[USJ] How to buy Universal Studios Japan online tickets

In this guide we will show you how you can buy online tickets for Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in advance. Along your USJ tickets, you also can buy USJ Express Pass online, so you can skip some queues! It’s easy, free (the tickets aren’t cheap but at least you don’t pay any commission to a midleman) and you can do it from home!

 

Why shoud you get your USJ tickets and Express Pass online?

Because the queues at the park entrance can be quite long and Express Passes usually are sold out pretty soon so by buying them in advance you will make sure that you will make the most of your visit to Universal Studios Osaka.

 

Testimonials

This is a little list of bloggers that have followed our guide (thanks for your mentions!):

• Far fetched & fanciful
• FLUFFYPANDASANDPIGGIE
• Lilielcrochete (in French)
• Manila Traveler and Bookworm
• Dolce vita
• Mariyangglinez
• NINJACHELSEA (thanks for your kind words!)
• Nihon Passion
• NOTKNOWINGISBUDDHA
• sxllim
• seoul searching
• Geek without the K
• Farahin Taylor

 

Guide to buy USJ tickets online

In order to buy USJ tickets online, you should also check out these articles:

• Universal Studios Japan latest news – Temporary attractions and Express Passes.
• Our FAQ on how to buy USJ online tickets in case you have doubts about any step of the guide.
• Our mini-guide on how to sign in in your Club USJ account and how to access to your purchase history.

Now, click on each step to see its details.

[mks_accordion]
[mks_accordion_item state=»open» title=»

STEP 0: Become a member of USJ Club.

«]
We have compiled a little guide to help you join USJ Club. You need an account if you want to be able to purchase USJ e-tickets in advance. Go to the next step after you have completed the USJ Club Sign Up.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 1: Go to Universal Studios Japan website.

«]

You have to check that you are in the Japanese version of USJ’s website. Don’t select the English version as you won’t be able to open its online ticket shop.

We strongly recommend you to use the Chrome’s translator (if you are using that particular browser) in each step.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 2: Open USJ’s online shop.

«]
Click the right top link.

A pop-up may appear, you can close it safely.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 3: Open the calendar and choose a date.

«]
Click the dropdown menu (the one with the calendar icon). A calendar will be shown (it may take some time to appear). You can select the date for your visit within the next three months.

In the calendar you can see the opening and closing times of each day and whether the Magical Starlight Parade will be held or not. In order to choose a date, click on the desired day (blue button) and you will go to the next step.

Which are the best days to visit the park? It’s a hard question but we have found a japanese website that shows USJ occupancy forecasts (check this other one, too). You will find a calendar, each day with a certain background color; the meaning is shown in a legend (the colours varies between white -a low occupancy day- and black -packed to capacity). We don’t know its accuracy but it’s a good information anyway, mostly when you have to decide which USJ online Express Pass are you going to purchase. Here you can find the wait times for popular attractions.

Keep in mind that if there aren’t any tickets left for the day you want to visit the park, your last chance might be Rakuten Travel Experiences.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 4: Select the desired Studio Pass type.

«]
After the date selection, scroll down a little bit the page and you will find a list of Studio Passes. In the next screenshot we have highlighted the 1 Day Studio Pass because we think it’s the one that most of you will be interested in. You can use Chrome’s translator to find out which Studio Pass fits you best.

Under the Studio Passes you can find the fastpasses (Express Passes) and other special tickets. You will be able to add them to your shopping cart in a later step.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 5: Select delivery method (QR code ticket).

«]
You have to mark the first checkbox. It means that you’ll receive your tickets as QR codes. You already have selected a date (step 3) so wait until the date automatically loads in the date selector. If the date doesn’t load, select the same date again.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 6: Select the number of e-tickets you’d like to purchase.

«]
In this step you will select how many tickets you want to buy. For each kind (Adult, Child, Senior) select the desired quantity in the corresponding dropdown menu.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 7: Add the tickets (Studio Pass) to the shopping cart.

«]
After you have select the date, the delivery method and the number of tickets, click the yellow button to add the tickets to the shopping cart.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 8: Express Pass and other tickets selection.

«]
In this step, a list of different kinds of Express Passes and other tickets will be shown. You have to select the one you are interested in by clicking the corresponding yellow button. You can use Chrome’s translator to find out which ticket suits you best. You can find information about Express Passes in the USJ English website but make sure to check the information we have compiled about the temporary Express Passes in our «USJ’s news and temporary attractions and its Express Passes» post.
The Express Passes available are the next ones:

• (1) Universal Studio Express Pass 7 * The Flying Dinosaur. It includes the following 7 attractions:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Flight of the Hippogriff
  • The Flying Dinosaur
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Jaws
  • Choose one of the following: Hollywood Dream – The Ride or Backdraft.
  • Choose one of the following: Terminator 2:3D or Jurassic Park – The Ride
• (2) Universal Studio Express Pass 7 * Hollywood Dream – The Ride (Backdrop). It includes the following 7 attractions:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Flight of the Hippogriff
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Hollywood Dream – The Ride (Backdrop)
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Jaws
  • Choose one of the following: Hollywood Dream – The Ride or Backdraft.
  • Choose one of the following: Terminator 2: 3D y Jurassic Park – The Ride
• (3) Universal Studio Express Pass 7 * Evangelion XR Ride. It includes the following 7 attractions:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Flight of the Hippogriff
  • Evangelion XR Ride
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Jaws
  • Choose one of the following: Hollywood Dream – The Ride or Backdraft.
  • Choose one of the following: Terminator 2: 3D or Jurassic Park – The Ride
• (4) Universal Studio Express Pass 4 * Standard. It includes the following 4 attractions:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Hollywood Drem – The Ride
  • Choose one of the following: Jaws, Terminator 2: 3D or Backdraft
• (5) Universal Studio Express Pass 4 * Flying Dinosaur. It includes the following 4 attractions:
  • The Flying Dinosaur
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Hollywood Dream – The Ride
  • Choose one of the following: Jaws, Terminator 2: 3D or Backdraft
• (6) Universal Studio Express Pass 4 * Evangelion XR Ride. It includes the following 4 attractions:
  • Final Fantaxy XR Ride
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Hollywood Dream – The Ride
  • Choose one of the following: Terminator 2: 3D or Backdraft
• (7) Universal Studio Express Pass 3 * Minion Ride. It includes the following 3 attractions:
  • Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride
  • Choose one of the following: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Jurassic Park – The Ride
  • Choose one of the following: Terminator 2: 3D or Backdraft
• (8) Universal Studio Express Pass 3 * Evangelion XR Ride. It includes the following 3 attractions:
  • The Flying Dinosaur
  • Evangelion XR Ride
  • Choose one of the following: Jurassic Park – The Ride, Jaws or Backdraft

When you click the «add to the shopping cart» button, you will go to the next step.

If there is no stock of the chosen ticket, an error message will appear. In that case, you can empty your shopping cart and start over.

When choosing the Express Passes, keep in mind that some attractions may be temporary closed for maintenance.

NOTE: the «add-to-the-shopping-cart button» for some Express Passes may not appear in step 8 page. In that case you can find it in the info page for that Express Pass (click the button with the blue circle with a white ‘>’ inside), and then scrolling down until the page bottom; there you will find the yellow button (the one with the shopping cart icon). Look for the Express Pass for the right date if there’s more than one.
[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 9: Express Pass (or other tickets) date selection.

«]
You already have selected a date (step 3) so wait until the date automatically loads in the date selector. If the date doesn’t load, select the same date again.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 10: Express Pass (or other tickets) delivery method.

«]
As in step 5, mark the first checkbox. It means that you’ll receive your tickets as QR codes.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 11: Select the number of Express Passes (or other tickets) you’d like to purchase.

«]
Select the desired quantity in the corresponding dropdown menu. WARNING: turn off the browser translation. If the translation is on, the next step may not work because it won’t load the time slots, so please turn off the browser translation BEFORE choosing the number of express passes you wish to buy.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 12: Select the time slot for your visit to the Harry Potter’s area (if appliable).

«]
If your Express Pass includes a visit to The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter, then you have to select the most convenient time slot for your visit to the Happy Potter’s area in the dropdown menu. After you have checked that the available time slots have been loaded in the dropdown menu, you can now turn the browser translation on again.

If you click the button under the dropdown menu a new window will open. In this new window you can find a table with all possible time slots. Taking the Express Pass 7 as example, you can see five columns (don’t mind the one with the arrow) corresponding to:

1. Reserved time slot for timed attraction(s) (it depends on the Express Pass you have chosen, it may be The Flying Dinosaur, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Ride, etc.). If this column is empty, it means that you will visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first and then you will go to the timed attraction.
2. Admission time for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (in blue)
3. Reserved time slot for Flight of the Hippogriff. (in a lighter blue)
4. Reserved time slot for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (also in a light blue)
5. Reserved time slot for timed attraction(s) – the same of column 1. If this column is empty, it means your assigned time-slot is prior to your visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 13: Add your Express Passes (or other tickets) to the shopping cart.

«]
After you have select the date, the delivery method and the quantity of tickets, you have to add them to the shopping cart clicking the yellow button.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 14: Open your shopping cart.

«]
You can keep adding tickets to your shopping cart repeating the previous steps. Once you have added all the tickets you are interested in, click on the shopping cart (the button in the top-right of the page).

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 15: Review of the shopping cart.

«]
You can see now a summary of your purchase. You can edit the contents of your cart. Afterwards, scroll down and click the highlighted button in order to sign in into your USJ Club account.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 16: Login into your USJ Club account

«]
You have signed up for USJ Club in Step 0, haven’t you? Now you have to enter your user ID (1) and your password (2) and click the button below it.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 17: Fill out your personal details

«]
Now you have to check that your Name (1), Surname (2), Name in katakana (3) and Surname in katakana (4) aren’t empty (these fields should contain the data you entered when you signed up for USJ Club). The katakana fields can be a little bit tricky, you can try using Google Translator.

You also have to give a Japanese address, we advise you to use your hotel information These are the fields you have to fill:

• (5) Mobile phone number
• (6) Home phone number: it’s enough with one phone number so we advise you to use the hotel number (e.g. 0312345678).
• (7) Zip code: use the hotel zip code. It is an alphanumeric field (e.g. 0123456).
• (8) Prefecture: select the hotel prefecture in the drop down menu.
• (9) City: write down the hotel city.
• (10) Address: write down the hotel address. It’s a string of three numbers separated by hyphens (e.g. «2-1-33»).
• (11) It’s something like the «house name»… you can leave it blank as it’s an optional field.

Once you have entered all the required fields, click the yellow button. Don’t forget to check the «Terms & Conditions» check-box. If you don’t check it, you won’t be able to continue. If there’s any mistake, you will remain in this screen and the error(s) will be shown in a red square. In the next screenshot the wrong field was the email address, another field error prone is the Phonetic Name. We advise you to use the translator to find out where is your error in the form.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 18: Fill out the credit card form.

«]
The data collected in the previous form will be shown to you. Then you can select the payment method; options are: credit card or to pay in a Lawson store. You should choose the credit card option.

Scroll down in order to enter your credit card information. The fields you have to fill out are the following ones:

• (A) Credit card number.
• (B) Expiration date.
• (C) CVV.
• (D) Payment method: single payment or «fragmented» payment.

Once we have done it, you will be able to complete the purchase by clicking on the yellow button.

Warning – The 3D Secure security protocol is required for all credit card payments, for credit cards issued outside Japan. If that’s a problem for you, you can always try to buy your tickets at Rakuten Travel Experiences.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 19: Confirm payment.

«]
Scroll down in order to pay. First you have to check the three checkboxes (make sure that everything is right) and then the payment button will be enabled.

[/mks_accordion_item]
[mks_accordion_item title=»

STEP 20: Access to your QR codes

«]
After the payment is completed, you will end up in a page where you can find your reservation code.

If you scroll down, you will find several buttons you can click to access to your QR codes.

This is a Day Pass QR code:

And this is an Express Pass QR code:

And that’s all. Show your QR code at the entrance, the staff will scan it and they will let you in. Enjoy your visit to USJ!! We certainly enjoyed it, as you can see in the chronicle of our day in USJ!

If you found this guide useful please share it in your social media or 0:-)
[/mks_accordion_item]
[/mks_accordion]

We would like to remind you that if you think that our guide is not easy enough, you can buy the e-tickets at Rakuten Travel Experiences. Here you can find a youtube video tutorial.

Feel free to send us any comment/information/correction you think can help anyone interested in buying USJ tickets to our Facebook page. Thanks!