Today is USJ day, yaaaay! <3

The main reason we chose Osaka for our family travel is mainly due to the newly-opened Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan.

Months before our visit, we contemplated long & hard if we will buy fast pass tickets on top of the regular entrance tickets. It would be moot, after all, if we went all the way to Osaka, tapos hindi kami makapasok sa SNW diba? It defeats the purpose of our long-awaited travel.

A 1-day regular park entry ticket costs around Php 3,731.82 (current exchange rate). Fast pass that includes entry to Mario World costs around Php 4,237.46 (ours came to 5,799.87 for some reason, waah!). That makes it a whopping total of almost 10k per person or 50k for the 5 of us, huhu! The dilemma.

So we took a survey among friends who already went to USJ. They all said the same thing, go early (before 7am) at pipila ka to get a CHANCE at an entry pass to SNW. (A regular park entry ticket doesn’t guarantee you a slot at the Mario world kasi nga nuknukan ng dami ang taong pumapasok. You have to line up early & take a chance if you will be given a slot for the day. If not, sorry nalang – uuwi kang luhaan!)

They said they went at 7am & got tickets for 5-6pm na. So I was really worried & opted to just throw caution to the wind & splurge. Hayz. Goodbye 50k! Yung natipid namin sa plane & accommodation, jan lang napunta, HAHAHAHAHA!

No major regrets naman (minor, meron hehe), kasi at least, hindi kami na-stress on the day itself. Imagine, kaka-galing ko lang from food poisoning, and Jena didn’t know if she can be absent from her MBA online class dahil baka may exam. So all’s well that ends well.

Para mabilisan, we just had breakfast sa kalsada from a nearby convenience store. Bawal kumain sa loob, kaya ayan, mukha kaming mga yagit eating street-side! 😉

Alam nyo naman si Kap my Kap..”Swthrt! mahal ang pagkain sa loob ng theme park. Kain na muna tayo bago pumasok!”

When we entered the theme park, lo & behold, who do we see but my Babyson’s med school bff & his GF.

Aside from this piccie & a little pleasantries here & there, we didn’t get to chat much kasi nga nagmamadali silang pumila for the Mario World tickets.

We later found out that they were able to get an entry for 4pm. Good for them! Kami, 10:10am was the scheduled entry. Sobrang strict sila when it comes to the time, it has to be on the dot talaga. We tried getting in 10 minutes early cos we were already in the area, pinalayas kami! ;P

First order of business muna pagpasok (dahil nga kampante na kami’t may fast pass nang hawak, and we had 30 minutes to spare), syempre HAIRBAND! I’m a child at heart & I really make it a point to buy cute merch. Gusto ko din nga sana ng popcorn bucket, kaso umangal na si Kap dahil mahal daw at bulky! Sadness everdeen.

Ang target lang talaga naming masakyan na rides that day were the 2 in Super Nintendo World: Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge, and Yoshi’s Adventure (kiddie). Anything beyond that is a bonus na kasi nga saksakan ng dami ng tao. Even with a fast pass, the wait was around 30-45 minutes huhu.

Kinalabasan tho, ang nasakyan lang namin was the Mario Kart, kasi hindi na namin kinaya yung pila sa Yoshi’s Adventure. 90 MINUTES!!! @_@ Pero ok lang, kasi ang importante naman was the Koopa’s Challenge.

We also weren’t able to eat at Toadstool Cafe inside the SNW </3 kasi punuan din. Sayang ang cute pa naman ng fudz! What we should have done pala was get a number already pagpasok na pagpasok before doing the rides & buying merch.

Wala, na wow-mali kami. So we ate nalang elsewhere. At this point, basta may aircon, pagkain, at mesa, a-ok na kami! EVERYWHERE in USJ (and all of Japan) is PILA!!! Buti nalang talaga at maabilidad itong mga anak ko makipag-agawan ng mesa at upuan saan man kami mapadpad. Good job my babies! :-*

Among the rides that came with our fast pass were, aside from Koopa’s Challenge: Harry Potter, and Spiderman,. Yan ang mga considered na premium rides in USJ. So those were the only ones we patronized, tutal nasakyan na naman din nila iba’t-ibang rides though the years. These were all we could bear under the extreme heat, pati hangin napakainit, para kaming nasa loob ng oven!

https://youtube.com/shorts/FXFGooAg_Gw?feature=share

After Spiderman, which was last on our bucket list, we just wandered around a little, took some photos, hydrated, then left na by 4pm. Ika nga ni Kap, that’s all folks! Yung 50k, ubos in under 6 hours, wahaha.

We all felt sticky after a hot & humid day at the park, so we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower & change, then set off to Red Rock Kobe Beef for dinner. We super liked our meal there the last time we were in Osaka, so we made it a point to revisit. Did not disappoint! <3

Half of our jafun (mis)adventure done. Ang bilis talaga lumipas ng araw when you’re having so much fun. Yes, kahit nagsuka-suka pa ako, it was still a good time kasi I had my family with me.

Our last few, slower-paced days in Osaka, up next!