Tokyo

Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō, "Eastern Capital") (Japanese: [toːkjoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/), officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, and is both the capital and largest city of Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868; at that time Edo was renamed Tokyo. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi).

Roller coaster

A roller coaster is an amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained a patent regarding roller coasters on January 20, 1885, which were made out of wood, but this patent is considerably later than the "Russian mountains" described below. In essence a specialized railroad system, a roller coaster consists of a track that rises in designed patterns, sometimes with one or more inversions (such as vertical loops) that briefly turn the rider upside down. The track does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably wild mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.

History

Russian mountain

The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the so-called "Russian Mountains", which were specially-constructed hills of ice, located in an area that would later become St. Petersburg. Built in the 17th century, the slides were built to a height of between 21 and 24 m (70 and 80 feet), consisted of a 50 degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports.

Raging Bull

Raging Bull is a 1980 American biographical black-and-white sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta, an Italian American middleweight boxer whose self-destructive and obsessive rage, sexual jealousy, and animalistic appetite destroyed his relationship with his wife and family. Also featured in the film are Joe Pesci as Joey, La Motta's well-intentioned brother and manager who tries to help Jake battle his inner demons, and Cathy Moriarty as his wife. The film features supporting roles from Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana and Frank Vincent.

Scorsese was initially reluctant to develop the project, though he eventually came to relate to La Motta's story. Schrader re-wrote Martin's first screenplay, and Scorsese and De Niro together made uncredited contributions thereafter. Pesci was an unknown actor prior to the film, as was Moriarty, who was suggested for her role by Pesci. During principal photography, each of the boxing scenes was choreographed for a specific visual style and De Niro gained approximately 60 pounds (27 kg) to portray La Motta in his later post-boxing years. Scorsese was exacting in the process of editing and mixing the film, expecting it to be his last major feature .

Raging Spirits

Raging Spirits is a roller coaster attraction in Tokyo DisneySea, began operation on July 21, 2005. Created by Walt Disney Imagineering, manufactured by Intamin and built by Sansei Technologies, the attraction takes guests on a thrilling, high-speed ride through the ruins of an ancient ceremonial site, visually based on the Disney film The Emperor's New Groove and its depictions of Incan buildings in the mountainous region of Peru. The attraction is located in Tokyo DisneySea's Lost River Delta section.

Much like the roller coaster design on which it is based—the Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril attraction at Disneyland Paris —guests riding Raging Spirits board hopper cars that propel them along tracks around the archeological excavation site.

References

Tokyo DisneySea

Tokyo DisneySea (東京ディズニーシー) is a 176-acre (71.22 ha) theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. Owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses Disney characters and themes from The Walt Disney Company, Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 14 million visitors in 2013, making it the fourth-most-visited theme park in the world. Tokyo DisneySea was the second theme park to open at the Tokyo Disney Resort and the ninth park of the eleven worldwide Disney theme parks to open. Tokyo DisneySea was the fastest theme park in the world to reach the milestone of 10 million guests, having done so in 307 days after its grand opening. The previous record-holder was Universal Studios Japan 338 days after its opening.

Dedication

Concept

Tokyo DisneySea has an overall nautical exploration theme to it. The idea for the park can be traced to a proposal to build a second theme park in Southern California called "Port Disney" in Long Beach, California, with the RMS Queen Mary as the main attraction . However the idea was scrapped after the company endured financial trouble with the Euro Disney project. Later the idea was passed on to the Oriental Land Company to expand their resort. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, the overall intention was to create a more adult-themed park, including faster, scarier rides and shows designed more for an older audience. By the time Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001, its concepts and designs had been in development at Walt Disney Imagineering for well over 20 years.