Thursday 18 April 2024
The agenda for today was to visit Harry Potter Studios. Our slot for the visit was at 1PM so we had some time in the morning. We decided to visit Nippori Fabric Town before going to Harry Potter Studios.
The town started to become well known for fabric from early 1900s when major textile companies moved there.
From the 1980s, it attracted fashion students, hobbyists, and professional designers for their work supplies. In recent years, it gathered interest from international tourists that they started printing English maps and signages.
Before we left the area, we had coffee at Excelsior Coffee near the station. They served decent coffee.
We took the train to Toshimaen Station for Harry Potter Studios. We arrived nearer to 1PM. The station was really cool and it was designed with Harry Potter symbols to add to the excitement.
From the station, it was just a 5 minute walk to Harry Potter Studios. After we entered the building, we collected the self-audio guides and checked out the shop.
The shop was big and amazing so we decided to go through the tour first and do our shopping before we leave.
I visited the Harry Potter Studios in the UK in 2016 (blogpost here) so I was keen to see how different it is in Japan.
The tour started at the dining hall with the announcement from the staff. It was really cool.
The kids did a recording for the animated painting. They were really excited to see it on the wall.
After that we reenacted the quidditch crowd scene. There was even a classroom scene where the kids get to try out a spell with a Hogwarts teacher. It was really cool. They had a lot of fun.
We had the butterbeer along with some light snacks.
The cafe was near the filming set of number 4 Privet Drive. It was really cool to see the actual house.
After that, we went through the rest of the tour and saw the magnificent Hogwarts Castle at the end.
In the evening, went to Don Quijote in Ikebukuro for some last minute shopping.
Friday, 19 April 2024
Today is our last day in Tokyo as our flight was in the morning. We checked out and headed to the airport by taxi.
I returned the portable wifi before we checked-in. After checking in, we went to the shops on the 2nd floor. There was a nice bookstore and a number of restaurants. We also took the opportunity to buy some snacks as souvenirs for friends and family.
We went to the Japan Food Hall for a last bite before flying off. To our delight, there was a shop selling tempura and it was really tasty!
There was also a Akihabara+ that basically sells all cool Japanese stuff like anime merchandise and kids toys. Too bad we didn’t have much time as I would have loved to browse through and buy a few goodies before heading back.
We had a great family holiday in Tokyo. It’s rare for us to get the whole family especially with my parents, on a long trip such as this one. I truly cherish these moments and here’s to hoping for more in the future.
Related posts: Tokyo 2024 part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7
Imran Jaafar 