Hogwarts goes to Japan

16 July 2014 - 02:00 By ©The Daily Telegraph
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Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes in a scene from ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2''. File photo.
Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes in a scene from ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2''. File photo.

The wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opened in Osaka yesterday, with stars of the films in the opening ceremony.

Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, and Evanna Lynch, who is Luna Lovegood in the big-screen productions, welcomed the first 300 specially selected visitors to the attraction by casting a spell.

JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, reportedly visited the day before.

The £260-million park, featuring a vast re-creation of Hogwarts Castle - complete with talking portraits on the walls - is expected to attract an additional two million visitors to the Universal Studios' theme park, which draws 10million visitors a year.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter includes the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster, which dives past Hagrid's hut, and The Three Broomsticks tavern, a favourite with teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The village of Hogsmeade has an array of shops selling Harry Potter-themed souvenirs, including wands, chocolate frogs and Hogwarts school uniforms.

The attraction also has a re-creation of the Black Lake and live owls.

The Harry Potter books have been popular in Japan and the first movie in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is the fourth-highest grossing movie of all time in Japan. It took about £117-million at today's exchange rates and was only recently overtaken for third spot on the list by Disney's Frozen.

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