Author Archives: Mel

Japan 2020 Day 12: Niseko (dinner in Kutchan)

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Mel

B went off to ski again today and I basically just napped, ate snacks and watched the snow fall out of the bedroom window.

In the afternoon we tried again for the private hot bath at the accomodation and this time we had more success! It’s interesting that they have styled it just like an onsen even though it is not an onsen and really is just a hot tub (water is from the tap, not a geothermal source).

Dinner was booked at our most fondly remembered Niseko restaurant – Nakama. Last time we came (6 years ago) Nakama was a hole in the wall place down a back street mostly frequented by locals in Kutchan. They didn’t speak any English but had a great reputation and were recommended by our accomodation. This time around they have moved to a “Kutchan Main Street” venue and are much busier since they received a mention in the Michelin Star guide book. I was next level excited to revisit the place where I first had ramen and gyoza….I ate so much I had a ramen baby belly! It was good. Really good.

Japanese food eaten today: katsu curry, ramen, gyoza, vending machine got chocolate

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 Day 11: Niseko (Hirafu Village and Kutchan)

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Mel

It snowed like crazy all last night and today!

Today B went out to ski and I continued my non-skiing adventures. We actually had decent snow fall overnight and today so he has had a great time skiing around Hanazono and Hirafu:

I am currently spending my days at local onsens and also trying out different food places in Hirafu Village! Hirafu-tei onsen has been my default onsen as its right near the shuttle bus stop and when I go in the morning I usually have it all to myself. I did try to access The Vale onsen today but despite what their advertising claims, they are not open to local visitors. Hirafu-Tei in the mornings is pretty quiet though, so I really enjoy sitting out in the hot bath and looking at Mt Yotei on my own. I have now worked out not to sit to close to the right side of the outdoor bath though as it’s next to a bloody chairlift! Don’t want to blind any poor kids.

I had lunch at Tozanken Ramen on the Hirafu Main Street. They open at 11am and I was there at 10:45am and joined an already long line! When you eat here you collect a ticket to help them seat you in order.

Considering they are based in the main village where everything is very expensive, their prices are reasonable (¥750 for my bowl of soy pork ramen) and it was good ramen. Not the best I’ve ever had but so far above the crap I ate at a ski cafeteria yesterday!

When B got back to the hotel after his day in the snow we had reserved the hot bath downstairs for ourselves for an hour. This is not a proper onsen (the water is not piped up from a geothermal source) but it is still styled like a traditional bath – you get naked, wash beforehand, sit in the hot bath. The difference here is you can make a private booking so we could actually go together rather than be gender separated. Unfortunately….it was broken *insert sad face here* so instead we went for a very quick soak at the Mt Yotei Hotel one before dinner.

For dinner tonight, our accomodation booked us into a Japanese bbq place that comes highly recommended called Orench. They said we needed a decent booking time there (it’s not a quick eat and run place) so allocated two hours to us between drop off and pick up.

You basically order small plates of different meats and then cook it yourself on a personalised bbq at your table. Awesome! The wagyu special rib was a highlight for us but we also tried beef tongue and chicken necks which were yum. Below is the sequence of me trying the beef tongue.

After we finished, we wandered next door to Sasa sake bar. They didn’t speak English but through pointing and lots of nodding we were able to try a bunch of different sake liquor flavours including:

– strawberry

– plum

– suzu

– orange

Japanese food eaten today: ramen, katsu curry, Yakitori (Japanese bbq), sake, umeshu (plum wine)

P.S. B’s friend discovered crab popcorn today. They are literal tiny crabs deep fried 😱

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 Day 10: Niseko (Hirafu and Hanazono)

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Mel

These next few days are going to be much of a muchness really! Day 1 of skiing saw B up bright and early at our accomodation in Hanazono – Freedom Inn. We like it here because it is off the beaten track so way less drunk muppets and bogans. B was at Hanazono at 8:30am on the dot ready to ski!

I caught the free shuttle bus from Hanazono to Hirafu upper village and went for a wander. I enjoyed the onsen at Niseko Prince Hotel which is a 5 min walk from the welcome centre. In winter it is open from 7-10:30am and 3-9pm at a cost of ¥1000. The outside bath view was stunning.

I then wandered around to some local shops and did some people watching while enjoying a baileys hot chocolate before I walked back (with a lovely view of Mt Yotei!) to enjoy an afternoon of reading at Freedom Inn.

B arrived back off the slopes just before 4:30pm and we headed off to the Hotel Youtei onsen together so he could enjoy a hot soak. Dinner tonight was quite late as we had to make a reservation to get into Steak Rosso Rosso in Lower Hirafu village and this was the only time they had. They are not a cheap option but are lovely for a treat meal. We went with their seat meal option which included a starter, entree, steak of your choosing and dessert. We chose the ohmi 150g steak which is a type of wagyu beef (A4 for anyone really into their steak) and it comes served medium rare with a hot stone so you can cook it to your own preference. The beef was delicious – so tender. I also had some Japanese plum wine called ‘umeshu’ which came served with soda water and was really nice.

Steps not counted today

Japanese food eaten: terrible ramen at a snow cafe, pocky, wagyu beef, Hokkaido scallops and uneshu plum wine

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mel’s handy guide for westerners using an onsen (Japanese bath house)

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Mel

TATTOOS IN ONSENS: are controversial and that’s putting it fairly mildly. Tattoos in japan traditionally signalled that you were part of the Yukuza and therefore are not well received. Despite an effort by the government over the last few years to shift this mentality within tourist operations, it still holds true in many places. Nearly every onsen will have a sign saying no tattoos allowed – what you need to work out is how tolerant they are. Will they not care at all? Will they be okay as long as you cover them? Is it a big no-no regardless of if you cover them? I usually cover mine with sticking plasters like those in the picture. Note that you have to be fully naked in the bath so clothing won’t help you!

Reading up to date online reviews helps a lot with this, as does asking at the front desk. I have been to a few onsens throughout this trip and will update my list of tattoo friendly ones below as we progress. For Mel’s handy onsen guide for westerners, please look below this list.

Manneyu Onsen, Tokyo (¥480) – very tattoo friendly, no coverage needed. I confirmed on entering here I had a tattoo and got a thumbs up. Tattoos allowed is plastered all over their website and entry signage.

LaQua, Tokyo (¥700+) – based on a number of recent reviews these guys will not allow tattoos unless they are covered and if they are covered, it can still be hit and miss based on staff and if someone complains. We avoided this one after I read numerous online recounts of security escorting western women off the premises because they had tattoos

Hotel Youtei, Kutchan (¥800) – has a sign saying no tattoos allowed but based on our experience no coverage is needed. There is a high number of Japanese users within the onsen so if possible, use coverings to be polite. I had no issues and on the male side, B told me there was a guy with full sleeves who also had no issues

Hotel Weiss, Hanazono (¥900) – has a sign saying no tattoos allowed but they are very tourist friendly so doesn’t seem to be an issue, many westerners in there with visible tattoos

Hirafutei Onsen, Hirafu (¥1000) – I went in with coverings and had no issues although signage states no tattoos allowed. This is a very tourist heavy onsen due to location so likely to be less of an issue here

Hotel Niseko Alpen Onsen, Hirafu (¥1000) – TBC, signs do not say “no tattoos”

Hilton Niseko Village (¥1200) – in 2014 I went to this onsen without covering my back tattoo and an older Japanese lady abused the hell out of me, hit me with a towel and basically chased me out of the change room. Given that they cater mainly to westerners I don’t think this is the norm! We haven’t been back to this one since as I was a little stressed out

The Vale Niseko Village (¥1000) – could not enter as not available to non-guests in Dec/Jan however signage says no tattoos

Mel’s handy onsen guide for westerners

1. There is always an entry fee unless you are staying at a hotel which has an onsen on site that is free for guests. In major cities like Tokyo and Osaka you are looking at ¥350-¥500 but once you head to tourist areas like Niseko expect to pay more like ¥800-¥1000 (around $11AUD based on the current exchange rate). You pay this at the entry to the onsen or at the hotel front desk. Some places have ticket machines as well which is handy when their English and your Japanese aren’t great.

2. Some will tell you to bring your own towel, some will loan them for free and some will “rent” them to you for ¥200. It’s up to you what your personal preference is but you are expected to have some form of towel with you to dry off with before re-entering the change area. Note that it should not be dunked in water or used as a wash cloth. I can manage with a small towel, B needs a regular sized one to dry off with.

3. You will enter into separate male and female areas – blue flags for men, red flags for women. There is generally no cross gender bathing although a few tourist ones offer a “family friendly” bath now.

4. You will enter a small change room where there will either be lockers or baskets to put your stuff in. This is where you strip off EVERYTHING. You must be totally naked. There are no bathers allowed in the onsen. You strip off all your clothing here and then enter the onsen with just your towel (and locker key if one is available).

5. You will enter the onsen and see a row of small shower cubicles with little seats available. Grab a little seat and pull it up to a shower stall. You then need to completely and totally clean yourself from top to bottom with the provided soaps. And I do mean COMPLETELY and TOTALLY….you need to clean all of your bits thoroughly. You are also meant to wash your hair although many westerners choose to tie their hair up instead. Make sure not to use anyone’s personal cleaning products (Japanese women will often bring these) and to only use the generic ones provided.

6. Now you can relax in the hot bath! There are usually three types – hot indoor, hot outdoor and cold indoor. Sometimes there is a medium temperature one as well. My favourites are the hot outdoor ones as the feel of the warm water plus the cool temperature is glorious. You can submerge just from the waist or go all the way to your neck depending on your tolerances and how you feel about sitting in it up to your waist with your boobs out. You can stay as long as you want to – you will notice Japanese people tend to stay for shorter times than westerners and that’s usually a case of relaxation versus practical use of the bath house, especially in ones used by locals rather than tourists. It is acceptable to bathe, hop out and have a cool shower to cool off, then re-enter the baths if you want to. Women with long hair need to tie their hair up so it is not floating in the water.

7. When you are finished, it is polite to quickly shower again using a cubicle shower (it’s not required though) then dry off before going back into the change room. Once in the change room, you get dressed again and also use any of the facilities available eg the toilet, hairdryer, combs, moisturiser etc

8. Often when you leave the change room and return back to the mixed gender area there is a small seating area and vending machines for you to have a drink and wait for your family members. In traditional onsens you should not take anything in with you except perhaps a bottle of water. In tourist onsens, often people will bring in a can of beer but there is a strong expectation of QUIET in the onsen – no rowdiness allowed. No glass either. Remember the water is 40C or higher in temperature so that combined with alcohol is not a good mix.

Onsen do’s and don’t’s!

DO get naked, no bathers allowed

DO cover your tattoos if you can or ask it if is okay for you to enter with them

DO bring a small towel in with you and rest it on a dry space next to you or on your head if no space is available

DO dry off before you enter the change room area after your bath

DO tie your hair up if it is long so it does not float loose in the bath

DON’T put your towel into the water under any circumstances

DON’T just jump straight in, you must shower and wash thoroughly first

DON’T stare at others in the baths, it is very rude

DON’T be loud or noisy in the baths. If you are able to take a drink in, be sensible and don’t take in glass

DON’T under any circumstances take photos! These photos are all from accomodation posts. Cameras and phones should not be taken into the bath under any circumstances

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Japan 2020 Day 9: Tokyo to Niseko

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Mel

Snow time starts now! We left the hotel at 8am and caught a metro (total freaking nightmare with luggage) a few stops to Ginza where we got on the “airport limousine” bus. Trying to work out train lines to the domestic airport had been problematic and this was much easier. Next time I would research more and try to find an airport limousine stop near our hotel so no metro was needed.

We arrived at Haneda Airport with plenty of time and checked in with JAL airlines with minimal issues. The JAL global app was very useful and I recommend it if travelling with JAL domestically. Bye bye Tokyo!

We were about 30 mins late departing which meant we were cutting it very fine in terms of meeting our coach to Niseko. We landed safely and relatively on time despite this in Sapporo 1hr later and hopped on a whiteliner transfer coach for the 2.5 hour journey to Niseko. The coach ride provides some amazing scenery.

We then arrived at Freedom Inn, our home for the next 7 nights! Here’s a stock photo since it was dark by the time we got here.

Annnnnd here’s a photo I took the next morning. So pretty!

We dropped our stuff off and headed out to our second onsen of the trip at a Japanese Inn located near Kutchan called Hotel Youtei. This is another one that has a sign saying no tattoos but is tattoo friendly to foreigners. After a lovely soak, we headed out for dinner. Unfortunately our first two preferences tonight – Nakama and Gaishin – were closed so we visited Vatten Ramen. We walked in just as they were closing (which we didn’t realise) so felt like jerks. The ramen was quite good but it is all chicken based and I think we prefer pork.

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 day 8: day trip to Mt Fuji, Hakone and Lake Ashii

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Mel

Today we went on a pre-booked day trip to Mt Fuji and surround with Viator. I did look into doing this on our own but without a car it’s almost impossible to do. This is the link to the specific tour we took: https://www.viator.com/tours/Tokyo/Mt-Fuji-Lake-Ashi-and-Bullet-Train-Day-Trip-from-Tokyo/d334-2142TYO_F800_F820. Make sure to read the terms and conditions carefully – if weather is shit, it still goes ahead and you will see NOTHING. We were very lucky we fluked good weather.

We used the metro to make our way to the Ginza pick up which was easy to find. We were picked up early and it turned out very awkwardly there was another person with the exact same first and last name as me – that caused a lot of confusion. We hopped on a 40 seater bus and did a few more pick ups before heading to our first stop – Mt Fuji.

Our bus was mostly Americans with some French and a few other nationalities thrown in. Usually I avoid Viator tours for this reason – the travellers on these sorts of things can be very entitled. This group was pretty good though. Our guide was Yabe-San and he did a great job explaining local history and telling us about the area we were driving through.

After about 2.5hrs driving from Tokyo we arrived at Mount Fuji fourth station. There was hardly any traffic going out of Tokyo it up the mountain as today was a government holiday – we paid the return price of that on the way out though!! We couldn’t go up to the highest accessible point by vehicle (fifth station) as it had snowed and the roads weren’t clear. We hopped out here for half an hour and looked at the gorgeous view of the southern alps. I also appropriated a rock….now I have one from Mt Vesuvius and Mt Fuji for my collection!

From here we drove for another hour (lots of bus time on this trip but we were prepared for that) to a Kawagachi lakeside lunch. It was a traditional hot pot style and it was really good, I was happy I paid a bit extra for it to be included.

We then drove for another hour (yep, lots of bus time haha) to go on a Lake Ashi boat cruise. This was only a short cruise of 15 mins but it was really pretty and it got us to the base station for the ropeway.

At Mount Komagatake ropeway we climbed into a cable car and everyone squished in like little sardines. I picked the wrong side so didn’t get a view of Mt Fuji going up.

Once we arrived at the top we realised the fog and clouds had started to come in and unfortunately this meant we couldn’t see Mt Fuji from the look out! Noooooo. Time for cute selfies instead.

We traipsed around a bit at the top and then instead of going up to the shrine, we elected to be first in line to come back down the ropeway to try and get good shots of Mt Fuji that way. Success!

Yabe-san then told us it would be 40 mins to the Odaware Shinkansen station where they dropped us to get a 40 min bullet train back into Tokyo rather than spending 2+ hrs on the bus. Unfortunately 40 mins turned into 90mins as the traffic coming down the mountain was super busy. We eventually got back into Tokyo at 7pm and then had dinner at the same place as last night because the ramen was just so freaking good

Viator trip rating: 3.5/5 the service was excellent but there is SO MUCH driving and you are so rushed in some parts but then in others your wandering around a gift shop for 45 mins. If you want to see Mt Fuji and you can manage 6-7hrs on a bus or train with minimal effort….it’s a winner. I did a lot of research on this tour as I was determined to get out there on my own and it really is just about impossible without a vehicle.

Steps today: only 2382! Lots of sitting on my ass haha

Japanese food eaten: hot pot, Sashimi, katsu sardines, pickles, ramen, revolting sour lollies, pocky

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 day 7: Harajuka, Cafe Ikefukurou and Manneyu onsen in Tokyo

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Mel

Today we enjoyed a sleep in until 9am and then headed off to explore Harajuka which is renowned for its colourful street scape. My goal was to go to Totti Candy Factory and get rainbow fairy floss the size of my head. Goal achieved!

We then walked further down Takeshita Street and spotted a miniature pig cafe with no wait times. Well. I’m not going to say no to tiny pig cuddles.

We walked a little further down in search of Kawaii (cute) Monster Cafe which is one of the many themed cafes they have in Japan. This is not a particularly cheap endeavour with a ¥500 cover charge and the requirement that each person orders one item of food and one drink….but it was awesome as an intro to these whacky cafes!

After lunch we caught a different metro line out to Ikebukuro and went in search of the Ikefukurou Owl Cafe which had positive reviews online in relation to animal treatment and care. I am not really a bird person the the owls made me nervous but B enjoyed giving them pats and one of them decided it really liked him.

My back has been sore on and off for a few day’s (the joys of a crap bed in Osaka combined with a debilitating medical issue) so we went in search of an onsen. I did my research online and discovered Manneyu Onsen in Shinjuku which was very well priced at ¥480 each and was tattoo friendly! This is pretty much unheard of in Japan where I have to cover my tattoos at all times in the baths I get away with bandages about 50% of the time and the other 50% I get asked to leave. They also included a towel in their pricing. I enjoyed a glorious 40 min soak in there with all the locals….naked of course. I have posted before about onsen etiquette but will do another one in a few days once we start using them daily in the snow.

I really, REALLY wanted to go to a local recommendation Champagne & Gyoza for dinner because it combines two of my favourite things and it was a 2 min walk from our hotel. Unfortunately it was closed due to being a Sunday. Instead, we walked a little bit further up to Akasaka Mendokoro Tomo which had the most amazing ramen. The pork was melt in your mouth delicious. They are very small so you use the vending machine to order, sit at the bench while they make it, eat quickly and then vacate. So good.

Steps today: 11500

Japanese food eaten: vending machine coffee and red bull, fairy floss, kawaii cafe themed crazy food, weird Japanese candy and pork ramen!

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Japan 2020 day 6: Osaka to Tokyo on the Shinkansen and dinner at Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Mel

Booking Shinkansen tickets before you arrive in japan has previously been tricky. This is something you want to do a few days beforehand (at least) so you can get good seats – we found the smartEX travel app to be awesome. You need to authorise your credit card on it and make sure you take that card with you to Japan but all we had to do was stick the credit card in a machine and it gave us our tickets (both base fare and reserved seat in one) which we had booked a week in advance! We also made a last minute change to a slightly earlier train with different seats and it was very easy to do in the app.

Be aware of new rules from May 2020 about travelling with luggage, they are cracking down hard on it, especially oversized stuff. Luckily this didn’t impact us, we just got on and stowed our suitcases behind our seats in row 1 – a very good reason to choose the last row in a carriage! The seats are spacious, there are snacks available on board and scenery is awesome even when you fly past at over 250km an hour.

You can buy snacks and bento boxes at the little kiosks before you board the train and on the train, B bought this pork cutlet box for ¥900 before we boarded. I also like the fact that the Shinkansen trains have seated toilets (not squat ones) and lots of leg room at the seats. Something to be aware of is the location of the smoking room on each train – as a non smoker it stinks and the doors opening and closing only contains some of the smell.

Our hotel in Tokyo is in Akasaka (considered a bit of an upmarket district quite close to the city centre) and is a 2 min walk from Akasaka-Mitsuke metro station. The hotel is called Hotel Risveglia Akasaka and I picked it because it was close to the same price as APA hotels but definitely not an APA. We previously stayed in an APA hotel in Tokyo and the room was so small B couldn’t stand up straight or lay on the bed straight! So APA are cheap rooms but not great if you’re 6ft tall. This room is still small – only 16 metres square – but it has enough space to move around in and a full shower. It also has a gloriously SOFT bed! Our room looks over a cute little alleyway.

Dinner tonight was at my favourite restaurant ever in the whole wide world Kobe Beef Kaseiki 511 in Akasaka. I’ll be honest, it’s the main reason we came to Tokyo, It was a 2 min walk from our hotel and it serves some of the best Kobe beef in the world in a degustation format. The ‘511’ in the name of the restaurant comes from their mission to use only the best – A5 grade beef with a beef marbling standard value of 11. As a result of the beef quality, it’s not cheap – about ¥17000 for one person – but it is absolutely amazing food and the service and wine pairing are great.

B says “everytime I come here I think is it worth it…then I eat the steak….and it’s so good”.

Steps taken: 7000 (nap day today!)

Japanese food eaten: pocky, bento box with katsu pork, weird Japanese hot chocolate, Kobe beef and all sorts of other oishii (delicious!) food at A511

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 Day 5: last day in Osaka (ramen museum + Tempozan)

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Mel

Today we went out to the ramen museum before exploring Tempozan which is part of the Bay Area in Osaka. The ramen museum is about a 20 min train out of Umeda to the Ikeda station, from there it is an easy 5 min walk up to the museum. Although everything is in Japanese they have an English paper guide and the volunteers there are great.

Entry is free and for ¥300 (about $4 AUD) you get to decorate and make your own cup of noodles!

There is apparently also a 90min ramen making class but you have to book in advance for that and I left it too late. After eating more ramen for lunch, we made our way out to Tempozan which is considered the second largest entertainment area after universal studios in Osaka. We started off with the aquarium which had an entry cost of ¥2300 each. It’s main claim to fame is the ginormous tank in the middle and it’s whale shark.

We also really enjoyed the seal feeding show, I snagged a spot at the front by sitting on the floor which meant little kids could stand behind me rather than push in front like they usually do.

After the aquarium we wandered over to the Naniwani Food Theme Park which was inside the shopping centre and behind the food court. It looks like old style shops and showcases local authentic food like katsu, okonomiyaki and ramen. We went with okonomiyaki again 🙂

The sun was almost set by then so it was Tempozan Ferris wheel time! The line up for the totally clear carts was 30 mins long but a standard cart had no wait….I wasn’t sure why people felt the need to look through a clear plastic floor so we went with standard and B still got some killer photos.

Steps today: 15508

Japanese food eaten: pork ramen, gyoza, okonomiyaki (veg and pork), Asahi beer, pocky, vending machine coffee can

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Japan 2020 Day 4: Universal Studios, Osaka

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Mel

So for those who don’t know me….I’m a planner. It’s just who I am. Which B loves because it means everything on a holiday is organised, we are rarely late for stuff and I do things like get express passes at theme parks haha. I highly recommend the express passes by the way!

I pre-purchased our Universal Studio entry tickets online using klook as other travel blogs talked a lot about not queuing up at the gate and also getting a fast pass. I bought them four weeks in advance and the 7 ride fast passes were already sold out so I got us a 4 ride one. Just to be clear – if you buy a fast pass you ALSO need to get an entrance ticket separately, so at that point you are looking at around $200 AUD each adult. We consider the time vs cost ratio reasonable as you don’t have to line up for more than an hour for each ride – most express rides get you through in 15 mins or less.

The weather was not raining (phew!) but it was cloudy on/off and the wind chill was noticeable. We took one backpack with extra jumpers, tickets, water etc in it knowing we could buy a locker to put our things in for each ride so we could go on them together as this is what we did in Singapore at Universal Studios. It was a 5 min walk + 16 min JR Osaka loop train trip to get there from our accomodation in Umeda.

It’s worth noting entry here is not as smooth as in Singapore because they do mandatory bag checks. It took us about 20mins to make it to the gates (and we were not that far back) and then we made a beeline for Hollywood dream and space fantasy since we didn’t have express passes to them….but they were closed. Doh! So we went to Spider-Man which had no wait.

We then went on the flying dinosaur without our express pass (not timed until 2:30pm) which was AWESOME. We had to wait about 30mins to ride it. We went on it again at 2:30pm with our timed express pass and the wait time for us was about 8 mins vs 60 mins for everyone else.

Trying to work out where to meet for the Harry Potter timed entry was a bit of a clusterfuck so definitely allow an extra 10mins for that. We eventually worked out timed entry didn’t apply on this day due to low numbers so we could just walk over to the Harry Potter area and wander straight in. The butter beer was worth a 10min wait. The ride time when we entered was 60mins and we waited about 5 mins – those fast passes really do rock! It’s worth noting the Harry Potter ride is a mix of 3D and being moved around in a cart. We didn’t know that going in and neither of us felt great after due to motion sickness. We had a break for lunch and more kwells at this point.

We also gave Terminator 2 a go and while the first part is a bit meh because it’s all in Japanese and you have no idea what’s happening, the mixed stage show with 3D sections was very cool. Same with Backdraft – the final stage part was great but the bits before were lost on us as it was all in Japanese.

We also went on Jaws which was less roller coaster like but still good fun. The ride is all in Japanese but you get the idea pretty clearly – oh let’s go on a lovely boat ride in this quaint small town….SHARK!

We were at Universal for 7hrs in total (9am – 4pm) and went on every adult focused ride except for the two closed ones and the Jurassic ride. We skipped the Jurassic one because you get very wet and we were already freezing….plus we have done it before in Singapore. We skipped the kid ones because B was not coping with the children’s pitched music and squealing haha. We also skipped WaterWorld because we have seen it before and last time I got absolutely drenched. I do recommend fitting that in if you haven’t seen it before though.

We got back to the apartment around 4:45pm with very sore feet. We ventured just up the road for dinner and had okonomiyaki again, this time from the local place. While it was still yummy, it had nothing on my experience the other day!

Steps today: 18980

Japanese food eaten: nothing Japanese based at Universal (chips, onion rings, burgers) but dinner was okonomiyaki with Asahi beer and we got hot chocolate can from a vending machine!

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.