When in Rome do as the Roman do. When in Osaka, Japan, one must go to Universal Studios Japan (USJ)! One reason to go to USJ because there's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it's the only one in Asia. Universal Studios Japan is one of the must-go places when in Osaka. It's a magical place.

This guide is dedicated to all of you who want to maximise their stay in USJ. I would be sharing all the tips and tricks with you.

USJ is always reinventing itself. There are different activities available for different holiday and season. It's an extremely popular place among the locals and tourists, so it's important to plan your trip to USJ properly to make the best out of it.

Content

Buy Your Tickets Online
Stay Near Universal Studios Japan
Which is the Best Day to visit USJ?
Express Pass vs VIP Pass
Plan Your Trip in USJ
Queue outside USJ 1 Hour Before the Opening Time
Queue at Single Rider Lane
Have fun taking photos in USJ
Try Their Snacks
Other Notes

1. Buy Your Tickets Online

I would recommend that you buy your tickets online, to save yourself the hassle to queue up at the ticketing booth to get the tickets. You would know why later.

You can buy the tickets on USJ's website. However, if you do not understand Japanese, you could simply purchase the USJ tickets via Klook. It's about SGD 97. The ticket would be issued to you immediately. It cost approximately the same when you get the ticket at the booth too.

So, save yourself both time and money by purchasing the tickets online.

2. Stay Near Universal Studios Japan

It's most ideal to stay near USJ because you would want to queue outside USJ 1 hour before it's operating time. There are several hotels located within walking distance to USJ. I stayed at Hotel Keihan Universal City previously for 2 nights; 1 day before I visited USJ and the actual day. It is best to stay for 2 nights because other than you can go there early, you could stay in USJ till late into the night and it's easy for you to return to your room. There are Airbnb available around USJ as well, and they are much more affordable. However, you can only book Airbnb from hosts who register their listing and display a license number on their listing page. You do not wish to risk having your Airbnb cancelled.

3. Which is the Best Day to visit USJ?

The best day to visit USJ is on Wednesdays and Thursday. The weekends are crowded with tourists, including their local tourists. The crowd decreased slightly on Monday and Tuesday. On top of that, avoid visiting USJ during their public holidays as well. However, having said all these, USJ was quite crowded on the day (Wednesday) that I visited as well. You just have to try your luck.

4. Express Pass vs VIP Pass

It's important to know the differences between the 2 passes.

First, let's talk about the VIP Pass, it sounds fancy, but it only has 1 function. The VIP Pass (or wristband) allows you to enter the park before the official opening hour. The time changes every day. Typically, you can enter 15 - 20 minutes before the park opens. This way, it gives you a head start on the rides.

As for the Express Pass, it allows you to get on the certain rides by skipping the queue during a specific time window. The time window of the rides are pre-determined and are listed on your Express Pass. You can plan what to do in between the rides.

Personally, I took the Express Pass because it's much more value for money. There's no point in getting the VIP pass and have a head-start because I felt that once the park is opened, and once a queue is formed, you would need to queue with the rest. The rides are not very near the entrance or to each other, I could at most get on 1 ride without queuing. However, with the Express Pass, I could go to all the famous rides during the specific timing on the pass. I do not need to queue much. I have time to explore different areas and take photos. Less time was wasted. Most importantly, I could finish visiting the whole park within a day.

Note: these 2 passes are add-ons to your entrance tickets. You have to purchase each of them separately, and there are a limited amount available. It's almost impossible to get either ticket at the ticketing counter. So, buy the tickets online.

5. Plan Your trip in USJ

Congratulations, you are one step closer to visit USJ. Now that, you have a rough idea of where to stay, which ticket to purchase, and what's not. We shall now zoom into the details of your day in USJ. It's rather important to plan your day in USJ, especially if you are not getting the VIP or Express Ticket. Know which area you want to visit the most - eg. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. You may need to run when the gates open. It's because you would want to go and get a Free Timed Entrance Tickets to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at a designated time. It is necessary to have this ticket to enter the land during peak hours when the area is congested!

Even though I did have an Express Ticket, I did plan my day in USJ because I want to put aside time to take a lot of photos. I am happy that I did some planning because I managed to have some time between rides. Halfway through the day, I did not follow through my proposal. I still have time on hand to wander around USJ.

6. Queue outside USJ 1 Hour before the Opening Time

A faded memory of the massive queue before the operating hours.

Queue outside USJ one hour before the opening time. You do not need to do that if you are holding the VIP Waistband. Don't be surprised when you see locals running once the gate is opened. You jolly well joined in the run if you are not holding the express pass and you wished to take all the famous rides.

7. Queue at Single Rider Lane

There are 3 different lanes for most rides; the normal lane, single rider lane and express lane.

Normal Lane is for a group of people who wished to take the ride and be seated together.

Express Lane is for those who hold the express passes.

Single Rider Lane is for single riders or for people who wish to take the ride and is ok with any seat allocation.

If you have a small group, and all of you are agreeable to not sit together on the same ride, you can opt to queue at the single rider. The queue may be shorter, and it would move faster. You can save a lot of time by queuing at this lane.

8. Have Fun Taking Photos in USJ

Other than taking the rides, there are plenty of photo opportunities available! You can take photos of your surroundings. Chase after the characters and take pictures with them.

9. Try their Snacks

Try the snacks in USJ as well. They have Instagram-able snacks for purchased and some of them are really good! Try the butterbeer when you are at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The frozen butterbeer is available in summer, and I had that. It was the most memorable drink I had in USJ, and it was so good! I highly recommend you to have it when you are there!

10. Other Notes

Your bag may be checked when you entered into USJ, so I won't suggest that you bring in outside food into USJ. However, you may be able to sneak in onigini in your jacket's pocket. You can't re-enter into USJ once you exit the park. So, you have to grab lunch in USJ.
There are 2 different types of wands for sale. You have to purchase a "magical" wand to cast spells at several spots in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So, you should check with sales attendant before you purchased your wand.
You can use your express pass once.

That’s all for the guide.

Do you need help to plan your USJ trip? Feel free to contact me for a quote.