USJ was not exactly an authentic Japanese experience, but it was a lot of fun. We spent the whole day at the park and hit the big rides including Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Spiderman, and a new roller coaster called Hollywood Dream, which was awesome. One ride that sucked was Backdraft. It wasn't even a ride, we just walked around and saw a bunch of fire.
Towards the end of our day we were standing near the front of the line for Shrek 3D when we spotted some characters from Sesame Street hugging and/or terrorizing Japanese children. Like most 28 year old Americans, I was practically raised by Sesame Street, and I really wanted to get my picture taken with my childhood idol, Ernie. I was a bit hesitant for fear of losing my spot in line, but Anneleise ordered me to seize the Muppet. I'm glad she did too!
It was a great day at the theme park. It was especially good to see our friend Yukari, who likes theme parks so much that she moved to Orlando to work at Disney World for a year!
