14 Nov 2023 - Osaka Day 5: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ (USJ)

The next highlight of our day in USJ was a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Though we had a Timed Entry, there was no staff there checking.  It seems like everyone can enter the area at anytime but to go on the few popular rides, Timed Entry is still required when we entered the express queue.

The moment we entered the area, we were greeted by the below iconic steam engine, Hoswarts™ Express.

Next we entered Hogsmeade™, a village where wizards reside, there is an array of shops frequented by students of Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The most beautiful building in this area is none other than Hogwarts™ Castle (below), which is an iconic feature of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™.

Before entering the castle, we bought some snacks and beverages from the stalls around.

Inside Hogwarts™, we explored the classrooms and corridors of Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including Dumbledore's office and the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

We even met up with the Talking Sorting Hat, who spoke in Japanese.  :-)

We then took one of the most popular rides in USJ, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ Ride.  It was quite a thrilled ride and Javier felt pretty uncomfortable after the ride.  We took a short break at the resting area before exploring the other areas.

Below is the familiar Hagrid's Hut.

As Javier was still having a bit of motion sickness from the previous ride, Jerlene and I went on to take another roller coaster ride, Flight of the Hippogriff™, while Mommy stayed back with Javier.  This is another popular ride in USJ.  The waiting time for normal queue was 160 minutes.  We were so glad that with express pass, we only need to queue for around 15 mins.  I really cannot imagine how people are willing to queue for more than 2 hours just to enjoy a 2-minute ride.

There are a number of street entertainment in the Harry Potter zone.  We managed to catch the Frog Choir Show as well as the Hippogriff Magical Lesson.

There were many more interesting shops around Hogsmeade, and we saw a number of creatures from the Fantastic Beast series as well.

We decided to return here after sunset so that we could see the whole place lighted up.  Following is a video showing some highlights in this zone.

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