Learning new things about each other
Like that Conner has never been on a roller coaster before (how is that even possible). Also we didn’t do anything super notable yesterday so we are going to lump in yesterday’s post and today’s post
We started our day yesterday by grabbing breakfast at this restaurant called happy pancake, where they served those super fluffy Japanese pancakes. We accidentally got the savory version so they weren’t quite as good as the sweet version looked, but overall the breakfast was so good and it felt nice to eat eggs and bacon with it for some protein.
It was a super rainy day yesterday, so we just had more of a relaxed day, and shopped around Osaka, grabbed some food, and snacks from the Konbini, and had a chill night since I had a meeting with my internship at 11 pm Japan time. We decided to try japans exclusive fast food restaurant which is number 2 only to Mcdonalds here. Just like getting in-n-out in California, Mos Burger is a must-try in Japan. We got the teriyaki cheeseburgers and fries. Conner thinks that the burger was 100% better than a McDonald burger but I’m not quite as sure.
That was a late night for the big day we had today. We were pretty tired this morning, but super excited because we were headed to Universal Studios Japan!!!
We got the express pass for 4 different rides today, first was the Harry Potter ride, which Conner and I have both been on before, the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge, the Demon Slayer Mugen Train ride, and a choice between Jurassic World rollercoaster and Jaws.
We started in Harry Potter world and it was just as magical as Conner and I remember. We walked around for a bit and went into all the little wizarding shops before our ride time slot. Once we got into the ride, the lines were super quick because of our express pass, and then we were off. I am the type of person who gets very motion sick easily, so I prepared by taking some Dramamine beforehand. Thank god I did because for some reason this ride had my tummy CHURNING. Even Conner said he felt a little bit ill after which for him is unheard of. Regardless, we are always amazed at the attention to detail in these kinds of places (especially the spiders…) and how well the rides are done. I had totally forgotten about the dementors towards the end of the ride and almost jumped out of my seat I was so spooked.
After the harry potter rides, we headed over to the Hollywood section of the park and our next stop was the Demon Slayer ride. We were so excited for this one because we love the show and it is a newer ride to Universal. Once we entered the line, there was a sign that said “If you are prone to getting motion sickness, consider skipping this ride”. Naturally, due to my relationship with motion sickness, I was pretty apprehensive. I decided I was not going to miss it, even if that meant I’d be throwing up in the corner after, so we pushed on. This ride was a mix of virtual reality and a rollercoaster, so you wore a VR headset while going at high speeds. Honestly, I thought it was way less motion-sickness-inducing than the Harry Potter ride, and the graphics were super cool. We later learned that the Harry Potter rides are mutually agreed to be the most sickness-inducing ride at most Universal Studios.
After the Demon Slayer ride, we had some time to kill so we started wandering around the shops for Nintendo World, Hello Kitty, and Snoopy. Safe to say, there were too many incredible hat options to choose from. Next up, Super Nintendo World!!!!!
I think we were most excited to go to Nintendo World out of all of the stops in our day. We are avid Mario Kart/Mario Party players and were beyond excited to do the Mario Kart ride.
We had seen photos of the park online, but honestly none of them do it justice. Again, the attention to detail in every single aspect of the park makes you feel like you are really in the Nintendo world. After we got into this section of the park, we wandered around and watched people play the mini-games (which required an exclusive wristband more suited for people who would be visiting often). Once our time slot hit, we left to go do the Mario Kart ride: Koopas Challenge, we walked over to Bowser’s castle which you got to walk through on the way to the ride.
The Mario Kart ride, was kind of as you would expect where you are “driving your kart” with a wheel and there are two buttons and you are trying to hit as many targets as you can to get coins to try and beat the other people around you. You wear an augmented reality headset to see the targets you are supposed to hit. Conner got 4th place on the ride and was bummed he was only 10 coins off first. After the Mario ride, we decided to do the Jaws ride which was on a boat and very theatrical, it was a very fun way to end the day at the park even if we couldn’t understand the guide who only spoke Japanese. After we left Universal, we tried to find a knife shop for Conner to buy a knife at, but our google maps were sucking after about an hour of trying to find it we gave up and headed to dinner.
We decided to go back to the restaurant we went to on our first night in Osaka, and I could eat this meal, or even just the broth, every single day for the rest of my life. I think we can both agree this tiny restaurant is the best meal we have had this entire trip. I am so happy we decided to go back and it was a perfect way to end our time in Osaka. Tomorrow marks the beginning of Japan cram so stay tuned!
✧˚ · .all blog posts are written by merrick bearson and conner couture.·˚ ✧