Landing in Tokyo
Twelve days in Japan: a few in Tokyo, four in the snow at Echigo-Yuzawa, then Kyoto and Osaka. We landed at Narita in the late afternoon, topped up our Suica cards, grabbed a drink from the vending machine at the Keisei platform and took the train into the city.
Our base for Tokyo was Agora Tokyo Ginza, all paper lanterns and blond wood.
Dinner on night one was a Lawson haul eaten in the room. Classic.
To Toshimaen
Next morning we took the subway out to Toshimaen in Nerima. This used to be an old amusement park, and now it’s the Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo, The Making of Harry Potter. It opened in June 2023, so it was still pretty new when we went.
From the station it’s a two-minute walk, past giant posters of the trio.
The tour starts in a lobby with a screen wrapping around the whole room. The gift shop is right there too, with a crate of Dobbies waiting to be adopted.
Then a wall of posters from every film, Japanese versions included.
The Great Hall
The first proper set is the Great Hall, and it’s the real deal: long tables, house banners, the stone floor.
Then the Grand Staircase with its talking portraits, and the Gryffindor common room.
Dumbledore’s office has the Pensieve, the sorting hat and shelves of the headmaster portraits.
And the potions classroom, where every single jar is labelled.
The Forbidden Forest and Hagrid’s hut
The Forbidden Forest is dark and misty, with Buckbeak and a very large spider somewhere in there.
Outside in the backlot is Hagrid’s hut, and inside it his enormous bed.
Lunch and butterbeer
Halfway through there’s the Backlot Café. Lunch was a roast chicken plate for ¥2,800, and of course a butterbeer (¥1,100). Sweet, creamy, and exactly what you’d expect.
Out in the backlot: number 4 Privet Drive and the purple Knight Bus.
Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express
Inside again for Platform 9¾, the trolley half-way through the wall, and the actual Hogwarts Express.
The Ministry of Magic with its green tiles is huge, and the “Magic is Might” statue is in the middle of it.
Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley is the best bit. Ollivanders, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts, the whole street lit up in blue.
The tour ends with the giant model of Hogwarts they used for the wide shots. It’s massive, and the lights change from day to night while you walk around it.
We spent close to four hours inside, and that was moving fast. Onward to Skytree and Ginza!
Information About the Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo
The real sets, props and costumes from the Harry Potter films, built on the old Toshimaen amusement park site. Opened in June 2023. Toshimaen Station is right outside the gate.
PS: Tickets are for a timed entry slot and sell out, so book ahead. Plan on four hours inside.