Universal Studios Japan

This past Saturday, I went down to Osaka to check out Universal Studios Japan. I had never been there before, and I wanted to see if it's someplace we should include in our itineraries when I come here with my kids. Having been to the parks in Hollywood and Orlando, I wanted to see how the Osaka park differed. In truth, Osaka is very much the same: Backdraft, Jaws, Back to the Future, Terminator 2:3D, Jurassic Park, Shrek 4D, E.T. were all rides/attractions I've seen at Hollywood or Orlando (or both). I did Backdraft (love that attraction!) and Jaws just for comparison purposes (nearly identical, except for commentary in Japanese), but unique to Osaka are:

• Spiderman: The Ride. A 16-passenger car-on-rails akin to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, but you're riding/flying through Manhattan, while Spider-Man and his enemies are battling things out all around you. Somewhat hokey, and especially with the 3D glasses on, very cheesy, but miraculously all entertaining at the same time. Hey... didn't I used to date a girl like that???!!! :-)
• Hollywood Dream: The Ride. A roller coaster that sends you screaming above nearly the entire park. Actually a very fun roller coaster. You also got to select from five musical genres (I chose "rock" with Bon Jovi) that blast through the in-seat speakers to make the ride more fun. However, it was about 40 degrees outside and on the brink of rain. Brrr!!! Or as the lady next to me said, "面白かったけれど寒かったです！" Now... I definitely DID date a girl like that!!! :-)
• Wicked. Osaka has a very cute little "Land of Oz" where you even get to see the Tin Man, etc., and in this land is a theater where they do a 35-minute pared-down version of the hit musical. From what I could tell, the entire cast was Japanese, except for the main witch. She was a very tall white chick (well... green with makeup) that spoke/sang excellent Japanese. The show was absolutely AWESOME!!! Now I definitely would like to see the real show somewhere!

Brianna may want to go when I bring her to Japan, just to see Wicked (although since she's seen the entire Wicked stage performance, perhaps not). Wicked itself is worth the cost of admission! And speaking of which, admission was about $50, but the park sells a limited amount of "Express" tickets, which allow you to jump to the front of lines. My book of four cost about $27, but you could buy books of up to seven, for more - this worked out really well. Look out, Disney's FastPass service... Universal has found a way to monetize people wanting shorter lines!

To see all 30 photos I've uploaded from the day, please click here.