I can't believe that it was already two weeks ago, but before forgetting, I need to write about this. Martyn, Anna, my daughter and her family, and I went to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka (USJ) on the other day. It was our last day to spend with Martyn and Anna.

I've been to Universal Studios in Florida with my Bolivian friend, but it was my first time going the one in Osaka. My family had moved around a lot due to my husband's job, so when we came back to the Kansai region, our daughter, Nana, was a college student. I missed the chance to visit USJ with a kid.

I wanted to introduce Japanese culture, and I thought Martyn and Anna can't miss how Japan has been influenced by American culture. We have Mac Donald's or Starbucks everywhere, and we have Disneyland in Tokyo as well.

Martyn and Anna told us that they've been the Warner Bros. Studio Tour near London a couple of times, but it's quite expensive. I remember when I visited the Studios in Florida, it was really expensive even though at that time the yen was quite strong. When we arrived and saw the entrance sigh, we got excited!

The park was celebrating its 25th anniversary.

On that day, there are lots of people, but according Hikaru and Nana, we were lucky because it was less people than usual.

At first, we decided to spent our time at a Harry Potter area because Martyn and Anna are from the UK.

I was very curious about this guy who are talking to a boy in the picture below and talked to him to get more information about him. I wanted to know whether he was British. His English sounded British to me, but Martyn said he has slight a European accent, and this guy kept saying he was from USJ to pretend the character. He also showed curiosity about me and asked about me. He was the only foreign staff member we saw.

Unfortunately, photography isn't allowed inside of all kinds of attractions, but we rode a Harry Potter attraction. I also rode it in Florida, but I prefer the version of Florida because it's more closer to the movie. Frescia (my Bolivian friend) and I felt as if we had stepped into the wizarding world. Unfortunately, Shion (my grandson) was too short to ride most attractions. Hikaru was staying with him while rest of us were riding. He told us that when everybody was gone, Shion started crying because he wanted to join us. I felt so sorry for him.

After the ride, we had lunch at a restaurant designed to look like one of Hagrid's favorite pubs. The restaurant even served British food!

Of course, I had fish and chips. The Butterbeer-flavored ice cream was Martyn's recommendation. Both were tasty.

I was impressed by that even though souvenir shops looked like a movie's one scene. We saw a wand shop, an owl shop and even a broomstick shop.

Next, we tried a Jaws attraction because Shion could ride. However, it turned into a nightmare for him. We were peacefully cruising around the lagoon, but all of a sudden, sirens started blaring. Then, Jaws appeared showing bloody mouth wide open. Shion was completely terrified and burst into tears. I thought it' not a family friendly ride for young children.

We had Express Passes, so we skipped a long line and rode an attraction at a Jurassic Park area.

We spotted a Shion's favorite character, Minon's section. We talked about what Minions are, and Nana told us that they are banana fairies. Martyn, Anna, and I didn't know that. Did you know that they are banana fairies? Shion could experience a shooting attraction, so we entered and enjoyed shooting Minions.

After that we stopped by a cafe. I was impressed by the Minion-themed dishes.

Even Shion's sweet looked like Minion.

Shion met a real Minion with Hikaru.

Shion was getting tired and started getting a bit cranky, so we decided to go somewhere to sit. Nana and Kikaru suggested (they used to have annual-passes) that we watched the show from Sing. I saw the similar show in Florida too, but all character were bears.

We walked a street, and I've never visited Brooklyn in New York, but for some reason, it reminded me of there.

We spotted a rose garden! I never expected seeing such a beautiful garden in the park, so I was excited!

Although I forgot taking any photos, we had dinner at a restaurant, and after dinner, we headed to Super Nintendo World. We need to make a reservation to enter because right now it's the most popular area because only USJ has it.

I really wanted to experience the mushroom-themed cafe, so we went in.

I think spending time with Martyn and Anna was a great opportunity for Nana. She's going to a business trip to Malaysia alone and has to speak English. Martyn has been her British dad, and Anna became her British sister. I'm happy that Martyn and my friendship has been growing bigger, and now Nana and Anna are friends. The next day, they left us. I believe that they enjoyed experiencing a part of Japan and will come back soon! I'm already looking forward to seeing them again.

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