7 January 2026 – Universal Studios Japan – Osaka
After the highs and lows of Hiroshima the day before, and a lot of heavy WWII history, it was something more light-hearted today. We were off to Universal Studios Japan. Soren and I still weren’t feeling well but we were going to see how long we lasted.
We originally planned to be at Universal Studios early, near opening time. But, we had to do some ski gear and ski lesson booking first thing (for our next stop). This combined with our long day the day before, and some tiredness, meant that the early start plan evaporated.
Off to USJ….
We did make it out of our apartment by 9am and it was a brisk 3 degrees. We caught the train over to Universal city. Once we got on the train in Universal City was like being in a K-pop video. Despite us picking a cheap ticket day, when kids should have been back at school, plenty of teens were heading out to Universal and the outfits, hair and makeup were a sight to behold. I should have taken some photos but was too busy people watching and enjoying the cultural experience.
We made it through the gates about 10am and it was 3 degrees, but sunny, so pretty good conditions for this time of year. The lines were already long for everything, (and this was a ‘quiet day’ ) but we got a timed entry spot to Mario World so head straight there. It’s even hard to get into the Mario World, so we were pleased to get in pretty early.
On the way to Mario World we found plenty of Hello Kitty, so had to torture Soren. His dislike of Hello Kitty was going to make for plenty of fun for the rest of us today!
Mario World
Into Mario World we went. It was very much like being in the game. The buildings and props were amazing. It was extremely well done.
The kids had a few preferred rides here, but the shortest lines were over 2 hours and most at around 3 hours. We decided we would try our luck later as spending 3 hours in a line first up did not seem like a good use of our time!
Time for some rides….
With no rides under our belt yet, and 3 twitchy kids who wanted some rides, we talked the kids into the Jaws ride in Amity village. Anto and I having done the equivalent at Universal Studios in the US in our youth. The line for Jaws was 50 minutes which was tedious but doable. It was definitely one of the shorter lines at this time of day. So we started the standing around and consumed about half our snack supply before we made it to the front.
The ride was hilarious. The ride commentary was entirely in Japanese we could not understand (well, aside from Astrid) but the acting was funny and the Jaws shark was great. Zinnia was a bit scared, but mostly of the explosions. Soren managed to get absolutely soaked for the first time of the day.
At this point Astrid and Soren really wanted to go on the flying dinosaur, a hideously scary rollercoaster (apparently the scariest in the park). With none of the adults keen, we dropped them off, and Zinnia having watched the ride was concerned we’d even let them do it. It’s good she was looking out for her siblings welfare! We weren’t sure Soren’s stomach was up to it as he’d been unwell our entire time in Japan, but he was adamant he wanted to go. Both Astrid and Soren were messaging us updates in the line before they had to put all their belongings in lockers and have everything strapped down. We wished them luck and hoped they’d survive the experience!
Meanwhile Zinnia, Anto and I went and did some Hello Kitty cupcakes, and a merry go round and all the sedate things, which had nice short lines. You know you are getting old when the kiddy rides seem a better idea than going on the scary ones with your 14 and 12 year old kids!
Zinnia was thrilled to get some rides under her belt and we were pleased none of the lines had been too long.
We next wanted to catch the Waterworks show, which apparently rated well so head in there while we were waiting for the adventurous two to return. The big 2 survived the flying dinosaur, and thought it was the best thing ever. Pumped with adrenalin from their rollercoaster action they came and met us at the show.
Waterworks was a water stunt show which was entirely in Japanese but involved a lot of explosions, a plane landing on water, and plenty of violence so was like being in a Japanese movie and we all thought it was fun. It was fairly easy to follow along and there was more than enough action to keep us entertained (and a few splashes too).
Lunch and flying snoopy’s
We were all feeling a bit happier now we’d ticked off at least some rides and a show. Despite constant raiding of the snack supply all morning, everyone was predictably starving so we voted for lunch. The prices at Universal Japan are the usual theme park level, but more reasonable than those in the equivalent parks in both Australia and the US so lunch was only half a fortune. We did get to sit down for a bit in the warm, which was a nice break.
The big kids then convinced Anto to go on the Hollywood coaster with them which was the second scariest ride….. apparently. I was not having any part of that so took Zinnia to go line up for the Snoopy ride. This turned out to be 45 minutes of my life I am never getting back. The line was only about 20 minutes to start with, but as they let all the express pass people in constantly we never moved very far. I have done the equivalent ride in every theme park all over the world but Zinnia loved it, despite the long wait.
By now the others were back, having survived being thrown upside down a few times and zero G’s. Anto, Astrid and Soren returned from their Hollywood coaster before we’d finished with Snoopy. Again it was great for the adrenaline junkies but apparently not as good as they Flying Dinosaur.
Ready for some sitting down in the warm, we caught the dancing Monsters show in the theatre which provided some warmth and some hilarious Japanese singing and dancing. Again we couldn’t understand much but it was quite fun and very entertaining. The costumes were good and the songs well known enough to follow along.
Minons and icecreams…..
All together for a bit we head off to Minion Land and found the laser shooting Minion ride only had a 30 minute line, this seemed to be a good deal given the length of all the lines elsewhere. The line actually moved faster than advertised which was a bonus. We all jumped on the conveyor belt for the Minion blasters together, where mum was thoroughly beaten by my offspring. I was terrible at shooting but we all had fun.
Zinnia really wanted to do the Minion Mayhem 4D ride, but the other 2 wanted to go to Harry Potter world. I voted for Harry Potter, so after some icecreams we decided to part ways again.
Harry Potter World…..
I went with the big 2 off to Harry Potter World and Anto and Zinnia lined up for the next minions ride.
Harry Potter world was amazing. The whole world was very well done and we enjoyed walking around, taking in the experience. It was definitely like being transported into the books.
Astrid and Soren talked me into lining up for the Forbidden journey which was supposed to be ‘family friendly’ and a nice ‘tour of the castle’.
The line for the Forbidden Journey was moving faster than the advertised 50 minutes and the line moved through the castle inside with plenty of things to look at while you were shuffling along. There were talking sorting hats and videos of Harry and Dumbledore. Up until today we didn’t realise Harry and Dumbledore spoke fluent, Japanese, which was quite entertaining!
I should have known when we had to lock all our bags up, that this ride wasn’t as tame as Astrid and Soren made out, and maybe I should have reconsidered my life choices. It was time to get on and when we had a full body harness in the moving seat it should have given it away to me. But nope, I almost thought I was going to die as I was flung around and flying through the air.
It was way too realistic and luckily Soren was holding my hand tight. It was extremely well done and I did enjoy it in between being sure I was going to die. My vertigo did not enjoy the flying but I managed to survive and not throw up!
The final coasters…..
Meanwhile Anto had a similar experience in the Minions 4D ride, with slightly less flying but just as much motion sickness. Apparently Zinnia had a whale of a time, and wasn’t the least bit scared!
Astrid and Soren wanted to go on the flight of the Gryffindor coaster, still in Harry Potter World. I originally agreed and then watched it, and vetoed it. I definitely didn’t trust their ‘family friendly’ descriptions anymore, and it appeared way too much like a scary rollercoaster for my liking.
Line times were dropping all over the park but we’d only get one more ride in before closing and this line was 100 minutes, but they were keen, so lined up. I head off to find Anto and Zinnia and watched the sunset over the park.
Soren and I were feeling increasingly unwell after a long day out in the cold. Soren was messaging saying he wasn’t sure about doing another coaster, but wasn’t willing to give up and make Astrid do it on her own. By the time I found Anto and Zinnia he’d decided he’d do this last ride and then we’d all go home as it didn’t look like we’d get back to Mario World today as the lines were still over 2 hours.
The line time for Flight of the Gryffindor dropped enough that they got through in 50 minutes. It turns out that Soren was not a fan, his stomach had had enough for the day. Despite this he was still trying to convince Anto to go on the flying dinosaur with him though as he loved it so much that morning. The line for the Flying Dinosaur had dropped to 20 minutes as it was dark and cold and it was getting late, so most people were rapidly bailing. Anto was still feeling sick from the minions 4D ride with Zinnia, vetoed any Flying Dinosaurs, much to Soren’s annoyance!
We then saw that the Jurassic Park water ride was pretty much a walk on as they were about to close. I almost agreed to go with them until one of the kids mentioned a 29m drop, and I quickly said I’d hold the bags.
Zinnia was keen to try the ride. I thought it was a bad idea but everyone was insistent she’d ‘have fun’. In the end they were all back to me in 10 minutes, Soren soaked (again) and Zinnia in tears. She’d been enjoying it until the really big drop at the end…..
At this point most of the rides were starting to close so we decided to call it a day and it was most definitely dark and cold and we’d walked our feet off. The park was nicely lit up so we had a little look around.
We did have to torture Soren with a few more Hello Kitty shops before heading out.
It was now 6.45pm but felt much later. We all agreed we haven’t ever seen so many fully grown adults with silly hats and headbands on their heads in one place like this ever before. It certainly was a cultural experience!
The trains out of Universal City were predictably crowded as the park was shutting, but the trip back to our apartment was relatively efficient. We were all keen on sitting down and some dinner. The okonomiyaki restaurant next to our apartment we’d all been looking forward to was not open (despite claiming to be). So it was another konbini dinner of rice bowls, eggs and ramen, as no one was keen on venturing too far to find food.
Like every other day on this trip we’d racked up 20-30k steps each, but with the added bonus of standing in many lines! Our legs and feet were a bit weary but the kids had a great day, although were keen to return at some stage to do more rides. Luckily we had Disney Sea later in the trip to satisfy their new found rollercoaster addiction.
Up next……
Our last day in Osaka and we had a wonderful morning at a cat cafe with some new furry friends. Followed by fueling our Japanese stationary collection, eating some delicious food and going on an adventure to try and find Soren his Japanese thongs. We finished off our time in Osaka with a very cold but beautiful visit to TeamLabs Osaka.
