This post has been written by Guest Blogger, Tracey.
Tracey travelled in to Japan many times with her family.
Tracey lives on the east coast of Australia and loves exploring her own country and travelling to different parts of the world with her husband and two boys in tow whenever they get the chance.
She loves being able to share her hints and tips from her travels to help other families have the confidence to explore near and far.
You can find her on Instagram @gogogoexplore
*Jo from The Tokyo Chapter here! I can also vouch for the fact that Tracey is the most lovely person to catch up with for a chat and a meal too*
We are a family of Harry Potter fans, as per the rules of life, the books must be read. first before you can watch the movies.
The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo is very much all about the movies and gets into the detail of how
the films were made as well as having so many amazing photos opportunities (if you. can avoid the crowds) and plenty of interactive experiences along the way. There is also the added bonus of some exhibits and behind the scenes of the making of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the information you need before you go to The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo:
1. Where and when to buy tickets to Warner Bros. Studio Tour of Harry Potter
I recommend purchasing a month in advance to get your preferred date and time. Tickets are only available on their website and authorised sellers.
2. How much time to spend at The Making of Harry Potter
Time needed at Studios – At least 3-4 hours
3. How to get to The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo
The nearest station is Toshimaen on the Seibu Ikebukuro and Toshima line 20 minutes from Ikebukuro. The station is also accessible on the Metro ‘Toei Oedo line’. There is also paid parking available onsite. The Harry Potter Studio Tour is approximately 40 mins by public transport from Tokyo Station or 50 mins by car/taxi.
4. Which ages is the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Tokyo best for?
The studio tour is best for fans of Harry Potter movies and best suited for ages 6 +.
We visited the tour with our 10 and 13 year old boys, who love both the Harry Potter books and movies, and they found it interesting and engaging.
I would recommend to get the most out of the tour that you have watched at least the first three Harry Potter movies. I know they get a bit more dark and scary in the later movies for little ones and we held off our kids seeing those until they were a bit older but if your kids have watched the first three they will be ok during the tour.
There weren’t a lot of young children at the tour but we did visit on a Monday so perhaps local children were at school.
As there is a lot of looking around and reading I wouldn’t recommend the studio tour for younger energetic kids as they may get a bit bored and the more exciting interactive experiences you need to line up for once you’re in the studio tour.
If they love the movies and will be excited to see replica sets and some original props and costumes from the films then they will love it. If you’ve never watched the
movies you wouldn’t get as much out of it as someone who has but if you’re curious about how movies are made you may still find it interesting. If you’re going with kids I think having watched at least some of the movies is a must otherwise they might find it all a bit long and boring. It’s also a long time on your feet and there aren’t a lot of places to sit and have a rest until about halfway through at the Backlot Café and Butterbeer Bar.
5. What kinds of facilities are there at the Harry Potter Studio Tour, Tokyo?
Facilities include – free cloak room, paid lockers for large items, dining options, toilets, baby change facilities, free wi-fi, the largest Harry Potter shop in the
world.
6. What to bring / wear to the Harry Potter Studio?
BRING: If you have a Harry Potter Wand – be sure to bring it with you- I speak about this in more detail below.
Also, it is a good idea to have a fold up umbrella with you as some parts of the tour require queuing outdoors for a short amount of time (see below for more information/detail.)
In terms of clothing, I recommend wearing comfortable shoes as it’s a long time on your feet without a lot of areas to sit and rest. If you want to “ride” a broom at the broom experience make sure you wear clothes that are suitable to hop onto the broom. If you have a Hogwarts cloak from one of the houses or any Harry Potter themed clothing I highly recommend wearing them for that added cuteness and vibe for all the wonderful photo opportunities.
The website recommends to allow 3-4 hours for your visit and this is definitely the case to get the most out of the experience.
We arrived at 11am for our 11:30am time slot and left at 6pm (including an hour stop to eat lunch, have a rest halfway through and this time also included browsing the largest Harry Potter shop in the world at the end of the tour.
We booked our tickets easily on the official website for our 11:30am time slot two weeks before our visit (not all timeslots were available with mostly the earlier
times being sold out.) If you want a particular time and date and are not too flexible – definitely book at least a month in advance.
The website says you can arrive an hour. prior to your allocated time slot and tickets must be purchased in advanced on the website. There is a sign at the front of the studios showing which tour timeslot can. enter.
There aren’t any group or family passes available and the prices are as
follows:
-Adults – ¥ 6,500
-Junior 12-17 – ¥ 5,400
-Child 4-11 – ¥ 3,900
-Under 4 – Free
You can also pre-purchase parking, a souvenir guidebook or a digital guide on the website but you can also purchase them onsite during your visit.
Is the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Tokyo a guided tour?
No. The self-paced. studio tour is an easy 5 minute walk from the Toshimaen train station and well signposted to find your way or just follow the crowd.
We had to line up for about 20 mins for our tickets to be checked before entering and going through security.
It is possible to order a digital guide at The Making of Harry Potter in Tokyo.
We pre-ordered two digital guides and decided to get a third one once we got there which we could easily do at the same counter where we picked up the digital guides we pre-ordered.
I wouldn’t say the digital guides are essential but they add to the experience as you get to see extra interviews with the cast and crew relevant to each of the areas you are in throughout the tour. They can also be a little distracting as there are videos to watch. As with most digital guides, they can get a little annoying to
manage – especially if you want to take advantage of the copious amounts of photo. opportunities around every corner without having headphones on or hanging around your neck.
The majority of people there didn’t have digital guides and, from a language point of view, you don’t need them if you can read and understand Japanese and/or English.
If you don’t get a digital guide for your Harry Potter tour, a lot of the information about each area is written on information boards next to the exhibits in both English and Japanese. There are also. videos which are mostly in English with Japanese subtitles as they are the cast and
crew from the movies talking about a particular aspects of the movie making process. If you’re a person who prefers to listen to information rather than read it and
you want to know the detail about how they made the movies, then definitely get a digital guide.
If you’re just happy to stroll around and look at all the amazing recreations of the sets, take lots of photos, see the costume and props and read bits of information here and there and stop then I wouldn’t worry about getting a digital guide.
Are there food options at the Harry Potter Studio in Tokyo?
Yes. Once you’re in, you can access two of the three dining options being the Frog Café for a sweet treat or drink or the Food Hall for a more substantial meal for lunch or dinner. I speak more about the dining and snack options (and food timings) below.
Are there toilets / restrooms inside the Harry Potter Studio Tour ?
There are toilets located in the entry area which I recommend making sure everyone goes as it takes a while before you get to the first lot of toilets within the
tour itself, which are just before the Forbidden Forest. There are also toilets located before you enter the studio building if anyone really needs to go. There are baby changing facilities in each of the toilet blocks throughout the studio.
Are there places to fill drink bottles at the studio tour for Harry Potter in Tokyo?
There are water coolers where you can fill up drink bottles out the front of the first toilets within the tour but I didn’t see any others elsewhere.
Are there lockers at The Making of Harry Potter in Tokyo?
There are lockers located out the front of the studio for large luggage but there is a free cloak room inside the studio entrance for coats bags and smaller suitcases.
Can I take a stroller on The Harry Potter Studio in Tokyo?
The staff request that visitors leave buggies and strollers in the cloakroom where possible due to the limited space but, if you do need it, the area inside the studio is flat with no. stairs and, other than crowds, you can easily move a pram/ stroller around the tour.
When is the best time of the day to go the Harry Potter Studio in Tokyo? (and how to manage mealtimes and snack breaks)
If you have the flexibility to choose the best time of the day to go (and have the stamina) I would go in the afternoon after an early lunch. If you’re lucky enough to
grab an earlier time slot you could also just grab a snack halfway around at the. Backlot Café and Butterbeer Bar and have a late lunch once you are finished.
Our timeslot was a bit tricky because it was too early for lunch before we got there but we got hungry before we got to the Backlot Café and there are no other food options in between unless you eat before you start the tour.
Also, towards the afternoon, some of the crowds thin out so you might not have to line up for as long for some of the extra experiences. You could then just grab a cute Hedwig sponge cake from the Backlot Café and a Butterbeer and some popcorn for a snack next door at the Butterbeer Bar and keep going around the studios.
If you’re still at the Studios for dinner, in my opinion, the options at the Food Hall at the entrance of the studios are slightly better and more affordable than the Backlot Café and a bit less busy than stopping at the Backlot Café otherwise you could always grab a Lawson dinner from Lawson located next to the train station.
Starting the tour at The Making of Harry Potter, Tokyo
You enter the tour via the doors at the back of the studio entrance and you move through the first few areas as a large group.
The first area – the staff get you to scan a QR code which is on stands around the room and you use it throughout the tour to take part in some of the interactive video type experiences.
You can sign in to the studio’s free wi-fi in this area which is available throughout the tour and you need to use an email address to register. This first area is like a holding area until they get enough people to progress through to the start of the tour.
When you move to the next area the staff will give you some information in Japanese and then a video plays while you stand and watch it. The video is mostly in
Japanese with English subtitles and provides some information and instructions about the tour and the do and don’ts of the tour.
After this area you then go to a movie theatre type area and sit and watch an introduction to the tour which is mainly in English and presented by the main cast
members and some of the crew. This video only takes about 5 minutes and then you move towards the front of the movie theatre and the entrance to the Great Hall.
You officially enter the tour through the Great Hall and if it happens to be your birthday that day try and get towards the front and you might be lucky enough to get
chosen to open the doors to the Great Hall. You have limited time in the Great Hall until the next group comes through so you need to have a good look around and get photos when you get a chance because the staff move people on before the next group comes through. If you linger towards the end or your time you could get a
couple of photos without too many people in photos.
Once you leave the Great Hall you are free to go at your own pace through the studios.
Interactive Exhibits at the Harry Potter Studio Tour
There are so many interactive exhibits throughout the self-paced tour sometimes you need to keep your eyes peeled so you don’t miss them. You and your family can be a “living” portrait hanging in the hallways of Hogwarts, you can conjure up a patronus, bow to a hippogriff, be transported by floo powder through a fireplace and many more experiences along the way.
There are some that you will need to line up separately for which can add time to your visit but the majority are well worth it to be part of the Harry Potter movie magic.
By far the most popular interactive exhibit is the broom experience where you can “fly” your broom around with a little help from a green screen and instructions from the amazing staff. We lined up for about half an hour to do the broom experience, you are not allowed to take photos or videos in this area and if you would like the photos or video you have to purchase them. There are two different packages you can choose from the Gold Package for ¥ 5,000 which includes all your groups digital photos and videos and Platinum package for ¥ 6,000 which also includes 2 printed photos. There’s also the option to get addition photos printed at a cost.
Make sure you just use one QR code for your group/family for photo and video opportunities so you only need to buy one package. You have 2 weeks to download the photos and video from when you purchase them but it doesn’t take long to download them so you can make the most of the free wi-fi and download and enjoy them while you are still at the studios.
If you own a wand, make sure your bring it with you for the broom experience. You’re also more than welcome to dress up in your house colours to really get into the spirit of things and make the most of photo opportunities. We had a wand we bought at Universal Studios and should’ve brought it with us if we’d known about using it for the broom experience. They also take a number of stills of you before the broom experience and you end up on a “Wanted” poster and some other cute pictures with backgrounds from the movie. There are some still shots that they take at the end of the broom ride too, so if you don’t speak Japanese and you want to know what they are actually asking you to do watch the screens of the people in front of you to see the photos they are trying to capture so you get the best shots.
The Overall Harry Potter Tokyo Tour Experience
The level of detail throughout the tour is amazing, you really do feel like you’ve been teleported into the movies themselves and are learning all the secrets to how they made them. They take you through all aspects of the film and reveal a lot of the magic of the movies. I think it’s quite a unique experience due to when the movies were made, there wasn’t as much computer-generated technology as there is now, so there were many talented people that made sets, robots, costumes, puppets and models that wouldn’t be used with today’s technology.
Some watch points, if you have people with you that don’t like the dark or spiders, it would be best to go through the Forbidden Forest pretty quickly. There are some large moving and talking spiders towards the end of this area that could be scary if you are not fond of spiders but it is easy to quickly pass them and you end up outside in the daylight at Hagrid’s Hut.
There is a significant section of the tour that is outside like Hagrid’s Huts and his motorbike and the “Backlot” area near the Backlot Café where there is the chessboard and large chess pieces, the Knight Bus and number of other fun attractions and photo opportunities. If it is raining, it will make getting to see this area and getting good photos a little tricky but not impossible. Number 4 Privet Drive is also located outside near the Butterbeer Bar and requires you to line up before going in. There is a particular scene set up inside Privet Drive which is worth lining up to see as well as peeping inside Harry Potter’s room under the stairs. If it’s raining you might need to come prepared because the queuing area is outside.
After the Backlot Café, you enter the Platform 9 3/4 area where you get to see Hogwarts Express, walk through its carriages and get to “push” your trolley through
the platform itself. There are 3 separate trolleys you can get a photo with so the line up isn’t long and you can take your own photo rather than getting an official photo. You can line up and get an official photo at the front of the Hogwarts Express but you can also easily get a photo a bit off to the side of the train between people getting their official photos if you don’t feel like lining up.
There is a souvenir shop in this area, the Railway Shop, but I wouldn’t linger too long and save your time for the shop at the end where you will still be able to buy all the same merchandise. If you do happen to want a wand for the Broom experience, you can grab one here before you get to the experience but you can also purchase them in the main shop at the end of the tour too. You can also get a personalised Hogwarts Acceptance letter here for ¥ 2,600 each – which is a nice keepsake for fans of the movie.
Backlot Café and Butterbeer Bar
As I said before, we stopped for a rest and lunch at the Backlot Café halfway through the tour.
The line can get pretty long in this area if you are close to lunchtime so if you want dessert too I suggest ordering it at the same time as your lunch so you don’t need to go and line up again. You pass a drink fridge on your way to the start of queue, don’t get a drink here if you’ve order one of the meal sets get your included
drink at the counter. If you don’t want to pay for a drink, there is free cold water and cups available at the end of the counter once you’ve ordered and paid.
There is the option to order with a member of staff or a self-service screen. It is available in. English with photos but we still found it a little clunky.
Once you’ve ordered you get a buzzer to take to your table and member of staff will locate you once your meal is ready and serve it to your table.
There are four Hogwart Meal sets that are themed for each of the houses and include a drink and some other non-themed main meals. We got the Slytherin Plate
(Bangers and Mash) and Gryffindor Plate (Roast Beef) for the adults and the Backlot Burger and Fish and Chips for the kids. There is also a kids hamburger option and kids curry and rice.
There is very limited vegetarian options and they recommend speaking to staff if you have any specific allergens or dietary requirements.
There is also a special Professor Umbridge High Tea that you can get where you get to sit in a special designated area and get themed sweet and savory treats.
Like most of these types of places, the quality of food isn’t great and it is overpriced.
The two meal sets we had tasted fine but the roast beef wasn’t a filling meal for the price- with only one thin slice of beef, the bangers and mash was better value for
money.
I wouldn’t recommend the fish and chips, the batter was extremely thick and hard to cut and chew and the fish itself was quite firm. Our son seemed to enjoy the Backlot Burger with no complaints.
We also ordered the Hedwig Cake to share, which I highly recommend as its both adorable and delicious. It was the softest sponge cake I’ve ever had with a layer of strawberry jam and slices of banana and strawberries.
If you want a Butterbeer, you need to head outside before you get to the Backlot Café queue/counter and grab one from the Butterbeer café. If you just want a snack you can get popcorn, crisps and pumpkin pasty with walnuts. The Butterbeer it has to be one of the best and most affordable souvenirs I’ve come across at these type of attractions. A Butterbeer is 1,100 yen and you get to keep the tankard and in true organised Japanese style they give you a little plastic carry bag when you buy it and there’s a tankard washing station, amazing!
If you haven’t tried Butterbeer before it is sweet so maybe just get one to share first and if you like it, you can always go back for more.
The line at the Butterbeer Bar never got too long while we were there over the lunch period.
There are lots of seating options from shared tables, booths and tables and chairs both inside and outside. If you need to charge your phone there are USB ports at the end of each of the booths towards the back of the café.
We didn’t have any food or drink from the Frog Café or the Food Hall in the lobby of the studios.
The Frog Café is all about sweet treats and drinks you can even sit in a booth in the shape of the iconic Chocolate Frog box.
The Food Hall has substantial meals and personally if you could chose between the Backlot Café and the Food Hall, the meals at the Food Hall look a bit more appealing and with some additional kid friendly meals like pizza and pasta. There are also a couple of extra vegetarian options compared to the Backlot Café including pasta, pizza, a burger and a vegetable plate.
The Harry Potter Studio Tour Shop
The Studio Tour shop is the largest Harry Potter Store in the world. It is an experience in itself.
You can only enter the shop if you have a ticket for the studio tour. You end the tour at the shop but you can also browse before you start your tour.
There is every piece of Harry Potter merchandise you could possibly think of and lots of fun displays across the store. If you still have energy it is worth taking the time to browse the shop even if you don’t buy anything. You can also purchase a number of personalised items including robes in the shop.
We certainly enjoyed our time at the studio tour and it was a wonderful insight into how the movies were made and an amazing experience for fans of the Harry Potter movies.
This post has been written by Guest Blogger, Tracey.
Tracey travelled in to Japan many times with her family.
Tracey lives on the east coast of Australia and loves exploring her own country and travelling to different parts of the world with her husband and two boys in tow whenever they get the chance.
She loves being able to share her hints and tips from her travels to help other families have the confidence to explore near and far.
You can find her on Instagram @gogogoexplore
*Jo from The Tokyo Chapter here! I can also vouch for the fact that Tracey is the most lovely person to catch up with for a chat and a meal too*
See here if you are looking for fun things to do with teenagers in Tokyo.
