Photo Diary: Universal Studios Japan

 Osaka, Japan
A day spent in the picturesque town of Universal Studios Japan - what could be any better? I have not actually been to USS before, so this was definitely an eye-opener for me. The Second-Hand Rose was by far my favourite shop signboard in the entire theme park, and I couldn't resist inserting a photo of it. I gather that making frequent visits to amusement parks must be an integral part of Japanese culture, because both DisneySea and USJ had these amazing popcorn buckets (you got that right, that ingenious little Sesame Street hot-air balloon is actually a popcorn bucket) that you could bring back every trip, so that you could just refill the popcorn and not have to pay for the additional paper bucket (which makes it a pretty environmentally-friendly device too). I'd originally thought that few would buy these pricey buckets, but it was so common to see people of all ages, toting these popcorn buckets in all shapes and colours. Even my sister succumbed to the temptation of carrying one around.  
Dinner on this day was settled by ourselves, since my family opted not to partake in the Hokkaido crab feast that the tour guide offered to arrange for the tour group. We trawled the streets around our hotel after the shops had closed (eateries stay open way later than normal shops), and chanced upon a Mister Donut, where we bought and stuffed ourselves silly with the sweet pastries. What made the day even better was discovering a Mister Donut x Mos Burger collaboration, which had me in an absolute frenzy. Unfortunately, the burger, though delicious, did not photograph well, which leaves me the task of describing it instead - think fluffy cream puff pastry instead of normal hamburger buns, encasing a patty made of a disc of almond-studded chocolate, topped off with preserved peaches and berries that are surrounded with a wall of strawberry cream and drizzled with sweet berry sauce. You're welcome.  xx