The time was flying by so quickly and suddenly it was time to move on to final week in Osaka. We’d already had a taster of Osaka from a day trip in Kyoto and I was excited to go back to a more ‘city-like’ city. Like our Tokyo week, we had a couple of different hotels booked as we were spending a couple of days at Universal Studios. I was ready to get back into a more fast paced few days after a slow week in Kyoto.
Universal Studios
We got a 2-day pass (13,400 Yen each) but only because Jade loves Harry Potter and wanted to spend a whole day in the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’, but you can definitely do the whole park in 1 day. They also offer a 1.5-day pass, which gives you entry after 3pm on the first day, which would’ve been perfect but we discovered this too late. Universal Studios was good but after such an amazing couple of days at Disneyland, it just didn’t compare. We hadn’t done any research about the park, so didn’t really have any expectations, but just like Disneyland, all the rides were absolutely amazing.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – we lined up for this first up, not knowing what it was about. Best ride ever! Even as a non Harry Potter fan, I still loved it. It was like a 3D adventure through Hogwarts. This is apparently the best ride in the world, and I don’t think that is an exaggeration at all. It was so good that we had to go on it again the second day (warning: I did feel very motion sick the second time round and had to close my eyes the whole time).
Flight of the Hipplegriff – there were only two rides in the Wizarding World, so we figured we might as well do this one. It was good, but we lined up for 50mins for a 1min rollercoaster, so it felt like a bit of a waste.
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman – its been a long time since I last watched Spiderman, but I still loved this ride. The one thing that I really appreciated about all the theme parks was that they even make the queues exciting. For this ride, we lined up through the ‘Daily Bugle’ office, so there was always things to looks at, making the wait feel shorter.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem – this was another amazing ride where you get ‘turned into’ a minion and go through Minion training. You’re just in a seat the whole time that doesn’t move but it feels like you’re on a rollercoaster, which is pretty cool.
Hollywood Dream Rollercoaster – as mentioned in my Disney post, we are not rollercoaster lovers, but after loving Space Mountain at Disneyland, we thought we’d like this one. Oh my lord this was terrifying. We both involuntarily cried on the ride – it really shook us up. I had to go cuddle a stuffed unicorn in the ‘Its soooo fluffy’ shop to calm down (literally).
Must Do
Sightseeing Day – we spent a day exploring Osaka Castle, the Umeda Sky Building and shopping. The castle and surrounding park was beautiful, We didn’t bother going inside as I’d heard that the interior was quite modern and not worth it (also the ticket line was really long). The Sky Building has amazing views and we took my favourite photos of the trip this day. You can get up to the 39th floor and still get a good view without paying, but we figured we may as well go all the way up to the 40th floor to check it out. The light was so nice for photos up here. The outside observation deck was closed for repairs which was a bit sad – I think if that was open it’d make it worthwhile going to the top floor. But we still got amazing panoramic views of Osaka.
Hello Kitty Shinkansen – Japan turned me into a Hello Kitty Obsessed Gal, and I’m not mad about it. When I saw the Hello Kitty Train was running, I knew we had to check it out. The fact that everyone on the platform was super excited made the suspense even better while we waited for the train to arrive. We reserved seats a week before, but they weren’t together, so we ended up just sitting in the unreserved section as the train wasn’t as packed as I thought it would be (it was a Monday though, and weekends would be busier). We’d planned to go to Hiroshima (3hr trip) but you really only need about 20mins to appreciate the train. I’m sad to say that I think the train is a bit overrated – there’s only really one carriage that is full Hello Kitty – and I don’t know if it was worth it just for the train trip. That said, we ended up getting off the train early at Okayama and had another one of our best days. Like I keep saying, the best days are the unplanned ones.
Namba / Dotonbori – we actually did this as a day trip from Kyoto, not realising that our last accommodation was right near here. Namba parks is really cool with its modern architecture and gardens. Dotonbori is the hustle bustle of city and neon lights that I was hoping of Osaka. We spent half our time here in the 100 Yen stores buying things for Christmas presents. It was much better the second time when we were actually staying next to Dotonbori. I found the cutest little ceramics store packed to the brim with bowls, cups, plates etc. I was amazed that everything was stacked so well. Ended up buying a set of little bowls and some cups, which magically made it home without smashing in my suitcase, yesss! I’d also really wanted to check out Amerikamura, because I’d heard that it was like the Harajuku of Osaka. I honestly don’t get what the fuss is about and it was the first time I felt unsafe in Japan.
Okayama – this was another unplanned day but was so peaceful and relaxing as our last full day in Japan. When we got off the Hello Kitty Train, we weren’t sure what to do but ended up going to Okayama Castle, which is now one of my favourite buildings in all its black and gold glory. There wasn’t a lot else to do in Okayama, but the Castle in itself was worth the trek.
Accomodation
The first few nights we wanted to be close to Universal Studios and stayed at Universal Tower Keihan, which was really perfect for our US adventure. I don’t think it’s as necessary to stay there as it was to stay close to Disneyland, as Universal Studios was really easy access via train and opens a bit later, so you have more time to get there. The hotel was really nice and we were right in the middle of Universal City so there was lots of food and shopping options right outside our doors.
For the rest of the week we stayed at the Ibis Styles on the street running parallel to Dotonbori, which was awesome as we were right in the middle of the city. This was the first hotel we stayed at that was in the bustling city and I absolutely loved it. When I go back to Japan, I want all our accomodation to be in a more central location as it just makes it all a lot more convenient and fun. The hotel was about a 10-15min walk to Namba Station, and you got to go through Dotonbori on the way to the Station, so the walk was always exciting.
Food
There were heaps of options around the hotel at Universal City and we went to Mo’s Burgers a few times for yum and cheap dinners after big days at Universal Studios. Inside US, there was also plenty of good (and affordable) food, our favourite being massive pizza slices from ‘Louie’s New York Style Pizza’. Jade had a pizza with honey on it and it was so yum. The Ibis had a 7/11 attached, which made those last few days a bit easier and cheaper to eat.
I think we spent the perfect amount of time in Japan. As mentioned in the other city journals, if I did it again, I’d stay for a bit longer in Tokyo. Everything was a lot more affordable than we thought it’d be and we didn’t have a single meal we didn’t love. The only thing I’d change is our hotels. Everywhere we stayed was so nice and clean but it felt very repetitive just jumping from hotel to hotel. I’d originally wanted to stay at a traditional Japanese home in Kyoto that I’d found on Airbnb but they cancelled the booking due to changes in tax laws. I also would’ve made sure to book hotels that had free cancellation, as there were a few times we wanted to change our plans but were locked into accommodation that we couldn’t cancel. Other than this the holiday flew by way to fast, and I am already planning the next trip back to Japan! I honestly cannot recommend Japan as a holiday and travel destination enough.
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