Japan Diaries: Day 5
Day 5 December 23, 2014
Universal Studios Japan Day 1
 |
Even if I had been on a back-to-back adventure yesterday, I still have enough energy and excitement for our trip today. It's all because we're heading to Universal Studios Japan (USJ)! (Who wouldn't be excited about that?) However, before anything else, I would like to greet Emperor Akihito a happy birthday! (It's a national holiday today -天皇誕生日, Tennō tanjōbi)
We drove early to Universal Studios Japan from Kameyama Residence for our 2-day USJ adventure. We were accompanied by Ms. Sawa and her son Ryu. We would then meet up with Ms. Akiko and Ms. Chiz together with their children in the theme park. However, before we proceeded to USJ, we first went to Hotel Keihan (Universal Tower) to check in our bags.
 |
| Inside Hotel Keihan |
After leaving our stuff in the hotel, we immediately headed to USJ and met up with our Japanese friends. We were really blessed because our 2-day pass included a Universal Express Pass for our first-day tour. The express pass allows us to skip the long lines of the rides in the park. In that way, we could try all the rides without the hassle of waiting in a very long line. Before going to the rides, Ms. Chiz explained to us our park itinerary for the day. As it turns out we have to follow a strict time frame to enjoy our Universal Express Pass.
Our park itinerary for the morning is as follows:
 |
| Flight of the Hippogriff |
 |
| Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey |
 |
| Jaws (ride) |
 |
| Hollywood Dream - The Ride- Backdrop (One Direction's Happily would forever be in my memory because of this ride.) |
 |
| Butterbeer anyone? |
After the rides, we got to rest for a bit and eat our lunch at Snoopy's Backlot Cafe. We headed back to the Harry Potter area and treated our Japanese family and friends with Butterbeer as a sign of gratitude. We then proceeded to our afternoon itinerary which is:
 |
| Flying Snoopy |
 |
| The Song of An Angel (USJ Illumination event) |
 |
| The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman |
 |
| Jurassic Park - The Ride |
After the Jurassic Park - The Ride, the park announced that it will close for the day. We said our goodbyes to Ms. Chiz and her son Taigo and left the park. Our Japanese family then brought us to Daikisuisan Revolving Sushi which is located in the Universal CityWalk Osaka. We enjoyed the wide array of sushi dishes. However, my wife's allergy was triggered by one sushi dish that she ate. Luckily, it was not that severe and she recovered quickly.
 |
| Dinner time at Daikisuisan Revolving Sushi! |
After eating, we headed back to Hotel Keihan Universal Tower to rest. Our Japanese family bid us goodbye (They are all going back to the Kameyama residence). Before we slept, my wife and I talked about our USJ adventure and we both agreed that the best rides in the park were the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, Hollywood Dream -The Ride- Backdrop, and Jurassic Park Ride.
 |
| Bye Universal Studios Japan! See you tom! |
 |
| The view of USJ from our room in Hotel Keihan Universal Tower |
 |
| Thanks to our Japanese family for this opportunity |
Though we called it a day, our adventure in Universal Studios Japan is still not over yet. Tomorrow, it would only be us who's going back to the park. It would surely be another memorable adventure.
WOW!!! We are not into theme parks, but this on in Japan looks amazing, I would have never thought that there could be a Universal Studios in Japan, I though it might be no very popular due their traditional culture. I'll put it in our bucket list for when we visit Japan. Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog Carlos. Yup, you should visit Japan someday particularly Universal Studios and the Disney Theme parks.
DeleteAnother very interesting day in Japan fulfilled with activities. The Snoopy's cafe must be so adorable. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Unta. It sure does. You can also buy a lot of Snoopy souvenirs in the shop.
DeleteI haven't been to Universal Studios in ages! And I have only visited the ones in the USA, so this post really made me want to go to the Japanese ones! There are so many new rides since the last time I went!
ReplyDeleteHello Dann. Yup yup. I highly suggest that you visit this one out. You will surely enjoy it. =)
DeleteThis sounds like a nice adventure for people of all age groups esp children. I like the butterbear the most... I can do that without putting my life at risk! It also reminds me how important it is for a city to have a thematic park which serves a lot of purpose in the hustle bustle of the city!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Theme parks gives life to a rather dull environment of the city. =)
DeleteI am and will always be a kid at heart! I love theme parks! I prefer them than beaches. I have been to US Singapore and Orlando, so I would love to check this one out esp the Harry Potter Attractions
ReplyDeleteYou should Carmen. =) Actually, I'm praying that I get to visit this place again. It seems like I missed the fun.
DeleteUSJ is a muct visit in osaka !!! it brings out the kid in us... in my experience it gave me an adrenaline rush.. my only trouble is that it is usually jam-packed! i wonder how many attractions have you tried in total???
ReplyDeleteHi Erica, we tried out almost all except the ones that are being maintained. We were lucky to have the USJ Express Pass.
DeleteI want to visit this place too! This is one of the places I want to see when I visit Japan someday. Specificially, I want to see the Harry Potter attraction because I'm a super Harry Potter fan since high school. And of course, try a couple of butterbeer too while in the area. Thanks for this post, Neil!
ReplyDeleteYou would surely love this place Gel. You can bring home a wizard wand too. =)
DeleteWow, Japan is my dream country to visit. Your day 5 Japan experience is really great! I love theme parks as well and Universal studios is something I should really check and experience when I get the chance to visit Japan soon. I also love all your lovely photos. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteLaiAriel
Thanks so much LaiAriel for visiting my blog. =)
DeleteLooks like you had a lot of fun. I will love to explore Japan during the Cherry Blossom season.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I would love to visit Japan during its cherry blossom season.
DeleteFlight of the Hippogriff and Jurrasic Park look particularly attractive to me. I guess my kid will also have a lot of options to enjoy if we ever end up in Universal Studios Japan. In fact, we have not been to any of the Universal Studios yet. This year planning to head to Universal Studio Singapore. I guess I can pick some hints from your post on how to plan my day when I head there.
ReplyDeleteHi Neha. =) I'm super sure your kid would love it. =)
Deletethis is the second article that i have read in recent times on USJ, Japan and from both the articles i realized that it is a must visit not only for children but also for teens as well as for adults. the way the park has been structured and the plethora of entertainment available is mind boggling and simply awesome. I am sure you had a great time the next day too
ReplyDeleteI sure did. =) It was an experience that brought out the kid in me. =)
DeletePlaces like Universal Studio and Disney are complete entertainment packages for the family. I can see that the Universal Studio in Japan is as exciting if not more, than anywhere else in the world. Good you had an express pass, otherwise one is not able to do justice to all the fun because of long lines.
ReplyDeleteThat's true sandy. Without the USJ Express Pass, it would have been hard for us to enjoy all of the rides. We'd probably ride one or two rides only, as there were a lot of people there during our visit.
Delete