Perfect One Day at Universal Studio Japan: Complete Guide

Are you looking to spend one day at Universal Studio Japan in Osaka? How exciting!

Planning a trip to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) and want to make the most of your day?

USJ is located in the lively city of Osaka and has thrilling rides, enchanting shows, and immersive attractions based on your favourite movies and characters.

Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan, a thrill-seeker, or a family looking for unforgettable memories, USJ has you covered.

In this one day at Universal Studio Japan guide, we’ll walk you through a perfect one-day itinerary to help you have a blast at USJ. Let’s dive in and plan your ultimate adventure!

Table of Contents

One Day at Universal Studio Japan: Complete Guide

How To Get To Universal Studio Japan From Tokyo?

If you aren’t in Osaka already and plan on leaving Tokyo, the Shinkansen is the easiest way to get there. Of course, it isn’t the cheapest option; a bus or even a plane would be cheaper.

But remember that if you take the plane, while it might be faster and cheaper, you also have to account for the time you’ll spend at the airport. Most of the time, the cheapest flights depart from Narita, which is very inconvenient as it is way further than Haneda.

How To Buy a Ticket for USJ?

You can buy your ticket directly at the entry booth. However, I do not recommend doing that; USJ is very popular and busy, so you must buy your ticket online in advance.

Personally, we bought our ticket directly from the USJ website and had no issues with it.

However, I’ve often read online and seen in travel groups that some people struggle to buy tickets directly on the website because of their cards.

One way to get past that is to buy through USJ through Klook.

Should You Get An Express Pass

Yes! If possible, I highly recommend you get an Express, as this helps tremendously decrease the wait time —no one wants to spend hours in a queue feeling like they are wasting time.

There are different kinds of passes for different rides; depending on your goals, you need to look into that and decide which one would work best for you.

We couldn’t get our hands on Express Pass as we booked quite late, and everything was sold out at that time; however, with some preparation, we managed to make the most of our day and did everything we wanted. I have more details below on my review of our day with time stamps.

Where To Stay Near USJ?

Of course, if you’re not on a budget, then you should definitely go for the full experience and stay at one of the park’s accommodations. This will also allow you to enter the park earlier.

We stayed at the Hearton Hotel Nishi Umeda – which is a short 17-minute ride away from USJ.

You can check here for more details about USJ’s partner accommodations.

A more budget-friendly option to consider is J-Hoppers Osaka Universal – it is also very close to the park, 8 minutes by transportation or 22 minutes on foot.

What are the thrill rides at USJ?

The Flying Dinosaur
“Hollywood Dream – The Ride”
“Hollywood Dream – The Ride – Backdrop”

Things To Know Before Visiting Universal Studio Japan

Now that we have tackled the more logistical part of the planning of spending one day at Universal Studio Japan, here are all the best tips you need to know about planning a perfect day there.

Get The USJ App

You will need the app, so make sure to download it prior to visiting the park. This way, you can also look at the map and plan ahead what you want to do and see where you need to go when you enter the park.

The USJ app is also helpful for checking the wait time of each ride during the day and booking time slot entries for some areas of the park.

Don’t Forget To Get Your Time Slot Entries

Now that you have the app, is it easier for you to do everything? That includes getting time slot entries for the areas of the park that require them.

Or to book a restaurant in advance.

The Park Will Highly Likely Open WAY BEFORE Opening Time

When we visited on that day, the park was supposed to open at 8 a.m.; however, the doors opened shortly after 7 a.m. for regular ticket holders.

Visitors who stayed at one of the USJ partner’s accommodations were let in about 15-20 minutes before that. So make sure to arrive at least an hour before opening time.

Personally, we arrived at 6:30 a.m., and there weren’t that many people before us. After 7 a.m., the queue increased quite a lot. You can see that in the photos I added in the post when I talk about our experience on that day (with timestamps), so it can help anyone visiting the park see what they can expect.

Make sure to check out the park’s opening hours, which vary between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., depending on the day.

Make Use Of The Single Rider Lines

Especially if you don’t have an express pass—I know this probably isn’t what you want to do when you are experiencing the park with friends or family but trust me, it saves so much time.

We did the Flying Dinosaurs ride twice like this, and instead of waiting over 2 hours to do it as a group, we waited an hour.

Snack Booths Closes Early

I noticed the same as Disneyland Tokyo on my last visit; some of the snack booths close awfully early, in my opinion, around 4 pm or 5 pm.

So if you want something, it’s best to queue for it (although the queues get a little out of hand sometimes) and get it then as it might be closed later on.I learned it the hard way.

Recap Of Our Day at USJ (With Time Stamps)

We stayed a full day at USJ. Our plan was to maximise the experience as much as possible, so we did just that. Here is a detailed logbook of everything we did to achieve that and how long we waited for each ride.

Of course, this is only about sharing my experience; each day and visit is different, but I know that I like to read about people’s experiences as it can help with planning and expectations.

We arrived in Osaka the day before, but unfortunately, there was a close to three-hour delay. A fire on part of the Shinkansen tracks withheld traffic, but we still arrived the day before, so it is all that matters.

We had a chill evening eating some yummy food and showing Dotonbori Street to my friend and a little of the centre of the city.

We stayed at the Hearton Hotel Nishi Umeda,

USJ DAY

We woke up around 5 a.m. and were on our way, watching the sunrise from the train. To be precise, we reached the USJ Station at 6:29 and rushed to get in the queue like everybody else.

Just before 7 a.m., they started the whole welcome show before they let us into the park, after having already done something similar shortly before for the hotel guests coming into the park.

By that time, the queue behind us was huge, as you can see in the photo below!

By 7:18, we were inside the park, and you could feel everybody’s excitement; it was a really great atmosphere!

The staff was everywhere to tell you not to run, but everybody was jogging/walking fast to make it to Super Nintendo World. You can enter without having a time slot entry, as officially, the park isn’t open yet, so it’s first come, first served.

We reached Super Nintendo World at 7:23, and it was so impressive – I loved it all! I grew up playing Mario games, and if you also did, then I believe you will love this part of the park; it’s amazing for both adults and kids.

By 7:34, we were riding the Mario Kart ride and then enjoyed the area a bit more—all of this before 8 a.m., the park’s official opening time.

Here are the rides you can find in Super Nintendo World:

Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge™

As of 2024 a new area will open: “Donkey Kong Country” so even more reason to come back to USJ!

We still got another timed entry in order to check the shops and snacks in the area later on.

At 8 a.m. we were walking into Harry Potter’s world. I hadn’t been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour at the time I visited (I’ve been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Tokyo since!), so it was amazing to see all the decorations in real life and admire everything in detail!

By 8:15 am, we were queuing for the rides – the first ride we did was the Forbidden Journey; the queue was rather fast compared to the queue for the Flight of the Hippogriff.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ – this one was great. I loved it!
Flight of the Hippogriff™ – it’s good but way too short.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed about Flight of the Hippogriff™. We queued a little bit for it, but it was quite underwhelming. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely too short. Usually, rides in Japan feel worth it, but this specific one is meh.

At 9:22 a.m., we were out of the Harry Potter World and queueing for our next ride: the “Hollywood Dream—The Ride.” We were done and exited the ride by 10:15.

A few of the characters—Shrek, Cat, etc. were walking around the street.

We visited USJ back in October 2023, so during the Halloween period, but not only at the time the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen was being released and USJ had the “Hollywood Dream – The Ride” themed with JJK songs, and the park also had food items themed to JJK!

10h30 – Lunch break

My friend got the “Kento Nanami Casse-Croûte Meal”c sandwich, and I had a Smoked Trout & Avocado croissant sandwich set lunch.

Our lunch break didn’t last long, but it was nice to enjoy a little break and get some food in as we had been up for a long time; at 11 a.m., we were in the queue for “Hollywood Dreams—The Ride—Backdrop,” which is essentially the same ride but backwards!

I love it just so much, and having the JJK theme song blasted in your ears was a great bonus—there are a few songs you can select from. My friend picked “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

This time, the queue had increased quite a lot, so we ended up queuing for a total of 2 hours as we rode together for this one!

13h20 watching the parade and chilling because we also need to relax and check some stuff around the park—it’s a very nice part, and it’s always pleasant to enjoy the atmosphere and not just spend all your time in queues. And how cute is the Pokemon chart?

The Pikachu is adorable!

13h40 Entering the Jurrasic Park Area and queuing for the Flying Dinosaur Ride

Here, we used the single-rider line as the queue for this specific attraction, like the Hollywood Dream ride, which gets a little crazy.

We still queued for 1h10, but it was better than the 2 hours of people queueing to ride in groups. We were out on the ride by 14h50. I also highly recommend this ride if you’re into the thrill; it’s unique!

One minor point is that when you’re wearing glasses, you have to leave them in the locker, and my short-sighted self found that very annoying—I wish I had contact lenses on that day!

Then we stayed in the area for a bit – there is a smoker area there, so, I was watching the dinos while my best friend went smoking.

What are the ride in the Jurrasic Park Area:

Jurassic Park – The Ride – Sadly, at the time of our visit, it was under maintenance…
The Flying Dinosaur

3pm15 We made our way into the Amity Village for the JAWS ride! There is only one proper ride there, the other thing you can find there is “Amity Boardwalk Games” and it isn’t free.

The ride is an interactive one where a guide takes you on tour, and guess what…you’re attacked by a shark; it’s a nice, fun ride.

The sign at the entry said there was a 45-minute queue. However, I think we queued for a little bit less, and the ride was very fun and chill after all the thrill rides we did.

4:15 pm back at Super Nintendo World, this time we had our time slot entry; there was a little line when we arrived as you had to show your QR code with your timed entry in order to get in.

Of course, it was a lot more crowded than it was in the morning, but all the souvenir shops and restaurants were open.

As much as I wanted to try Kinopio’s Cafe, we also didn’t want to queue long to get some food, so we opted for Yoshi’s Snack Island (pictured above). I did some shopping and saw a bunch of the Mario characters, including the Peach pictured above!

17h30 Back at Harry Potter World, as the night was setting in, we decided to check back on this area; it’s even prettier at night!

Seeing the castle lit up at night feels magical, so I highly recommend checking this area again at night. More of the shops and so on were open, which is always fun to check.

And there are so many details hidden here and there that it can’t hurt to check an area twice, especially if it’s something you like!

Checking the Halloween event and Minions World – as it was Halloween when we spent one day at Universal Japan Studio, it means there were quite a few zombies, ghouls and other monsters hanging around (the park had warned beforehand not to spook the children)

We started to queue for the Spider-Man ride, which took over 1h30, but we quickly decided to skip it and just wander the streets and avenues of USJ to enjoy the Halloween events and displays!

Maybe skipping the Spiderman ride was a mistake, but that’s done; I have to say the whole area around the ride is really nice!

A little bit before 6:40 p.m., we went to queue for the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride, and I really liked it. It’s part of the minion universe and quite a goofy, silly ride.

We enjoyed the parade and night displays of Halloween quite a lot. I highly recommend visiting for Halloween, especially if you like the spooky season!

Before 9 pm, we went back to the Flying Dinosaur ride, as this one was really great, and we felt like doing it again.

We again used the single rider, but it was slightly longer than the advertised time as we queued for more than the 1 hour against the 40-minute announcement.

After that, it was over 10 p.m., the park’s closing hour, so we slowly headed back to the exit.

Then, finally, it was the end of our very long day, and this was all we managed to do on our visit to Universal Studio Japan in one day.

It was a little tiring, but if you’re up to it, then it is totally worth it.

Of course, if you are visiting during the summer, then it might not be as feasible; we visited in October, and it was still fairly hot, but I can’t imagine having to queue as much during the Japanese summer; it’s harsh.

So, if you are planning to visit during the summer, you need to get some express passes or lower your expectations because this heat is extremely tiring.

Bye-bye, USJ, until next time, when I will be back!

Also, follow me on Instagram to check out my travel adventures around Europe and more lifestyle content @cpt_lyne!

All right, this concludes my one day at Universal Studio Japan (USJ) travel guide!

As I mentioned earlier, I had an amazing time at USJ, and I want to thank my best friend again for offering me the whole journey and park entry for my birthday.

USJ was not on my bucket list for this year in Japan, but I am really happy we visited the park; it was a blast. It is one of my favourite theme parks I have done so far with Europa Park in Germany.

Are you looking for more Japan travel content? Then please check out my other travel guides:

Did you enjoy this post? Please share it on Pinterest!
Perfect One Day At Universal Studio Japan: Complete Guide.

Also, follow me on Instagram to check out my travel adventures around Europe and more lifestyle content @cpt_lyne!

Hey there! This post may contain affiliate links. It means I earn a bit of money if you purchase products through me, there is no extra cost to you and it helps me maintain this blog. Read more in my Privacy Policy

About
Latest Posts

Lyne

Lyne is the author and founder of Cpt Lyne, a travel blog focusing on Europe travel and expertise on her home city of Paris in France and sometimes Asia! She is helping people plan a their perfect Europe vacation with the best things to do, day trips and travel tips!

Perfect One Day at Universal Studio Japan: Complete Guide

One Day at Universal Studio Japan: Complete Guide