What trip to Osaka would be complete without a visit to Universal Studios? This is my first ever visit to any Universal Studios and boy was I excited! I already know Disney in Tokyo is awesome, I’m afraid I may have visited the best Universal Studios before I even got to see the rest! Although, I’m told the Florida location has much more to see and do so I’ll save my judgement for a later time.

Why was I so excited to go to Universal? HARRY POTTER WORLD OF COURSE. We had planned to get to Universal right when they opened, it didn’t work out in our favor…we got there maybe 15 minutes after they opened. Was there a ton of people already there? Yes. We bought our tickets from Klook, have you heard of Klook? It’s a phone app that you can purchase tickets, food certificates, etc. from! I used it in both Hong Kong and Osaka, and it works great! I connected my Klook to my paypal account so I can purchase things in Osaka through the app and not get charged any foreign transaction fees and second, not have to use my valuable yen. Usually Klook offers a bit of a discount off tickets, in this case, the Universal tickets were about the same price as you would get at the door…but it was nice to walk right past the ticket lines and scan my phone at the entrance.

For those who know me, you know I get motion sickness. Hardcore. So why did I stand in a three hour line to ride the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey? You got me, I don’t know why but I did it. Decided if I was going to ride a ride, might as well ride a crazy one and see if I die. I didn’t die. I didn’t throw up! Well, it is a crazy ride that is crazy fast and flips you all ways…I thought in the beginning that if I close my eyes, maybe I wouldn’t get sick. Nope, closing my eyes made me dizzy so I kept my eyes wide open the entire time. And well some images of the snake and deatheaters aren’t so pleasant but I’m sure my riding companions wouldn’t have appreciated projectile vomiting either. Hahaha, I think as I stood in line, I saw at least three signs saying if you have motion sickness, get out. I’m glad I rode it to say I rode it, I will not be riding it again.

Rotisserie Chicken and Pork Ribs Platter • ¥1950

Rotisserie Smoked Chicken Platter • ¥1900

Originally, I got the Chicken and Ribs plate but when we sat down, I suddenly didn’t feel like the ribs and switched. The plate is pretty good! Well it’s $20, so it better be good! The chicken was nicely cooked and the corn was delicious and sweet. The drink of course is not included in the meal, it costs extra. I want to say it was about $3.00, theme park prices. There were a ton of birds in the area. When I finished my food, two birds climbed onto my plate and started to pick at my food. Was pretty unreal. I missed the actual sight but a crow flew in and grabbed a chicken from one of the other tables! I think it was a leftover plate of food, not from a dining customer. Whew. I can’t get over how cheerful and nice the workers are at these Japanese theme parks. The lady who was cleaning up all the finished plates of food was incredibly gracious and patient, wish we had some of that service here!

Isn’t this a great shot? I have to give credit to my cousin, she spotted that it would be a great shot with the reflection in the water and boy was she right. If you want to get this shot, you will have to dine at Three Brooms because this was from their outdoor dining area.

Finally, I had to get that churro shot with Hogwarts in the background. Thank you to my hand model. Universal Studios offers churros, turkey legs, cute treats…very similar to Disney! There is also a Coca Cola truck that allows you to customize Coke bottles! What a nifty souvenir! My cousin got one and the worker kept stating that the word on the bottle you customize must be the name on your passport. He kept asking to confirm that it was her name on her passport. She said yes, he doesn’t check, he just expects the answer to be yes. I’m assuming they are trying to curb any bad words being placed on the bottles…but as an FYI, they do not check your passports!