Written on Saturday 6th Feb, 2010 at 4:23 pm
On Friday, we went to Universal Studios theme park in Osaka. We arrived when the gates first opened at 10 am and were allowed to stay till 4 pm. So we had a full day of theme park awesomeness.
The park was fairly empty compared to the maximum capacity of 50,000 people. Most of the people in the park with us were schoolkids on an excursion. The kids were so excited that when the gates opened they all rushed in and started running in all directions.
The first area we visited was made to look like New York in the 1960’s and that was where the Amazing Spiderman ride was located.
It was amazing.
They made us sit in a motorised cart, which tossed us about while we immersed ourselves in Spiderman’s battle with Goblin, Dr. Eight Arms and other villains. The projection was done in 3D and the cart was able to move forwards, backwards, sideways and elevate into different rooms as the fighting progressed. They made a new villain out of water just so they could spray actual water on us. When explosions happened on screen they would blast hairdryers in our face. Even an actual fireball appeared next to the cart when a grenade was thrown. The climax of the ride was when it simulated a 500 metre fall from the sky. At the last moment before we hit the ground we were saved by Spiderman’s webbage.
Other rides we went on like Back to the Future and Jaws were just as good.
When we were too nauseas from the rides we went and watched a few shows. There was one show that was done as a one man play. A guy in an orange shirt was performing in a set that was behind glass. He was a room that looked quite cartoonish and had a TV in the middle. Suddenly a 2D cartoon Woody Woodpecker jumped out of the TV and started harassing the guy. It was like Roger Rabbit or Space Jam but live. The set also reacted to the animations, like when Woody Woodpecker jumped into the file cabinet files flew out, or when he went under ground the floorboards popped up. And in classic Tom and Jerry style the guy tried to hunt down Woody Woodpecker which was hilarious. Another show, Terminator 3D, also had live actors mixed in with 3D cinema.
We didn’t have enough time to see the whole park, which was disappointing, but the whole family enjoyed themselves. It’s just too hard not to smile when you’re watching cartoons.
Afterwards we ended up in Osaka’s city centre where we had Japanese BBQ for dinner. It’s like a regular BBQ except that you’re not allowed to wear shoes. We ordered some Matsusaka beef which was worth 10,000 yen for a very small 300 gram portion. This beef was particularly expensive due to the special production procedure. Only virgin cows were used and while alive they were pampered with massages, afternoon walks, beer and soothing music. All this was done to increase the quality of the beef. When I ate it medium rare, it had almost a creamy consistency, but with the texture of beef and it melted in my mouth like chocolate.
After that we went back to our hotel for one last night in Japan.
On Friday, we went to Universal Studios theme park in Osaka. We arrived when the gates first opened at 10 am and were allowed to stay till 4 pm. So we had a full day of theme park awesomeness.
The park was fairly empty compared to the maximum capacity of 50,000 people. Most of the people in the park with us were schoolkids on an excursion. The kids were so excited that when the gates opened they all rushed in and started running in all directions.
The first area we visited was made to look like New York in the 1960’s and that was where the Amazing Spiderman ride was located.
It was amazing.
They made us sit in a motorised cart, which tossed us about while we immersed ourselves in Spiderman’s battle with Goblin, Dr. Eight Arms and other villains. The projection was done in 3D and the cart was able to move forwards, backwards, sideways and elevate into different rooms as the fighting progressed. They made a new villain out of water just so they could spray actual water on us. When explosions happened on screen they would blast hairdryers in our face. Even an actual fireball appeared next to the cart when a grenade was thrown. The climax of the ride was when it simulated a 500 metre fall from the sky. At the last moment before we hit the ground we were saved by Spiderman’s webbage.
Other rides we went on like Back to the Future and Jaws were just as good.
When we were too nauseas from the rides we went and watched a few shows. There was one show that was done as a one man play. A guy in an orange shirt was performing in a set that was behind glass. He was a room that looked quite cartoonish and had a TV in the middle. Suddenly a 2D cartoon Woody Woodpecker jumped out of the TV and started harassing the guy. It was like Roger Rabbit or Space Jam but live. The set also reacted to the animations, like when Woody Woodpecker jumped into the file cabinet files flew out, or when he went under ground the floorboards popped up. And in classic Tom and Jerry style the guy tried to hunt down Woody Woodpecker which was hilarious. Another show, Terminator 3D, also had live actors mixed in with 3D cinema.
We didn’t have enough time to see the whole park, which was disappointing, but the whole family enjoyed themselves. It’s just too hard not to smile when you’re watching cartoons.
Afterwards we ended up in Osaka’s city centre where we had Japanese BBQ for dinner. It’s like a regular BBQ except that you’re not allowed to wear shoes. We ordered some Matsusaka beef which was worth 10,000 yen for a very small 300 gram portion. This beef was particularly expensive due to the special production procedure. Only virgin cows were used and while alive they were pampered with massages, afternoon walks, beer and soothing music. All this was done to increase the quality of the beef. When I ate it medium rare, it had almost a creamy consistency, but with the texture of beef and it melted in my mouth like chocolate.
After that we went back to our hotel for one last night in Japan.
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