Universal Studios Japan.

Universal studios are so important in the world of movies. I don't know if anybody in the world has got by watching movies not from Universal in the lat few decades, so many influences and so many influential brands. Some of the movies I watched and fell in love with I didn't even know were from Universal, I guess the name is almost representing it's "sphere" of influence in the world of movie entertainment.

Something I find really interesting is when movie studios open up theme parks, or let people see the actual "studio" where the movies filmed. It's a great way to see behind the scenes of some of your favourite environments from movies. Sometimes it's incredibly real and makes you feel like the place might be just like what you see from the movies.

So, I didn't know this but Harry Potter was a Universal movie. It figures that such a successful movie franchise would be produced by Universal. The scale and amount of money that must go into it would leave few other studios capable of delivering the same. Probably the only other competitor would be Disney who also have quite the strangle hold on the movie industry.

Not surprisingly, they also have a very widely known and popular theme park.

This is Hogwarts castle, almost lifelike in size. This wasn't he actual one they filmed but it's a very close replica that looks identical to the one in the movie (of course).

If you haven't seen Minions, then I don't know where you've been for the last few years. The minion phenomenon came round quite randomly, playing the sidekicks of the wanna be evil doer Gru in Despicable me. They were so well received, that they got their own exclusive movies. The weird yellow midget blobs of pure cuteness became a franchise in their own right, eclipsing that of Despicable me.

Like with a lot of other franchise characters, the amount of souvenirs produced has created a massive revenue stream on the side, almost rivalling the sales of the movie tickets themselves.

There are many different themed rides here. Mostly pulling on the characters from the universal portfolio. Interestingly, there is also snoopy which I suspect is from their involvement in the peanuts movie. I didn't know they had anything to do with Universal.

For people wanting a bit more intensity, other roller coasters are available. For me, I'm very scared of these things so I always avoid anything that goes completely upside down. My heart is generally better off as a result!

Is it worth visiting Universal Studios Japan? Yes, in fair Japanese style, the studio is full of cute little miniaturised versions of your favourite characters from movies we've all seen and fell in love with. The minions alone would give me enough entertainment, but then add to that, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and the list is more than complete.