Back again! I have a week off Uni, so I am going to try my hardest to get as many Japan posts done as I possibly can. This is the day Saya and I went to our first Japanese theme park, Universal Studios. Spoiler alert, it was a universal let down.
To start the day we spent a good forty or so minutes standing in line, JUST TO GET IN TO THE PARK. That was pretty fun. We didn't think it would be that bad considering you know it was a Wednesday, kids should be at school, adults should be at work...we were wrong. It was actually so ridiculous how many lines there were at the gate, and this was just the beginning.
Highlight: There was a new Harry Potter area which was pretty epic. This meant Harry Potter souvenirs in the gift shop. So many flash backs to the studio tour I did in London. Kind of regret not getting another chocolate frog, the one I had in London took me so long to finish.
My Japanese YES.
I can't even tell the difference. Japanception.
We literally spent a good half hour in the first gift shop we saw. Sadly this was one of the best parts of the day. Our first major disappointment was finding out that there was no ET ride anymore. The Harry Potter area had replaced it. Which was upsetting because this was one ride Saya had been getting excited to go on, in turn making me excited. We didn't want it to ruin our day. We started our first mission of getting fast pass tickets.
Still have no idea what this is, but of course there was a massive line just to get a photo with it.
Highlight: Popcorn is everywhere. It tastes really weird. I don't think there is any type of corn kernels in this. It's literally just expanded sugar, but I'm not complaining.
I think this was some kind of chicken bun. So unsure. Kind of annoyed that there was so much Sesame Street stuff everywhere. There is a Jurassic Park movie coming out this year (dying) and yet there was like no dinosaur themed things anywhere. Come on guys, I came here to get my fan girl on and you aren't supplying the goods.
After we found out that all the fast passes were finished we decided to get on our first ride, the Jaws ride. It was pretty great even though it was a good hour of waiting. This was just the beginning.
Highlight: These hat things everywhere.
Actually really liked this ride. Saya was literally such a child it was great. This was the one ride that I remembered from when I went to Universal Studios in America when I was eight.
This is what I had come to Universal Studios for. This is the entire reason I had been excited. I was so crushed when I found out that out of all the rides the one I wanted to go on so bad was closed for the day. If you knew how much I loved Jurassic Park you would understand how truly heartbroken I was. And yes I know it's just a ride, but I guess it meant a bit more to me then that. I have really great memories riding this ride with mum when I was younger, and I was really excited to relive that.
Ok the ride was closed, the whole area was under construction. That's ok, I figured there would at least be some awesome Jurassic Park souvenirs. There was nothing. Everything there was horrible and tacky like said hat.
No I do not want a mug that has a dinosaur with a moustache. Why was that even a thing? This wasn't the only dinosaur with a moustache souvenir we saw. All I wanted was a shirt with the Jurassic Park logo. Why was that so much to ask? Ended up buying a shot glass with the logo on it.
At least the themed snack stands were open.
My general feels
A definite highlight was the Spiderman ride. We decided to go in the singles line and hope for the best. We got lucky. Only had to wait twenty minutes and still got seated together. Would recommend this ride 10/10. Wish we went on it again.
For some reason there were so many girls who came dressed in the exact same clothes. I didn't notice it that much at Universal. I noticed it a lot more at later theme parks. Literally down to the very last accessory. It was kind of bizarre.
Props on the Harry Potter area. You can tell a lot of effort was put in to construct this area of the park and it totally paid off.
The castle itself was really quite amazing. I don't know if you can really tell in photos, but it was huge and quite spectacular.
Yes you are reading that correctly. This ride has a 240 minute wait. You do the math. Ain't nobody got time for that. We did not go on this ride. Which is a real shame. I don't know what it is, but Japanese people are so chill to wait in line for hours. I just don't get it.
Instead of going on the rides we just did this walk through tour of the castle which was ok. The Harry, Ron and Hermione Japanese holograms were a little creepy but otherwise it was chill.
Let's be real, the gift shop is always the highlight.
Another ride we did not go on.
This stuff tasted pretty damn awful. I had the warm butterbeer and Saya had the cold. Hers was drinkable, mine tasted like microwaved smelly socks soaked in butter.
After the Harry Potter area we decided to go on the first ride we saw. It was Backdraft. It was horrible. Not even a ride. Just a walk through listening to people dubbed in Japanese talking about how the movie effects were done. By the way this place was not as tourist friendly as you would think. There is barely any English anywhere. So all of the information supplied to us on this ride/ walk through was completely lost on us.
And then in the last room there was a few fire effects. That's thirty minutes I'll never get back. I guess it doesn't really matter, I'd only waste it anyway.
My clique.
We left that awful place at like 3pm. We literally were just so done,
Saya can't Gopro. Shakas shout out to Kurt.
Just wandering through an arcade laughing at the prizes you could win.
Basic summary of the day at Universal Studios. But we didn't want our day to end there. Went to Osaka to do some shopping.
I have issues. I am extremely attached to my dog and we both get horrible seperation anxiety when we are apart.
Had some pasta at this smoking restaurant. The girl next to us was freaking us out. She kept staring at us and it was so hard not to stare back. She had these huge cracked lips, she was non stop shaking, well more like vibrating. She could barely eat her food. It was so disturbing. Kind of wish we had some sort of photo of her. She still haunts my dreams.
When you want to eat food but you got your dog with you. Poor baby was just chilling outside a restaurant while their owner ate inside.
Handy tip: Do not trust your nose in Japan. Often things that smell really nice taste pretty damn average. Take this cream pie thing for example.
Saya bought this party hat from the bargain bin at Spinns. Such a great find.
Could drink these all day. They tasted so delish! Peach and Grape were by far my favourite flavoured things in Japan.
Let's just end this post with these happy little cheeks. Such a child. It was downright adorable.
Don't go to Universal Studios. There are better things to do in Japan. But at the same time, I can't say I had one bad day in Japan, because I always had Saya by my side. Everything was fun with her there. Except for the day she had food poisoning and I had to go out by myself. That was a lonely day. Will try to get more posts done this week.
#Osaka
erica
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