is a

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

located at

Yomiuriland is an amusement park in Inagi, Tokyo, Japan that first opened on 19 March 1964. It is situated on hillsides, and features rides such as roller coasters and water flumes. It is home to Yomiuri Giants Stadium, one of the training fields for th ...

in the city of

Inagi 270px, Inagi City Hall is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 92,585 in 41,592 households, and a population density of 5200 persons per km². The total area of the city ...

, near

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Built in 1988 by the TOGO company, it was the fastest roller coaster in the world when it was built (taking the record from American Eagle at

Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park, theme park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The theme park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built ...

). It lost the record to

Magnum XL-200 Magnum XL-200, colloquially known as simply Magnum, is a steel roller coaster built by Arrow Dynamics at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. When it opened in 1989, it was the tallest, fastest, and steepest complete-circuit roller coaster in the wo ...

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

one year later.

Ride layout and experience

Bandit's course is laid out as a

terrain roller coaster Terrain roller coasters are roller coasters which take advantage of the usually-natural undulations of the land upon which they are built. Such rides may often weave through forests, and some may even dive down cliffs. Because they tend to stay ...

. This means that it was custom-built to closely follow the contours of the hilly

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of Yomiuriland. Although the coaster's height is officially listed at , the layout of the terrain means that the difference between the highest and lowest points on the ride is actually (also a record when it was built). When Bandit was built in 1988, it held the record of being the fastest roller coaster in the world. The ride passes through the treetops of hundreds of cherry trees. This is highlighted during the park's annual

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

(''sakura'') festival. During the festival, Bandit is marketed as being the fastest ever " flower viewing" (''hanami''). The cherry blossoms around Bandit's course are also lit at night. The majority of Bandit's course is somewhat isolated from the other rides and buildings in Yomiuriland. From the top of Bandit, riders can see views of the distant

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

skyline of Tokyo. Rides on the coaster cost 1000

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

Reviews

Bandit is the most popular roller coaster at Yomiuriland. In 2013, the coaster was identified by ''RocketNews24'' as No. 9 of the "10 unmissable roller coasters in Japan". In 1990, roller coaster enthusiast magazine ''Inside Track'' rated Bandit as being the 24th best roller coaster in the world.

References

External links

Bandit's page on Yomiuriland's official website
{{s-end Roller coasters in Japan Roller coasters introduced in 1988