Spider-Man, Harry Potter & Hello Kitty! - USJ

August 26, 2014: Universal Studios Japan

Keeping up with our busy schedule, I had originally planned to go to Kobe on this day. I had only been to Kobe once before and didn’t know of too many things to do aside from walk around the city so after discussion with Bao, we decided to go to Universal Studios Japan instead. Theme parks are a lot of fun and I rarely get to go to them so this was a perfect opportunity. This summer, the new Harry Potter section of the park also opened so it was even more of an incentive to go.

We got to the park around noon. The day was hot and sunny and the park was surprisingly full for a Tuesday. After paying for our tickets (around $70 usd) and getting an English map, we decided to just pick a direction and go. The Harry Potter exhibit was most crowded and you actually needed to get a time card to enter the park grounds. So before going on any other rides, we went to get a time card that allowed us to enter at 4:30 p.m. The first ride we lined up for was Jurassic Park. I had been to Universal Studios in Florida before and had ridden a similar ride but was wondering if the one in Japan was identical. From what I remember, it was pretty similar. The large models of dinosaurs and the ending roar of a T-Rex, the Japan version of the ride was pretty much the same.

Bao had a funny comment about the rides at USJ. He said that they should be updated to at least the last ten years! It was funny because it was true. They had rides and film footage from movies that were older than 15 years! I guess because these rides and movies were from America, it would always be something cool for Japanese people because it is something different from what they have.

We spent the afternoon going to a few different rides including a Spider-Man one and space travel one. An interesting option that USJ had that I had never seen before at a theme park was a “single-riders” line. This line is for people that are going alone or don’t mind not sitting with their group. Being that it was just two of us, we took this option on a couple rides and cut our wait time more than half!! What a great option! After lunch and about four different rides, it was our time to enter in the Harry Potter grounds.

As we entered the new section of the park, you could see the detail in décor and feel of the place. Even the trees that were planted around the entrance and in the park’s section added to the feel of really being in that time period. The architecture was grand with snow on the roof tops and towering gargoyles on columns. We walked through and decided we should pick a ride to stand in line for. The longest line seemed to stem from the hugest structure there. That was going to be our longest wait of the day. We ended up waiting a good 90 minutes for this ride! Turns out it was a half real, half screen projection ride. They had a few of these at USJ. Instead of being on a true roller coaster or complete ride, part of the ride was derived from a eye-mind trick of a large screen. So you would feel you were falling off the side of a building because of the shift of the seat and air blown in your face and visual of a deep drop. The Harry Potter ride was a story set up as if you were following Harry around on his adventure. I get motion sickness pretty easily so this ride for me was not completely enjoyable. It was still interesting to see what the wait was for. I couldn’t go to USJ without going on at least one Harry Potter ride so I was glad it was the biggest.

After leaving the Potter grounds, we decided to ride the only big roller coaster we saw near the front of the entrance. It was already about 7 pm and figured this ride would be about an hour to get through. I was right. We waited about an hour for this ride and when we got to the front, we got strapped in and sent off. I really do enjoy roller coasters but this one wasn’t as frightening as I wanted. I guess being that it is a family theme park things couldn’t be too scary.

The day at USJ was really fun though. I hadn’t been to a theme park in so long that this was a good option to do for the day. The rides were enjoyable and so were the people watching.  A funny think I notice about Japan is the trend in dressing alike. When I say dressing alike I really mean dressing like identical twins! There were so many couples and friends who were dressed alike at USJ. It was as if they came dressed alike to show off or signify they were together. Strange but I guess it’s a thing here.

We quickly got a bite to eat outside the park grounds and headed back to my apartment for rest. With only a few days left of summer break and Bao’s visit, I could feel the saddening reality of work and not having a friend around.

xx

t