Recommended for kids six and up!

For the most part, Japanese parks have play equipment similar to what you’ll find in other countries, things like swings, slides, and sandboxes. A somewhat unique feature you’ll sometimes come across, though, is the roller slide.

▼ A roller slide

Instead of a flat surface, roller slides are made up of a long series of metal rollers, so that you can keep moving forward/downward even if the slide’s slope isn’t very steep. Often, roller slides are slow, relaxed rides that give you a leisurely look at the surrounding scenery…but things are very different at Kaminomori Park in Ehime Prefecture.

Japanese Twitter user @wakadanna_coo recently paid a visit to the park, which is located in the mountains of the town of Iyo. At the top of the slide is a sign with two safety precautions. Riders are asked to take a seating position before starting their ride, as stepping onto the rollers while still standing can cause you to use your balance. The second rule is that riders under the age of six must be accompanied by their parents or guardians. In other words, kids six and up can ride by themselves, so for a full-grown adult like @wakadanna_coo, this shouldn’t be anything too scary, right?

Wrong.

▼ “I totally underestimated this slide in the countryside…”

Lifting his legs to lessen friction, ＠wakadanna_coo reaches a surprisingly fast speed in startlingly little time, but there’s a net around the slide to keep riders from flying off. Unfortunately, the net isn’t keeping plants out, and as he goes around a curve, there’s suddenly a mass of branches and leaves right in his path.

“Owowowowowow!” he shouts, but nature’s assault on him is just getting started. The middle section of the slide has no netting, and once he reaches the open section the plants have completely overgrown the path he’s hurtling down.

▼ Yep, this is still on the slide!

Making things worse are the facts that several of the plants have burrs or stickers of some sort, and unfortunately @wakadanna_coo has chosen to wear shorts on this day.

▼ Their number is only matched by the number of times ＠wakadanna_coo says “Itai!!” (“Ouch!”) and “Yabai!” (“Not good!”) during his ride.

Watching the video, it looks like the plants at the very top and bottom of the slide have been trimmed fairly recently, while the middle section hasn’t had any vegetation cut back in a long time. A quick look at the park on Google Maps shows that the middle portion of the slide goes over an area with no pedestrian access.

Odds are groundskeeping in that portion of the park isn’t such a high priority, so while the slide looks like fun, in a terrifying sort of way, if you decide to check it out for yourself long pants would probably be the wisest wardrobe choice.

Park information
Kaminomori Park / 神の森公園
Address: Ehime-ken, Iyo-gun, Tobe-cho, Sozu 117
愛媛県伊予郡砥部町総津117
Website

Source: Twitter/＠wakadanna_coo via IT Media
Images: Twitter/＠wakadanna_coo
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