Japan - Universal Studio Japan Osaka

Day 4 - 15 January 2019

Breakfast at the Hotel 

We had to reach USJ at 8.30am to join our special queue so there was no time for breakfast. Also, we were not too sure where will be opened so early in the morning. So at 6.30am, we came down to the hotel lounge area to have our 3 cup noodles.  These cup noodles are the special ones which can be found in 7 Eleven.

We are both ramen lovers and were so thrilled to know that the noodles of popular ramen chains come in paper containers. There is even real meat inside that is dried up at first! All three types are so amazing tasty. The noodles actually taste like the real thing. The dan dan mian can on the heavy side but it is really a decent meal. The soba noodles is chewy and quite appetitzing in the light broth. The Ippudo bowl is also delicious and moderately rich.

Of course, the real ramen would be better and the meat would be more real.

We left our hotel around 7.15am to the take the train down.

Universal Studio Japan 

To get to USJ, we took the train from JR Namba station to the Universal City JR station. Outside the station, you will see a street of shops and food store. The excitement starts building up right there as you see other people walking to the same destination.

We were guided by a staff to our location to queue after showing the wrist band. It was outside Studio West and some people were already in the queue. Thankfully, we were not too far back as well. They checked our tickets and then we went into the shop to continue waiting. The door would only open at the official opening time. However, we get to be at a corner as one of the first batch to enter, and we save the time of checking tickets with the main crowd.

Despite our advantage, it is quite tiring to run all the way to our Harry Potter ride. I was breathless and my throat felt dry in that cold weather. Harry potter land is quite a distance in. Many people were running and overtaking us.


Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey -

So our first ride was quite a favourite for me. Before the actual thing, you put your stuff in the lockers provided. Lockers like in the actual wizarding school, how cool. Then we go through the castle walk and see the portraits come alive.

You sit in a horizontal seat with your feet dangling before you set off for an exciting journey with the wizard and witch alongside you. The effects make it feel real and I felt like I was flying. I remember seeing some ghost/skulls/spiders, which was quite scary at first. It was closed up and your seat will turn upwards so it feels like the thing might just drop on you. Also, it's not often that you hear Harry and Hermione speaking in Japanese.

Even as we were the initial group of people to enter the park, many people overtook us and there was a little waiting time for this ride. See how popular the ride is. So do train up and run.


Flight of the Hippogriff -

Just beside the most popular ride, we have a mini roller coaster which ended quite quickly. I love this, not too thrilling but still thrilling at the same time. For me, at least. The cool air during the winter smacks your face and keeps you refreshed.

In the Harry Potter world, you must try the butter beer. We tried the hot one first, and it is like a hot caramel drink which is a little on the sweet side. The cold one is better for us, carbonated and caramel flavored too. You can have some nice selfies with the foam of the drink.


Jurassic Park; The ride -

Our next ride was at the Jurassic park, which I later found out is a water boat ride. Apparently, it should be a rather wet ride as quite a number of people were wearing poncho. For me, I was relatively water resistant from top to shoes so it was okay. The ride was fun, running away from the dinosaurs and plunging down the waterfall. We got our faces and hair wet, but it was not as bad as the first couple in front.

Backdraft -

This ride has to do with fire and it is not for everyone, especially if you don't want to wait. It had me wondering "is that all". The first station was an introduction and the show of a very old movie. Then we went to the next with a little fire show. I was starting to get impatient and then the real deal came. The place got on fire and it spreaded around, things were breaking down, the temperature was getting high. And at the last moment, my natural instinct got me to bent down a little because the ceiling was falling. It was quite a realistic fire show.


Minion Ride -

Oh no this other popular ride was at 60 mins wait time. However, we probably came out only 45 mins later. I like how we were entertained by the minion videos on the multiple screens as we joined the queue. Of course, it repeats itself after some time but that is a great idea. I believe there are several rooms for this ride. A group of us sat in a car and prepared for the ride. We were all training to be a minion. It is really fun, like we were in a fantasy world, bouncing and sliding around.

The Amazing Spiderman -

This is also one of the 4D kind of rides. Together with Spiderman, you go and save the world and fly across buildings with your web. This one has a 4D glasses to wear, which makes the experience more real.


Lunch at Finnagan's Bar Grill

We were debating on our lunch options - more atas versus fast food. It was lunch hour and everywhere probably will be packed. Atas option might be better and so we chose the nearest one from our last ride. It was a rainy day and being in the restaurant was comfortable and warm.

Our whole meal was delicious. The portion is not a lot, which might be good to continue with the next ride. The steak is so tender and flavourful. For the bread bowl, it did not look as yummy when I opened it up. Serving in a paper bowl probably lowers your expectation. But I was surprised. The tomato soup is just right and really appetizing.

If you want some beer without getting drunk, be sure to try their alcohol free beer. It taste 100% just like the normal beer. Quite interesting to me, but totally not my husband's cup of tea. He just does not like the beer taste after all, even though he is the one who wanted to try. There are also other colourful beers which you may wish to try.


Terminator -

Again, if you don't have the patience, skip this ride. There was a very long introduction when everyone gathered in a room and have an interaction session with the staff. I must say that the lady staff is very talented and enthusiastic in acting and building rapport, but the language will all be in Japanese. After around 15 minutes, we got into the theatre for the 3D and live show. I have no comments about this section, because I literally fell asleep.


Shrek's 4D Adventure -

The husband said we have watched it in USS before but I totally forgotten about it. It has been 7 years ago since our visit. It definitely is a fun 4D show especially for kids, but would be better in English for us.


Jaws - 

A boat ride with beautiful scenery. Depending on which side you are seated, a shark may come out of the water in close view. Thankfully, the sharks are fake and we all survived.

Hollywood Dream -

There is a hollywood dream and hollywood dream backdrop ride. I think the backdrop was closed during our visit. I waited for my husband while he conquered the ride himself. He said that it was quite an okay ride only, but the redeeming factor is the wonderful music that plays at your ears while you go at the fast speed. That is pretty unique.

The Flying Dinosaur -

The most anticipated ride of the day! Okay I was just feeling excited for the husband because I did not take it myself. It displayed a 45 mins wait time. However, the single rider lane was crazy quick. Suddenly, he messaged me that he was already going on the next ride. I was right below to take a video and our signal for each other was to make a heart. It was more fun for me to be a spectator than a rider.

The ride is really interesting because you will be elevated to a flying position through the ride. Thrill and fun level is there.

Our last two rides were the Harry Potter ride and the Flight of the Hippogriff again. While people were all queuing for the castle show, we get a "fast pass" for the rides. One advice by others on tackling rides is quite accurate. Target those popular rides around 1 hour before the park closure. You really can save the time from potential queues and entirely skip them near the end.

I think I anticipated a lot more for USJ. A lot of the rides are 4D types which may not be suitable for some people who get nauseous and giddy (aka as the husband) after that. Many warned about the peak hours and wait time for rides and advise on getting a fast pass. However, the fast pass is literally almost the cost of another ticket. For our visit on a Tuesday, it was so awesome and there was no significantly long wait time. Overall for a family trip, it has a good mix of cutesie stuff versus thrilling rides. But if you want ultimate family adventure, Disneyland would be better :P.

And by the way, the churros in USJ taste so damn good! Both the chocolate and cinnamon one are so amazing. They are crispy and chewy to the right level. We had 3 in the end, when we initially only bought 1.

Dinner at Mosburger

After a full day of amusement park, we settled our dinner at the Mosburger outside the street of shops. I missed that Mosburger from this particular outlet in Ginza so much!

Unfortunately, the fish burger is not the same! The bun and fish was not exceptionally crispy and it did not have fresh onions in it. I was extremely disappointed.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to eat our customised cup noodles. Wahaha so many cup noodles in a day. Mine was the seafood taste which is enhanced by the cheese flavour. My husband's was the curry flavour one which is quite thick.

When you have tasted the actual ramen in instant form, you suddenly feel like the other cup noodles become fake tasting.