Universal Studios Japan

Continuation from here...

The weather forecast for the next day was a cloudy day. But I already made plan to have fun in Universal Studios Japan. Aihhh... don't care la.

I haven't bought the entrance ticket yet so I had to be there early. After breakfast at the hotel, I quickly walked to the JR station. The theme park is not that far from the city. Train ride from my hotel to Universal City station only took about 20 minutes.

the train.. so cute!

As soon as the train stopped at the station, everybody dashed out. Everybody were running to the exit gate. Kids, parents, adults. Walaweii... so kiasu. I looked at my watch. It was 9.30 am. The park would only be opened at 10 am. Relax. I still have time.
 

But as I passed the exit gate, I remembered that I didn't have the ticket yet. Almost forgot about it. Without wasting time, I brisk walked to the ticketing counter. Luckily the queues were short. Pheww...

I bought the 1-day Studio Pass for 6600 yen.

Crowds were slowly building up, all waiting eagerly for the park gate to open. I took the chance to study the park map, planning where should I head first.

The attractions and entertainment in the park is based on famous movies or fairytales. It is divided into several areas; Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Jurassic Park, Waterworld, Amity Village, and Universal Wonderland. 

At 10 am sharp, we were let in. Although the queues were long, they were moving rather fast. The staffs were quite lenient as they checked my bag and let me off without problem. I did bring some snacks and a bottle of water in my bag but I guess they were not as strict as some other theme parks.







While most of the parents and kids were busy taking photos with the characters, I wasted no time by zooming to Hollywood area. My strategy was to go for the rides first. Better be there fast before the queues got longer.

First on the target was Hollywood Dream - The Ride. But sadly it was closed that day. T____T 

So disappointing cos it was like THE RIDE of the park. Hmm... deja vu. When I was in Universal Studios Singapore, the main ride there, Battlestar Galactica, was also closed.

Fine. Next target was Space Fantasy - The Ride.





All bags are not allowed on the ride so I had to leave my bag in the locker.

Photos weren't allowed inside Space Fantasy for safety measures. This is the only photo I managed to snap before the ride.

Walking through Hollywood, for sure I came across the Hollywood Wall of Fame.

Then, I queued for Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show but the staff told me that the theater show would be in Japanese. I asked whether they had the English version at a later time but they told me all the theater shows here are in Japanese. I iz sad.


 

Shrek's 4-D Adventure, Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic, Animation Celebration, Terminator 2 : 3-D. I skipped them all. Very sad cos there were a lot of shows throughout the park! I could still enjoy the show but I chose to skip them. Nevermind la. I've watched some of them in Singapore anyway.

Moving on, I walked through an area that supposedly replicates certain landmarks in the USA.
 

Classic American cars in front of a hamburger shop. The shop is decorated with the atmosphere of 1950s U.S. Hence, the classic cars.



Next, I headed to New York. Main attraction here is The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man - The Ride. Oh.. all the rides in the park have 'The Ride' behind its name. I guess it allows visitors to easily differentiate rides and theater shows.



The queues were already very long by this time but sometimes there's an advantage being #foreveralone you know. I cut all the queues cos there's a special lane for single rider yo! The single rider lanes are for people who don't mind being split up and fill in the gaps of odd numbered groups on the rides. I think even if I come with my friends I might go for this single rider lane cos you hardly have to wait at all.

The photo below cost over a thousand yen so I sneakily snapped it. hehehe...

Exiting the ride, I found myself inside the Spider-Man store.



Look what I found.





Spiderman instant noodle! The spidey face cut-out was really creative. I wonder how it tastes though. hehe..

Next up was Back to the Future - The Ride.



See how long the queue was?



I guess the wait was over an hour long. And this was on a weekday. O_O

 

Done exploring the area, I headed to Jurassic Park for Jurassic Park - The Ride.

 

 

Get ready with your raincoat here as you'll be wet at the end of the ride.
 

My visit that day was rather unlucky. I was disappointed when I reached Amity Village only to find out Jaws - The Ride was closed for maintenance. Gahhhhhh!!



Only this Jaws was available. Hmmm...



Finally I went to Universal Wonderland, a new addition to the park which was opened last year. This is a kiddy area but who cares right? I'm a kid at heart. hehe..

 

I had fun over there. This small town features Sesame Street Fun World, Snoopy Studios and Hello Kitty Fashion Avenue.

 

 

 

 

cupcake ride


 



Cuteness overload! The area, I mean. hahaha...

 I had ridden all of the available rides and finished touring Universal Wonderland when rain started to fall. Running in the rain, thank God I brought a raincoat, I went riding all those indoor rides again and again.

 

Since it was raining, the parade was cancelled. And there's no fireworks display! You have no idea how disappointed I was.

 

Oh well.. time for shopping then. Totally spoilt for choice inside the numerous gift shops.

 

I left the park at about 5.30 pm. Yeah.. thanks to the winter season, the park closed at 5 pm. My timing really sucks. T__T

the famed globe

definitely!

Universal Studios Japan is open all year round
Operating hours varies daily (refer to the website for daily park hours)
Entrance fee is 6600 yen (age 12 and above), 4500 yen (age 4 ~ 11)

Access : Take the JR line to Universal City

Pit stop at Hard Rock Café outside the park to get my shot glass souvenir.

 

 

 It was a rather fun day anyway. Just too bad it rained and the park closed so early in winter.
I am so gonna come back again later!