Universal Studios Japan General Discussion

[TheUniC6]

ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン｜USJ

異なる表情を持つさまざまなエリアは、感動がいっぱいの別世界。ハリウッドの超大作映画をテーマにした興奮のライドや人気キャラクターたちのショーなど、子どもから大人まで楽しめる、ワールドクラスのエンターテイメントを集めたテーマパーク。

www.usj.co.jp

If you had asked me what would be the first permanent Anime attraction for a Universal park, I probably wouldn't of said Detective Conan.

With the exception of Pokemon, what anime IPs would you rank ahead of Detective Conan for an attraction?

 

[AlexanderMBush]

With the exception of Pokemon, what anime IPs would you rank ahead of Detective Conan for an attraction?

Pokemon is not anime. Pokemon is a behemoth that transcends multiple forms of media--it does not, nor should it, confine to one specific angle (even if the games are the most striking).

(*honestly I wonder if Demon Slayer XR stays longer now than it's end-date in June; considering the popularity of the show and the upcoming material for it*). Either way, I am wondering if an article will be written for DC--feels like you would want to make one for the sake of T23D's replacement.

 

[ParkExplorer9513]

With the exception of Pokemon, what anime IPs would you rank ahead of Detective Conan for an attraction?

My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece. Those are the three that immediately come to mind for me.

 

[BatCom]

My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece. Those are the three that immediately come to mind for me.

Not sure the details of any licensing contracts in place, but Fuji-Q already has a permanent Naruto land and attraction.

 

[quinnmac000]

My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece. Those are the three that immediately come to mind for me.

Conan and One Piece have been USJ staples for the past few years...Conan is big time popular at USJ with super high guest satisfaction. USJ did have Naruto back in the day when they did Shonen Jump Summer but it wasn't as popular.

 

[Chessy]

Don't know if I'm posting this in the right place, but I am looking to do a trip to Japan in the not too distant future. Is it easy to access USJ via public transport or easier to go by car?

 

[mccgavin]

Don't know if I'm posting this in the right place, but I am looking to do a trip to Japan in the not too distant future. Is it easy to access USJ via public transport or easier to go by car?

I'd highly recommend taking the rail line, Universal has its own dedicated station. Just in general, I would not advise using a car in Japan unless absolutely necessary.

 

[BatCom]

Don't know if I'm posting this in the right place, but I am looking to do a trip to Japan in the not too distant future. Is it easy to access USJ via public transport or easier to go by car?

Very easy. Universal City Station drops you off right in Citywalk.

 

[Chessy]

I'd highly recommend taking the rail line, Universal has its own dedicated station. Just in general, I would not advise using a car in Japan unless absolutely necessary.

Yeah would prefer not to use a car as I feel it may over complicate things.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Yeah

In Japan Detective Conan (was called Case Closed in the west) is HUGEEEEEEEE in Japan

It's been around since 1996 and never stopped and from what I looked it up

As the 4th most successful manga series of all time, with approximately 250 million sales

So maybe people don't know or think about it but the series is just massive in Japan

 

[saint.piss]

 

[BatCom]

USJ is in a truly rough, self-inflicted spot now. A total of four attractions are now permanently closed or undergoing major refurbishment, including two E-tickets: Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, T2 and Backdraft.

The drought will start to improve Mar. 22 when the new Conan show replacing T2 opens. Also Donkey Kong Coaster coming online this spring.

Jurassic Park will then re-open from its major refurb in early 2025.
Spider-Man and Backdraft replacements: ?

Quite a time in USJ's history. Very hard to recommend anyone visit the park for at least the next year.

 

[TheUniC6]

USJ is in a truly rough, self-inflicted spot now. A total of four attractions are now permanently closed or undergoing major refurbishment, including two E-tickets: Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, T2 and Backdraft.

The drought will start to improve Mar. 22 when the new Conan show replacing T2 opens. Also Donkey Kong Coaster coming online this spring.

Jurassic Park will then re-open from its major refurb in early 2025.
Spider-Man and Backdraft replacements: ?

Quite a time in USJ's history. Very hard to recommend anyone visit the park for at least the next year.

Pokemon appears to be slated for 2026. In addition to JP coming back online in 2025 we will also have a port of VCMB replacing Backdraft per @Tomfoolery.

 

[Gartooth]

I would imagine Detective Conan is a temporary band-aid to help add park capacity when DKC opens. But yeah the park is in for a rough time until JPRA reopens along with additional attractions like Villain-Con and Pokémon. DK is gonna have to do a lot of heavy lifting for now.

 

[saint.piss]

Went to the park yesterday, arrived 7:50am. I was able to get into Super Nintendo World within less than an hour and did all the rides+restaurants. Got to do most the rides at the park (except Hollywood Dream) including the Sing! tour show as well and even did Jaws 5 times. No express or early entry on a busy Friday. Absolutely loved the park.

 

[bedejay]

Hello! My brother and I will be going to Japan in April and we are excited to be hitting both USJ as well as TDR.

I had a question regarding early entry. I am looking on Klook and it looks like that is an option, but for my dates (April 11), it is unavailable. As a matter of fact, it looks like most weekdays are unavailable until May, which surprised me as I figured people would want to buy early entry for the weekends. Do you think this is because they do not anticipate the park being crowded given that "Hollywood Dream" will be closed? I feel like we are visiting at the worst time because a lot of the attractions besides Harry Potter and Mario would be closed, but if that means we can do everything, I am all for it!

I had another question about Klook's "Nezuko Popcorn Bucket Voucher" and was wondering if this was a guaranteed thing or we would still have to be the first in line (heard that the line closes off in 15 minutes); otherwise, we spent the money for no reason?

Currently our plan is to leave our hotel in Namba around 0600/0630 to hopefully arrive around 0700/0730 and lineup to get into the park. (Question: Is it frowned upon to be eating while waiting to be let in? Thinking about picking up some breakfast at the convenience store before heading to the park.) Hoping to "rope drop" Mario first and do everything there since I have never seen it (didn't get the chance here at US-Hollywood when my family went when it first opened). My brother also wants to see the Detective Conan stuff, but otherwise, we have no other wants/needs, so we will likely just lounge around the park, eat food, and shop (hoping for some One Piece stuff to still be there).

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

(Question: Is it frowned upon to be eating while waiting to be let in? Thinking about picking up some breakfast at the convenience store before heading to the park.)

I'd say based on advice and my own experience in Japan, it's generally frowned upon to eat while standing or walking anywhere in Japan, though like with all countries, it's possible this particular region specific nicety has degraded over time. If you're picking up an onigiri or conbini at a 7/11 or something, I would just find a bench or table to eat at for a few minutes. If you're going at 7, a few extra minutes shouldn't be an issue in terms of lines.

I'll also say in my experience, lines for a good amount of the experiences on the Western side of the park quickly outpaced those in the more "immersive lands".

Do you think this is because they do not anticipate the park being crowded given that "Hollywood Dream" will be closed?

Whatever feelings you have about what constitutes heavy mid-day crowds at theme parks before USJ, buttress them.

 

[bedejay]

@PerceptiveCoot Haha thanks for the response!

I will likely just eat in the convenience store and dispose of trash there before moving on to USJ. I will keep that in mind since it looks like all the special anime events are in the Hollywood area. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Might be better to just do timed-entry to Mario and try to do the Hollywood stuff first.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

@PerceptiveCoot Haha thanks for the response!

I will likely just eat in the convenience store and dispose of trash there before moving on to USJ. I will keep that in mind since it looks like all the special anime events are in the Hollywood area. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Might be better to just do timed-entry to Mario and try to do the Hollywood stuff first.

If the Cool Japan stuff is more of a priority for you, I'd maybe try to make Space Fantasy your priority. That line goes to 2 hrs real fast, and let me tell yah, its not a very fun line. Unfortunately I'm not sure there's really any way to game USJ at this point given all the closures, so make judicious use of single rider and plan ahead.

TDR should be a breeze though, provided you get Fastpasses for Beauty and the Beast, Journey, and Tower of Terror. DisneySea especially was quite easy to have a relaxing time at, as long as you avoid Toy Story Mania and Soarin.

 

[bedejay]

@PerceptiveCoot
Unfortunately, Space Fantasy will be closed during my visit (seems like it’s been closed since January 2023). I am thinking about doing Flying Dinosaur, but that ride might be a little intense.

For TDR, we ended up splurging on a vacation package, so we already have our premier passes for the top attractions. Coming from CA, we are likely skipping Toy Story or will rope drop but not a super high priority for us haha.