I woke up at 5:00 a.m.—again. Thanks, sun. I tried to fall back asleep but gave up and spent a quiet hour reading while everyone else snoozed. Today was Universal Studios Japan day, and I was excited!
Once we were all up and dressed, we grabbed breakfast from Lawson’s and ate it outside on a horizontal pole that doubled as a bench. While we munched on our food, we watched a literal river of people streaming past us—thousands headed to Universal. It was wild!
Even though the official park opening time is 9:00 a.m., Universal secretly opens earlier (they just won’t tell you when). We arrived around 8:30 and barely waited in line. We were already on our second ride by the time the park officially opened!
We started in the Hollywood section, then hit the Minion area for our first two rides. After that, we made our way to Jurassic Park. The sign warned we might get wet… but we weren’t prepared for a full-on soaking. As we stood in line, we saw people donning ponchos and started panicking about our passports getting wet. Thankfully, we had a Ziplock in our bag—originally for trash—which turned into an emergency waterproof pouch that we stuck our passports in. Smart thinking, because we got borderline soaked. The ride was totally worth it though—super fun!
Next up: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We had a timed entry pass and couldn’t wait to step into Hogsmeade. It felt like we walked into the movies. Charlie bought a wand and practiced interactive spells while Tom grabbed us two Butterbeers (delicious!). He struggled with some of them but did great lighting the fire! We rode both Harry Potter attractions, then it was nearly time for our entry window into Super Nintendo World.
At that point, I was hungry and really needed food. Tom steered us toward the Jaws-themed area to eat, but the food options were…interesting. I went with fried chicken (super greasy), and the kids got “shark nuggets.” Yep—actualshark. I gave it a try. Let’s just say it wasn’t for me (or Carlynn). We made her eat two anyway—she was a champ. I couldn’t have done it. We also shared a desert that was like a swiss roll, but different flavor with whipped cream and a blue shark fin gummy. It wasn’t our favorite.
Tom suddenly reminded us we were late for our timed entry to Super Nintendo World. I thought we were headed there at the start of our window, but apparently we were at the very end of it. The line—even with reservations—was insane. Thankfully, they scanned our QR codes and let us in, but by the time we got there, we had missed our Mario Kart ride time. I was bummed.
We decided to stay on schedule for our next two rides instead. After the second one, the kids and I went to the restroom while Tom waited in line for some ice cream. We met back in a shady tunnel, shared the treat, and headed to the Mario Kart ride on a whim—hoping they’d let us in late with our express pass.
Miraculously, they did! And it was SO worth it. We each got a Mario hat with 3D glasses that clipped onto the brim, and the whole experience was unlike any ride we’d done before.
Afterward, we explored more of Super Nintendo World. It was packed and intense—so many people taking a million selfies and posing for that perfect Instagram photo. Once we left the area, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
Tom and Charlie split off to do the Pterodactyl ride while Carlynn and I searched for Hello Kitty. We found her, but unfortunately, there was no line system. Grown adults kept jumping in front of Carlynn, taking tons of photos, and she never got her chance. She was understandably disappointed. We ducked into a shop where she picked out a super cute bracelet with a little plush Hello Kitty on it.
We saw Hello Kitty again—but once again, people pushed ahead. We ended up exploring the rest of the kid area, but the rides were mostly babyish. So we waited for the boys…who were way longer than expected due to a ride delay. We did get lucky and a parade came by right in front of us as we were getting a drink from a vending machine.
Eventually, they showed up and took Carlynn on the Hello Kitty cupcake ride. She loved it. Meanwhile, Tom and Charlie filled us in on their pterodactyl ride—which apparently rotates so you’re lying down and flying like a real dino! They thought it was awesome.
We were all feeling exhausted and decided to call it a day. The only rides we skipped were Jaws (another water ride) and a few in the Hollywood section that the kids were too short for.
Our feet were done.
We explored Universal City and found an Asian restaurant for dinner. It was tasty, though I was starting to tire of fried food (unless we’re talking about fast-food nuggets and fries, of course). Tom and I enjoyed sake with dinner. When the bill came, the server mentioned that the kids’ meals came with a toy—they got to pick something off a shelf full of surprisingly good options. You’d pay a few bucks for the same toys at a dollar store back home!
Tom and Charlie made a quick Lawson’s run for breakfast items, while Carlynn and I went back to the hotel to start showers. We got cleaned up, snuggled in, watched Minions (in Japanese!), and then crashed.
Universal was a blast—and a marathon. Tomorrow, we sleep in… hopefully.
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