Today is the day we've been looking forward to for a long time (planning commenced last Fall, so, yeah, a looong time!). When we get together for a weekend with the kids, we always look for something memorable to do together, and Osaka Universal Studios seemed like a really memorable thing to do :) The truth is, these kids will have fun no matter where they go. They all get along so well! So, we were guaranteed a good day no matter what we did. And, although the forecast was for a cloudy day, the sun came out in force, which made it beautiful, but maybe a bit warmer than we were prepared for.
We started out with breakfast at home, made by Momo & Hiroko (yummy home cooking!) and then got ourselves on the train to the park. The top photo, by the station elevator, is how the kids were managing to carry their new amigurumi friends hands-free, which made me laugh. On the train Mai used my hand towel to make a nice napping place for Korillakuma.
Just as we were entering Universal Studios, there was a parade starting. Halloween is really taking over Japan! Everything was Halloween-themed, and all of the characters from the attractions for little kids were dressed in costume. All the staff were wearing orange witch hats with their regular uniforms too :)
When they stopped, the kids could line up to trick or treat with the characters. You can just see Mai having her turn with Cookie Monster in the photo below.
Some of the rides were so popular you had to reserve them, so while waiting for the Flying Snoopy ride, we waited in lines for various smaller rides and the kids played in different areas.
We had an early lunch to avoid excessive waiting in line. We ate at the Happiness Cafe in the Minions section of the park. I sat with the kids and had a great time chatting with them. I was so happy that I could not only understand them, but chat with them naturally in their own language.
After lunch, when the kids' turn on Flying Snoopy came up, Charlie & I decided to visit the Harry Potter park, which had been designated as too scary for the kids (this time!). It was really nostalgic, as we'd visited the Orlando Harry Potter park with Brendan's best friend Ethan & his parents Lee & Patty six years ago, when the guys were 16. This visit evoked so many great memories of that trip. The Osaka park was almost identical, although Olivanders had been an attraction when we went to Orlando & it was hard to get in. Here we could just go in & look around. Of course, we had to have some butterbeer!
After we met up again, we went back to the Minions park (a favourite of Nozomu-kun's) and had shaved ice. Then we had a couple of photo ops with characters.
And then, we were soooo hot and tired, it was time to catch the train back home. I was so exhausted I didn't remember to take any photos of the delicious dinner at the family restaurant near our Air B'nB apartment. The kids were energetic right to the end. We all slept really well last night!! Tomorrow, we say goodbye to our friends (for a few days :) and Charlie & I go to Kyoto.
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