Newly opened in March 31, 2001, Universal Studio Japan is the first Universal Studio ever built outside USA. Based on the concept of movie theme park, USJ offers thrilling rides and exciting shows in a Hollywood like environment. Popular rides include JAWS, Jurassic Park-The Ride, Back to the Future-The Ride, E.T. Adventure, Peppermint Petty's Stunt Slide. Animal Actors Stage, Waterworld, Terminator 2: 3D, Back Draft are among the shows that you may spend time lining up to get in. Anyway, expect lots of crowd everywhere you go in the park. To enjoy the most out of your day, USJ recommends visitors to attend the shows during the day and line up for the Rides after 16:00 when lines are somewhat easing. Also, another suggestion is if you can split your party, there is special line for single riders for Jurassic Park-The Ride, JAWS and E.T. Adventure.

My experience:

Although this is not the first time I have been to Universal Studio, I was still excited-just like every time to visit any theme park or amusement park. USJ is, not surprisingly, smaller than one in California. Honestly speaking, I hardly remembered it since it was already 8 years that I visited there. New attractions are introduced, following the succession movies in recent years. The shows which were well known in my first visit now become a classic, such as Back to the Future - The Ride and E.T. Adventure. This time, rides which I enjoyed the most is Jurassic Park - The ride. A real thrilling experience, especially one who is afraid of height likes me. JAWS is also exciting-as can be seen from the long line for this boat ride.

These four attractions are among the most popular rides of the park so prepare to spend more than an hour in waiting. However, USJ introduce a time-saving service for those well-planned visitors. You can get a Universal Express Pass that will in practical allow u to skip the long line and enter rides or shows in a few minutes. However, you still have to spend sometime in the line to get the Express Pass. Now it is available in five major attractions: JAWS, Jurassic Park - The Ride, Animal Actors Stage, Back to the Future - The Ride and E.T. Adventure.

One particular land which is unique to USJ is Snoopy Studios. In this lovely land, you will be lost in snoopy and Charlie Brown's world. I recommend Snoopy's Sound Stage Adventure, kiddy pinky roller coaster which will take you around the world-in half a minute, though. I also love Peppermint Patty's Stunt Slide. Taking this boat-ride in spiral coaster with your buddy will surely bring back your kiddy fun. Don't forget to do some shopping in Snoopy Studios Store for cute souvenirs specially designed for USJ Snoopy Studios. Be careful, you may love everything you see.

Unfortunately, I did not see as many show as I wished and missed out one most popular show, Terminator 2 - 3D. However, I enjoyed every single one that I visited, i.e. Waterworld (exciting), Backdraft (thrilling), Animal Actors Stage (so cute), the Wild Wild West stunt show(funny) and Animation Celebration starring Woody Woodpecker (interestingly funny). Check out for show time with your daily show schedule again. The lines for these shows are significantly reduced after six, but don't be too late. I missed T2 although we were there around 20:00.

It's quite difficult to enjoy all rides and shows in a single day. However, plan your day carefully will allow you to enjoy the most of your visit. We did good enough for riding all major rides and attending most popular shows, 11 in total. For the rest, hope we can do it in the next visitJ

Opening hours:
Basically, USJ operates from 9:00 - 21:00 but can close as early as 19:00 in weekdays.
USJ will be closed on Feb. 5-6, 2002.

To get tickets:
Although you may be able to buy tickets at USJ entrance, it is highly recommended that you book your ticket in advance. Tickets are available at main JR stations, Lawson as well as University Coop. The most convenient is to buy from JR stations so you do not need to exchange it at the entrance. For the latter two, exchange for pass-card is needed at the USJ entrance. Tickets for summer vacation as well as particular weekends can be sold out well before the day. Prices are as followed:

Adult (from junior highschool student and over) \ 5,500
Child (4 years old-Primary school student) \3,700
Senior (65 years old and over) \4,800

For those who plan to visit USJ often, check out for Annual Studio Gold Pass. \ 33,000 for Adult and \ 22,000 for child. However, this may not valid on some black out dates.

Things to bring:
1. Raincoat, if you do not want to get wet. Most of rides and shows involve some splash. However, you can still get one there for \200.
2. Hat for sunny day. You may have less fun lining up for popular rides under strong sun without it.
3. Food and drink. The price is not reasonable and not so delicious.

What to buy:
Anything marked USJ. I got a Woody Woodpecker USJ t-shirtJ

To get there:
There are various way to get to USJ, depending on where you start. If you are from Kyoto, like me, you can
1. Take KEIHAN line to Osaka, KYOBASHI station and then change to JR Osaka Loop line from there to Universal City station. This will take approximately an hour and cost \650 for one way. (From Demachiyanagi station to Kyobashi is \460 plus JR Kyobayashi to Universal-City \190.)
2. Alternatively, you can take any bus to Kyoto Station and take JR train to Osaka Station. Again, change to Osaka Loop line to Universal-City station.
3. For those who prefer fastest access, there are JR Haruka service from Kyoto to Osaka. However, you still have to change at Nishikujo station to Universal-City station. This cost \1,410 but takes only 40 minutes to get to Hollywood town.

For more information, visit www.usj.co.jp