Bandit (Yomiuriland)

Bandit (バンデット) is a steel roller coaster located at Yomiuriland in the city of Inagi, near Tokyo, Japan. 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). It lost the record to Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point one year later.

Ride layout and experience
Bandit's course is laid out as a terrain roller coaster. This means that it was custom-built to closely follow the contours of the hilly topography of Yomiuriland. Although the coaster's height is officially listed at 167.3 ft, the layout of the terrain means that the difference between the highest and lowest points on the ride is actually 256 ft (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 (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 skyline of Tokyo. Rides on the coaster cost 1000 yen.

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.