Japan 2025, July 16

I decided not to do any running in the morning because of a likely long and tiring (and wet) day at Universal Studios, and having to get there very early. The park was advertised as being open from 8:30am to 9:30pm, but I didn't plan to be there for the entire time. My access to Super Nintendo World and first ride inside that area was at 9:30am.

I thought there might be time for one ride or at least some exploring at 8:30am, or earlier if they opened ahead of schedule. Hollywood Dream The Ride was on the top of my list since the Jurassic Park ride was closed, but it also had one of the biggest queue times.

I just had time for a shower along with another nose bleed, then a quick snack that was left over from yesterday along with some water and I was off. I got one train service earlier than planned, and after a few stops and a line change was at Universal City. There was a lot of other people on the same train and already loads of people in extremely slow security lines who turned up even earlier. There was some light rain so most people had umbrellas, but I wasn't too concerned for the moment, I just had a running rain jacket that is not waterproof, and some quick drying shorts.

After finally getting through security it was on to the main entrance line, which was at least partially undercover. While I was in the open area a big storm of rain came in and everyone got soaked. My clothes were all wet and even my wallet was damp inside my pocket, the Japanese money that's too big for my wallet wasn't looking good either. I managed to get my QR code scanned despite my phone being all wet, and once inside bought a cheap poncho to wear for a while.

Most of the rides got temporarily suspended due to the heavy rain, so I was able to walk straight in to the Jaws ride just as it was reopening. It was a casual boat ride that went around in a loop while the woman steering was talking and simulated shooting a shark that kept approaching. In the end I think the shark was supposed to have caught on fire and was blackened in it's final appearance. It was a quick ride and a bit disappointing that the boat ride was so gentle.

The sun had started to come out but my shorts and shoes were still quite wet as I headed off to the Super Nintendo World entry next. I had a timed entry for 9:30am but I couldn't really tell what everyone else standing around was doing, so I showed my QR code and was able to walk through. The inside area is quite impressive at first appearance, with how large it is and all the moving objects.

I didn't have much time to take in the view as I had my first express pass ride on Mario Kart - Koopa's Challenge (sometimes called Bowser's Challenge) coming up. This was easily the worst of the express pass experiences, I bypassed the initial queue but then had to wait in the same line as everyone else for about thirty minutes. Once we were in the kart you get these augmented reality glasses but I didn't know what was supposed to be happening since they probably gave the instructions in Japanese moments earlier.

There was some directions on screen to turn left or right that went red or orange, indicating levels of importance I suppose. I don't know if we were meant to be steering ourselves the whole time, or just reacting to these hints that appeared. There was this big button in the middle of the steering wheel that did nothing, then I eventually noticed small fire buttons on the top of each side of the wheel. Once I started pressing these I was just shooting off a limited supply of red shells at things appearing in front, but wasn't really sure how the aiming was working.

At the end some scores flashed up really quickly but I couldn't digest all the information. It looked like my score was in the 80s but the other three in my kart were like 40, 20, and 20. It would probably have been a lot better the second time around if I knew what was going on, but I was going to line up for nearly two hours without an express pass.

I was already running late for my next express pass ride at Yoshi's Adventure but this one went my quicker. There wasn't much point to this ride, just a kids roller coaster. The only interactive part was matching the egg colour on your steering wheel to the one that appear on the course, but it did nothing for you. The best part was getting a view of the rest of the Mario area from above.

I was back on schedule after that, so went on through to the Donkey Kong area for the Mine Cart Madness ride. The express pass worked well again here, so I didn't have to wait very long. The ride didn't have much explanation but was quite a fast coaster ride, and had a few sharp and dramatic changes of direction. It was a fun ride but would not be worth waiting two hours for.

That was the end of my rides in Super Nintendo World. There's a lot of small games you can play that link up to a $50 watch you can buy, but I wasn't interested in that. The food stalls had some unique items but it was a bit early for lunch still, so I just went to the main gift shop and bought a couple of souvenirs.

I had a bit of time until my next two scheduled rides in the Harry Potter area, so walked around the park a bit more. Almost every restaurant had big lines forming already, and even the small carts and some vending machines had lines. I came across the Water World show that was about to start so went in there to watch the 20 minute presentation. I can't believe they're still running the same daily show for this 30 year old movie that probably wasn't even good at the time.

I headed to Harry Potter next, still a bit ahead of time to explore the area first, although I know nothing about the franchise. There was a gate and train decorating the entrance, then a big castle containing one of the rides towards the back. A line for butterbeer was huge, I don't know what it is, but the frozen version sounded interesting if not for the queue.

I was able to sneak in a few minutes early for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride compared to my scheduled time. There was chaos at the beginning of this as you have to put your items into lockers, but all the people coming off the ride are in the same place to collect their stuff and exit.

After getting through that mess the line was again quick and we were in our seats with legs hanging free. Within a minute I had severe motion sickness which many other people complain about online. I think it's a combination of the weird twisting and turning, and having a fixed animated screen in front of you most of the time, so you have no ground to focus on. It would have been a fun ride otherwise, and it was quite fast and action packed, but just watching recorded action on a flat screen is not very exciting.

Just opposite was the other ride for Flight of the Hippogriff which was thankfully an outdoor coaster. I hadn't fully recovered from the previous experience, but this was such a quick ride anyway. Another good ride similar to Donkey Kong, with some action but it was way too short, it hardly lasted more than a minute.

The only express ride option I had left was The Flying Dinosaur at Jurassic Park. From reviews this is one of the most extreme roller coasters around, so I went up to have a look. It looked quite unique and very fast from watching it go overhead, but I decided not to line up because I was still feeling not great.

I had Hollywood Dream The Ride (and backdrop version) also on my list, but without express pass tickets they were both over an hour. Even some shows like a 4D Detective Conan cinema was 45 minutes to wait, so I decided to do some more shopping and finish for the day.

If you purchase a standard day pass without the express pass feature you can claim a time slot for one ride at a time throughout the day, but it seems you aren't eligible for that if you have the express pass included. It seems a bit strange that after all my express pass rides were used by mid afternoon that I couldn't use that feature too.

In the end I was inside before 8:30am and left at about 4:00pm. A good day but only because of the express pass, otherwise I think it would have been very long and tiring, even with the single pass time slots. If you were patient, and willing to wait until near closing time at 9:00pm you'd probably still get most of the rides done. Some people had brought small portable chairs for that purpose, but it would be almost as tiring having to keep moving your chair one metre at a time, and I'm not sure if it would be a problem to carry them on to some rides without lockers.

The second downside was how big the queues were for all of the restaurants throughout the day, clearly there is an issue with the amount of food services. Outside of the park I came across a Shake Shack so finally got a very late lunch of fries and shake like usual, and without any queue.

Only after I sat down in the restaurant I first noticed my feet weren't feeling great, probably from the wet, bunched up socks I had been walking around in all day. Finally taking off my shoes and adjusting my socks I was a bit concerned what condition they would be in when I got a good look at them. Finishing my lunch there was just enough time to walk quickly back to the station for a special express service straight to Osaka. Getting off the train I managed to use a slightly wet 5,000 yen note to recharge my ICOCA card, so they weren't ruined after all.

I had just a bit more walking to get back to the Nintendo store to buy a Splatoon umbrella for tomorrow or whenever it rains next. Then finally another stop at the bakery for some bread and back to the hotel with sore feet. I got my socks off and didn't have any blisters, but definitely felt worse off after being damp all day. On my better foot I noticed some blood on my toes, but discovered that was just because I stepped in some dried blood near the shower from the latest nose bleed.

After an hour of rest my feet without socks and shoes were feeling a little better. I figured I could try a small amount of running and then collect some drinks and snacks on the way back. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to run much tomorrow due to all of the predicated rain, and having to pack wet clothes and shoes straight into my suitcase wouldn't be ideal.

Somehow I managed to get through an uncomfortable 5 kilometres and figured that was more than enough. On the way back to the hotel I came across an exciting store with many cats and dogs in the window, although I think it was just a pet shop rather than a cafe.

Public transport = 400 yen

Steps = 20,109 with 5 kilometres running