When we were planning our trip to Japan, Universal Studios Japan was firmly on my list. Having been to Universal Orlando, and knowing how Disneyland in Hong Kong differs from the US and Paris parks, I was curious to see what it would be like.
I also really wanted to go to Super Nintendo World - Nintendo is Japanese, so I feel this makes it more acceptable! First up, it didn't cost us anything to get into the park because my work owns it and I get free entry. However! Because we were going in Golden Week, a big Japanese holiday week, I feared we'd spend the day queueing and barely get to do anything. That was something I really wanted to avoid. There's also the issue that you need a ticket to get into Super Nintendo World; if you just rock up to the park, there's no guarantee you'll get in.
So, there's two options: Get to the park when it first opens and sprint to SNW to get a ticket. Or, buy an
express pass which gives you a timed slot to get in to SNW and a fast pass for the two rides in there. We did the latter. Price varies depending on the ride combo you want, but also the date. Golden Week is a super peak time so we did pay £157 each for our express pass, but that let us walk on seven rides (this pass starts at £100 each). It's a time versus money conundrum! (You do need to buy an entry ticket to
Universal Studios Japan separate to this - adult tickets are ￥8,600, so around £44 currently.)
Located just outside of Osaka, Universal Studios Japan is super fun. There are rides and areas it shares with other Universal theme parks, but there are also some that are unique to Japan. First up - and the very first ride we did, was Demon Slayer XR. Which plays with your mind as you're on a train, wearing VR glasses. I knew in reality Olly was sat next to me but my vision didn't have me sat next to anyone. Good fun, even though I did not know anything about the Demon Slayer world. (It's the highest grossing Japanese and anime film of all time, and is based on a manga series.)
Retired in other Universal parks, Jaws is still a ride at USJ. It was all in Japanese but it was easy enough to get the gist. You weren't allowed to take photos - for fear you'd lose your phone in the water - which makes me want to call out two things about the staff. Firstly, they are super cautious. Like with this. (They also made me remove my Toad ears for the Yoshi ride, which is the slowest ride - you could walk faster.) But! They are also super friendly, more so than Disney levels, and treat you like you're a rockstar if you engage with them. It's kind of sweet. And makes up for the level of caution they take.
Super Nintendo World was definitely my favourite bit, purely for the theming of it. We had hoped Donkey Kong Country was going to open whist we were there but we were out of luck (it opens 11 December 2024). We could see the top of the coaster though... The one thing about this park is that, unlike in Orlando, the illusion of lands is firmly shattered as you can see different ones from the one you're in. Not that you'll be looking beyond in SNW. Like I said, the theming is incredible. Make sure you have a good look around!
There's an interactive element to the land, too. I may have been Team Toad with my choice of ears, but I was Team Yoshi in SNW, earning coins by hitting blocks. You can join in the fun by buying a wristband that keeps track of your score and the games you play - though for the amount of time we were in SNW, it really wasn't worth the price of getting one... But still fun jumping and collecting coins Frome the blocks! Ride-wise, the Mario Kart ride was fun but I definitely needed a second go. This was one of the rides we could walk on with our pass, we didn't fancy queueing 70 minutes to go on it again! The other ride we walked straight on was Yoshi's Adventure, which had a 55 minute normal queue. It's cute, but not worth that sort of wait.
There's a cute area for children in the park, which we popped in to see. It's themed around Sesame Street, Hello Kitty and Snoopy - adorable! - plus at the other side of the park to this there's a Minions area. The Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride is one of the express pass rides - it was fine, but the 4D nature of it started to make me feel a bit queasy as we'd just eaten. (We grabbed pizza at Louie's NY Pizza Parlour.) Following that ride with The Flying Dinosaur - another express pass ride - only added to that feeling. The Flying Dinosaur is so high. And intense! Though I couldn't really see anything as my hair was whipping around my face... Probably for the best!
Which meant by the time we got to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and went on our first express pass ride there, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, I was in a bad way from lots of motion and intense rides so soon after food... I've been on that ride before in Orlando and was fine, but this time round it made me ill. So much so that I was sick when I got off the ride. Eek! And that meant I didn't fancy Butterbeer, sadly. After a rest in Diagon Alley, sipping water in the pub garden of The Three Broomsticks, I was okay to jump on Flight of the Hippogriff, another express pass ride. Queue time was 70 minutes but it's another child-friendly ride so, for me, not worth a long wait.
I couldn't face using our last express pass jump to do Hollywood Dream - The Ride. Though, they do have a similar ride in Orlando which I've done before so I was okay with that. In fact, at that point we decided to call it a day. Whilst we hadn't done everything in the park, the small nature of it made us feel like we'd had a good crack at it! There was a WaterWorld show that I would like to have checked out - it would have been in Japanese so I might have revised my opinion, but it seemed from the outside like it was going to be more stunt-driven than story-driven. And a Monsters show with Beetlejuice that might have been fun.
All-in-all, other than the sickness, it was a very fab day in Japan! (And a break from the more traditional Japanese experience.) x
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