Universal studio, Osaka

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Universal Studios Japan is one of Japan's most popular amusement parks. There aren't really any thrill rides, but it has all the movie-themed rides that make it fun! It has a Snoopy waterslide, Spiderman, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Back to the Future rides, among others. They also have daily shows and seasonal events, like the light-up parade. I visited before Halloween, so there were Halloween-themed things all over the park.

Just outside the park entrance there are a variety of eateries and shops.

It costs 6100 yen for a one-day pass.

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For tourist, you may wish to pay for the OPTIONAL Express 4 or Express 7 tickets over-and-above the normal entrance ticket, especially during the peak seasons when the queues are very long.

Even with the Express coupons (tickets), which allows you to jump queue once in each of the 4 or 7 rides, the waiting time could be 10-20 minutes pending the stage of the previous started show before you.

Given that each ride or show is about 10-20 minutes itself, you could spend a greater part of the day on the rides/shows even with the Express 4 or 7 tickets. As a tourist with limited time available on hand, the optional Express Tickets would save you alot of time and gives you more chances to try out other rides.

As for me and my family, we could only utilised the Express tickets and it is almost nightfall by then.

But hey, the shows and talks are in Japanese and if you don't understand Japanese, it would be quite meaningless. Might be worthwhile to visit a country with Universal Studio where shows are conducted in English.

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From Osaka Station, you can get to Universal Studios Japan (Japanese call it
USJ).

Universal Studios has the following features:

Terminator 2 3D - Very Cool !!


Backdraft - Hot


Back to the Future Ride - Fun & Cool


Jurassic Park - Scary but, cool !


Spiderman - Funny and Exciting


Really fun roller coaster ride: Hollywood Dream

and more:

The best place to eat is Lombards Landing. The food tastes like authentic San Francisco cuisine. There's a mini Peir 39/Fisherman's Wharf/Ghiradelli Square here.

Overall, Tokyo Disneyland is more fun. Universal Studious Japan has been working at it to attract new crowds by offering more attractions and now, even better, ROLLER COASTERS !!! We noticed while we were their a lot of the crowds were comprised of 20 somethings and teenagers . The theme park was much busier than when I went back in December of 2001. I had to wait to go on rides much longer than when I did several years ago (15 minutes then, compared to now 45 minutes to an hour)

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"Universal Studios Japan, or USJ, promises to be the Osaka rival of Tokyo Disneyland. USJ is the third movie-based theme park in the Universal Studios' family and the first opened outside of the United States. Visitors can experience live-action shows and amusement park rides inspired by some of the more popular Universal Studios' films, including Jaws, Back to the Future and Terminator. The park also features a number of American-style restaurants centered on movie themes. It promises a great time for adults, but small children may be overwhelmed by the attractions.

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Universal studios is great place to go if you want to take a break from temples and castles. It is a little pricey but some of the rides are really worth it. Most prominent is the spiderman ride.
Pick your day carefully though. Even though it was a week day it was still extremely busy. So watch out for national and school holidays.

If you have been to Universal Studios in Florida, this is such a bore. It's rather similar to California Universal Studios but is smaller and packed with lots of Japanese. At some rides prepare to quene for 2 hours and the fast passes are not cheap to buy.
The best ride is SPIDER MAN and I quened 2 hrs for it but it's very worth it.
They feature a 3D animation as you ride through the various adventures with SpiderMan. The stimulation at some points is so good that I really thought I was being carried up to more than 30 storeys high and dropped down! I enjoyed this ride best.

This was my first time at a big theme park and, until I have kids who force me to go, my last. Everything was outrageously expensive, including the disgusting food. The queues for nearly all the rides were huge but my wife, being a sucker for these places, bought the Express ticket which allowed us to jump the queue once on each ride. It was worth it because I would have hated to wait in line for anything like the 1 or 2 hours some people were waiting.

There were some plus points.... a couple of the rides were okay and the shows were entertaining. And I did like the New York themed section. But, after a very long day, I left the park considering a vasectomy.

I considered putting this in the Tourist Traps section, but there were thousands of people there who seemed to be having a good time. They can't all be wrong, so maybe I'm just an old grump :P

I used to visit Universal at U.S.A. Ten years ago, I had a chance to visit again at Osaka. I still exciting like in the past. With more rides from new movies and former rides that I used to play still great.

But, I have only 5 hours there. I did not play "Backdraft", "Spiderman" and others. That's why I have to return in the future to this place again.

See more of my photos in my Travelogues.