Japan’s Weirdest Theme-Park Ride? · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

The Great Seto Bridge, looking south towards Takamatsu on Shikoku. Image: Nevin Thompson.
If you're looking for a breathtaking view and aren't afraid of heights, the “Sky Cycle” in Okayama Prefecture's Brazilian Washuzan Highland park is definitely worth a ride.
Photos of the Sky Cycle have been appearing on Twitter recently, thanks likely to the striking image found below of a tandem bicycle overlooking the park from an elevated railway.
The view from the Sky Cycle ride in Okayama's Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland: pic.twitter.com/5JBIgCyUgd
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) November 17, 2014
Washuzan is located at the northern end of the Great Seto Bridge, a massive structure that spans Japan's Inland Sea to connect the island of Honshu to the north with the island of Shikoku to the south. The bridge is a true marvel of engineering, stretching more than 13 kilometers (8 miles) over the ocean.
The bridge is also a beautiful site, which of course is why an amusement park was built at its base.
The soaring, slightly scary Sky Cycle ride, with its magnificent view, is perfect fodder for Japanese prime time television:
Caption: The fearsome Sky Cycle of Washuzan
While Brazil's connection to the area (and hence the name) remains unclear, it is worth nothing that many Brazilians of Japanese ancestry were recruited to work in nearby industrial areas.
Japan's countryside is dotted with large amusement parks, many bearing ethnic themes, that date back to the affluent years of the Bubble era. International travel was still a novelty for many Japanese people then, and ethnically named theme parks provided a glimpse of foreign cultures without the expense of traveling abroad.
The remote area of Niigata, for example, was once home to the Kashiwazaki Turkish Culture Village. Meanwhile, visitors to Nagasaki in Japan's far west could visit a theme park filled with life-size replicas of Dutch heritage buildings.
It's also customary in Japan to include an amusement part at prominent national landmarks like the Great Seto Bridge. Even Mount Fuji has its own park, Fuji-Q Highland. There, thrill-seekers can gaze upon Mount Fuji's slopes as they endure punishing g-forces aboard the park's famed roller coasters.
富士急きたー＼(^o^)／ pic.twitter.com/JnHhNftStL
— たみ (@tamiho_29) November 16, 2014
We made it to Fuji-Q!
@tamiho_29
Okayama Prefecture's Brazilian Washuzan Highland seems to take the cake, however. Japanese Internet users are dubbing it the world's weirdest theme park.