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JAPAN GUIDE: Universal Studios Japan

By Joseph Huang

When Disneyland Paris opened ten years ago in Paris, France, the French called it a "cultural invasion" and welcomed the American theme park with protest and boycott. Well, ten years have passed, and on the other side of the Earth, the Japanese people greeted the arrival of another American theme park with exploding numbers of visitors when Universal Studios Japan (USJ for short) opened on March 31st, 2001.

Located on the Sakurajima island in western Osaka city, the project cost 170 billion yen to build and occupies 54 acres of land, USJ is claimed to be approximately 14 times the size of the Koushien Baseball Stadium. While it is not as large as its American cousins, USJ does have a better "Theme Park" feeling, with the park divided into 9 areas. From the 60's Hollywood Area to the jungle-like Jurassic Park area, each has its own decoration and architectural design to convince its visitors that they are not really in Osaka, or Japan for that matter.

Therefore, with all the hype and TV commercials, my friend and I decided to pay USJ a visit on a hot sunny Monday in June (don't tell anyone that I ditched classes for it!). Growing up amongst theme parks, I came to know that the weekend is a definite no-no unless you enjoy waiting 4 hours for a 5 minute ride. In short, Monday seemed like a better choice. After all, this is Japan, where the majority of people work from 8am to 8pm, and it seems unlikely that people would ditch the first day of a week to go to a theme park. Of course, I was wrong......

When we arrived at Osaka station after 1 hour travelling from Nagoya by the Shinkansen, the platform was already filled with kids, young couples, and seniors, waiting anxiously for the train that will eventually take us to Universal City. I couldn't help but wondered, "wait a minute, don't they have to work or go to school?"

After arriving at Universal City station, the mob rushed to the exit and ran towards the entrance of the park. At the entrance, people were divided into three lines with people who have advance reservation from JR, advance reservations from travel agencie or convience stores, and people who intend to buy the pass on that day. "Advance reservation" basically means you pay the money prior to that day, and receive an exchange voucher which can be redeemed for a pass at the entrance. Since JR is a major sponsor of USJ, people with vouchers purchased from JR can exchange the pass first, followed by people who bought the vouchers from travel agencies or convenience stores. People who plan to buy tickets sold on the day will line up last until people with advance reservation have all exchanged their pass.

It took almost an hour before we were able to exchange our passes and enter the park. Our first destination was Jurassic Park - The Ride. Taking advantage of the Universal Express system (mentioned later in the Tip section), we obtained a reservation for the ride in the afternoon before heading to Back to the Future - The Ride where the waiting time was a reasonable 45 minutes. Back to the Future - The Ride is a simulation ride which uses the movie as its background and brings us to the future as well as the past using the infamous DeLorean time machine. It was a thrilling ride, the only disappointment was that during the ride, you can actually see other DeLoreans around you, which distracted somewhat from the experience.

When it comes to food, USJ has a total of 20 restaurants, ranging from fast food to full-service dining. Visitors can also exit the park temporarily and have their lunch at the nearby Universal City. Since my friends and I didn't want to spend too much time on eating, we stopped by one of the food stands and chewed on some hot dogs before proceeding to the next attraction, ET: The Adventure.

I wish I can say something good about ET: The Adventure, but I just can't. Unless you are a die-hard ET fanatic, it is better to skip this ride. Why? We were waiting in line for nearly 2 hours, while the ride itself was only 5 minutes. Furthermore, with its plotless story, the ride would certainly give most of its visitors a "that's it?" feeling.

As our reservation time for Jurassic Park: The Ride came, we proceeded to the Jurassic Park area where one can hear the screaming voice of visitors as well as dinosaurs. Before getting on the ride, we had the option of purchasing a rain coat. Why? Well, because not only will you get wet from this ride, you will get drenched from the 25 meter fall at the end of the ride. Nonetheless, since it was a sunny day and getting wet was part of the fun, we chose not to wear the rain coat. The result was that we were soaked from top to bottom as other visitors gave us a strange look.

Looking like we just got out of a swimming pool, we spent the rest of the afternoon watching shows such as the Wild, Wild, Wild, West Stunt Show and Animal Actors Stage. Both shows were very interesting. The former one features some unbelievable stunts we usually see in the movies, while the later introduces some of the smartest animal actors. However, still today I still can't understand why a chimpanzee would need a woman's underwear.

One unique theme area that you can only find at USJ is the "Snoopy's Studio" area. Americans, especially those who came from Southern California like me would most likely be surprised, since Snoopy is associated with another theme park near Disneyland, but not Universal Studio Hollywood. Well, as anything that's cute is hot in Japan, Snoopy somehow finds its way into USJ. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy can be seen walking the streets as kids and adults rush to them to have their pictures taken.

We were able to go to two more attractions before the park closed down. Waterworld and Backdreaft certainly didn't disappoint. Unlike the Wild, Wild, Wild, West Stunt Show which took place on a stage, Waterworld was a much larger stunt show which featured, well, a lot of water. The audience was encouraged to boo the bad guys when they came out, while people sitting in the front rows were warned about getting wet. As for Backdraft, it seems almost logical to visit the flaming inferno after the wet Waterworld, where one was grilled with exploding barrels, shooting fireballs, and walls of flame.

Lastly, it wouldn't be a theme park without souvenir stores, certainly in the case of Japan, where it has become a duty for people to bring an "omiyage" back to their co-workers, teachers, or friends. There are 30 plus souvenir shops in USJ selling goods ranging from Jaw's caps to Curious George dolls. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, VISA and Mastercards are accepted in USJ. At the end of day, most people seem satisfied as everybody could be seen carrying USJ bags throughout Osaka station,

Tips:

* Purchase your ticket in advance. USJ allows people with ticket reservations to enter the park earlier than people who buy tickets on the day. This can sometimes mean an extra 1 to 2 hours waiting in line. You can reserve your ticket at any JR station, designated travel agency, or Lawson convenience store. Personally, I recommend you reserve your ticket from JR, because they have a more "direct entrance" into the park for people with JR reservations.

* Take advantage of the "Universal Express" ticket system. As soon as you enter the park, rush to your favorite ride and pick up a reservation time slip. This allows you to come back to the ride at a designated time without waiting in line. After you pick up the reservation slip, you can go and line up for other rides. I suggest you make reservations for popular rides such as Jurassic Park the Ride, or Back to the Future the Ride. Note: You can not make a second reservation until you use the first reservation slip.

* Manage your time. This is crucial in maximizing your visit to the park. Avoid the "rush hour". For example, buy your lunch at 11am instead of noon, or purchase your souvenirs during late morning/early afternoon before Japanese people flood into the shops at closing hour. Many attractions are located in the same area, so you might as well visit them all together before moving on to the next area.

* Wear casual clothes. Keep your brand name clothes and goods at home. Rides such as Jurassic Park the Ride, and Waterworld will make sure you get wet from the top of your head to the bottom of your shoes. A bath towel could come in handy.

INFORMATION:

Price: 5500 YEN for Adults, 4800 YEN for Seniors, and 3700 YEN for Kids. Ticket Vendors: JR Stations, travel agencies (JTB, Kinki Nippon Tourist etc...), Lawson.
Opening Hours: Varied, check homepage for details: www.usj.co.jp
Access: JR Universal City station. From Osaka station, take Osaka Loop Line and get off at Nishikujo station then transfer to the JR Yumesaki Line heading for Sakurajima. From Okazaki, it takes approximately 2 1/2 hours by the Shinkansen (6810 YEN), 3 1/2 hours using Kintetsu (4940 YEN), and 4 hours via regular trains (3890 YEN).

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