🎊Here's 3 quick suggestions on how to spend your New Year's Eve in Japan!🎊

The Club Method

Many clubs in Japan have their own countdown events. Tickets may be sold in advance, but walk-ins are always welcome (at least in Osaka they are, not sure about Tokyo). I would suggest pre-gaming, especially if it's cold and especially if you're on a budget. Most clubs will be charging a premium to get in, with only a drink ticket or two included in the entry price.

Clubs in Osaka with NYE Events

(all of these events are on iflyer.tv)

WORLDOUT -Countdown Party-

Hilton Osaka

1-8-8 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi
Tickets: 5,500 yen (presale tickets available for 4,500 yen)
Hours 8:00 PM (first act at 9:00 PM) until 4:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/worldout/


This seems to be a fairly big party. The event page says there will be about 2000 people there, and they'll have a lot of famous DJs like ☆Taku Takahashi (M-Flo). The cost is quite high, compared to smaller club events, but I think you're more or less guaranteed a good time.

TRIANGLE COUNTDOWN 2016-2017

Triangle
3F-5F Ribia Bldg 2-18-5 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo-Ku, Osaka
Tickets: 2,500 yen(+1 drink) / 2,000 yen (+1D) in adv.
Hours: 8:00 PM (first act at 9:00 PM) until 4:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278918/ 


I wandered into club Triangle's Halloween event (mostly because non-Japanese got in free and we were cold), and they were playing some solid dance tunes on the the 5th floor. I would recommend this event for people that actually want to dance. According to the event page, they'll be spinning drum & bass, as well as hip hop, plus there will be food for sale inside.

The people here are really chill and they don't mind throwing a little extra in your drink. One of clubs I visit quite often throughout the calendar year.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

2-1-33 Sakurajima, Konohan-ku, Osaka-shi
Tickets: 12,800 yen (Party Pass)
Hours: 7:00 PM until 2:00 AM (park open until 9:00 PM January 1st)
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278516/


Universal Studios will be having its own countdown party within the park. I've never been to this event, but according to the event page, you're invited to hang out inside the park from 7:00 PM on the 31st until 9:00 PM on the 1st. Season pass holders are allowed to stay in the park until 5:00 PM on the 31st, after which only party pass holders will be allowed in. I'm not sure of the crowd sizes involved with this event, but with music guests like M-Flo and Daishi Dance, I imagine that it will be pretty packed. The music portion of the event will run until 2:00 AM.

JOULE COUNTDOWN 2016 - 2017

Club Joule
2F,3F Minami Sumiyamachi Bld, Nishi-Shinsaibashi Chuo-Ku Osaka-shi
Tickets: 2,500 yen (2,500 yen in adv.) +600 yen drink at the door
Hours: 10:00 PM until 5:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278777/



I had a Club Joule countdown a few years back when my bestie visited me in Japan. I wouldn't say it was the best countdown party, but I wasn't disappointed or bored, so that's a win? This event is nice because it's fairly cheap (compared to the other events listed, quite cheap), but they will make you wait outside, even if it doesn't look busy. I wouldn't advise trying to get in right before the countdown begins, but at least they don't raise the price after the new year.

Tickets:
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM       MEN 4,000 YEN ｜ LADIES 2,000 YEN
11:00 PM - 1:00 AM      MEN 5,000 YEN ｜ LADIES 3,000 YEN
1:00 AM - LAST            MEN 3,500 YEN ｜ LADIES 1,500 YEN
Hours: 9:00 PM until LATE (around 4/5:00 AM)
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/276602/

★★★

While hanging out with some friends, I was informed that Music Circus, an annual EDM festival, was letting non-Japanese attendees in for free. Not one to pass up a little free, I snatched up a ticket for myself, a few for my friends, and set out to have a rather intoxicated afternoon.

About

Music Circus is a dance music festival that takes place in Tokyo and Osaka every year. This event features famous DJs from all over the world (this year's headliners were AFROJACK and Nicky Romero) as well as famous Japanese DJs and producers (Nakata Yasutaka played a set this year!).

Official Site Here (JPN Only)

 Access

大阪泉南・タルイサザンビーチ
Osaka Sennan Tarui Southern Beach
Nankai Tarui Station


[From Osaka City]
Board the Semi-Express Nankai Train bound for Wakayama City or the Rapid to Nankai Izumisano Station, then change to to the local or Semi-Express for Nankai Tarui Station. The rapid route is only 10 minutes faster.

Though the venue is 1.5 hrs outside of Osaka City, it's fairly easy to find if you follow the young people dressed for a music festival. Also, you'll have to walk 10-15 minutes to the venue, so wear comfortable shoes!

Main Stage

Tickets

1 Day Ticket - 10,000 yen
2 Day Ticket - 18,000 yen
Music Circus '16 International Invitation - FREE (1,000 yen drink ticket purchase required)

Food and drinks are served with tickets and cash. You do get a set of tickets with your 1000 yen drink fee (separate from the ticket fee), but once those run out, using cash is fine. If you want to drink alcohol, be sure to bring your ID so you can get a wristband. Also, this year, non-Japanese attendees were able to enter the event for free except for the 1,000 yen drink purchase. That's a pretty good deal to see some of the biggest DJs in Japan.

Nakata Yasutaka Set

Impression

The only other music festival I've ever been to is Summer Sonic ('11 and '12), so trying to compare the rock vibe of SS to the dance music scene at EDM would really be an exercise in futility, but I can say that the people at this fest seem more laid back. At SS, it's a bit of a rush trying to see bands as there are a LOT of stages and good international acts tend to overlap (while Japanese acts seem to get better timetables).

At MC, it was easy to bounce between the two main stages and even the food and drinking areas. The bathrooms aren't the cleanest and the line the ladies fluctuates like crazy. If you think you gotta go, and the line is short, GO.

Area closer to the beach

Overall

This fest was a lot of fun, though my opinion of it may be skewed for quite a few reasons (limited dance fest exp, free tickets, good compny, etc.), but if a ticket happens to fall into your hands, I would definitely recommend that you check it out. Don't forget to bring your towel (always bring a towel), a little sunscreen, and maybe a little liquor if you can sneak it in. ;)

Check out more event photos here!

★ Peaces★

So excited to be in the midst of the zombie horde.

Universal Studios Japan Halloween Horror Night

This is the best place for concentrated Halloween fun. You can spend the entire day in costume, running around to various for photos, and after 6pm, enjoy frolicking with the park staff dressed as zombies (only in a specific area of the park). Most of the park stuff are really into the Halloween spirit and will help you take photos (the non-Japanese staff seem more uptight). Unfortunately, this is a rather popular season for USJ, so there are will be a lot of people until most of the events end (November 6th).

Here's a quick summary of the events available (website here):

Horror Area ~Street Zombies~
USJ staff dressed as zombies wander through this area of the park, trying to scare you. Most attempts are for naught as you can hear other park attendees screaming from a mile away, but it's fun to hang out. You might get a nice photo op with the right timing.

J-Horror Area -Tatari - (Horror Maze)
I don't know what this is as the wait times for Tatari are almost always over 2 hours, but it is open all day (though probably not as scary mid-afternoon). The way they describe it on the site is "a pure, home-grown brand of horror. at the end of countless torii is a strange village. in the depths of this village, a doll funeral is being held and a shrine where terrible incident occurred. You fine yourself lost in this village, isolated from the real world, and left to endure a fear unlike any before."

Horror Mazes
These are a collection of 5 minute mazes based on popular horror IP's. This year features Chucky, Friday the 13th, The Exorcists, Trauma 2 (paid attraction).

3-D Attractions
These attractions take place in the 3-D/4-D theaters in USJ. No separate fee but the queue is ghastly. Express tickets are available. The only famous IP is Sadako (The Ring). The other attraction, Schoolyard Ghost Story, looks like an original, mostly aimed toward younger kids (elementary school-ish).

Death Eater Attack
This event will only take place in Harry Potter Land (obvs) every 30 minutes or so. Based on the description on the site, it sounds like a small street performance with some water effects. I'd like to see it, but the problem with HP Land is that if you get the entry-ticket to go in at 1PM, there is absolutely no reason to stay in that area until 6PM.

Tennoji Zoo - Halloween Night Zoo -

The zoo will open in the evening for special exhibits featuring pumpkins and lectures (?? I guess, the only special thing seems to be lights and feeding animals pumpkin). There will also be live music (is that good for animals?? esp. nocturnal ones?) on the 29th and 30th. You can view additional information in Japanese here, or English information here.

BLACK VEIL - Halloween Party @ CLUB NEO

A famous event for more gothic circles in Japan, they throw a Halloween party (and NYE party) every year. Most of their events take place in Tokyo, but the Halloween event is in Amemura in South Osaka. They charge a pretty high premium (4,000 yen at the door, 3,500 in advance), but this could be an instance where you get what you pay for? Official site and information can be found here in Japanese. If you have any questions (or need a translation), feel free to ask!

Club Halloween Events

There are a LOT of clubs in Kansai, and some are open on weekdays, which means you can get even better deals on entry and drinks. Sadly, I don't have all the time in the world to translate all of the information. I do, however, have a link and a word list to help you translate the bare minimum. Feel free to ask questions, but also remember that I may not get back to you in time for the event. You best bet might be rikaichan.

Club Event List (mostly JP events)

Key Words
街コン - It's like speed dating. You'll probably have to be pretty fluent to participate as most people attending these events are looking for life partners (heavy, right?). Not the best place to find a fling or friend. Also, very pricey in almost every case. Especially for guys.

交流会 - A mixer, usually for making friends or dates. These tend to be on the pricier side, and may be rife with gaijin-hunters. Some require you to get your buy your ticket in advance, while some are walk-in friendly.

予約必要 - Reservation needed. You can probably use the site linked above to register, or head to the shop itself and buy a ticket beforehand.

残り２０人 - 20 Spots left. These events are limited to a certain number of people. This phrase tells you how many spots/tickets are left.

婚活 - Marriage Party. People looking to get married. Bring you income receipts because it's that serious. Check the event page and it will probably tell you whether or not you make enough to go.

クーポンあり - Coupons are available through this site.

HALLOWEEN RAMPAGE #9 ROOFTOP OO

October 29th 20:00 ~ 05:00
This is a pretty well-known event in Osaka. I attended #7 with a few friends and it was a good time; a nice change of pace from the full-on club events (it's easier to have a conversation, plus there is re-entry). It's a nice back-up plan if you're looking for a Halloween party with a western flavor (i.e., I think the best/most creative costumes show up here). Click here for the English iflyer event page. There should be a Facebook Event page somewhere too.

RIVERSIDE HALLOWEEN NAKANOSHIMA FES VOL. 2

October 29th 18:00 ~
This is an event I've not heard of before, but looks pretty interesting. It's free to enter and there will be food and drink stall.s To be honest, it sounds like your average street festival, just with the added topping of 'costume'. Click here for the English iflyer event page.

TO-KAE August 13th, 2016

So a couple weekends ago, I was invited to explore Nara Park and its candle festival. This was my first time, but this event has taken place since 1999. It's only held during O-bon (in August, the exact dates vary), and if you work for most of O-bon (like me, cryyy), then you really only have two weekends to hussle over to see it.

Sake tasting at Nara Izumi Brewery (info below)

The candle festival itself obviously can't start while it's still light out, but luckily, Nara City is quite the historic area, with lots to do while it's still light out. We hit a cafe, did some sake tasting, and dropped by a few kimono shops to check out used kimono (one lady thought we were trying to return yukata, but we were wearing our own).

After we finished our classes,we headed down to Nara Park with some cheaper refreshments and snacks. In Japan, it's perfectly legal to imbibe in public spaces, just be mindful of your manners and always take your trash with you!

Once dusk began to settle, and we were tired of having deer eat paper out of our sleeves, we wandered over to the Nara Kasugano International Forum, and began our tour. The candle displays stretch over a fairly large part of Nara Park, so if you're interested in going, I suggest you start from the Forum, head north toward the building's separate structure, then west down the hill and back toward the entrance.

From there, you should head down the road east of Nara's National Museum and toward the gazebo Ukimido. Boat rides are available for the adventurous, but beware of the long queue.

From there, we looped back around to the torii gates near the entrance of Nara Park, and got some fried foods and shaved ice. By them time we had finished our course (starting at 7pm), it was well past 9pm. It was an exhausting walk, but I am really glad I went and plan to do so again next year; sweaty yukata and all.

Information

▷Nara TO-KAE Official Website (JP)

▷Nara TO-KAE Official Website (Eng PDF)

▷Nara Izumi Brewery (JP Only)
〒630-8372 奈良県奈良市西寺林町22
(22 Nishiterabayashicho, Nara, Nara Prefecture 630-8372)

A small shop with no chairs located in a renovated row house. It's next to a small gallery, so you can check out some art after a drink (or the other way around). They have English sake menus available.

▷Yanagi Chaya
〒630-8213奈良県奈良市登大路町49
(4-49 Noborioojicho, Nara, Nara Prefecture 630-8213)
The shop featured in the photo below the sake tasting, I had no idea this was a tea shop! If you're looking to trying some traditional Japanese lunch, tea and sweets, this seems like a pretty awesome place to do it. The site is only in Japanese and the hours of operation are short, but that it par for the course with Nara. As that area is popular with tourists, I'm sure the staff will speak some English.

▷Nara Kasugano International Forum I.RA.KA
English Website
〒630-8212 奈良市春日野町101
(101 Kasuganocho, Nara, Nara Prefecture 630-8212) 

We only very briefly walked through, but it seems to be a multipurpose structure that comes with a Noh theater. There are an assortment of reception halls and waiting rooms, which also leads me to believe that weddings are held there as well. There is a restaurant inside as well, but I don't know if it's really worth a visit just for the restaurant and gardens. 

▷Voyagin - English-language Japan Tour Service
If you're interested in visiting Nara, but still have your reservations about how to get around or what to do, please check out this service. They offer tours, some created by local Japanese residents, at comparable prices and all in English.

Video

I also took some video of our time in Nara, so please check it out if you're interested!

Thanks for stopping by! Questions and comments always welcome!
★Peaces★

Tanabata at Shitennoji

It's the end of the July and summer is truly upon us. Make sure you bring a light sweater with you every where because you will freeze inside buildings, and sweat your butt off out of doors. Tis the season.

But it's also the season for matsuri (festivals). Osaka has three huge festivals every summer, Aizen Festival, Tenjin Festival and Sumiyoshi Festival, but you're sure to find local festivals at temples and shrines throughout the city and throughout Kansai.

Aizen Festival

June 30 - July 2

This is known as the first major festival of the summer in Osaka. It's held in Tennoji Ward at the Aizen Temple at the beginning of July. There are no big displays like fireworks, but there is a parade and a chance to get a love charm from participants in the Aizen Pageant. Although this is a well-known festival, the temple groundss are quite small, leaving most attendees to wander through the maze of street stalls along Tanimachi street.

Tanabata Festival

Second Week of July


About a week or so after Aizen, a Tanabata Festival is held at Shitennoji Temple, also in Tennoji Ward. This is a fairly local event, but many news outlets visit for the tunnel of light made from bamboo. You also have the chance to write your wishes on tanzaku that can be hung in the tunnel. This festival has your traditional food and game stalls, but also its own unique bit of a fun. This year, the local astronomer's society brought out several telescopes so that guests could look at Orihime and Hikoboashi (Vega and Altair respectively), as well as some of the other planets that were out that evening. We got to see Mars and Jupiter, which was quite rare, or so we were told.

There are other, more famous Tanabata festivals in Japan, but if you're in Osaka in July, definitely check this one out.

Tenjin Festival

July 25

I ran into this festival my first year in Osaka, and I have to admit, I haven't bothered to go back. It is Osaka's biggest festival, which means the crowds are damn-near dangerous. It originates at the Tenman-gu Shinto shrine, located in the Tenjinbashi area, but a lot of the activity takes place in the shopping arcade and at the river nearby. Fireworks for the festival are displayed along the river, so there are a plethora of river cruises for this time of year, starting at close to 200 USD. You can enjoy the fireworks from the riverbanks as well, but considering the number of people that attend, I would suggest that you get there early if you want a nice spot (you can also buy a seat from a Japanese travel agency or an English travel agency).

You can find more information on their official website. While it does have an 'English' button at the top of the page, this only seems to activate an auto-translation function. If you have any questions, though, feel free to ask or check out more info on Osaka's travel website.

Sumiyoshi Festival

July 30 - August 1

The third of the 3 major Osakan Summer Festivals is the Sumiyoshi Festival. Also based at a Shinto shrine, Sumiyoshi Taisha (Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine), the main Sumiyoshi shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. On the 30th and 31st, you can  participate in a purification ritual while the mikoshi is brought out on August 1st and taken to Sakai. This is a festival I've never attended as it is quite far from my house, but I'm quite interested and might give it a try this year.

I have been to the shrine before; the gardens are beautiful and the area around the shrine quiet, so I am interested in how lively things get during the festival. You can check out more information on the festival at the shrine's official website. However, this information is only available in Japanese. For English information, check out Osaka's travel website.

What is Maki-e

So, I was offered a chance to enjoy a little traditional Japanese crafting recently, and as a lover of crafts and all things 'komono', I answered with an enthused 'YES'.

By Pqks758 (漆器の板屏風より) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Maki-e (蒔絵) is the process of adding decorative designs to lacquered items (trays, pendants, bags even) through the careful application of more lacquer in intricate patterns. Before this lacquer dries, gold power, or other powdered metals, is brushes into the semi-wet lacquer, where dries into the pretty result you see above. It seems to have its roots in the Heian Era (e.g. Kyoto), so this lesson was a nice chance to experience a little traditional Kyoto.

The lesson takes you through the most basic maki-e process; first by creating the pattern, then applying the pattern stencil to your item (you can choose from an array of trays) and painting the pattern in urushi (varnish), and finally applying the gold powder to the varnish (the instructor does this part because, well, gold).

How to Reserve a Lesson

The UI is neat and easy to understand.

This lesson is by reservation only, and I used the service Voyagin to make my reservation. Voyagin is great for those with little to no knowledge of the Japanese language that still want to participate in local activities. Though this shop is one of the rare examples of a local activity with an English website, I think Voyagin would be great for people coming to Japan for a short vacation that are looking for easy access to a variety of activities. They also provide unique tours and can help you with getting tickets to concerts or theme parks in Japan (hint hint for people trying to get to USJ). They also offer tours and activities in other countries in Asia, so if you'll be on this side of the globe for a while, I'd check them out.

For my activity, you only pay for the activity itself, while transportation is up to you. But other activities/tours do add transportation into the overall price, so be sure to read the find print.

Maki-e Lesson

My design getting pressed onto the tray's surface.

The lesson itself is pretty straight-forward. After you enter the shop and get settled at the work table, the instructor starts you off with a quick maki-e history lesson (printed out, so you can take it home). Then you select your design stencil, or in my case, create a stencil of your design. Shota used the crane and rabbit motif, while I wanted to make something for our dear cat Bingley. Next, the instructor pressed the stencils into the trays and set up a piece of practice paper. You get a few minutes to practice your brush strokes with the varnish, but believe me when I tell you, you're not ready.

Painting on the varnish.

Cue all your powers of concentration when it's time to paint on the tray. I haven't been this tense while writing since my SAT exams in high school. My face is probably negative millimeters from the paper.

Buffing the gold into the varnish.

After the varnish dries a bit, the instructor sprinkles a little (real) gold onto the tray's surface, and buffs the beauty to perfection (though that really depends on your brushmanship?). There aren't that many steps to the lesson, but the process is so painstakingly delicate just when applying the design that it takes up the whole 1.5 lesson time.

My tray didn't come out as spectacular as I had imagined, but it was quite the learning experience. I'm seriously giving this lesson another go, albeit with a much simpler design. Once I get the basics down, though, I'm going to maki-e all of the things.



Links
We Love Kansai Youtube Channel
Voyagin Tours in Japan
Voyagin Tours in Kyoto
Voyagin Tours in Osaka

★Peaces★

One of the vlogs! Watch!

So the times, they are changing, a bit, and I find myself more and more interested in video-ing adventures as opposed to sitting down to write them out later. There are several advantages to this method of blogging; mostly that I don't have to force myself to remember what I did. This results in a much more accurate re-telling, and thus more accurate information for those looking to make a trip. BUT, editing a video is, at times, rage-inducing and time consuming.

I guess the TL;DR would be I'm lazy, but for whatever reason, I'm not so lazy when it comes to vlogging. σ(ﾟｰ^*)

So you can find me on YouTube under the username nanairomiso (same as the blog). It's nothing terribly fancy, but I'm got about 60 or so videos chronicling various points throughout my time (now six years) in Osaka. An interesting little time capsule.

I'll list a few of my more recent blogs, but feel free to subscribe or comment and let me know what other types of video blogs you'd like to see!

3-ish-Day Trip to Taiwan


Weird Restaurants and Universal Studios Japan


Fun Facts about Kansai


Please check out my YouTube channel if you'd like to see more! Some ideas I have for future videos are Art Book Reviews (where to buy and some of my faves), Learning Weird and definitely not useful Japanese with dramaCDs (lawl), and any other random idea that pops into my head. Suggestions are welcome (because really, I'm terrible at this lol).

The next proper blog post will be on our trip to Taiwan - How to get out of Kansai cheap and easy!

★Peaces★

The legends run wild.

Looks like Universal is thinking of all sorts of ways to exceed park capacity, so not only do we have events for One Piece, but also Dragon Ball Z AND Death Note. Let's look deeper into the details that have been released so far.

RECENT UPDATES WILL BE MARKED IN RED. AND BOLDED. :>

Universal Jump Summer

Official Webpage

Event Period

July 1 until September 4

Attractions

You'll need your brain. That's actually what it says, though I guess I could have been more poetic with my translation lol

Death Note The Escape

Official Webpage&nbsp

Welp, I hope you enjoyed the escape games for Resident Evil, because they aren't done with these yet! You'll be put into a team of 4 where you have to work together with L to solve puzzles and escape death, maybe?

Like the RE escape game, this is technically an attraction separate from the park, so you will have to purchase a special ticket for this. They will be available for purchase on the USJ website (no information on whether you can purchase them in the park).

I'm guessing this is an example of what the game area will look like.

 According to the description from USJ's site, you'll be running around a 4 story building called 'Sakura TV', following instructions from L, while you feel the presence of the God of Death behind you. With a combination of realistic productions and live actors, you'll get to experience the world of Death Note as you try this solve this escape game.

Tickets are on sale NOW and all dates are currently available. One ticket (any age) is 2980 yen （including tax), while pair tickets (a set of 2), are 7980 yen.

So far, it seems to include the 3 "attractions", One Piece Premier Summer (which is really its own even), a 4-D DBZ attraction and a Death Note attraction (probably along the same lines as the RE escape games from the past years).

Experience a power level of 5.3 billion. WAT.

Dragon Ball Z: The Read 4-D

Offical Webpage

According to the site, this will be a 4-D attraction with its own original story (??) and battle between Goku and Frieza. We ALL know how it'll end, but I'm interested in what this 5.3 billion power level is. Because I didn't think power levels got much higher than the millions. And that's all we've got so far! I'll try to update again once they post more info.

Details for the attraction have been released! It will be animated completely in 3-D with 4-D elements (lights, smoke, shaking chairs). It seems like tickets are not NEEDED for the attraction, but they are pushing their Summer Special express pass set. That means that if you go to the park to line up for the attraction, you'll probably be waiting in line for most of the day. Sadly, I'll have to recommend the express pass set if you want to see the attraction and get anything else done that day.

Dragonball Z The Rally

On the plus side, if you buy the Summer Special Express Pass -Dragonball Z- set, you get to participate in what looks like a Dragonball Z treasure hunt for the dragonballs called Dragonball Z The Rally. The event runs from 10:30 am until 7:30 pm (or 7:00 pm, depending on what time the park closes), lasts for bout 70 minutes, and winners do get a prize (however, you cannot choose the prize and it's not for resale, like that's ever stopped anyone though). 

Summer Special Express Pass -Dragonball Set- retails for 2,400 yen and comes with the dragonball reader, while the Summer Special Express -Universal Jump Summer Set- retails for 8,900 and includes entrance to all the the Shonen Jump attractions/events. More ticket info will be below!

Universal Shonen Jump Exhibition

July 1 - September 4
Official Webpage

In this exhibition area, you'll be able to check out some development art, trick, and quizes about your favorite Shonen Jump titles. It's not an attraction per se, but it will likely be a lot less crowded than other places and could serve as a nice spot to kill time.

Current series list for the exhibition.

There will be 7 Shonen titles on displayed: こちら, 飾区亀有公園前派出所 Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (AKA Kochikame), Dragonball, One Piece, Death Note, Haikyuu!!, 僕のヒーローアカデミア Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia), and BORUTO -Naruto Next Generations- (not food, but definitely sounds like it). Most of them just seem to feature developmental artwork from the series, but My Hero Academia has some trick art, Haikyuu will probably have life-sized figures of the character(s), Death Note will have a display of items used from he theatrical production, and BORUTO will have some AR photo ops.

This exhibition will be right next to the entrance of the park and the exhibition will run from July 1st until September 4th, no tickets required.

That day's vow becomes a new strength. That was hard to translate.. all the direct trans sound lame xD

One Piece Premier Summer 2016

July 1 until October 2
Official Webpage

The attractions listed on the site at this moment are the One Piece Premier Show 2016 and Sanji's Restaurant as tickets for these two events will go on sale first. Tickets to these events are separate from park entry and can be purchased in advance online, or at the park (I don't recommend park purchases for Sanji's Rest as that sells out pretty fast!).

Sanji's Pirates Restaurant

Official Webpage

This is like a mini, indoor version of the premier show, that also includes food! All the actors mime to the actual voice-actors' voices being played over the speaker, and interact with the guests. If I had to choose between going to this event or the premier show, I'd definitely choose this one!

Tickets 4980 yen for adults, 2550 yen for kids, with 5 shows a day, 80 minutes each. At the end of each show, you can take 2 photos with the Mugiwara crew, one on yuor own device, and one with that park's camera. The photos will be available for purchase after leaving the event.

Ticket sales begin on Friday, May 20th at 12 PM, WEBSTORE ONLY. The only other way to get your hands on Sanji tickets is by going to the park, and even then, you can only buy tickets for that day, not any other day. Check ticket info (Japanese only) here.

One Piece Premier Show 2016

Official Webpage

Well, the only info up so far is when you can buy tickets. No updates on who's to appear or what the story will be for this year yet, but an update should be coming later on this month! I'll try to add it to this post.

Tickets can only be purchased in-advance on USJ's website and eventually at convenience stores in Japan, but pre-sale tickets start with season pass holders, so you might be a little SOL if you wait to buy your ticket at the park.

The above image lists the ticket prices based on the seat you choose. The seats closer to the stage and in the center are all S1, so they'll run you 4980 yen for adults, 2550 yen for children. The cheaper seats are 1980 yen, 980 yen respectively, but they'll be toward the back and maybe behind a pillar. Choose wisely.

UPDATE 05/13
Tickets are now available for purchase online ONLY. The online presale will end on May 15th, after which, they will be available for purchase at Lawson as well. All dates except for July 1 are available. For other dates, I checked seat availability, and it seems like S1 seats (the seats closest to the stage) are already sold out. S2, A1, and A2 are still available. Regular ticket sales will commence on May 20th, by which all of the S seats will probably be gone, so if you want to be anywhere near the action, get a ticket now!

Sabo should be making an appearance this year! Squee!!

One Piece Water Battle

Official Webpage

Okay, this event, to be truly honest, is adorable! I checked it out last year with some friends, and though it was the cutest. Basically, some of the OP actors come out and have a water gun fight with kids. I don't know if adults are not allowed to participate, but I didn't see any sitting down on the ground with the kids.
Last year, it was Zoro, Luffy, Kin'emon and some Marine officers (basically, the photo above). But I did take video of the event, so I'll be sure to edit it up to show you guys!

Schedule
This event runs 4 times a day, so if you're not able to tickets to the premier show or restaurant, then definitely check this one out! You just have to stand in the right area until they start!

Dates: July 1 - September 4
(details are released 1 week to 10 days in advance)
Location: The terrace in front of Amity Landing Restaurant

Universal Yokai Watch Festival

Official Webpage

Event Period

July 1 until September 4



So I totally forgot about this event! It's been all over TV because kids watch TV and kids love Yokai Watch. I've only ever watched it with my niece and nephew, but the characters are super adorable and I bought a budo-nyan (grape cat-thing lol) from USJ last year, so I wouldn't mind checking this out.

It seems to have been broken down into 4 attractions/events.

Attractions

Yokai Watch The Real 3

Official Webpage

As the name suggests, this is not the first time USJ has done this event. I didn't participate in the previous ones, but this year's attraction appears to take in America (oh gawd). As this attraction is mainly for children, they made a special "children's ticket" that will be given out to kids in elementary school or younger. This ticket is free but is limited to certain number of children per day, so once they run out, it's finished. You can still try to wait in line for the attraction, but there's also no guarantee that you'll get to participate.

For this attraction, each group of 3 will be given a Yokai Watch and Yokai Pad, one of each, so families of 3 or more will probably have to split into separate groups. Groups of middle school ages kids or older will cannot obtain or use a "children's ticket" but they can purchase the Summer Special Express Pass -Universal Yokai Watch Festival Group Set- to participate. You're also free to line-up the day-of, but there are no guarantees on the wait times (the attraction time is only 25 minutes, but, you know, kids).

Yokai Workout The Real

Official Webpage

So if you know Yokai Watch, you know that one of it's biggest draws is the easy to mimic 'yokai taiso (yokai exercise)' that was played during the TV show. This show attraction is a way for people to meet their favorite yokai characters and dance/exercise with them (to be honest, I bet that's pretty adorable).

Unfortunately, there are a few rules that have to be observed during the show, mainly that photo and video are not allowed. This is probably for the best seeing as chaos usually ensues around yokai and cameras. Entrance to this attraction is also available through the Summer Special Express Pass -Universal Yokai Watch Festival Group Set-.

Yokai Watch The Rally

Official Webpage

This is another pad attraction based in the Hollywood area of the park that is a scavenger hunt, much like the DBZ attraction (see what ya did thar USJ). Participants that finish this attraction will receive one of the two limited edition USJ original Yokai medals.

Unlike the two previous attractions, there is a participation fee involved for visitors that aren't using the express pass set. The ¥1,000 yen ticket is available for purchase at the webstore (starting from July 4) or within the park. This ticket is included with the Summer Special Express Pass -Universal Yokai Watch Festival Group Set-, but I would assume that while the group has to share the pad, each participant will receive their own prize medal (I sincerely hope that is the case).

Yokai Watch Studio Stars Restaurant

Official Webpage

This is an American-style restaurant (e.g. hamburgers and hot dogs) with a Yokai Watch theme. Whisper (the ghost with the purple lipstick) is said to be the head chef, though what he knows about American dishes is a mystery. So far, the only dishes announced are a lunch box set with a hot dog, a ham and egg sandwich, and fries, plus two two mousse desserts. The others will probably be announced after the event begins.

Links

Official Universal Studios Japan Site (Jpn)
Official Universal Studios Japan Site (Eng, notice the drop in site quality...)
Official USJ Facebook Page (Jpn)
Official USJ Twitter Account (Jpn)
How to Purchase One Piece Premier Summer tickets blog post
USJ-related Posts on this blog

Ticket Packages

There are quite a few ticket packages available for all the events going on this summer, so I figured it would be easiest to write the names, prices and links all in one place. All the USJ official webstore items are only available in Japanese. For websites that are selling tickets in English, please check out Voyagin below.

Summer Special Express -Universal Jump Summer Set-
Adults/children: ¥8,900 tax incl.
Shop here (Jpn only)

This one is the most expensive as it includes tickets to the following attractions: Dragonball Z The Real 4-D, One Piece Premier Show 2016, and Death Note The Escape.

Summer Special Express -Dragonball Set-
Adults/children: ¥2,400 to ¥3,900 (price varies depending on the day, tax included)
Shop here (Jpn only)

This ticket "set" only provides you with a ticket to the Dragonball 4-D attraction, but it comes with a lot of freebies, so I guess that's why they call it a set. You get a booklet, that let's you participate in the dragonball treasure hunt, and a dragonball reader, but you want be able to enjoy any other attractions with this set.

Summer Special Express -Universal Yokai Watch Festival Group Set-
Group of 3: ¥7,200 to ¥10,278 (price varies depending on the day, tax included)
Shop here (Jpn only)

The group ticket set is for a group of 3, and includes entrance to two of the Yokai events (Yokai The Real and Yokai Workout). The group also receives a Yokai pad for the scavenger hunt and a limited edition original drink present. Perfect for families of 3, but maybe a bit troublesome for bigger families.

Universal Express Pass 3 -Summer Special-
Adults/children: ¥2,400 to ¥4,200 (price varies depending on the day, tax included)
Shop here (Jpn only)

This express pass set does not include entrance to any of the limited-time attractions. You gain faster entrance to the follow attractions: Hollywood Dream The Ride, Space Fantasy The Ride, and JAWS. The period of validity for this pass follows the same period as the Universal Jump and Yokai Festival events, so take care when shopping.

15th Special Express Pass
Adults/children: ¥3,900 to ¥6,600 (price varies depending on the day, tax included)
Shop here (Jpn only)

This pass is also unrelated to the Universal Jump and Yokai Festival events, but it does include fast entry for new attractions like The Flying Dinosaur and the revamped Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (you also get special seats for the parade).

English-language Reservation Service for USJ: Voyagin

Click on the Option drop-down menu to select an express pass.

If you're looking for an English-language service for getting your USJ tickets, check out Voyagin! They'll help you get your park tickets, plus they have extra options for the Summer Special Express -Dragonball Set- and Summer Special Express -Universal Jump Summer Set-, and they can get you train tickets for your trip to the park. If you need them to, they can even print and send your tickets to your hotel, but make sure to read the instructions on how.

Click here to access Voyagin's USJ reservation page.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I've been more motivated lately, so I may answer really soon! >w<)//



★Peaces★