Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 2)

If you ask me, they could have simply set up a separate theme park altogether, all devoted to Harry Potter. You see, while walking around other parts of USJ, I did not have any sense that there is a “wizarding world” close by. In fact, I wasn’t even able to get a glimpse of the Hogwarts Castle from the outside. And then, when you enter the Wizarding World, you’ll immediately forget that just around the corner were the other rides and attractions. It’s definitely a theme park within a theme park.

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Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 1)

Personally, I had a bigger goal for checking out Universal Studios Japan. It is to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an attraction that opened on July 15, 2014. I’m not an expert on Harry Potter lore, so I am going to apologize in advance for any mistakes or errors I am likely to commit. Also, this will be another two-parter, since there were simply too many photos I wanted to share and putting them all in one post will result in an image-heavy post. #ExcusesExcuses

(Oh, and I can’t believe it’s February already! I was just lamenting being broke over Christmas, like, yesterday! Time, slow down, please?)

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Universal Studios Japan (Pt 2)

I like how this Universal Studios was different from the one in Singapore. It has different attractions than the ones I saw when I was there, so it was all fresh, at least for me.

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Universal Studios Japan (Pt 1)

Back when I was in high school and college, I used to be quite the fanatic when it comes to movies. My cinema-going record never went below “twice-a-month”. There were even times when I do cinema-hopping, which is basically moving to another cinema to catch a movie, right after I finished one. Also, just this Christmas break, I had to regretfully part with two huuuuuuge boxes of movie magazines, dating all the way back from 1998 until around 2008. I don’t know when it somehow toned itself down.

So you could just imagine how much of a treat it was for me when I went to Universal Studios Singapore a couple of years ago, and to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka just over month ago. IT. WAS. AN. ABSOLUTE. BLAST.

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Roarin’ at the Dinosaurs Island in Tuba, Benguet

Walking on the Dino Trail at the Dinosaurs Island at the Baguio Eco-Park in Tuba, Benguet may not actually make you feel like you’ve been transported to prehistoric times, when these huge creatures really walked the earth (but then again, I doubt there is anyone alive who knows how the real thing actually feels). It does, however, successfully make you feel like you are transported on a movie set, with animatronic dinosaurs at every turn.

I have to say, though, that I was in awe of the scale of the place. And the imagination that went behind it.

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Setting Foot on Holy Land in Tuba, Benguet

The Holy Land definitely ranks high up there on my lengthening list of “places to see before I die”. But, until then, I have to make do with what’s within reach.

And what’s within reach is the Holy Land in the Baguio Eco-Park.

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