USJ Winter Time


Right behind my love for Halloween is my love for Christmas and the winter holidays. Nothing beats enjoying the nice winter season with winter activities. This year, I decided to go to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) for its winter holiday event with my best friend.

An Early Day


With my best friend in town, we decided to jam-pack our schedule full of fun, meaning lots of waking up early and going to bed late to make sure that we were enjoying our time to the fullest. That being said, we arrived at USJ at 6 AM. I really recommend going early, BUT to also check the schedule beforehand because USJ opens and closes at different times on different days. We went on a Thursday on a day when USJ opens at 8 AM.

First things first, I can’t stress enough that you need to make sure to do your research before going to USJ. I did a little bit of research and tried to figure out when most people wouldn’t go to USJ. Apparently Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best time to go to USJ because there are fewer people due to people having work and schools not booking field trips on these specific days. (However, after 2 PM, we started to see a lot of high school and middle school students walking around with their friends).

Download the app and make sure to get your tickets from there. The app will be your best friend throughout your day at this theme park. Your ticket will come in the form of a QR code that you will use when you pass through the USJ’s gates. It will also contain all information about your ticket, the day you can enter within a certain time frame after buying the ticket in case you are unable to go on the day that you bought it for, information about reservations for other ticket areas, the wait times, and more.

<Since I did everything through the app, I’ll mostly be speaking from this point of view, though it is certainly possible to print your ticket and have a physical copy with you>

The Wait

Since we arrived at 6 AM, we had a lot of free time. In between that time, we got in the line leading up to the gates to enter the park and tried to buy our tickets on our cellphones at the same time. I procrastinated and LITERALLY waited until the last second to get the tickets.
As the doors were opening, I was able to purchase the tickets at the very last second and go in. Don’t be like me. Make sure to reserve your tickets early, but if you can’t, don’t sweat it because you can do it on your phone right before you enter or just do it at the theme park.

Be Kind

Of course, everyone is very excited as employees open the gates and cheer you on while you walk in. It’s a slow trickle-in as people flow through the gates, however, I would like to ask everyone to be kind to the employees. My best friend and I watched as numerous people started running into the theme park in excitement as soon as the doors opened, to which the employees at the front who were clapping and welcoming everyone in had to constantly tell people not to run and to please slow down. For your own safety, and so that the employees don’t have to worry, I would really recommend just walking in calmly. They will always be there, and they are not going anywhere.

Reservations


The only other time we needed reservations was to enter Super Nintendo World. This is very important to know as you will need the app to enter this section of the theme park. Make sure to reserve it for a good time that suits your schedule. There is an open window of about an hour for you to go into Super Nintendo World for when you set the reservation. We reserved a timeslot for 2:10pm-3:10pm for the time we would enter this area.

The Rides, Lunch, Shows, and Parades!


We were able to go on all of the rides that we wanted. Because we were some of the first people in the theme park, the first two to three rides that we went on had little to no wait time!

I’ll list out everything we did in the order that we went. From 8am until 5:30PM, we were able to cover a lot of ground and make the most of our time.

  • Sadako’s Cursed Ride
  • The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 4K3D- The Ride
  • JAWS
  • Minion’s Parade
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Flight of the Hippogriff (Harry Potter)
  • Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
  • LUNCH BREAK
  • NO LIMIT! Parade
  • Mario Kart
  • Yoshi’s Adventure
  • Frosty’s Electric Snow Party (briefly)
  • The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 4K3D- The Ride <WITH A FAST PASS>

Even though Halloween was a couple of months ago, we were able to ride the Halloween version of Space Fantasy, Sadako’s Cursed Ride. I really wish I could describe it, however, my eyes were closed the whole time so I just remember darkness, a lot of static from the video clip (if you have seen the movie or have heard about it, you know how terrifying the static is), and a lot of screaming from the audio around us.

The longest ride that we had to wait for was of course the Mario Kart ride with the wait time lasting about 105 minutes. Some people brought chairs with them, others bought books- I would definitely bring something to keep you busy. All of the rides that we went on were very fun, though my best friend and I were in agreement that Yoshi’s Adventure certainly wasn’t worth the wait as we waited for over an hour for a ride that wasn’t as ‘thrilling’. (We didn’t know what the ride was until we actually got on it)

This was more of a chill schedule as we didn’t go on any very big rides like the Flying Dinosaur or Hollywood Dream, but whether you are a thrill seeker with theme park rides, or are just in it for a mildly thrilling time, there are all types of rides and fun activities for you to try.

For lunch, we just wanted something quick where we could eat something fairly light, as well as sit down after basically being on our feet for 3 days straight with other adventures we went on. In the end we went to Louie’s, A New York Style Pizza joint. we both got pizza sets that came with a drink and fries. 10 out of 10 would recommend as a Fries and pizza lover.

We didn’t plan our schedule around the parades and shows that we watched, however, our schedule just happened to line up perfectly with the show that we watched and the parades that we were able to see. The No Limit! Parade was by far my favorite! I only have shaky footage from it since I was clapping and dancing along with the performers the whole time. It was exciting to see characters like Mario, Hello Kitty, Charlie Brown, the Minions, Pokemon, and more!

There is also a Frosty’s Electric Snow Party that you can view where you can watch dancers and performers dance to songs on stage rather than along the street like in the No Limit! Parade. You will definitely feel the energy as you dance along with these performers and characters created just for this performance on stage. They will hold this specific performance until January 8th, 2024, so it is worth seeing at least once! There’s no doubt you’ll be dancing along with them.

Takeaways

Overall, this was certainly a day to remember. I’ve been to USJ a total of three times and this was by far the best time I’ve ever had. Everyone was in amazing spirits, I got to go with my best friend, and we went early enough so some of the rides had no wait time- what more could I ask for? If you’re looking for a place to go and really feel the festive spirit, spending a full day at USJ is certainly the way to go.

My Advice:

  • Attend USJ on a Wednesday or Thursday
  • If you are an early riser, go as early as 6 AM and get in line
  • Download the app
  • Bring a battery pack charger. If you plan to take pictures, your phone will probably die
  • Bring a squat chair/ book- You probably won’t be the only one!
  • Wear comfortable shoes and comfortable clothing
  • e kind to employees/ be careful by not running!
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