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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Japan Today
These are Osaka's three best digital rail passes for travelers
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 One of the biggest Japan travel sphere bummers in recent years is the price hike for the Japan Rail Pass, which used to be the go-to choice for visitors looking to travel all across the country at an amazing discount. However, Japan still has plenty of awesome and affordable local rail passes, and today we're looking at three for Osaka. All of these are digital rail passes, meaning that you can purchase them online and use them via your phone, with no need to pick paper passes up at a service counter or dig through your wallet to pull them out every time you're going through a ticket gate. First up is the Surutto Kansai Osaka Amazing Pass, and yeah, it totally deserves that grandiose name. This is the pass for you if you want to see as much of the cool stuff that Osaka has to offer as possible. Available in 1-day (3,500 yen) or 2-day (5,000 yen) versions, this pass gives you unlimited rides on the Osaka Metro subway network, and also unlimited of the vast majority of Osaka City Bus and Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Kintetsu, and Nankai train lines within Osaka City. How this pass really earns the 'awesome' part of its name, though, is by giving you free admission to nearly 40 sightseeing attractions in Osaka, including some of the city's most iconic spots and activities including the Umeda Sky Building observatory (one of Japan's best 'travel experiences in the sky'), Dotonbori river cruises, Tsutentaku Tower, and Osaka Castle. Image: Osaka Amazing Pass official website If you've got a more focused itinerary, there's also the Osaka Metro 26-hour Ticket (1,100 yen for adults, 550 yen for kids) and its more expansive sibling the Osaka Metro 48-hour Ticket (1,800/900 yen). These give you unlimited subway network rides for their periods, and as a nice perk the clock doesn't start running until you activate your ticket for your first ride, so if you're getting an afternoon start to your sightseeing you'll be able to use your pass the next morning too. Being lower-priced, these passes don't get you into places for free like the Surutto Kansai Osaka Amazing Pass does, but they still get you admission discounts of around 10 percent at a number of attractions and museums, including the main keep of Osaka Castle and the Umeda Sky Building observatory. Image: SoraNews24 Rounding out our trio of Osaka ticket passes is the Osaka Smart Access Pass (1,200 yen), which combines unlimited use of the Osaka Metro network and free rides on nearby portions of JR West lines, which aren't covered by either by the other two passes. The JR area includes the Osaka Loop Line, Yumesaki Line, and access to Shin-Osaka and JR Namba Stations, meaning it can be used for traveling to/from Universal Studios Japan (and its Super Nintendo World area), which is on the Yumesaki Line. Image: SoraNews24 Full purchase details for each pass can be found on the Osaka Metro website here. Source: Osaka Metro Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Changes to Japan rail pass make it fall out of favour with travellers -- Japan's top 10 travel experiences in the sky【Survey】 -- One of Japan's most awesome rail passes, the Seishun 18 Ticket, just got a lot less awesome External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
21-07-2025
- SoraNews24
These are Osaka's three best digital rail passes for travelers
Unlimited subway rides, free admission to some of the city's best sightseeing spots, and no paper ticket you need to pick up at a service counter. One of the biggest Japan travel sphere bummers in recent years is the price hike for the Japan Rail Pass, which used to be the go-to choice for visitors looking to travel all across the country at an amazing discount. However, Japan still has plenty of awesome and affordable local rail passes, and today we're looking at three for Osaka. All of these are digital rail passes, meaning that you can purchase them online and use them via your phone, with no need to pick paper passes up at a service counter or dig through your wallet to pull them out every time you're going through a ticket gate. First up is the Surutto Kansai Osaka Amazing Pass, and yeah, it totally deserves that grandiose name. This is the pass for you if you want to see as much of the cool stuff that Osaka has to offer as possible. Available in 1-day (3,500 yen [US$24]) or 2-day (5,000 yen) versions, this pass gives you unlimited rides on the Osaka Metro subway network, and also unlimited of the vast majority of Osaka City Bus and Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Kintetsu, and Nankai train lines within Osaka City. How this pass really earns the 'awesome' part of its name, though, is by giving you free admission to nearly 40 sightseeing attractions in Osaka, including some of the city's most iconic spots and activities including the Umeda Sky Building observatory (one of Japan's best 'travel experiences in the sky'), Dotonbori river cruises, Tsutentaku Tower, and Osaka Castle. If you've got a more focused itinerary, there's also the Osaka Metro 26-hour Ticket (1,100 yen for adults, 550 yen for kids) and its more expansive sibling the Osaka Metro 48-hour Ticket (1,800/900 yen). These give you unlimited subway network rides for their periods, and as a nice perk the clock doesn't start running until you activate your ticket for your first ride, so if you're getting an afternoon start to your sightseeing you'll be able to use your pass the next morning too. Being lower-priced, these passes don't get you into places for free like the Surutto Kansai Osaka Amazing Pass does, but they still get you admission discounts of around 10 percent at a number of attractions and museums, including the main keep of Osaka Castle and the Umeda Sky Building observatory. Rounding out our trio of Osaka ticket passes is the Osaka Smart Access Pass (1,200 yen), which combines unlimited use of the Osaka Metro network and free rides on nearby portions of JR West lines, which aren't covered by either by the other two passes. The JR area includes the Osaka Loop Line, Yumesaki Line, and access to Shin-Osaka and JR Namba Stations, meaning it can be used for traveling to/from Universal Studios Japan (and its Super Nintendo World area), which is on the Yumesaki Line. Full purchase details for each pass can be found on the Osaka Metro website here. Source: Osaka Metro Top image ©SoraNews24 Insert image: Osaka Amazing Pass official website, SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Miami Herald
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Review: The new $7 billion Epic Universe in Florida leaps into immersive experiences
ORLANDO, Fla. - Three words. "Disney's in trouble." My 14-year-old daughter spoke those words after we were transported into Super Mario Land via an enormous green water pipe (it was an enclosed escalator illuminated by green LEDs), just like in the classic Nintendo video game "Super Mario Bros." - warp sound effect and all. We emerged, mouths agape, from Princess Peach's castle to see animatronic piranha plants, mushroom-shaped Goombas pacing back and forth, spinning coins and floating question-mark blocks. Against the scenic backdrop of a clear blue sky with puffy white clouds on a mildly hot day, it almost made me feel like I was standing in the actual game I played as a kid in the late 1980s. Super Mario Land was just one part of Super Nintendo World, one of five themed "worlds" inside Epic Universe, NBCUniversal's newest theme park in Orlando that cost a reported $7 billion to construct. The 750-acre Epic Universe, more than a decade in the making, also features three hotels with a combined 2,000 rooms, and more than 50 "awe-inspiring attractions, dining and shopping experiences," according to Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal. The park, which officially opened May 22, is separated into five areas: Super Nintendo World; Celestial Park; Dark Universe; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic; and How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk. Single-day park tickets to Epic Universe were not yet available for the park's second weekend, which is when my family went. So we secured a three-day Universal Orlando package - two days to park-hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure or Volcano Bay, and the third day to visit Epic. We paid about $160 each for the three-day pass in April. Single-day Epic Universe tickets now start at $179. Innovative thrills I'm always intrigued with the technology behind rides and attractions. With Epic Universe, Comcast received 161 patents for new innovations, including special animating effects, ride designs and robotics. One of those patents is for Mine-Cart Madness, a thrill ride in Donkey Kong Country at Super Nintendo World. The ride uses a vertical arm connecting the cart to a hidden track, creating the illusion of jumping over gaps or from one track to another. In Super Mario Land, a sensor-infused slap bracelet allows you to collect coins like you would in the game by pounding the bottoms of those floating question-mark blocks. Augmented reality (AR) is used for Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, a thrill ride based on the Mario Kart video game series. We steered through race courses wearing AR visors (the Rainbow Road course was the ultimate treat). But the high-resolution projection-mapping tech and animatronics on Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a ride in Dark Universe, was my favorite of the day. The new Harry Potter area is set in 1920s Paris and is based on the "Fantastic Beasts" films and the British Ministry of Magic from the "Harry Potter" series. Like at the Potter lands at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, guests can use sensor-connected wands to interact with projections and animatronics. Sustainable spaces Most theme parks, like Busch Gardens in Tampa or Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, give you concrete walkway after walkway that only guide you to the next attraction, quick-service restaurant or gift shop. Even at Walt Disney World, it's difficult to navigate the slender walkways, especially when a group decides to stop and discuss their next move. At Epic, there was plenty of walking space leading to various parts of the park. I didn't feel overwhelmed by the crowd. Mind you, several theme-park bloggers said Epic was at half-capacity at about 15,000 during its first few days, because most attendees either purchased the three-day pass or were season passholders. Still, it was relaxing. I learned that Epic Universe is a sustainable park. Over 165,000 plants - including trees, palms, bamboo, shrubs and groundcover - are irrigated with reclaimed water. Electric buses, powered by floating solar panels, take guests from resort hotels and parks to Epic Universe. There are millions of energy-saving LED lights, and filtered water refill stations so people don't toss plastic bottles. Solar panels in the parking lot provided a canopy of shade to vehicles in what I assume were premium spaces. Truly immersive Epic Universe was epic. The attention to detail makes the new park a winner. From trash cans blending into the bright architecture of the queue line for Yoshi's Adventure, to the "Back to the Future" Easter egg featuring a flux capacitor on the back of each vehicle on the Stardust Racers dueling coaster in Celestial Park, Universal scribbles over and completely rewrites the old theme-park recipe of fast coasters, character appearances and merchandise. Universal leverages its movie magic, cutting-edge technology and fandom to deliver a 750-acre experience that apparently isn't even finished yet. Some other theme parks have an area or two that are truly immersive and yield a sensation of amazement. I can name two. There's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World and the World Showcase at Disney's EPCOT. Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe rivals both. For those who couldn't care less about Nintendo nostalgia, the 1920s-era design and architecture of the new Harry Potter land and Darkmoor, the Transylvania-esque town that is home to Universal icons like Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster, are intriguing. You don't have to get on a ride to enjoy the place. When the sun sets, the Cosmos Fountain Show across seven acres of water in Celestial Park features choreographed water jets that shoot up 135 feet, with LED lights that interact with music from Universal films, Harry Potter, "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Super Mario Bros." We must have sat for 15 minutes or longer, staring at the dancing fountains in front of the new 500-room Universal Helios Grand hotel. We had a nice indoor lunch at the Meteor Astropub, one of many restaurants in Celestial Park. There are two live shows: Le Cirque Arcanus in Ministry of Magic (which appeals to "Fantastic Beasts" fans) and "The Untrainable Dragon" in the Isle of Berk. We decided to try the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry thrill ride, which combines animatronics and screen technology. The ride was experiencing technical difficulties and was delayed. We thought people would exit the queue and we'd be closer to the loading area once it restarted. Others apparently had the same idea. We waited for nearly two hours underneath London's Whitehall after being transported through the Floo Network (Floo powder is the green substance used as a mode of transportation by wizards and witches in "Potter," giving off green smoke). That attention to detail in the queue made the wait easier to survive, at least for me. If we could do it all over again, we'd probably trade the ride for the circus show. There's always next time. _______________ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I Just Found Out Super Nintendo World Has A New 'Bomb' Popcorn Bucket, And I Can't Wait To Try And Take This Through TSA
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The popcorn bucket industrial complex has been growing at an exponential rate. Once only the purview of theme parks, intricately-designed popcorn buckets are now found at every movie theater advertising your favorite blockbuster. Disney World is still the king of the popcorn bucket, though Universal Orlando Resort has created some great ones in recent years. This new Universal Studios bucket for Super Nintendo World may be one of the best, and also the most complicated to bring home. Universal Studios Japan just debuted a brand-new popcorn bucket for its Super Nintendo World. It's a 'Bob-omb,' the anthropomorphic explosive device from the Mario games that looks like the classic cartoon version of a bomb, that might raise a few eyebrows when trying to get it through airport security. I mean, I have no idea what airport security would think if they saw this go through an X-ray machine. It might only scan as a hollow piece of plastic, but if anybody gave it a serious look, I can imagine some security officials having questions. It doesn't look like a 'real' weapon, but certainly the TSA could still take issue with it based on how other people might perceive it if they saw it. If the TSA can take issue with "thermal detonator" Coke bottles, then a "bomb"-shaped popcorn bucket is absolutely fair game. As somebody who was mildly worried I might have an issue when I brought my Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge lightsaber through airport security, I honestly might get nervous trying to transport this. Of course, if I was too nervous, that might be when security would get concerned. This may be one of the best popcorn buckets ever devised. First off, it looks perfect as a 'real' version of the Bomb-omb, which was introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2. However, it's also functional, as it makes for a simple receptacle for popcorn, and is even round, which is going to make cleaning the thing a lot easier. The only problem with the Bob-omb bucket is that right now, it's only available at Universal Studios Japan. That park had the first Super Nintendo World, so it's not surprising that it debuted the bucket. That said, we now have two Super Nintendo Worlds in the U.S.: a small one at Universal Studios Hollywood and a much larger version at the brand-new Epic Universe park at Universal Orlando Resort. One imagines that if the popcorn bucket proves popular, the design will make its way stateside. Currently, the only popcorn bucket available at Super Nintendo World on either coast is themed to Mario Kart. While it looks cool, I would buy the Bob-omb bucket in a second, even if I were going to have some explaining to do to get it home.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I Spent A Whole Day In Epic Universe's Nintendo World, And There Are A Few Keys That Will Maximize The Experience
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Universal's Epic Universe is now open to the public, and whether you think it's a Disney World killer or not, there's no denying it's a great theme park once you visit. This is especially true if you're a longtime obsessive Nintendo fan like me, and just got to take your daughter to experience the wondrous Super Nintendo World in person. I can confirm it's even more glorious than videos and photos do it justice, and I spent a whole day in the land riding rides, looking for popcorn buckets, and just having an absolute blast with my seven-year-old. That said, I think I also learned some keys to maximizing the experience, and I'm hoping to pass them along to others ahead of their trip so that they make the most out of their time in the park. I'm a frugal guy, so when it comes to the "bells and whistles" of the theme park experience, I'm gonna pass more often than not. For example, I decided not to get the express pass for me and my daughter, but I'll get into that more in the next section. Because I'm frugal, I also passed on the opportunity to get a Power-Up Band (against the advice of CB's Jessica Rawden) for myself, but I absolutely understood the reason for getting one for my daughter. Most of the appeal of the park is feeling like you're in an actual Super Mario Bros. video game, and unless you have the band, you're going to miss out on the appeal of that experience. And trust me, I can understand the pain of paying for a Disney Magic Band that offers less functional value than an actual Magic Band, but all that goes out the window the first time you get to or see someone else hit a question block for a coin. It's a feeling that never gets old, and there are so many other neat things to do with it when you get inside. There's an "underground" experience where you traverse the underbelly of the Mushroom Kingdom, and use it to unlock cool easter eggs along the way. Plus, if you're someone who enjoys achievements, the band collects digital stamps and rewards for all the various accolades you collect while spending time in the park. We weren't able to complete everything in a full day there, so there is a reason to hold onto it in case you return in the future. Additionally, I've seen the band also functions as an amiibo if you own a Nintendo Switch, so store it in a safe place if you do purchase. As I'm sure readers know, the Orlando experience is not cheap. A day at the hottest new theme park in the area, with a day at Magic Kingdom at Disney World the following day, was making my wallet weep. Not to mention, I already paid for the premier pass for Magic Kingdom, so I figured I could skimp on getting an Express Pass to ride the three rides at Super Nintendo World. The original plan was to run through Super Nintendo World, check out some of the other parts of the park that others I work with raved about, and then get out by dinner time to meet up with family who didn't tag along. In the seven hours I was in the park, we spent all of it in Super Nintendo World, and a good deal of that time was spent waiting to ride Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, Yoshi's Adventure, and Mine Cart Madness. If you're trying to see the whole park, I think the express pass is the way to go. I also say that if you're looking for comfort, because full disclosure, those lines can be long and rough on a summer day. I will say the full queue for Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge is mostly indoors and air-conditioned, and full of easter eggs, so if you have to wait in line, it's so refreshing and fun to do so. I wish I could say the same for Yoshi's Adventure, as outside of some artwork and music from Nintendo Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, you could breeze through it and not miss much. I would say the same for Mine Cart Madness as well, as even the great soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3 music was not enough to make up for having to be out in the blazing sun for a bulk of the wait. Bottom line, if you need comfort or are on a tight schedule, spend the extra money on the Express Pass. Going into Epic Universe, I had one objective in mind. I was going to leave with a souvenir Donkey Kong mug that came with a purchase of the DK Crush Float at The Bubbly Barrel. I dreamt of that mug for weeks, and all the things I might drink out of it. Hell, I was planning on splitting the float with my daughter while we waited in line for Donkey Kong: Mine-Cart Madness. By the way, that roller coaster is as incredible as it looks, though way more intense and scary for a seven-year-old than you might think by watching the videos of it online. More On Epic Universe I Went On Every Ride At Epic Universe. One Ride Stood Out Above Them All Unfortunately, when I arrived, The Bubbly Barrel's machine was not working. A bummer, to be sure, and on top of that, I was unable to purchase the souvenir cup without even getting the float in exchange. It's wild to say I would've actually done that, but considering I couldn't buy it in the gift shop, I was left with little other option than to ask. It wasn't the only thing I was disappointed to leave without when I finished my day at Epic Universe. I also had my heart set on getting a Bowser shirt with a neon logo, but was unable to track it down when I ventured through the merchandise store. I ended up buying a Donkey Kong drinking glass, which I still really love, but couldn't help but be disappointed that I left with neither of the things I'd wanted. All this to say, Super Nintendo World was absolutely filled to the brim with people when I was in there, and I don't imagine it'll be any less crowded anytime soon. There's only a limited amount of merchandise available, so I wouldn't suggest setting your heart on grabbing any one piece of anything until you're there and can assure you'll get your hands on it. Also, even when the machine is working, that line at The Bubbly Barrel is super long, so be prepared to wait if you want that mug like I did. Overall, I'd have to say that Epic Universe was a real joy, though I do hope to see more of it overall the next time I get to visit. Be sure to check it out, and take heed of my tips about Super Nintendo World if you're looking to have the best time possible.
