After Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is my second favourite theme park in Japan but that means that it can be a very crowded place to visit. We’ve visited Universal Studios Japan with an Express Pass and we’ve visiting Universal Studios Japan without any Express Pass. Both were unique but enjoyable experiences!

Thinking of visiting Universal Studios Japan without an Express Pass and worried about the well-publicised high crowd levels? Here’s everything you need to know!

So many people ask us whether enjoying Universal Studios Japan without an Express Pass is even possible. And although the Express Pass did shorten our queue times, we had a great time on both of these visits! We also managed to visit the most popular part of the park, Super Nintendo World, when we didn’t have the Express Passes too. This is much more achievable than you think!

So how do you do it? What is visiting Universal Studios Japan without an Express Pass really like? Here’s everything you need to know:

1. How To Enjoy USJ Without Express Pass
   1. Arrive at Universal Studios Japan early.
   2. Visit on a weekday.
   3. Download the Universal Studios Japan app.
2. Booking Universal Studios Japan Tickets And Express Passes
3. How To Get Into Super Nintendo World Without Express Pass
4. Tips For First Time Visitors To Universal Studios Japan
5. Should You Buy A Universal Studios Japan Express Pass?
6. Getting To Universal Studios Japan
7. Keep Planning Your Trip To Universal Studios Japan

How To Enjoy USJ Without Express Pass

Visiting Universal Studios Japan without an express pass can definitely be an amazing and fun day out. You just need to do a little more planning ahead! To do this I recommend thinking about when you visit, and making sure you’re one of the first through the doors by following these three tips:

Arrive at Universal Studios Japan early.

The opening hours for the park vary depending on the season and day of the week. Typically, the park opens between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM and closes between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

BUT you don’t need to stick to the official opening hours! You want to arrive at the park much earlier. It is a little-known fact that Universal Studios open their doors early (sometimes as early as 7.15am) to avoid eager early arrivals crowding around the gates. So aim to arrive at Universal Studios Japan an hour before the official opening time, and you might well find you get into the park earlier than you expect.

Visit on a weekday.

USJ is much busier on weekends than it is on weekdays. So if you want to get on as many rides as possible at Universal Studios Japan without an express pass then visiting on a weekday is going to give you a much better shot at this.

We’ve visited on a Tuesday and Wednesday (both in April) and we found the park crowd levels really manageable on both days.

Download the Universal Studios Japan app.

You should download the app BEFORE you arrive at the park so that you’re ready to get any virtual entry time slots (these are often needed for Super Nintendo World) and this will also give you valuable info such as real-time wait times and show and event schedules.

You CAN’T get your time slot for Super Nintendo World until you get into the park if you don’t have an Express Pass, so get in early and have the app open and ready so you can snap up that pass as quickly as possible.

Booking Universal Studios Japan Tickets And Express Passes

It’s important to know that you will need a GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET to Universal Studios Japan even if you decide to splurge and buy the Express Pass! That means that when you look at the Express Pass prices, you should remember to add the admission ticket prices to this too – making for a very expensive day out, especially if you’re a family of four like us!

👉 Avoid disappointment and book your Universal Studios Japan general admission tickets NOW
🎫Tip: The code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK will get you an extra 5% discount on Universal Studio Japan tickets and all other tickets and activities with Klook. So save it for later!

If you do decide to splurge on Express Pass tickets then you can Compare Express Pass options here.

How To Get Into Super Nintendo World Without Express Pass

One of the main reasons people choose to buy a Universal Studios Japan Express Pass is for guaranteed access into Super Nintendo World. But if you’re looking for reassurance then you should know that we visited during the busiest period (cherry blossom season in April) and still got into this coveted part of the park!

We got into the park at around 7.45am and our slot for Super Nintendo World was at 1.30pm.

Walking into Super Nintendo World felt like walking into my childhood. It looks just so cool! Such a fun part of the park and this was the area the whole family (the grown ups and the kids) were most excited to visit. It didn’t disappoint. So I understand why people are so keen to visit. You won’t regret it!

🎢 You can read our full guide to visiting Universal Studios Japan with kids here.

As I’ve already mentioned, you will need to have an access slot for this part of the park on most days (on rare quiet days you can comes and go as you please, but this tends to be in the off season) and to get these you’ll need to follow these three steps:

• You’ll need to download the Universal Studios Japan app. There’s a link here to help.
• Via the app you can secure an area timed entry ticket. These go fast!
• To avoid disappointment get into the park as soon as possible. The park often opens between 30minutes-1 hour before its listed opening time, so get there early. You CAN’T get a timed access ticket until you’re in the park, which is what makes arriving early so important.

Once you’re in, you need to be aware that the ride times are long, and there isn’t really a way around this unless you’re lucky enough to get into the area at the very start of the day before the crowd begins to form. But the rides are worth standing in line for!

Kinnopio’s cafe is also one of the best restaurants in Universal Studios Japan and we loved all the Mario themed food here. So don’t miss this: eat at off peak times to get lower queue times (we ended up having a 3pm lunch, and this saved us loads of time!) You can’t fast pass the restaurant queues, so it doesn’t matter if you have an Express Pass here or not!

Even if you’ve already had lunch elsewhere, I recommend stopping here for the themed desserts. The princess peach cake in particular is epic!

You can read a full post about Super Nintendo World without an express pass here.

Tips For First Time Visitors To Universal Studios Japan

When we were first time visitors to universal studios Japan we felt excited, but we also felt overwhelmed. More than any other theme park in Japan, I think that getting tickets for universal studios Japan is complicated, with lots of ticket options available. Do you need express passes or don’t you? And which express pass should you choose?

The important thing to remember is that it’s just a theme park! And you’ll have a great day here no matter which rides you do or don’t get on to. It’s a beautifully laid out and wonderfully themed park. The Harry Potter and Super Nintendo World parts of the park in particular are so well themed and worth exploring even if you don’t go on any rides.

The parades and shows are exceptional, and the food is hands down the best theme park food we’ve ever eaten.

So what do you need to know before you visit for the first time? Here are some of our top tips for first time visitors:

• Book you tickets online in advance. You can book these via the official site or trusted vendors (like Klook or KKday). There’s more info about tickets below!
  
• Decide what your must-visit attractions are and prioritise these. For me the best rides are Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World, the Forbidden Journey ride in the Wizarding world of Harry Potter, and the Jaws ride (for the pure nostalgia! this is the only universal studios in the world that still has a Jaws area).
  
• Eat all the great themed food, but plan this wisely. Eat during non-peak times (before 11:30 am or after 2:00 pm) to avoid long lines.
  
• Pack your bag wisely! Bring portable chargers, sun protection, and comfortable shoes to make the experience as easy and comfortable as possible. Don’t worry if you don’t want to carry this around all day. There are lockers at the park entrance.
  
• The merchandise here is great. Either buy this early and store in one of the lockers OR wait til the end of the day for your shopping spree. Tax-free shopping is available in some stores (bring your passport).

You can read my ultimate guide to visiting Universal Studios Japan with kids here.

Should You Buy A Universal Studios Japan Express Pass?

If this all sounds like too much hard work then you could certainly consider buying a universal studios express pass. We did this, and I will admit that we found that our day in USJ was much more relaxing without having to check the app for queue times and having a strategy to try and get everything done. But the pay off for this is that we spent £600 on a single day out for our family of four: far more than we would usually spend, and a truly eye-watering amount.

The Universal Studios Japan express pass  gives you a designated time slot to use either 4 or 7 attractions in the park (depending on the pass you choose) and if you choose the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge ride then not only will you get fast access to the ride, you also get guaranteed access to Super Nintendo World.

Prices for this pass start from £96. That’s on top of your usual park entry ticket, so it isn’t a cheap endeavour. But if its your one trip to Japan and your one shot to visit Super Nintendo World, you might think it’s worth it as a one off treat.

You can buy the Universal Studios Japan express pass from Klook here. We liked this because it was affordable and allowed you to choose the time slots for your attractions when booking. Use my code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off your booking.

Don’t want to get the express pass? Don’t worry, that code will give you a discount on regular tickets too! The link to buy these is here. These are priced at £46.59 each for a one day adult pass, with cheaper rates available for children.

Getting To Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is in Osaka. You can either fly directly into Osaka or if you’re exploring the wider country then it’s more likely that you’ll fly into Tokyo.

We then took the bullet train to Osaka. You can read more about our experience of using the bullet train (Shinkansen) in Japan, as well as whether it’s the right financial choice for you to buy a JR rail pass, in our post here.

Once you’re in Osaka, the full address for the theme park (which you can put into your Google maps) is 2-chōme-1-33 Sakurajima, Konohana Ward, Osaka, 554-0031, Japan.

🚄I’ve written a complete guide to getting to Universal Studios Japan, which you can read here.

We took the train to the theme park from our hotel, which is the most popular way of getting there. Universal has its own station (Universal City Station) and this is on the JR Yumesaki Line.

We were staying in Umeda (This is by far the most popular part of the city for international tourists to stay) and from Umeda/Osaka station we took the JR Osaka Loop Line to Nishikujo station then switched to the JR Yumesaki Line to Universal City Station. The whole journey only took around 20 minutes, and it was incredibly easy!

Keep Planning Your Trip To Universal Studios Japan

Looking for more hints and tips to help you keep planning your trip to Universal Studios Japan? Check out this further reading, because you can never be too prepared for your big Japan trip!

🚄How to Get to Universal Studios Japan: A Step-by-Step Guide
🎢 Ultimate Guide to Universal Studios Japan with Kids
🐵 Donkey Kong Country in Universal Studios Japan: What You Need to Know

Have you been to Universal Studios Japan without an Express pass? Or did you splash out and get the express pass? How was the experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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