- How to Spend Two Days in Kanazawa - 21 January 2026
- 13 Things to Do at Universal Studios Japan – If You Don’t Like Rides - 15 January 2026
- How to Use the Guest Support Pass (DAS) at Universal Studios Japan - 10 January 2026
Universal Studios Japan is the most visited theme park in the Asia region and one of the busiest in the world. This means queues can be long. So, how long do you need to spend there to get it all done? Our guide can help you decide.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
USJ Ticket Options at a Glance
Unlike at Tokyo Disney, where you can buy single-day and half-day tickets separately, Universal Studios Japan Studio Passes (the basic entry ticket everyone needs) sells multi-day tickets which can save you money if you’re decide to visit for multiple days. They come in three options.
You can pick from a one-day pass, a 1.5-day pass, which allows you into the park at 3 pm on the first day, then all day the second, and a two-day pass, which gives entry for two full days.
As you can see in the table below, it’s slightly cheaper to book the two-day pass than buying two single days. so, how do you know how long you need…
| Ticket Name | Adult Price (12+) | Kids Price (4-11) |
| 1-Day Studio Pass | From 8900 yen | From 5700 yen |
| 1.5-Day Studio Pass | From 14,300 yen | From 9200 yen |
| 2-Day Studio Pass | From 16,900 yen | From 10,800 |
Can You Do USJ in One Day?
You won’t be disappointed if you only spend one day at USJ, especially if you use queue-jumping tricks like single rider or Express Passes, but, unless you are lucky and it’s a quiet day, you’re unlikely to get everything done in a day. This means some people may want to spend longer in the park.
Here are the questions I think you need to ask to decide if you’re one of them, or confirm that one day will be is enough for you to see everything.
Do You Want to Keep Costs Down?
Stick with one day.
The cheapest option to visit USJ is just a 1-day Studio Pass with no extras. But bear in mind the queues at USJ can be long, so you might not get everything done using this.
If you’re not bothered, just buy the 1-Day Studio Pass and enjoy – but check out our guide to getting into Super Nintendo World as it requires an extra step for entry not strictly covered in the basic 1-Day Studio Pass.
If you’d like to minimise queuing for some rides, consider buying a 1-Day Studio Pass with the cheapest Express Pass 4 that covers some thrill rides (Hollywood Dream and The Flying Dinosaur). This costs about 1000 yen less than a two-day ticket. Again, this won’t let you into SNW, though.
Related Read: How Much Will You Spend at USJ?
Are You Travelling With Smaller Children?
In this case, one day will be enough.
USJ does have rides for younger children, but they are mostly concentrated in the Universal Wonderland area, and the queues here tend to be relatively short.
You can enjoy these and then focus your time on seeing parades, character greetings and eating all the cute food and still get it all done in a day.
Related Read: USJ rides by height. Find out who can ride what.
Are You Only Going for the Thrill Rides?
One day might be enough – with an Express Pass.
A 1-Day Studio Pass and an Express Pass 7 will definitely see you cover all the big rides in one day.
A mix of an Express Pass 4 and using Single Rider queues can also cover a lot in a day.
If you would prefer not to buy an Express Pass, you will be lucky to ride everything in one day unless it’s quiet. Pick the top four or five rides you want to cover and plan to do them, then count everything else as a bonus.
Don’t Forget to Buy Your Studio Pass
Everyone who visits USJ needs to buy a Studio Pass. You can buy a simple one that lets you into the park, or, if you buy them early, you might find the Klook special that also includes Super Nintendo World. Tickets are now released two months before the date you want to enter the park, so, check if they’re available now for your dates.
Do You Want to Do Everything?
One day won’t be enough.
If you want to do all the rides, attempt to see all the shows and parades, enjoy the details on the backlots, queue up for character greetings, eat all the cute snacks, spend up a storm in the gift shops, and play all the games with a Power Up Band in Super Nintendo World, as well as ride all the rides – you need more than a day at USJ – even with an Express Pass.
At the very least, book the 1.5-day pass. This is what I did the first time I visited. I spent the first afternoon getting my bearings in the park, enjoying the theming and eating some snacks before devoting the next day to ticking off all the rides with my Express Pass.
I do find that once you go into ‘Express Pass Mode’, you can miss a lot of the little details as you bounce from one ride to another – and by the time you’ve done them all, you can be too tired to step back and smell the roses – so to speak! The extra half a day gives you the chance to enjoy the details before ride brain takes over!
However, I still didn’t get everything done in that time. I’ve been three times and I still haven’t seen Waterworld!
So, if you really want to do EVERYTHING. Choose the two-day pass. Get your Express Pass for the first day and do all of the rides on that, then spend day two enjoying all of the smaller elements of the park, going on the rides that weren’t in your Express Pass and/or riding anything with a shorter queue or that you really loved again.
Do You Like/Dislike Certain Characters?
This might make a difference as to how long you want to spend queuing for specific rides or in specific areas.
Some of the longest queues in the park are for the limited-time rides that have XR overlays based around big anime franchises – if you’re not a fan of anime, these will mean nothing to you, so you might want to skip them, which will free up some time. This makes it easier to do things in a day.
The same could be said if you don’t like one of the other franchises in the park – the characters in Super Nintendo World don’t interest me in the slightest, and I don’t play video games, so I could easily skip riding Mario Kart and Yoshi (Mine Cart Madness is different as it’s a rollercoaster) or even going into SNW. That would save me 3-6 hours of ride queuing, which frees up a lot of time for the other areas of the park – you could easily do the rest of the park in a day if you aren’t bothered by SNW.
You might feel the same about Minion Park if you don’t like minions. Or the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area, if all things Hogwarts aren’t your thing.
Conversely, if you are nuts about Nintendo or Harry Potter, you’re going to want to spend longer in those areas, visiting all the shops, playing the extra games, eating the themed treats, trying to meet the characters in SNW or see performances in Harry Potter.
This is okay if you don’t mind spending less time doing the other things in the park, but if you want to deep dive in one area for a few hours and do everything else, you’d be better with a 1.5-day pass.
Are You Going During Halloween Horror Nights?
Then I’d suggest a 1.5-day pass.
Halloween Horror Nights works a little bit differently in Japan – it’s included in your daytime ticket, and some of the attractions are actually open during the day, but it’s a lot to fit in if you’re also trying to cover the rest of the park for the first time as well.
You can do it in a day, but when we went and did HHN, we had an Express Pass 7 and the HHN Express Pass which let us jump the queues on the scary attractions, but, to be honest, by the time we got to the start of HHN we were tired and kind of over it all and we actually left without doing everything.
I think if you want to do HHN justice, book the 1.5-day pass. Spend half a day doing HHN, and some smaller rides, then the next day do the park itself.
If you buy the HHN Express Pass, you’ll also probably get to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey that first afternoon as well – then you can go back the second day and ride it again – this is not a ride you want to ride back-to-back, especially not after a butterbeer (bleurgh).
Related Read: Our guide to Halloween Horror Nights – this is updated each year when the new attractions are announced, but even reading the post from the year before will give you an idea of how it all works.
Do You Regularly Go to the US Parks?
If you regularly visit the US parks, you might only need one day in USJ to experience it.
There is a lot of repetition between the rides in USJ and those in the US – the main difference being that the characters speak in Japanese at USJ – and you can still ride JAWS.
With the arrival of Epic Universe, there is now Super Nintendo World in both Hollywood and Florida, so even this isn’t as unique as it was.
Are You Going During Golden Week?
One day might not be enough – or, you might never want to come back for a second!
Personally, I would steer well clear of USJ during Golden Week, New Year holiday or, Japanese Spring Break as the crowds will be intense (other Japanese public holidays are also best avoided) – but, if you have no choice but to visit at this time, you might want to allow more time to account for the longer queues and to give you the chance to take a break from the crowds if they get too much.
I definitely would not go to USJ on a public holiday without some kind of Express Pass.
Are You Just Going to Soak Up the Atmosphere
Then you’ll have a fantastic time in one day.
The thing that takes most time at USJ is queuing for the rides – if you’re not that bothered about going on them and are more there to enjoy the theming, the snacks, the ambience and the parades, etc, maybe jumping on any rides with shorter queues, one day will be enough to experience the park.
Don’t Forget to Buy Your Studio Pass
Everyone who visits USJ needs to buy a Studio Pass. You can buy a simple one that lets you into the park, or, if you buy them early, you might find the Klook special that also includes Super Nintendo World. Tickets are now released two months before the date you want to enter the park, so, check if they’re available now for your dates.
Hopefully, the above has helped you narrow down how long you need. It is important to plan this in advance. USJ can sell out, and the Express Passes sell out quickly, so spend some time familiarising yourself with the park and the rides and other attractions that you might want to experience during your visit, so you don’t over – or under – cook the amount of time you want to spend there.
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, Escape, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan eight times before – solo and with my partner and visited over 25 towns and cities. My last visit was November 2024 so, everything here is pretty up to date.
