USJ: Top Tips for Your Visit to Universal Studios Japan

USJ: Top Tips for Your Visit to Universal Studios Japan

Travelling Wellman > Japan > USJ: Top Tips for Your Visit to Universal Studios Japan

One of the reasons we love Japan is because there is such a wide range of things to do! Whether you want the hustle-and-bustle of a big city or would rather feel more relaxed than ever, Japan has you covered. The country is also a hotspot for thrill seekers and theme park aficionados. Most flock to one of the best theme parks in the world known as USJ.

Universal Studios Japan is located just outside of Osaka. It can be easily reached from anywhere in Southern Japan and it attracts over 14.5 million visitors per year. This means you’ll need to do some careful planning before your visit to make sure you get to experience as much as possible. We visited USJ during our trip through Japan and it was such a great experience!

We did a lot of research before arriving to make sure we got our money’s worth. Keep reading for a roundup of the amazing tips we learned and even some things we wish we had known beforehand.

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Get a JR Pass

We’ve covered the JR Pass and how much money it can save in other posts but we wanted to stress it here too. The easiest way to get to USJ is on the JR Sakurajima/Yumesaki Line to Universal City Station. These trips are included in the price of your JR Pass so you can have more money for souvenirs at the park! You may need to take local metro to get to Osaka Station so keep your SUICA Card close.

Buy Tickets Online

You can technically buy tickets at the gate when you arrive but we really don’t recommend it. The park has a maximum daily attendance so you run the risk of tickets being sold out if you wait too long. This is especially true during the summertime busy season where the park can be sold out for weeks!

USJ doesn’t pre-sell tickets online directly so you will need to go through a third party. Sites like Klook, TripAdvisor, kkday, Voyagin, and Traveloka have partnerships with Universal Studios Japan to sell tickets on their behalf. Do not buy a ticket from any other site because they might be fake and they generally charge high “convenience fees” so you’ll end up paying more.

Visit On a Winter Weekday

We’ve mentioned it a few times but we cannot stress enough that USJ can get extremely busy. You don’t have to search hard to find multiple stories of ride lines over 2 hours long! The worst time to visit is during late-Spring to early-Fall or on any National Holiday. On the other hand, the best time to visit is from early January to mid-February. Also, the best day of the week to visit is a Wednesday or Thursday because there are less crowds and the tickets are cheaper. We were there on a Thursday in January and never waited longer than 30 minutes.

Arrive Early

You’ve spent a lot of money on park tickets and want to make sure you make your day worth it. The park website will tell you it opens at 9am but this isn’t exactly true. USJ is renown for opening early if they see a big crowd outside. We arrived at about 8:30am and the gates were open not long after. No matter what, we recommend arriving at least 30 minutes before opening to make the most of your day.

Download the App

How did we survive before apps? Gone are the days of wandering around with a paper map that gets lost or destroyed before the day is done. Now, you can download the official Universal Studios Japan App to enhance your USJ experience. The app has a park map, current wait times for different rides, and showtimes. It’s a really handy tool to have on your phone to get the most out of your day!

Pick Your First Target

Universal Studios Japan is split up into 10 themed areas:

The park is huge so you will need to plan ahead to make sure you get to see everything you want. We recommend choosing what you MOST want to see and make that the first stop. This make sure you don’t miss out and you get to spend as much time as possible in your favourite movie world. Some areas like Harry Potter or Super Nintendo World require timed tickets during the busy season so get those tickets first before wandering around.

Quick Note on Tripods

The “No Tripods” rule is something that is becoming more and more popular and USJ is no exception. They have a fairly strict policy and check the bags of everyone entering the park. The ban includes both tripods, monopods, and selfie sticks of all shapes and sizes. We had a small GorillaPod that we thought would be fine but we were immediately denied. Luckily, there are storage lockers just beside the front gate where you can leave some items. These coin lockers cost anywhere from ¥400 for a small to ¥1,000 for large so they are very affordable.

Bring a Few Snacks

It’s really easy to spend more money on food at a theme park than you do on tickets! The food at Universal Studios Japan isn’t as expensive as we’ve seen at other parks but it’s not exactly budget-friendly. There are a lot of great themed restaurants across USJ and we recommend trying out at least one of them

Outside food is officially not allowed inside USJ but we discovered there is some leeway to that rule. While they won’t let you bring in big things like bento boxes or sandwiches, you can get away with some smaller snacks and drinks. We brought in a couple onigiri and noticed a lot of other people had the same idea. These snacks are a huge help late in the day after you’ve been on your feet for hours.

Get Your Stickers

We are huge fans of fun souvenirs that don’t take up a lot of room. Mark is guilty of covering things in stickers so he always has an eye out for new ones. We quickly found out that staff around USJ have themed stickers they give out to certain guests. Our visit was for Mark’s birthday so we were give the Happy Birthday sticker but a staffer who overheard us. Another one gave us a “First Visit” sticker to add to the “On Vacation” one we received before that. They’re a little childish but still a fun collectible to get your hands on!

Hold Off on Shopping

You might get the impression that USJ is really an outdoor mall that happens to have a few rides. Stores are never far away while you’re exploring the grounds. Some of the rides, like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, even have you exit through a gift shop.

It can be very tempting to buy almost everything you see as soon as you enter the park. The main downside to that is you’ll be burdened with more and more bags as the day goes on. We would recommend scoping out some of the things you want during the day then heading back to pick them up before you leave. If you do find yourself with lots of bags there are coin lockers placed around the park.

Get Your Tax Refund

One of the great things about shopping as a tourist in USJ, and anywhere in Japan really, is being able to get a tax refund. Make sure to save your receipts and bring your passport to the Tax Refund office before you leave the park. The office is located just to the left of the exit gates. Depending on when you go, there might be a line of other tourists waiting to collect. It’s well worth staying in line if you’ve bought a few souvenirs.

If you use all of the tips above you’ll be sure to have an amazing day at Universal Studios Japan! It won’t take you long to find out why USJ is so popular and a bucket list destination for a lot of travellers. Let us know in the comments below if you have any useful USJ tips.

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