So, in January I made a quick 6 days escape to Japan. The trip was short, but I managed to visit Osaka, Kyoto, Hida, and Shirakawa-go. Below I will write the itinerary trip I made which ended successfully.
Day 1 (10 January 2020)
Early in the morning, I took the JR line to Universal City station. Took the 07.00 train (i forgot the exact time, but it is around 7 in the morning). The ride is long enough.
If I am not mistaken we took the Hello Kitty JR haruka express and exit at SHIN-IMAMIYA STATION. Change lane to JR Osaka Loop Line (Red) ride until you reach Nishikujo Station. Transfer to JR Sakurajima Line (Dark Blue) Ride 2 stations to Universal-City Station. Directly walk to the left and the gate is there!
We lined up infront of the gate by 08:50 and the queue is long already although its a Friday during low season date.
09:20 We have entered USJ after the long entry queue. No selfie sticks are allowed. Guests with selfie sticks were asked to keep them in a locker rental before entering the park.
Okay here’s the thing. We did not buy any express pass and what we did was make a good route. We played all the big rides and skipped the shows, but here’s my schedule which works really well.
Once inside, directly run to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter world. You don’t need the time entry ticket because in the morning it is less crowded. Once inside, don’t waste time in taking pictures. Instead queue for the 4D Ride. Then if you’re still lucky, after the Forbidden Journey Ride, rush to the Flight of the Hypogriff. We skipped this because we played the ride in Universal Hollywood. Then we stop for a glass of cold and hot butterbeer. Must try: Hot butter beer. It tastes sweet and you can get them in winter only.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to buy the glass as a souvenir!
Then right at this time, you can take pictures in the WWOHP. Along with your bubbling Butter beer, you can take many magical pics for your Instagram.
they make good pics and nice souvenirs!
Next exit the WWOHP, visit the Jaws island located near WWOHP. Queue for the one and only Jaws ride. They don’t have this in other Universal Studios, just Japan.
Though the narrator speaks in Japanese, we understand well the concept of the ride. It was enjoyable, and even your younger members will enjoy this. Then moving on, they have souvenir shops and a restaurant. You can have a bite for lunch, but we decided to take a break at The Three Broomstick. I know this is kinda waste of time, to return and eat at WWOHP, but we had plenty of times.
So, there goes our lunch break. Around 11.30 we can still get a seat on the outside area. The one facing the Hogwarts Castle. Be there 5 minutes late, and the tables are filled.
Moving on, the feast was a bit on the pricey list, but it feeds two people. Continue the day trip by shopping and looking around for souvenirs in the WWOHP. We also took the Castle Tour. And as we took the castle tour, the line for The Forbidden Journey is already a 2 hours queue.
Dumbledore’s office inside the castle tour.
After the castle tour, we bought all the souvenirs from WWOHP, and left to the other side of the park. Sadly while we were there, the Backdrop ride was under maintenance : It was one of the big rides. Moving on, we visit the Jurassic World. And brace yourself for another thrilling must-ride roller coaster.
The flying dinosaur ride! I won’t spoil anything, but this is how it looks like.
Then I gotta say, after this ride. We finished all the big rides. We skipped the minion mayhem, but my friends said they are fun for little ones. We took the single rider lines and played the Amazing Spiderman. Must ride, for those looking for a resting ride.
We did not wait for the Water World show, coz we’ve seen a lot of those in the other parks.
We spend more of the time strolling the park, enjoying the San Fransisco area, grabbing snacks and taking pictures with the characters. Oh talk about minion and Gru, people are all waiting in lines for them. There is a big green park by the minion town and people bring picnic mats to sit with their loved ones.
We did not wait til the afternoon show, because we had other plans prepared.
But spending half of your day in Universal Studios Japan without express pass is possible.
That’s all,
see you on another post
cosmic_latte28 xD
Cosmic Latte 