| Didn’t expect this to happen with me in the universal studios Osaka | DAY 4 in Japan | 🇯🇵✈️🍱🍙🚄🍤🍣

Hi guys, welcome to Explore with Sanika! ✨
Welcome back to my channel. I’m excited to officially share that my channel name has been changed from Sanika Ghule Vlogs to Explore with Sanika. Thank you for all the love and support as we continue this journey together ❤️

In today’s vlog, we’re in Osaka, Japan, and this is our Day 2 in Osaka, where we’re visiting the famous Universal Studios Japan 🎢🎡
Since we’re traveling with our 6-year-old son, Universal Studios was a must-do for us—and it was also my first-ever visit to Universal Studios!

While traveling to Universal Studios, we faced a small but important issue. Unfortunately, my metro card was not tapped properly at the previous station, and I was stopped at the next station and asked to pay the fare. It was a bit hectic, so just a reminder to always tap your cards properly while traveling in Japan to avoid such situations.

We had pre-booked our Universal Studios tickets from Klook while still in India, and I highly recommend doing the same. In Japan, most attractions require advance bookings, and on-the-spot tickets can be difficult to get due to their strict discipline and planning culture.

Inside the park, something unexpected happened. While standing in line for one of the rides, I was stopped by a staff member, while my husband Satyajit and my son Sahil were allowed to proceed. Due to the language barrier, it took time to understand the issue through a translator. The staff kept mentioning “Child Swap / Rider Switch”, which is a system where one parent waits with the child while the other enjoys the ride, and then they switch.

However, my son had already met the height requirement and was eligible for the ride, so I couldn’t understand why this was happening. Being made to sit aside alone was confusing, upsetting, and emotionally difficult. I honestly don’t know whether it was harassment, misunderstanding, or something else—but it was a very uncomfortable experience and really affected my mood.

I’m sharing this not to target any country, but to be honest about my experience. Such incidents can happen anywhere in the world, not just Japan—even in India. When we see similar stories online, they feel distant, but experiencing it yourself is very different. I hope this helps fellow travelers be mentally prepared that anything can happen while traveling.

Thankfully, after that incident, the rest of the day went smoothly, and we did enjoy Universal Studios with our family 💫

Things I learned about Universal Studios Japan:
• The park is huge, and kids get tired easily
• Strollers are available only for kids up to 3 years
• If your child is above 3 and not comfortable walking long distances, plan accordingly
• Consider buying an Express / Magic Pass to avoid extremely long waiting queues
• Even on weekdays, wait times are very long
• Prioritize rides and sections you want to visit first
• Download the Universal Studios Japan app for navigation and updates

Food tips:
• Vegetarians will find limited options, so carry snacks or have a heavy breakfast
• Outside food rules are unclear, so plan carefully
• For non-vegetarians, chicken options are very limited
• We found chicken only at The Discovery Restaurant / Flying Dinosaur area (Mighty Landing)
• Most other places serve beef or pork

This is how we spent our entire day at Universal Studios Japan 🎬
Thank you so much for watching ❤️

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