These things occurred on Tuesday May 6, 2025 in Osaka, Japan
One of the activities our boys were most excited about being able to do in Japan was spending two days at Universal Studios Osaka. We tried putting the boys to sleep early the night before, explaining that we had an early wake up call and a long day ahead of us. Naturally, none of them fell asleep on time and everyone was cranky when we woke them at 6:45AM. To make matters worse, it was raining. Again.
Eitan started the day with a meltdown because the forecast predicted rain all day long. Contributing to his frustration, Chaim and I had left our ponchos in Israel to save space. We had been so focused on the heat in India and Southeast Asia that we failed to realize springtime in Japan was cold and rainy, occasionally punctuated by warmth and sun. Chaim took garbage bags and turned them into makeshift ponchos for the boys. I used the umbrella provided by the house. Oh, that’s a thing. Umbrellas are available in vending machines to rent or purchase in nearly every subway station in Japan, which should tell you something.
We arrived at Universal by 8:30AM. The lines were already long because it was the last day of Golden Week. Thankfully, we managed to get an early-ish entry into Nintendo World and go on all of the rides in Harry Potter World before the lines became unbearable. The first employee who measured Matanel for the Forbidden Journey ride deemed him too short. He was devastated because all of his brothers were tall enough to go. While Chaim took the other boys on Forbidden Journey, Matanel and I rode Flight of the Hippogriff twice. Then we switched. Weirdly, when Matanel was measured again, another employee decided he was tall enough after all. By then, however, the line had become too long and everyone was ready to move on. We decided we would try to come back later.
Shai and Matanel begged for wands. We told them maybe we’d buy them the next day, but only if they used their own spending money. This was something we had set up at the beginning of our world tour. Each boy had money earned through chores, birthday gifts from loving grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and the tooth fairy, who refuses to account for the last thirty years of inflation and is notoriously cheap. Since we were constantly changing currencies, each boy carried an index card where we tracked their funds in dollars while accounting for exchange rates as we moved between countries. Shai and Matanel were adamant they wanted to spend their money on wands. We decided if they still wanted them the next day, we would purchase them at the end of the day to avoid carrying them around the park for hours.
By 10AM we were sopping wet. My shoes and socks were soaked through and the children were shivering. Chaim and I finally conceded it was time to trade our garbage bags for ponchos that might actually keep us dry. After paying an arm and a leg for ponchos, we stopped for popcorn and hot tea to warm up before heading to Nintendo World.
Nintendo World was one of the most immersive environments I have ever stepped into. We probably spent the first ten minutes simply staring. Somehow it felt like stepping directly into a video game or the Super Mario Movie. The level of detail and thought put into making visitors feel immersed in the world was extraordinary.
The boys were especially excited for the Donkey Kong ride. While we were waiting in a ninety-minute line, Shai realized he desperately needed to use the bathroom. A kind employee let us leave the line so he could run to the restroom, where he promptly threw away his poncho before I could stop him. Oy. That was probably the nicest poncho we were ever going to buy and it lasted less than two hours.
We made our way back to the line where the employee kindly let us rejoin the rest of our family. As our luck would have it, the line had barely moved. A few minutes later, the ride shut down entirely and we were handed express passes to use later. We promptly took everyone to the bathroom. Except Shai wandered off. Unfortunately, this is something he does from time to time. A few years earlier, he casually walked away during a STEM event at school because something else caught his attention. Twenty minutes later, he was crying to his beloved principal because he could not find me. Meanwhile, I had spent those same twenty minutes frantically looking for him. At least that had been a familiar space filled with familiar people. Universal Studios Osaka was not.
The moment I realized Shai had disappeared into the crowd, I bounded after him. Eitan, fresh out of the bathroom, bounded after me. Chaim, who was still waiting for Amichai and Matanel to finish in the bathroom, then had the delightful task of trying to find the rest of us. Somewhere during all of this, three of our express passes disappeared. Gratefully, I eventually found Shai. Intact and completely oblivious to the havoc and worry he had caused, he was happily waiting in line to try punching a Question Mark block. In the moment, it all felt like far too much. Looking back now, all I can think is what a comedy of errors it was.
Regrouped once again, we made our way to Bowser’s Castle. No one minded the forty-five minute wait because the world itself was so immersive and engaging. The boys soaked in every detail and did not seem to care that the Yoshi ride itself was fairly underwhelming. Of course, exiting required walking through the gift shop. Amichai, Matanel, and Shai chose to spend some of their money. Eitan, our most financially cautious child, decided he was not yet ready to part with his.
We returned to Donkey Kong hoping the ride had reopened. It had, but the line was now three hours long. Since we only had three express passes and all four boys wanted to ride, I tried explaining the situation to an employee. They politely informed me that nothing could be done. The boys were disappointed, but everyone agreed it was not worth waiting three hours, so we left Nintendo World and headed toward Jurassic Park.
The boys loved the life-sized dinosaurs roaming around, especially the baby dinos. After exploring for a while, we all went on Jurassic the Ride. It was a lovely, boring ride until the final moment when the boat plunged down a massive drop into the water. I can handle loops all day long, but drops of any size make my stomach churn instantly. More concerning, the safety bar did not come down close enough to Matanel’s legs to make me feel remotely comfortable. I spent the entire ride clutching both boys, convinced they were going to fly out during the drop. Afterwards, Shai calmly informed me he had been perfectly fine and there was no need to worry. Matanel happily announced that his “butt came fully off the seat,” followed immediately by, “It was so much fun!”
From the moment we entered the park, Eitan had been fixated on whether or not he would ride the Flying Dinosaur, the “biggest, baddest ride in the park,” according to the boys. He loves rollercoasters but also fears the more intense rides. The cognitive dissonance of desperately wanting to ride while simultaneously being terrified felt overwhelming for him. Chaim and I told him we would return the next day and he could decide then whether he wanted to go. Disappointed in himself, he ultimately chose to wait.
Chaim took Amichai on Flying Dinosaur while Eitan and Shai decided to go back on Jurassic the Ride. I gave them the pro tip of using the singles lane to shorten their wait time. Matanel, who was not ready to ride again, stayed back with me while we watched the others splash down. Using the singles lane allowed the boys to ride multiple times. Somewhere around the third round, Matanel decided he wanted to join them. I had no interest in going again and had to trust that he knew what he was doing. This was a boy who understood the ride, had taken time to process how it felt, and was now willing to go without me. Even though I did not love the idea of him riding without me, I knew this was one of those moments where letting go mattered more than holding on.
We left the park around 6:00PM and stopped at another Sushiro, which had a thirty-minute wait for dinner. Not ideal timing considering the limited food options available to us inside the park. Everyone was hungry, tired, damp, and overstimulated. Ordering was its own beast. The restaurant, designed for efficiency and high turnover, limited patrons to seventy-five minutes per table. It took us twenty minutes just to place the order. Thankfully, the food arrived quickly.
We arrived home close to 9PM, had a quick second dinner, took hot showers, and then everyone went straight to bed. Well, the boys did. Chaim still had work meetings ahead of him, and I headed down the street to the laundromat so we would have dry clothing for the next day. By then, all I wanted in the world was warm, dry socks and uninterrupted sleep.
