Hakugei (roller coaster)

Closer aerial view of White Cyclone

Before White Cyclone's construction in 1994, there had been only one wooden roller coaster ever built in Japan. This roller coaster, Jupiter, opened in 1992—after the Japanese government relaxed height restrictions on wooden structures.[3] Another wooden coaster, White Canyon, opened in 1994—the same year as White Cyclone. In 2013, the roller coasters Jupiter and White Cyclone were two of only four operating wooden roller coasters in Japan,[4] and of only 13 operating wooden roller coasters in Asia.[5]

White Cyclone was constructed of enough Alaskan timber to build nearly a thousand homes.[6] The ride was particularly fast for a wooden roller coaster and featured many common elements such as helices, large drops and smaller bunny hills.[3] The roller coaster had a double out-and-back track layout and used trains manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.[7] White Cyclone closed on January 28, 2018.[1]

Rocky Mountain Construction refurbished the roller coaster using its patented I-Box Track technology.[8] The ride's height and speed were increased and three inversions were added to the layout. The refurbished ride reopened as White Whale (白鯨, Hakugei) on March 28, 2019.[2]