Wizarding World at Universal Studios Japan Celebrates Ten Years
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Japan has celebrated its ten-year anniversary with a special event. The anniversary took place on July 15 and was celebrated by the return of actor Seishiro Kato, who was there for the area’s opening event back in 2014.
Kato appeared at a meet and greet in Hogsmeade village and toasted alongside a group of fans with their butterbeer. There was also a magical display by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students.
“Harry Potter” fans gather and toast with their butterbeer alongside actor Seishiro Kato. (Credit: Atsushi Ooka/Nikkei Asia)
Kato, who went to high school in the United Kingdom, expressed his happiness at returning to the park.
When I come here, I feel nostalgic because I feel Britain. My love for ‘Harry Potter’ has grown over the past ten years. I hope to rewrite my own history of magic in the next ten years.
Universal Studios Japan opened in 2001 in Osaka, but the park’s popularity slowly waned. However, the 2014 opening of the Wizarding World section, which cost approximately 45 billion yen (approximately $429 million in 2014) to make, led to a huge jump in popularity for the park, which began to attract not only locals but Harry Potter fans from all over the world. It reached 12.7 million visitors that year – a record number for the park since its opening.
Yuji Yamaguchi, a professor specializing in theme park studies at J.F. Oberlin University in Tokyo, said that the Potter section of the park “majorly contributed to the recovery in the park’s performance, which had been flagging since its opening.”
A guest attending the anniversary event said that when they first visited the theme park ten years ago, they were “shocked that it looked exactly like the movies.” They’ve clearly been impressed with the park’s authenticity and magical atmosphere, because they went on to say that they have visited the park “every week since.”
It sounds like the anniversary event was one to add to the Pensieve of happy Potter memories for the lucky fans who attended. With the Harry Potter TV show in the works, we’re sure the park’s popularity will continue to thrive with visits from both current and next-generation Potterheads.
