Postcard from Universal Studios Japan - Osaka

Despicable Me!

Hi everybody at Luna.

I drove across Gifu prefecture on the backroads to avoid big traffic jams, but still got stuck around Kyoto & Osaka. The next day, I think we met everybody as they were all queueing for rides at USJ as well. Oh my word, so many glum looking people waiting for over three hours with NO entertainment to sit on a 90 second ride. Admittedly, the rides are pretty amazing (Harry Potter was first choice, and Despicable Me/Minions in the old Back to the Future zone was second) but good grief the waiting was grim.

Souvenirs? What a racket - Y5,000 for a plastic chopstick with a crap light bulb in the tip = Harry Potter's wand. Every other kid had a Minions water cannon backpack - starting at Y3,000 each. You can seriously drain your bank account here without trying very hard/doing very much.

My kids even had to wait to get a picture with Kitty-chan, and again with Elmo! Best use? Charlie Brown's bullpen.

Meet the throng

In all, I think we stood in line for 7 hours. My suggestion? Don't go to USJ or Disneyland in the summer, and certainly not on a national holiday. If you must, try a pre-typhoon day or a nice snowy one. Take your own food & drinks, and take turns waiting in the queue - go do something else while one of you waits :)

Summer holidays!

We're all going to be having a holiday next week, so please remember to take your towel to the beach, put on the suncream, and to take an umbrella (it's pouring with rain today - the ducks in the river are having a ball!)

Hijiri and Eleanor made a go-cart out of the Lego cupboard this morning in Pre-School, and my back still hurts from pushing them around, 'again' and 'again'! Big turn out today and we had fun trying to cut things out of our colourful play dough - still plenty to go around. We think Jim enjoyed mixing the food colouring into it rather too much yesterday!

HOpe you all have a great Obon Holiday - read an English book if you've nothing else to do? Send us a postcard if you go somewhere nice - or share a picture here or on our Luna International group on Facebook?!

National Holiday

Feel I must share with you the fact that Luna's teachers were at work today, in their free-time, researching for new ideas & plotting our Christmas party. Not many school's staff have that kind of motivation & commitment...