Day 11 - Harry Potter Tastic

Today was the Spy's day, he loves Harry Potter, you might not expect that from a Spy, but hey, he likes to buck the trend.

Asked whether he prefers Harry Potter or Totoro, here was the answer... "Harry Potter is who you want to be, Totoro is who you want to spend time with".

Genuinely, his very thought out answer.

Headed to Universal Studios Japan, which was only 30 minutes on a train from where we were staying, however, we forgot to take into account rush hour. The metro carriages were the most crowded I have seen, but everyone was so calm, as I supposed they were used to it, at least it wasn't hot, and there was one thing, there was no way you could fall over. I think I may have been so close to the woman in front of me that I made her pregnant though.

Here we were at the top of the escalator, you get a little feel for the numbers, and I get the feeling this was the end of it.

Got to the park, got in the queue, cursed ourselves for not buying tickets through the hotel, got through the gate and ran for the Harry Potter stuff. Queued again for the ride, didn't take long at all, he started getting a bit nervous as there were signs saying the car moved a lot and wasn't for people with a weak stomach, and let's face it, the Spy is a wuss when it comes to rides. He told me though that it has won worldwide attraction of the year for the last 5 years, I get the feeling that was more for him than me.

It was amazing. A proper 3D experience, it felt like you were playing quidditch, flying after dragons, speeding across the lake and over the school. So clever, and we were both really chuffed to experience it. It is hard to explain how exhilarated we both felt afterwards, although he didn't want to go again!

Here are some photos of the castle, and around Hogsmead. It really is an immersive experience.

I wanted to go on some more rides, however, it was made extremely clear to me I would have to go on my own, and by the time we came out of the Harry Potter stuff all the queues for rides were at least 90 minutes, which I didn't really see the point of doing on my own, especially as I would have been in the singles queue. I stropped, and we headed to get some express tickets, however they had already sold out.

Definitely the shortest ever visit I have had to a theme park!

Back to the city and another sign which I have no idea the meaning of.

And a really strange combination for a cafe!

After a little mince around a bit more of Osaka (Ilya bought a little plant) we spent a lovely hour or so drinking beer and looking at the world go by at a bar in Shin-Osaka station, it really is a great country for people watching.

Last night in Osaka, and although we didn't get to see as much of the city as we wanted, we had our final evening meal of delicious Okanamiyaki, in a little place called Kyo-Chabana, a commuter place which we had walked past several times before even realising it was there, such tasty food, and I tried sparkling Sake for the first time, am going to be looking in to getting some when we get home.

Spooky moving food... love it

Back to Tokyo in the morning for the last couple of nights before home, this time has gone so quickly.