Osaka: Universal Studios Japan

I love theme parks, and on this trip, I made sure that Universal Studios Japan (USJ) and Tokyo Disneyland are on the itinerary. Having read how crowded these parks get, and the long lines to enter, we splurged and paid for a hotel right outside Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. The Park Front Hotel was super modern, literally next to the gates, surrounded by restaurants and shops along the walkway to the train station.

We arrived at Universal City, Osaka from Nara, on a rainy afternoon. At the reception, we found that our luggage from Kyoto was already in our room; that made us very happy! And what a room! It was spacious and modern, and has a view of USJ arch, with a lot of poeple walk to and from the train station to the USJ gates, some wearing costumes and carrying plushies and other souvenirs. We went out to find some food, checked out the convenience stores (Lawson and 7-Eleven), then call it a night as we planned to get up bright and early to be at the gates before USJ opened.

What can I say about visiting USJ? It was crowded, lines were long and everything was in Japanese (of course). We headed straight for SuperNintendo World since it was unique to USJ, although the US Orlando just opened its version recently.

My daughter and I then went our separate ways. Took in a show with lots of water, explosions, shooting (similar to US Hollywood's WaterWorld stunt show) with dialog in Japanese. Pokemon was a big feature here. I did a lot of walking, avoided rides with long lines although we managed to reserve a ride that unfortunately was cancelled due to mechanical issues.

We ate at crowded theme restaurants which were not as pricey as I expected. It was close to Halloween: after dark, there was a street enactment of the chainsaw massacre which a bit scary as actors rampaged through visitors running their chainsaws. There was also a couple of concerts.