Hangin' with the Locals
Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) with my Japanese friend Marina. When I met her 3 weeks ago she asked me if I knew about the "Hard Rock Cafe," and I just so happened to be wearing a Hard Rock Cafe: Niagra Falls T-shirt that my friend had given me. So Marina told me that there is a Hard Rock Cafe in Osaka, next to Universal Studios Japan, and from there we made plans to go to Universal Studios and eat at the Hard Rock.
But it almost didn't happen. Marina e-mailed me and said that I should take the 7:54 express train to Kyobashi station, where she would be waiting for me at the Keihan line gate. From there we would transfer to the JR line to go to USJ. I figured if I woke up at 6:55 and left the house around 7:15 I would get to the station with nearly 15 minutes to spare in case something went wrong like I went to the wrong platform or the bus wasn't on time. I don't have a ketai (cell phone), so the timing would be crucial because I wouldn't be able to call Marina if anything went wrong. And something did go wrong! The night before (Friday night) I was doing something on the computer- I can't remember exactly what, probably just checking e-mails- and then I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on Youtube, so I didn't get to bed until probably 2 o'clock or so. In the morning I woke up to turn my alarm clock off and alas, I rolled back and fell asleep. I'm so glad I told my mom when I planned to leave the night before, because I woke up at 7:10 to my mother's knocking on the door. I panicked and thought, "oh no, I just slept through USJ!" But my mother was so kind, she offered to drive me to the station and threw together some bread and orange juice for me to eat on the train. So I actually got to Hirakata-shi station early and took an earlier express train to Kyobashi station, where I ate my breakfast while I waited for Marina to arrive. We met up and then set off for Universal City (Yunibaasaru Shitii) Station. At around 3:00 Nori (a friend I met through Marina; they both are on the university swim club) was going to join us, accompanied by his friend Yayoi. Yayoi had class at Kansai Gaidai until 3:00, so Nori was going to wait for her class to finish and then come with her to USJ.
We got to the USJ gates right at opening time (9:00), and even at opening everything was packed. It's a bit smaller than the one in Florida, but it has pretty much all of the attractions and a lot of shows. I think the big difference between the one at Florida and the one in Japan is just how crowded they are- there were people everywhere! Marina really wanted to see Spiderman but the line was packed (I mean, the wait was over 2 hours and the line extended outside of the attraction for a good two blocks), so we instead went to ET: The Extraterrestrial, where the wait was significantly shorter. We both really liked the ride, and I enjoyed explaining the story to her (or as much as I could remember from when I saw the movie as a kid). Marina had a good point: ET is kind of creepy. I think he would be cuter with fur. After a bathroom break and a photo with ET himself we hit Jurassic Park. I liked Jurassic Park, but the end was really scary- the part where you see T-rex coming at you, and then you plunge down into the water. I'm not sure if I like it or hate it, because as much as I dread that gut-in-my-chest, I can't breathe sensation of falling down, it is really exciting and afterwards I can't help but laugh. In the picture taken during the fall me and Marina are both screaming and clutching the handrail! I really liked the picture, but just like America the pictures are way too expensive (1500 yen, or almost 15 bucks) so I didn't buy any. After a photo in front of a T-rex's open jaws we hit a food kiosk (there were even lines for food) and had turkey legs and coke. Oh, the turkey leg was so delicious... I haven't had one since I went to Disney in high school, 3 or 4 years ago. Oh, while we were waiting in line Marina told me that Nori actually likes Yayoi (the girl he was coming to USJ with), but that it was a secret so I couldn't let him know that I know. I love to hear that sort of thing, it's so exciting. So at that point I was really excited for Nori to come because I wanted to meet Yayoi and see what she was like.
After the turkey leg I still had room for popcorn, so Marina and I shared a small box. While we were eating popcorn we hopped into the Backdraft line. Backdraft is that ride where you get to watch a raging fire break out- you can actually feel the heat on your face! While we were waiting in line Marina sent the manager at her part-time job (baito) a text message apologizing for spilling a drink on a customer on Friday. Hanging out with Marina, even waiting in lines was fun. Since we met we have spoken together in Japanese, with only occasional English. I'm not exactly sure where her abilities lie in English, because the impression I get from speaking to her in English is that she has a lot of improvement to make (like me with my Japanese), but then when I look at the readings she does for her English class I am amazed at the complex sentences she can understand. I think in Japan they stress reading and writing so much that Japanese people never have an opportunity to pracitce their speaking, so their English abilities are really unbalanced. But that's besides the point. Waiting in lines was a great chance to talk to Marina and find out more about her (including how she broke her arm in elementary school and how she wants to live in a foreign country some day). It was also funny watching the English how-to-ride videos dubbed over in Japanese.
After Backdraft it was past 3, so Marina and I headed for the gate and met up with Nori and Yayoi. I got a chance to talk to yayoi throughout the day as we were walking from attraction to attraction and waiting in line. Yayoi was very pretty and very sweet- I can see why Nori must like her. Marina and I agreed that Nori and Yayoi get along very well, so I hope that someday they will get together. After we four met up we hit Back to the Future, which was fun not only because of the ride but because in line we got really bored and did a lot of goofing off. Marina started it all, with her tapping on the opposite shoulder bit. So I got Nori with the classic "what's that on your shirt," tap them on the nose when they look down bit. That escalated into side-poking and tickling; good times. After Back to the Future we bought Orange and Strawberry churros and hit Terminator 2: 3D. The 3D movie wasn't that great- actually my favorite part was before the show when they had this crazy Japanese lady in a red business suit (an employee of the terminator robot factory) entertaining us while we waited. She was really over the top with her exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and booming voice, and although I had no idea what she was saying I couldn't help but laugh.
After Terminator we hit Jurassic Park again. The sun sets really early in Japan (around 5:30 or so), so it was really dark and really exciting riding Jurassic Park at night. Marina was the only one to let go of the handle bar at the part where you drop- me, Nori, and Yayoi were all clutching the rail and looked like we were falling to our deaths! We had time for one more ride, Jaws, which we were just in time for (we were the lucky last riders). In line there was a cute little Japanese boy in front of us, four years old, who talked and talked and talked to us. He was so adorable, jumping up and down with stickers on his pudgy little cheeks. And during the ride he pointed out where the scary shark pops out at. It was great fun, and afterwards we of course had our photo taken in front of the giant shark at the entrance to the attraction. The last thing we did at USJ was buy a souvenier together- we all bought a small teddy bear lanyard that looks like Doc from Back to the Future. Then we hit the Hard Rock Cafe right outside of the park. It was great with all of the workers dressed up like Halloween characters- and they had free refills on the drinks (a rarity in Japan). I got a big cheeseburger, which really hit the spot because I was so hungry. We got there too late to order dessert, but me and Marina and Yayoi were talking about how much we love sweets, so we decided that next time we are going to go to an all-you-can-eat dessert (called "viking dessert" in Japanese) restaurant. I'm really looking forward to that.
We caught the last train out of Universal Studios to Osaka station, but from there no more trains were running. But Yayoi lives near Hirakata city (the place I live) with her parents, so she called them and they were nice enough to pick me up and drop me off at my home. The whole day was really a blast. It's fun to hang out with the locals and speak Japanese- it really makes me feel like I belong here, more so than going to a temple with English-speaking friends, where I really feel like a foreigner. So that was my awesome trip to USJ; I hope to have many more fun weekends like this! As for today, I've got to hit the books.
But it almost didn't happen. Marina e-mailed me and said that I should take the 7:54 express train to Kyobashi station, where she would be waiting for me at the Keihan line gate. From there we would transfer to the JR line to go to USJ. I figured if I woke up at 6:55 and left the house around 7:15 I would get to the station with nearly 15 minutes to spare in case something went wrong like I went to the wrong platform or the bus wasn't on time. I don't have a ketai (cell phone), so the timing would be crucial because I wouldn't be able to call Marina if anything went wrong. And something did go wrong! The night before (Friday night) I was doing something on the computer- I can't remember exactly what, probably just checking e-mails- and then I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on Youtube, so I didn't get to bed until probably 2 o'clock or so. In the morning I woke up to turn my alarm clock off and alas, I rolled back and fell asleep. I'm so glad I told my mom when I planned to leave the night before, because I woke up at 7:10 to my mother's knocking on the door. I panicked and thought, "oh no, I just slept through USJ!" But my mother was so kind, she offered to drive me to the station and threw together some bread and orange juice for me to eat on the train. So I actually got to Hirakata-shi station early and took an earlier express train to Kyobashi station, where I ate my breakfast while I waited for Marina to arrive. We met up and then set off for Universal City (Yunibaasaru Shitii) Station. At around 3:00 Nori (a friend I met through Marina; they both are on the university swim club) was going to join us, accompanied by his friend Yayoi. Yayoi had class at Kansai Gaidai until 3:00, so Nori was going to wait for her class to finish and then come with her to USJ.
We got to the USJ gates right at opening time (9:00), and even at opening everything was packed. It's a bit smaller than the one in Florida, but it has pretty much all of the attractions and a lot of shows. I think the big difference between the one at Florida and the one in Japan is just how crowded they are- there were people everywhere! Marina really wanted to see Spiderman but the line was packed (I mean, the wait was over 2 hours and the line extended outside of the attraction for a good two blocks), so we instead went to ET: The Extraterrestrial, where the wait was significantly shorter. We both really liked the ride, and I enjoyed explaining the story to her (or as much as I could remember from when I saw the movie as a kid). Marina had a good point: ET is kind of creepy. I think he would be cuter with fur. After a bathroom break and a photo with ET himself we hit Jurassic Park. I liked Jurassic Park, but the end was really scary- the part where you see T-rex coming at you, and then you plunge down into the water. I'm not sure if I like it or hate it, because as much as I dread that gut-in-my-chest, I can't breathe sensation of falling down, it is really exciting and afterwards I can't help but laugh. In the picture taken during the fall me and Marina are both screaming and clutching the handrail! I really liked the picture, but just like America the pictures are way too expensive (1500 yen, or almost 15 bucks) so I didn't buy any. After a photo in front of a T-rex's open jaws we hit a food kiosk (there were even lines for food) and had turkey legs and coke. Oh, the turkey leg was so delicious... I haven't had one since I went to Disney in high school, 3 or 4 years ago. Oh, while we were waiting in line Marina told me that Nori actually likes Yayoi (the girl he was coming to USJ with), but that it was a secret so I couldn't let him know that I know. I love to hear that sort of thing, it's so exciting. So at that point I was really excited for Nori to come because I wanted to meet Yayoi and see what she was like.
After the turkey leg I still had room for popcorn, so Marina and I shared a small box. While we were eating popcorn we hopped into the Backdraft line. Backdraft is that ride where you get to watch a raging fire break out- you can actually feel the heat on your face! While we were waiting in line Marina sent the manager at her part-time job (baito) a text message apologizing for spilling a drink on a customer on Friday. Hanging out with Marina, even waiting in lines was fun. Since we met we have spoken together in Japanese, with only occasional English. I'm not exactly sure where her abilities lie in English, because the impression I get from speaking to her in English is that she has a lot of improvement to make (like me with my Japanese), but then when I look at the readings she does for her English class I am amazed at the complex sentences she can understand. I think in Japan they stress reading and writing so much that Japanese people never have an opportunity to pracitce their speaking, so their English abilities are really unbalanced. But that's besides the point. Waiting in lines was a great chance to talk to Marina and find out more about her (including how she broke her arm in elementary school and how she wants to live in a foreign country some day). It was also funny watching the English how-to-ride videos dubbed over in Japanese.
After Backdraft it was past 3, so Marina and I headed for the gate and met up with Nori and Yayoi. I got a chance to talk to yayoi throughout the day as we were walking from attraction to attraction and waiting in line. Yayoi was very pretty and very sweet- I can see why Nori must like her. Marina and I agreed that Nori and Yayoi get along very well, so I hope that someday they will get together. After we four met up we hit Back to the Future, which was fun not only because of the ride but because in line we got really bored and did a lot of goofing off. Marina started it all, with her tapping on the opposite shoulder bit. So I got Nori with the classic "what's that on your shirt," tap them on the nose when they look down bit. That escalated into side-poking and tickling; good times. After Back to the Future we bought Orange and Strawberry churros and hit Terminator 2: 3D. The 3D movie wasn't that great- actually my favorite part was before the show when they had this crazy Japanese lady in a red business suit (an employee of the terminator robot factory) entertaining us while we waited. She was really over the top with her exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and booming voice, and although I had no idea what she was saying I couldn't help but laugh.
After Terminator we hit Jurassic Park again. The sun sets really early in Japan (around 5:30 or so), so it was really dark and really exciting riding Jurassic Park at night. Marina was the only one to let go of the handle bar at the part where you drop- me, Nori, and Yayoi were all clutching the rail and looked like we were falling to our deaths! We had time for one more ride, Jaws, which we were just in time for (we were the lucky last riders). In line there was a cute little Japanese boy in front of us, four years old, who talked and talked and talked to us. He was so adorable, jumping up and down with stickers on his pudgy little cheeks. And during the ride he pointed out where the scary shark pops out at. It was great fun, and afterwards we of course had our photo taken in front of the giant shark at the entrance to the attraction. The last thing we did at USJ was buy a souvenier together- we all bought a small teddy bear lanyard that looks like Doc from Back to the Future. Then we hit the Hard Rock Cafe right outside of the park. It was great with all of the workers dressed up like Halloween characters- and they had free refills on the drinks (a rarity in Japan). I got a big cheeseburger, which really hit the spot because I was so hungry. We got there too late to order dessert, but me and Marina and Yayoi were talking about how much we love sweets, so we decided that next time we are going to go to an all-you-can-eat dessert (called "viking dessert" in Japanese) restaurant. I'm really looking forward to that.
We caught the last train out of Universal Studios to Osaka station, but from there no more trains were running. But Yayoi lives near Hirakata city (the place I live) with her parents, so she called them and they were nice enough to pick me up and drop me off at my home. The whole day was really a blast. It's fun to hang out with the locals and speak Japanese- it really makes me feel like I belong here, more so than going to a temple with English-speaking friends, where I really feel like a foreigner. So that was my awesome trip to USJ; I hope to have many more fun weekends like this! As for today, I've got to hit the books.