Universal Japan Osaka Adventure
Updated: Jul 6
Hello, everyone. We are delighted to be at Universal Japan Osaka today. After an overnight train journey following an exhilarating day in Kyoto, we are eager for more adventures. Our morning objective was to secure a spot at the new Super Nintendo Land, and we succeeded. While waiting for our entry time, we took a brief tour around the park. It feels like experiencing all the top attractions from Universal Parks combined into one exceptional location. Although the Flying Dinosaur was temporarily closed for refurbishment, I enjoyed exploring the Jaws area and sampling a distinctive blue shark drink with blue foam. When our time slot for Super Nintendo Land arrived, we headed directly to Mario Kart.
Mario Kart was an attraction I was eagerly anticipating, and I was impressed by how they transformed the racing game into an engaging dark ride. The queue is well-themed, featuring numerous Easter eggs from the Mario franchise, though it seems to extend indefinitely. Additionally, if you dislike stairs, be prepared to ascend several flights on your way to the ride platform. Once on the ride, we received our Mario VR headsets and began our race—a very slow-moving race. I wish the ride had been more fast-paced. You move quite slowly, but this also allows time to engage with the integrated game. If you're a Mario fan who prefers less intense rides, this is an excellent attraction for the whole family.
Next was the Yoshi Adventure, a slow-moving dark ride with extensive concrete theming of different Yoshis, and not much else. You can participate in an interactive game on this ride as well, where you press the colored button that matches certain Yoshi eggs you spot. The line was themed with multiple Yoshi Island Easter eggs and the catchy main menu song from the original Yoshi Island game. I will note that if you are a guest of larger proportions, the seats are very restrictive, as we discovered with one of the individuals in our group. Afterward, we acquired our Super Nintendo merchandise and then proceeded to the Harry Potter Land, or Hogsmeade.
The next attraction we visited was Forbidden Journey in the Hogwarts castle. They were very strict about no loose articles, including receipts that might be in your pocket, so you'll need to place these in a complimentary locker. The ride is almost identical to the one at Islands of Adventure back in the States, but you get to hear Harry, Ron, and Hermione speak Japanese, which was quite a delight.
We explored the family/kids area, which was themed with Easter decorations during this period, which was unusual because it was almost May. We didn't go on any of the rides in this area, and the Snoopy Coaster was down for refurbishment, so we decided to do some shopping before experiencing the last rides we wanted to try before the park closed.
After this, we headed towards the front of the park and experienced the last two attractions we wanted to try: Hollywood Dream and Space Fantasy: The Ride. Hollywood Dream is a B&M mini hyper rollercoaster that reminds me of a much tamer version of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket at another Universal park. This rollercoaster allows you to choose your music. The ride experience itself just kind of glided around and did not do too much. It still provided a pleasant tour of the front of the park.
Afterward, the rest of the group wanted to head back to the Capsule hotel, so I stayed to get on the last ride of the night, which was Space Fantasy: The Ride. At this time, the ride had a theming overlay to an anime known as Doraemon, with which I was not familiar. This rollercoaster in the dark packs quite the punch. I would compare it to a more colorful Space Mountain with spinning cars. Once I got off, the park had closed, and it was time to head back to the hotel I had near the park. I am hoping to visit Fuji-Q Highlands later in the trip, if time permits.
As always, thank you for reading and keep on Coast 'n'
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