Day fooouuuurrrr! It was Universal Studio Japan day! We had one full day to spent in Universal Studio Japan (USJ). I would, probably, compare the park a little bit with Universal Studio Singapore. Anyway, we woke up earlier because we wanted to get there as soon as possible. We had Japanese style breakfast on hotel (Shin-Osaka Station annex hotel), which is delicious as fast as we can. Then, we directly walked to Shin-Osaka train station. We took train from line 16 to Osaka station, stop in Osaka station and change to lane 1 (Osaka loop line), stop at Nishikujo station and change train (JR Yumesaki line) to Universal City station. The trip took about 15 minutes and cost JPY 220. However, as mentioned in earlier post, we used JRpass so we didn't have to pay anymore. After arrived at Universal City station, just follow the sign to Universal Studio. If you can't find one, just follow the crowd. Universal City located right outside the station. We walked through Universal City along with a large number of crowd. Then, we arrived at Universal Studio gate. We didn't even stop to take picture with the globe. We directly headed to the gate and queued there for about 10 minutes before finally enter the park. The queue in USJ was not as neat as any line in Tokyo. Apparently, not only the line on the entrance gate, the line for picture with characters was also a mess. Well, you can say there was no proper line.. Very different with DisneySea.
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| mom in Universal City |
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| the line to enter USJ |
Anyway, we finally got in the park! As usual, we tried to get the park map (provided at the entrance gate). But then, all the maps we can find were in Japanese. I tried to ask for the English version but they didn't have it at that time. So we just took the Japanese one and hope we could survive the day with that. At the first glimpse, it was just like Universal Studio Singapore (USS). The park was divided into 8 area, Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Jurassic Park, Amity village, Water World, Universal Wonderland (there are 3 smaller theme here, Snoopy, Hello Kitty, and Sesame Street), and Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Hollywood themed building will be the first to welcome the visitors.
Of course, we were super excited about Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWHP). That was definitely our first destination. The WWHP really wasn't disappointing! Actually, it was pretty amazing. I think WWHP deserve one special post itself. I will talk about it as detail as possible on my next report post. Wait for it!
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| Hogwarts! |
In this post, I will talk about the attractions in Universal Studio Japan (clockwise, except Harry Potter world). Notice that many attraction name followed with -the ride. Well, i don't make it up. Seriously, they really feel like they need to put -the ride there. Lucky for us, we went there on a not so crowded day and able to tried almost all the attractions. Anyway, here we go:
Hollywood
1. Hollywood Dream - The Ride (Backdrop)
The only roller coaster that you can see in the park. There are two kind of coasters, Hollywood Dream and Hollywood Dream Backdrop. Don't be confused, both coaster use the same track. The only difference is the direction of the coasters. Hollywood Dream is like another roller coaster, riders sit facing the direction of the car. In Backdrop, the coaster move backward. In both coaster, you can individually choose the song you want to play during the ride. On my time, we got 4 song choices. I chose "Feel This Moment" since that was the only song I knew. The track was quite long and it worth the 50 minutes wait (for Backdrop). The line for these attractions are separated from the entrance gate. Backdrop's line is always longer than Hollywood Dream.
2. Shrek 4D Movie Magic and Sesame Street 4D Movie Magic
Shrek and Sesame Street theater located next to each other, with different show time. I tried the Sesame Street 4D movie magic. Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, and many other Sesame Street characters are there! However, if you are not a die hard fan, you better don't waste your 20 minutes for this attraction. The 4D effect and the chair movement are just not impressive at all.
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| El-mom |
3. Space Fantasy - The Ride
While queuing for this ride, I was almost give up because from the monitor that show safety guidance, it seems like a spinning ride. I just could not handle spinning attraction so I almost want to give up. My brother encouraged me to do it and I went on to do it. It turns out........ THANK GOD I DID NOT JUMP OUT OF THE LINE! The ride was so good. It is like an indoor roller coaster, only the car is round and can spin. The spinning was not so bad though. You are taken into a cool space journey.
New York
1. Terminator 2 - 3D
There is nothing much I
can say about this attraction because I didn't try it. If you ever try this,
please kindly share your experience in the comment section! :D
2. The Amazing Adventure of Spider-Man - The Ride 4K3D
It’s
like Transformer ride in Universal Studio Singapore. You will be seated in a
car and Spiderman will protect you from the enemy. You’ll feel like you are
really in Spiderman’s world. It was just so real. The queue is quite log for
this ride but you can use single rider or fastpass to cut the line. We went
there on Christmas session and there was a Christmas special show. During
shows, the lines in almost every attraction are much shorter. You should stand
by in front of the entrance! However, by cutting the line, you probably miss
the details inside the Daily Bugle which is pretty fun to see! :D
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| inside Daily Bugle |
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| Voice of Angels |
San Francisco
1. Back to the Future - The Ride
You probably know about
this ride. Yes, it's the same old Back to the Future ride. For those who don't
know, the concept is like Amazing Spiderman ride, but still, age cannot lie.
But somehow my brother and I enjoyed it.
2. Backdraft
Witness the process of
making the movie Backdraft (1991) live in front of your eyes! Here you can read
about Backdraft http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101393/. I personally think
the one in USS is better. In USS, they present Spielberg's movie while
Backdraft is Ron Howard's. I didn't say taht Backdraft is not good, it's just,
too old.
Jurassic Park
As usual, in Jurassic
Park there is a Jurassic Park - The Ride where you will be
seated on a round boat and Dinosaurs appears. T-rex and Raptors try to eat you,
the suddenly the boat slide down and you get all wet. If you just want to enjoy
the sensation and don't want to get wet, you can buy a rain coat for JPY 300
inside the park. However I will suggest you to buy one on Daiso for JPY 100
only, prior the day you go to USJ.
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| bump into this legend in front of JurassicPark |
Amity Village
In Amity Village, there is only one one attraction,
Jaws - The Ride. It is like any other Jaws ride in any Universal Studios. You ride on a boat with many others with one Japanese as your tour guide. Although the tour guide speaks entirely in Japanese, for non-Japanese speaker, like me, it wasn't very hard to understand the story. In short, we are taken into a tour and in the middle of the tour, our tour guide is told to be careful of the attack of sharks. Then, sharks appear, theatrical act by the tour guide, explosions, and gun shots accompany you for the rest of your journey. Well i honestly can't say that this is the best ride ever but it is quite entertaining.
Water World
It's a stuntman show!
They speaks in Japanese but you don't really need to understand the story to
enjoy the stuntman actions. However, if you can understand Japanese, it would
be much better since they interact with visitors, make jokes and stuff. If you
sit in the splash zone, don't scream and don't be angry if you really get
splashed. If was quite a show though. Full with actions, explosions, gun shots,
screams, smokes, and surprises.
Universal Wonderland
Universal Wonderland is
a world for kids. It divided into three smaller themes, Snoopy Studio,
Hello Kitty Fashion Avenue, and Sesame Street Fun World. As
for teenagers and adults, there are nothing in Universal Wonderland. The rides
are for kids. However, I really encourage you to at least visit the Universal
Wonderland. It is located next to Harry Potter World. Even if there is nothing
for you there, you still can enjoy the atmosphere from your childhood. If
lucky, you probably bump into Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Elmo, Hello Kitty, or
Cookie Monster to take a memorable picture with your childhood hero!
At the end, we agreed to
skip the LED parade. We read from several bloggers and their review just not
good enough to make us stay. Instead, we went directly to the station. Right
before the station gate, there was a street magician. We stopped for a while
and he was quite entertaining. Surprisingly, the train was delayed for 14
minutes and it was dead freezing. After the train finally came, people were
just trying to enter the train no matter how full it was. To stand tall was
hard. That was the most crowded train I've ever experience. It was fun though!
In one station, a man still tried to push the crowd inside the train and he
sleeve ended up stuck on the train's door so the train need to open the door
and close it again to free the man. He then (tried to) bow to all the passenger
in our car and apologize for causing problem. What a manner!
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| street magician |
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| the crowd in train station because the train is delayed for 14 minutes |
That's the end our day
in USJ! tomorrow we'll move to Kyoto and visit many Kyoto's tourist spots. I
will also make a report of how to get into the tourist spots effectively
without a tour.
It was day three! Today we were gonna move from Tokyo to Osaka by Shinkansen, the famous bullet train. As I mentioned in earlier post (check it here), we bought JRpass which allow us to travel all around Japan and ride Shinkansen (except NOZOMI and MIZUHO) with no additional charge. If you are using JRpass, you can directly ride the Shinkansen without seat reserved. However, if you go in a large group, you probably want to reserve your seat. You can reserve seat for Shinkansen in almost all JR stations. Just go to the JR office or JR Shinkansen office.
Prior departure, make sure you know the Shinkansen schedule, train name, and track. To reach Shinkansen line, first you need to enter JR station. The special gate for Shinkansen located inside the JR Station. In Tokyo station, you can see the sign board to Shinkansen gate. There are 2 Shinkansen gates, the one that head to north Japan (Akita, Hokaido, Tohoku area) and south (Osaka, Kyoto). Make sure you enter the right gate. The sign board is pretty easy to follow.
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| Shinkansen gate to Osaka |
While traveling by Shinkansen, passengers are allowed to bring cabin size luggage. The place for luggage is quite small. So, if you bring a large size suitcase, you should consider put it on the station's lockers or send it using delivery service. If you want to use locker, you better go earlier. The large size lockers are usually fully occupied by afternoon. There are a lot of lockers inside big stations. If one is full, you have to find other lockers. The price vary according to its size. We used the biggest one and it cost 600 JPY per day.
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| The locker in Tokyo Station |
You are allowed to eat and drink inside the Shinkansen. If you take the afternoon train, you probably want to buy bento so you can have lunch on board. We rode HIKARI Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin Osaka. The journey took about 3 hours. If you plan your trip to the south, you better keep your eyes open for the first 70 minutes of your journey. If you are lucky and the weather is nice, Mount Fuji can be clearly seen from the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka on the right side of the train (seat D and E ordinary car). You can reserve seat and ask for "mountain side" instead of "sea side". We were pretty lucky to have clear weather and catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji.
Osaka Castle
Long story short, we arrived at Shin Osaka station. We had our first Japanese Sushi as our lunch.
Then, we directly went to our hotel which is located 5 minutes from Shin Osaka station, checked in, put our luggage, and went to Osaka Castle. Since we only had half day to explore Osaka, we decided to visit the iconic Osaka Castle. From Shin Osaka, we took train to Osakajokoen station, exit no 1 and 3, then walked around 15-20 minutes. The sign to Osaka Castle is clear. Since it was started to get dark (in winter, the sun set faster), we decided not to enter the castle.
Osaka is somehow colder than Tokyo in winter. After took several pictures, we went back to the station. Near the station, there were some street food tent. Apparently, in the concert hall near Osaka Castle, a famous local group band was about to hold a concert. There, we tried some local street food, including the famous Osaka's takoyaki, okonomiyaki, rice craker, and meat that cooked with wine.
Dotonburi and Shinsaibashi
After visited Osaka Castle and tried its street food, we visited Shinsaibashi night market. Basically, Dotonburi road and Shinsaibashi located across eath other. You can access both through Subway Midosuji line and stop at Shinsaibashi station. You can find many branded and non-branded shops in Shinsaibashi like food, tax free shop, cloth, shoes, and a pretty big Daiso (JPY 100 store). We spent quite a long time in Shinsaibashi to shop since the price is pretty cheap.
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| Shinsaibashi |
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| Dotonburi |
On day 4, we will visit Universal Studio Japan and experience the magic in Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Stay tune for my next post! :D
Dive to deepest ocean then climb the highest tower. Visiting King Triton's kingdom and the land of Andy's toys
Our second day in Japan was really exciting. My brother and i went to the one and only Tokyo Disneysea. From our hotel, we took a free shuttle buss to Maihama JR Station. From the exit of the station, turn right. You'll see a gate that welcome you to Disney resort. We took a walk for about 5 minutes and saw Disney circle train. It is a train that make a loop in disney resort - disney sea-disneyland. We bought the one way ticket for about 300 JPY.
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| hand grip inside the Disney train during Christmas season / mom and dad posing in front of Disneyland gate |
Finally, we arrive at Disney sea station. We took the elevator down and after out of the station gate, turn left. After walking for about 2 minutes, we queue for bag checking. My brother brought his selfie stick. They allowed him to bring it only after he promised to keep it short. Entering DisneySea will literally make you feel like you are in another world. First, you'll we welcomed by a globe and Disney character spread all around. Of course, the longest line was for Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Didn't want to spending too much time for a picture, we decided to skip the chance to took picture with Disney characters and run for the attraction instead.
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| inside Disney train |
Here is some tips of which attraction you should try first.
1. Journey to the Center of the Earth
This attraction is a must. It is located on the Mysterious Island (inside the volcano). Right after the park open and you enter the park, run to the volcano and directly go to Journey to the Center of the Earth. Seriously, run. While other people are still queuing to take picture with Disney Characters and enjoying the view, the attraction shouldn't have a long line by now. You can get fastpass for this attraction. Use your DisneySea ticket to get it. We don't suggest you to wait in standby line. You can use your time for another attraction. Make sure to remember the time assigned in your fastpass ticket. This way, you should save much time. If you don't run to get your fastpass now, there is a chance that you won't get the fast pass and have to stand in line to ride it. The line for this attraction is always crazy beacuse this attraction is the most wanted attraction.
2. 20.000 leagues under the sea
Right after you get your Journey to the Center of the Earth fastpass, run to the nearest attraction, 20.000 leagues under the sea. You may have tried this attraction in other Disney themepark, however, in Tokyo DisneySea, you don't really go inside the water, it is only a simulation but it feel so real. The details are amazing and worth to try. In the morning, the line shouldn't be too long.
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| the decoration while queuing for 20.000 leagues under the sea |
3. StormRider
This attraction delivered in Japanese (as usual). However, in the first stage, when the captain explaining about your mission, there will be English subtitle you you can follow the story. As expected, advance Japanese technology is proven in this ride. Psst.. there will be element of surprise during the show! Enjoy your flight to the eye of the storm! If the queue is kinda long, don't worry. It moves fast. Don't waste your Fastpass for this.
4. DisneySea Electric Railway
After enjoying StormRider (located in Port Discovery), save your energy and maximized the attraction DisneySea Electric Railway. The queue probably isn't too long. You may buy snacks to eat while queue. Ride this and hop down on American Waterfront station.
5. Tower of Terror
My brother loves this. Even if you don't understand Japanese to understand the story, you still can enjoy the ride. The line for this attraction is almost always long. It is time to use your fast pass once again. At this time, you may probably get your fastpass for night. But it is fine. Don't spend your time queuing.
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| tower of terror |
6. Big Band Beat
This is a show, not an attraction. However, the show is in English and the songs are also English songs. The performances are fine and the atmosphere of the theater building is awesome. Make sure to check the schedule for the shows. DON'T spend your time sitting in front of the theater to make sure you get a good seat. The seat will be decided by ticket that you'll get after the door is opened. Don't worry, you'll get a good view of the stage no matter where you sit. Another HINT! Try your luck by joining Big Band Beat Lottery! The lottery is located on Biglietteria (next to Gondolier snack). Make sure to bring all your party's DisneySea entrance tickets with you. There is no guarantee that you'll win.. But who know? If you won, you don't have to queue and enter from the front door!
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| we won the lottery and get the ticket!! |
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| big band beat theater building |
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| the details in American Waterfront |
6. Indiana Jones Adventure
Another attraction worth to wait for! You'll follow Indiana Jones (that speak Japanese, well..) during his adventure in the Temple of Crystal Skull. If your group don't mind to be single rider, it will be a great help for you.My brother and I were agree to ride the attraction separately. The single rider gate is in the middle of the regular line. So, you have to follow the regular line until you find the single rider gate. When we were there, the standby line was 80 minutes. By joining the single rider line, it only took about 30 minutes to wait and enjoy the ride.
7. Raging Spirits
The only roller coaster that have 360 degree loop in the park. Like Indiana Jones, you can ride this attraction even in peak hour because you can also enjoy it as a single rider! You will cut much time if you choose to be single rider. However, my brother insisted on ride it together because at that time, we are also waiting for our Fastpass for Tower of Terror. So, we waited in line for 70 minutes. It was dark already and the wind was damn cold. But still, it was a good ride.
8. Fantasmic
If you have not see Fantasmic before, you should! This show is the identity of DisneySea. You can see the show from 3 sides in Mediterranean Harbor. Don't see this show if you are standing near the volcano (the volcano is on your back) because that spot is the back of the stage. But you also should not spend one or two hour sitting in the Mediterranean Harbor. It will waste your time. During the show, almost all attractions will stop working. If you don't want to watch it, you can use the time to stand by near famous attractions that usually have long queue. The queue tend to be shorter during Fantasmic.
9. Toy Story Mania
Basically you'll experience laser game in Toy Story world with Woody and friends. If you are a big fan of Toy Story, of course you don't want to miss this attraction. Prepare for 120 minutes queue if you insist on trying this attraction. If you don't want to wait for too long, you can get your fastpass but you may have to sacrifice one other attraction, most probably Tower of Terror.
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| Toy Story Mania at night |
10. Mermaid Lagoon
If you follow my plan, you probably have not visit Mermaid Lagoon yet. In Disneyland, you can find Cinderella or Aurora's castle. In DisneySea, the spotlight is of course, Ariel's underworld castle! You should take a brief stop in Mermaid Lagoon when the sun is still up to get a picture in front of the castle. You can save the strolling inside King Triton's castle for later because there is basically only kid's attractions there. However, if you are a die hard Little Mermaid fan, you should watch King Triton's concert! Famous songs from the movie are performed live there.
11. Arabian Coast
Located near the Mermaid Lagoon. You should take a stroll around Arabian Coast. Like Mermaid Lagoon, the attractions here are mostly for kids. However the atmosphere and details are stunning. You shouldn't miss this one! The highlight in Arabian Coast is of course, Caravan Carousel! Unlike other carousel, this carousel is a two floor carousel. Cool!
Those are some tips based on our visit to DisneySea on December 2015. Enjoy!
Tomorrow, we will experience the famous Shinkansen and half day tour in Osaka! Read it
here :D
Hi! this time i'll make a trip report from my trip to Japan. As usual, my report is most suitable for you who plan your own trip. Here is some tips that you will definitely need to make your trip in Japan easier.
1. JR Pass (Japan Rail Pass)
This pass is a must especially is you plan to ride Shinkansen (the famous bullet train) to other city. Here is the official website for JR Pass (http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html). So basically, there are 2 big train company in Japan, JR and Metro. There are also lots of private railway operate in Japan. For example, Yurikamome line from Shinbashi to Toyosu via Daiba. JR Pass can be use in all JR train stations, buses, and ferry. If you plan your trip in Tokyo only, you can purchase JR Pass east. However, if you plan to ride Shinkansen and change city, you will need JR Pass that cover all Japan. You can choose 7 days, 14 days, or 21 days JR pass.
IMPORTANT! JR Pass can only be purchased outside Japan. So, make sure to buy it from an agent on your home country.
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| JRpass |
2. Hotel
Japan hotel room are mostly small. If you are a budget travel (like me), I think capsule hotel can be a suitable choice. If you plan your trip with your family, you'll need a little more budget for accommodation. Don't worry, lots of hotel staff can speak English well. Ryokan or traditional Japan style hotel is worth to try. In almost all hotel, they will provide yukata or pajama. Dont waste your baggage space for pajama!
3. Phone application
Language is a challenge when you travel in Japan. Learn some Japanese words will definitely make your trip easier. Actually, even if you ask for help and they you can't understand a word they say, don't hesitate to ask again. They will usually do their best to help you, some even willing to walk with you to your destination. However, it is really helpful to download an offline translator on your phone. Also, as Tokyo is one of the most crowded railway, for us beginners, train application is really helpful. you can download it for free in your phone application store. Some applications I suggest are Japan Trains and Japan Travel.
My mom, my dad, my little brother, and me depart from Indonesia international airport Soekarno Hatta early morning by Japan Airlane. The flight went well and we arrive at Narita International airport 7 hours later. The immigration was fast and baggage claim was also fast. Then, the first thing we have to do is to exchange our JR Pass ticket with the actual pass. To exchange it, you have too go one floor down. JR Pass office is right across the train gate to city. Unlucky for us, we arrive in the same time as Argentina's Carp football supporter. So, we need more time to queue for JR Pass. after standing in line with Carp supporters for more than an hour, we finally get our JR Pass. To use it, you just have to show your pass to the officer. at the right or left side the ordinary gate. We took the JR train to Maihama. We stayed in MyStays hotel, Maihama because our first destination was Disney. Long story short, we arrived at JR Maihama Station, took a 20 minutes stroll and arrive at MyStays Maihama hotel. As it was already late, we bought our dinner in a convenient store 10 minutes from our hotel. Thats all our first day.
Next i'll make a full report of my second day in the one and only, Tokyo DisneySea!
Trip Report
