Japan: Universal Studios Japan (USJ)

Other than Disneyland I'm sure you have heard of Universal Studios. There are 4 Universal Studios around the world; Florida (USA), Los Angeles (USA), Osaka (Japan) and latest one in Singapore. I have explained a little about the theme park in my overview post. It is very easy to get there just take JR on the Osaka loop line (counterclockwise) and interchange at Nishi-kujo station to Sakurajima line and get down at Universal City station. Normal admission rate is ¥6,980 for the 1 day while the 2-day pass costs ¥10,871. Children and senior citizens have lesser rate so do check out here.

We went during Halloween so you will see Trick or Treat theme everywhere. The Starlight Parade was replaced by zombies which was kinda disappointing for us. Instead of parading or dancing (well they did a dance for only 5 minutes) there were just about 5 - 8 fully costumed zombies chasing everyone.

Train to Universal City is so cute!

As you walk out from the station you will see this. Mostly fast food restaurants and cafes.

Japan: How to ride a train in Japan?

Hello once again. It's been a while since I blogged about my Japan trip. The last post was tough to write because I had to research all over again to get the facts right. Prices and entrance fees might increase from time to time because I noticed there has been an increase of  ¥10 - ¥20 as compared to 2013.

But now I am going to provide a simple guide on how to ride a train in Japan. Unfortunately, I am unable to teach you how to read the signs and name of places. I decided to write this post to help you travelers because I myself faced trouble when getting on a train in Japan. I come from a place where there are no trains or subways so I wasn't familiar and easily get confused. Just look at the lines and dots below to get the idea. It is a map of Japan Rail (JR) for Kansai region.

I have never been to Tokyo so I don't know how their railway system works but hubby told me its almost as complicated as this and has a loop line as well. I am also unable to teach you on how to ride a shinkansen because I have no experience on that but my husband does when he was in Tokyo.

Japan: Where to go in Japan?

Kansai is the southern region of Honshu island in Japan. It includes prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Shiga which is why the main airport in Osaka is called Kansai International Airport. I will be covering Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo because I only traveled to these prefectures.

Map of cities I have covered in the region.

I stayed in Japan for merely 3 weeks in September 2013 so I cannot say that I have lived like the locals. You have to stay here for a couple of years to really experience Japan like a local. One word of advise is do not visit Japan in September because the typhoon was horrible. During that time, news about more radiation leakage also caused quite a stir. So why did I stay there for a longer time than most tourists do? It's because I followed my husband on a business trip.

Therefore I won't blog with the usual format like Day1, Day2 and so on but will write on an overview like this post, a guide on riding JR, places I have visited according to cities and of course food and shopping. All budget and costs listed in this blog will be my personal expenses because the company my husband works for only pays for their employees. Also take note that most hotels and hostels in Japan count by head so accommodation was all on me.