Universal Studio Japan in Osaka opened a new theme area of the worldwide popular fantasy series, “Harry Potter” on Jul.15. (http://www.usj.co.jp/harrypotter/)
The theme area is 40,000 ㎡ with re-enacted facilities of those in the stories, such as the magic school that wizard children go, and at restaurants and stalls where special food described in the stories are available.
On the grand opening day, about 3000 people visited the area and everyday it receives a lot since then. USJ made the record high of the number of visitors there with more than 10 million last year and now it expects to have more than 12 million this year with these new attraction services. About 45 billion yen (≒$440 million )which is equal to the half amount of an annual budget of USJ was spent on building this new area. Some hotels expand their capacities expecting a huge increase in visitors and job opportuniies are expected to increase as well in Osaka, kobe, Kyoto, and other areas in Kansai, which will surly invigorate economy there.