Trip Report: Arakawa Park, Tokyo

 One of the small amusement parks in Tokyo with a roller coaster is Arakawa Park. Getting there involves taking a streetcar (the only true streetcar left in Tokyo). Then, walk through this sign (the pink letters say Arakawa Park Entrance). You'll stroll a couple blocks down a wide sidewalk to get to the actual park entrance.

 There's a public pool and small water park on the way. I visited in January, so the outside was drained.

 Eventually, you come to an old streetcar. I'm not sure, but I get the feeling this might be open sometimes for exploring.

 Across from the streetcar is the entrance to Arakawa Park!

 This building was quite nice-looking. I don't know what is inside; I'd guess it has park offices.

 The one and only coaster, a small kids coaster, is visible straight ahead.

 There's a small Ferris wheel next to the coaster, and a handful of other attractions in the park.

 This building is both a train station for the mini-train and the station for the elevated pedal ride that takes you around the park.

 A large portion of the park is a zoo full of farm animals. You can feed the goats.

 This cow seemed lonely and hungry. It was licking the fence. There are several cages or pens, each housing a few animals. There's also a large bird cage that you can enter, and I think you can feed birds.

 You might be able to spot the train behind the fence.

 Monkeys! They were pretty fun to watch as they ran around the cage, playing with each other or sometimes fighting a bit.

 I took a walk around the park and saw just a couple more rides. Here's the tea cups.

 There's a real, full-size river behind the park, but they've placed a small pond and stream inside the gates too.

 The back corner has a fishing pond! I think you can take home whatever you catch.

 I like taking pictures of Ferris wheels. I don't know why. There's the sky cycle too.

 Here's the river and an area where I suppose you can sit and relax. Perhaps you can put your feet in the water, too. It was freezing cold so I wasn't about to try. The red and yellow cubes are soft, and there are more of those scattered around this area of the park.

 Ferris wheel again, from the front.

 Here's the roller coaster. Yes, It's a caterpillar. Yes, I rode it. Yes, I banged my knee while riding the caterpillar coaster and it hurt for a couple days afterwards.

 There's a waterfall that I think is separate from the stream which has a walking path along both sides. It looks like this stream is meant to be played in.

 Flowers! Oh, there's a carousel here too.

 Is it smiling?

 I liked all the colors of the flowers, especially since it was January and most of the trees were bare.

The park is open 9:00 to 17:00 (sometimes 18:00), closed on Tuesdays. Admission is 200 yen, and rides are pretty cheap (200 yen for adults per ride, 100 yen per ride for kids). Access is via the Toden Arakawa Line streetcar; get off at Arakawayuenchimae.