Osaka Day 2: Universal Studios Japan!
Rise and shine for our second day in Osaka, where we are going to spend a full day in Universal Studios Japan! We had pre-bought our tickets on Klook since last year for our supposed trip in September. However, we were unable to refund for it as its an open-dated ticket with one-year validity. Therefore, we were not going to waste the ticket and gonna make the most out of our day at the park!
Pigg suggested that we take a shot outside our hotel, with the "signboard"
Pigg suggested that we take a shot outside our hotel, with the "signboard"
Another one with Pigg's double chin!
And we had to fuel our stomachs before heading to the park...at Namba station's MacDonald's!
We had to order stuff that is not available on Singapore's menu! Which is... PORK!
I ordered their seasonal special - Teritama Sakura Burger! (Teriyaki + Tamago (egg) Pork Burger).
The muffin bun is so soft and airy! The pork is so also so tender and delicious, love the savouriness of the sauce!
Pigg ordered the Mega McMuffin, which is two sausage patties, egg, cheese and PORK bacon!
It may sound ridiculous, but when I ate the burger, it does not felt as though I'm eating fast food. Unlike SG's version of dry McMuffins and patties which I always relied on tea to down each bite, Japan's McMuffins tasted fresh and soft and I felt as though I'm eating a proper breakfast.
However, as for their hashbrowns, I still preferred SG's as I felt Japan's version has a tad oily smell to it... For the drinks, kudos to Japan for having lemon syrup to add to our black tea so we could have lemon tea!
After the hearty breakfast, we headed to Universal City station! Where we had to make a few transfers before we finally reach!
A picture in front of the signature gate of USJ!
The universal globe which we did not bother to waste time taking pictures with. Initially when we arrived at USJ, we were looking for the iconic globe as it was located before the gate in SG. However, the one in Osaka was located in a corner, after passing the gate.
With our pre-bought tickets on Klook, we managed to skip the long queues at the ticket counter and passed the turnstiles easily, into the familiar Hollywood street!
We arrived later than we planned to and there were crowds in the park already, we hurried our way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! So many people!
We were instantly transported to Hogwarts as the famous music played in the background
There was no way to take a good photo without the crowds, and we can only use the Portrait mode.
Decided to go matchy today as that's what couples normally do at theme parks!
We headed for our first ride: The Forbidden Journey ride!
And we ended up on a 2 hour queue! It was then that we regretted not getting the Express passes as we could have saved so much time and took more rides! Oh well!
While queuing, we were so bored that we started to take pictures of each other. Thankful for the great weather though, but it's still chilly when the wind blows.
First stage of the queue: Outside the castle (2 hours away)
At one point, the queue split into two, where one could either choose to go for the castle walk (which was quite lame, as it was all dark inside and anyone who queued for The Forbidden Journey would require to pass this
Second stage of the queue: inside the conservatory (45 minutes away)
Trying to act hipster
Third stage of the queue: Close to the entrance of the castle (20 minutes away)
Pigg wanted me to take this silly photo of him...
We were required to store our bags into the lockers and we were not supposed to carry anything with us on the ride. Oh boy, the locker rooms were crowded as people going for the ride were constantly storing their items, and people who ended the ride want to collect their items. However, the process was still quite efficient as there were plenty of lockers available.
The queue was around 2 hours for a less than 5 minutes ride. Although the ride was all in Japanese, the experience itself was awesome! It is surely worth the wait, but it is recommended to purchase a timed entry ticket or express pass to skip the wait!
Next up, we went for the Flight of the Hippogriff, which landed us with a 30-40 minutes wait too. This ride was not as mindblowing as the Forbidden Journey ride, and feels more like the Enchanted Railways Roller Coaster in SG.
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| Hagrid's Cottage |
All the queuing for the rides made us hungry, and we went to Three Broomsticks for lunch! Ordered the signature butterbeer (in souvenir mugs which we get to bring home) and got a mandatory shot with the castle behind us.
Verdict: The food was okayish... and it got cold easily as the wind was so strong outdoors! We actually had to shift tables halfway through eating as the wind kept blowing away the tissues into the water. Pigg had the warm butterbeer while I had the cold one. Warning! The warm butterbeer is actually quite hot! So proceed to drink it with caution, and also its super sweet! Overall, I preferred the cold butterbeer though it also tasted sweet towards the end.
Managed to get a lucky shot without the crowd in front of Hogswarts Express
After leaving The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we decided to head to Amity Village next for the JAWS ride! And there was where I... missed a step, and sprained my ankle!
However, it was lucky that I still managed to walk normally for the rest of my trip, but suffered the consequences when I returned to Singapore...
We went for a what was supposed to be a leisure sightseeing boat ride at Amity Harbour, but soon turned into a JAWS hunting experience. The acting of the Japanese boat captain was so good even though he spoke all in Japanese (which I could not understand) but the pyrotechnical effects made the ride exciting!
And in the end, we all survived the ride. We were happy rather than shocked because JAWS is dead!
Pigg's new toy - the Neptune's Folly
We headed to Minions Park next, in our photo taking attempt, we got photobombed...twice...
Last try, with a portrait shot, and we kinda...succeeded?
We headed for the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride, it was another 30-40 minutes worth of queue... but the queuing process was not as boring as the other rides as there are TV screens showing short clips of the despicable me cast. Basically, this ride is about Gru wanting to start a new project which requires a new army of minions, and therefore, he wants to convert humans into minions.
The ride requires us to sit inside a vehicle where we were lifted up into a dome-like theatre. The ride started with us entering Gru's laboratory and we started facing lots of obstacles, and started getting tossed around. The experience is quite underwhelming as compared to the Harry Potter's, but oh well, it was worth a try since SG does not have Minion World nor this ride...
Night started to fall after we finished our ride, we decided to grab some snacks before heading to camp for good seats for the night parade. We got Churros at one of the snack carts before leaving Minion Land.
Pigg got the chocolate banana churro while I had the unicorn one... which I think its strawberry flavored? The churro was not as crispy as I expected and I still preferred the old school sugared churro sticks that can be found in typical amusement parks.
Still hungry, we got another turkey leg at another snack cart to fill our tummies...
And... we headed to camp for good spots for the parade. We strategically chose the spot which is nearest to the entrance so we could exit as soon as the show ends.
The parade started with the lights all dimmed and the first float came out... The Best of Hollywood Float which signify the start of the parade
The second one that follows is the Hogwarts Express!
The different houses of Hogwarts
Up next is the Transformers!
Then, Jurassic World! Like the movie, the two actors are trapped inside the capsule with dinosaurs chasing behind them.
Although they were in cages, at some point of time, they managed to escape and walked down.
Lastly, is the adorable Minions!
Cute human-minions with the It's so Fluffy! unicorn plushies which light ups!
And the last minion float marks the end of the parade!
Overall, the parade was amazing! There were projections shown on the building to match the theme of the floats as they passed by. At different points in time, there were amazing moments such as people alighting from the Hogwarts Express which led up to a "fight" scene and also the Optimus Prime transforming into a truck!
As soon as the parade ended, we rushed off to the exit, wanting to beat the crowd at the train station. As we have yet to have a proper dinner, we decided to head back to Namba station to have sushi at Genroku in Dotonburi!
Luckily, there was not much of a queue, and we entered the restaurant in no time
Some other sushi items that we tried, and they taste super fresh! The sushi chef actually prepares your order on demand in front of you if the sushi that you want is not available on the conveyor belt. You can either fill in the order chit (which everything is all in japanese) or just indicate to the chef.
As we were initially quite unsure of how the ordering works before we noticed the order chit, the chef is also very attentive and made sure our orders are well taken of.
I am so happy that I get to try Genroku sushi, after seeing that they are highly raved in NOC Osaka videos. True to what they have reviewed, Genroku is really affordable and one of the freshest sushi that I have tasted for a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. I will surely recommend as a must-try for those who want to have a dinner at Dotonbori!
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