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 :)

A nightmare journey

A nightmare journey I remember was four years ago. It was April, and I had a meeting on the Ueda office. I drove the Ueda office in the morning. I finished work at 10 pm, then I started driving home to Shimosuwa-town.

When I was near Wada-tunnel, it was snowing. I thought something might happen. The road to Wada-tunnel was a long and steep upward slope. Some lorries couldn't climb the hill because for snow. There was a traffic jam, none of the traffic could move.

The road maintenance removed the snow. It took a long time. In the end cars moved gradually. When I arrived at my home, it was 4 am . I was exhausted.



大きな地図で見る

Eye of the Storm

After Reading Question:What is the worst weather you have seen?

It was long long rain in 2006 July.Big mud flow destroyed many house and a few (7 or 8) people died in Okaya city. That time I lived in Shimosuwa town which is in the next in Okaya City. My house was near the river To-gawa. This 2 pictures which I took are the river To-gawa. The river seemed to overflow at any moment.

A lot of trunk road stopped. Therefore, the company became one day rest. Next day, I went to work from Shimosuwa to Matsumoto. But highway closed at 11:00 am. There was an instruction to people who lived in Suwa, "go back home". Of course, me too.

I left work at 12:00. Every cars concentrated on Route20 (shiojiri-toge). The traffic jam occurred. I got home about 4:30 pm. It would arrive in 30 minutes if the usual.

It was the worst weather I have seen.