The Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter is a must see when in Tokyo for any Harry Potter fan. This is the second Warner Bros Studio Tour in the world and a large portion of it is similar to its first studio in London. Having been to both the Tokyo and London locations, here is a Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo review, as well as some practical information for you to make the best of your time at the studio!

In This Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo Review:

Getting to Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo

The Harry Potter Studio Tokyo is easy to get to via public transport. It takes around 30 minutes via train from Tokyo city centre. The nearest train station is Toshimaen, accessible via the Seibu Ikebukuro line and Toshima line on the railway, and Toei Oedo line on the Metro.

Themed Train Stations

At Ikebukuro Station, the platform where passengers get on the Seibu Ikebukuro line toward Toshimaen Station has been decorated to resemble King’s Cross Station. The Toshimaen station was also decorated to fit the Harry Potter theme, so your journey starts right even before reaching the studio.

Recommended Time Spent at Harry Potter Studio Tour

The studio’s recommended time spent is 4 hours, but I suggest allowing more time, especially if you’re planning to have a meal in the studio. We spent around 5.5 hours, including a 40 minute lunch break.

Entrance Time

The gates to the garden will open 1 hour before your ticketed time. However, you will only be allowed in the garden area, which is outside the entrance to the studio. The studio staff will use this time to remind guests to have the QR codes for their tickets ready.

Studio staff will instruct guests to form a queue outside the studio entrance around 30 minutes before the time slot.

We were officially allowed into the studio around 15 minutes before our time slot. There was also a bag check before entering, so avoid bringing too many items/bags if you want to avoid unnecessarily long bag check.

Tip: I suggest booking a morning slot as it gets crowded after 11am. Being one of the first ones in the studio also mean you do not have to worry about not having tables in the restaurants.

How is the Studio Tour in Tokyo Different From London’s?

Having been to both, I would say it’s largely similar, in the sense that the exhibits, props and merchandise sold are around 70% the same. Both the Tokyo and London tour aims to showcase the costumes and props used on set, as well as offer a behind-the-scenes look of the editing, sound and video effect works.

There are exclusive merchandise sold at the Tokyo location and also an exclusive set – The Ministry of Magic.

However, the London studio has set changes, such as having the ‘Dark Arts’ event during the Halloween period, and a ‘Hogwarts in the Snow’ event around Christmas. Sets are often decorated slightly differently during these events. The Tokyo studio does not have this, for now, likely because the studio is newly opened.

Is the Tokyo Harry Potter Studio Tour in English?

Yes majority of the studio tour is in English, with the exception of the welcome video, which had parts in Japanese. Whenever there was Japanese audio, it will be accompanied with English subtitles, and when English was spoken, Japanese subtitles will be included.

The exhibits had explanations in both English and Japanese. Most staff can also speak minimally conversational-level English, so not to worry if you are unable to converse in Japanese.

The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo Breakdown

Without giving too much away, here are the exhibits/areas in the studio tour, as well as some of our experience in the different areas.

Lobby: Upon passing the bag check, you will see the main shop on the left and the Food Hall on the right, across the main shop. You can get your supplies such as robes and wands if you want them for photo ops during the tour.

Cinema: A small room where you will be shown a welcome video (mostly in Japanese, but with English subtitles). Staff will also take this time to have you scan a QR code that will be used for the interactive video experiences throughout the studio tour. Create an account so that you can enjoy the experiences!

The Great Hall: The famous dining hall in Hogwarts

Marble Staircase: This set actually contains a moving staircase! There was also an interactive video area, where you can take a video and be part of the many portraits. You can download the video for free with the account created earlier.

Living at Hogwarts: Here, you’ll see the Hogwarts dorm rooms and experience being part of a Quidditch match

Costumes & Props: Lots of explanation of how the team conceptualised some of the costumes and props

Learning at Hogwarts: Set into the Potions and Spells classroom; there is also a fun interactive segment where you can learn to cast some spells

Forbidden Forest: Home of Aragog – need I say more?

Hagrid’s Hut: A life-size model of Hagrid’s Hut. This part of the studio tour is partially outdoors.

Backlot: This is where The Backlot Cafe and Butterbeer Bar are located. There are also sets for Privet Drive, The Hogwarts Bridge, Chess Pieces and the Knight Bus here.

We grabbed lunch at The Backlot cafe. It was around 11am when we got there, and it was not too crowded. Food was also served in a pretty reasonable amount of time.

We ordered the Slytherin plate which comes with a drink (¥2,900), fish and chips (¥1,100) and Aragog’s Lair, which is a chocolate cake (¥1,000). The food quality was decent and aside from the Hogwarts Meal Sets, the other food were priced quite reasonably in my opinion.

We also got a butterbeer with a souvenir cup for ¥1,100 at the Butterbeer Bar.

Platform ¾: Here, you’ll find the Hogwarts express and the railway shop – which is a shop dedicated to all things Platform ¾ related! You can also get a personalised Hogwarts acceptance letter here for ¥2,600!

London Ministry of Magic: This set is exclusive to the Tokyo tour. It was arguably the most spectacular set, in my opinion. There is also an interactive video experience here, where you’ll get to use the floo powder! You can download the video for free with the account created earlier.

Creatures Shop: Learn the creatures in the series were created, with appearance of many creatures from the Fantastic Beast series!

Broomstick Experience: Have a go at riding a broomstick! It’s free to try, but you’ll have to pay if you want a copy of the video.

Art of Sound: This area is all about the sound effects and the music of the series. There are videos with the composers and sound effects artists; those not as interactive, is very interesting to learn how the sound effects were created.

Diagonally Diagon Alley: A very realistic set of Diagon Alley!

Hogwarts Model: A miniature, but not exactly mini, model of Hogwarts

Wand Room: A part of the studio shop that carries wands of all the characters in the series.

Studio Shop: This is the same shop you would have come across when you entered the Lobby. There are Tokyo exclusive merch here too.

Final Thoughts, Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo Review

Overall, I really enjoyed the studio tour in Tokyo and I feel that the interactive portions played a part in adding to the fun. Personally, I enjoyed this tour more than the London studio tour, as there were more sets dedicated to the Fantastic Beast series. Granted that the London studio was built way before the Fantastic Beast franchise, this is not something they can be fault for I guess.

Regardless a Harry Potter fan or not, everyone would be able to enjoy the tour and explore the world of movie magic, as many of the tour’s exhibits offer an insight to the world of movie making, especially for movies that require lots of sound and visual effects. This is definitely something I recommend everyone to add to their Tokyo itinerary if time and budget allows for.

Ticket Prices: ¥6,300 for adults, ¥5,200 for ages 12–17, and ¥3,800 for kids aged 4 -11. Children under 4 enter for free.  
From 1 April 2024, it will be increased to ¥6,500 for adults, ¥5,400 for ages 12–17, and ¥3,900 for kids aged 4 -11.

Get your tickets on the official Warner Bros. Studio Tour website.

Note: I noticed that Klook sells the tickets at a slightly cheaper price, but as they were packaged with a departmental store discount voucher (and other stuff such as luggage delivery), I decided not to get the tickets from Klook. I decided to include this as it may be a cost saving option, and bundles like the suica welcome card package may be useful for you if you’re a first-time visitor to Japan. However, I personally did not get my tickets from Klook.