Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast NBCUniversal. The park is similar in layout to Universal Studios Florida and contains selected attractions from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, in addition to a small number of unique attractions.
Over 11 million guests visited the park in its opening year, making it the fastest theme park to reach the 10 million guest milestone at the time. In 2024, Universal Studios Japan hosted 16 million visitors, making it the third-most visited theme park in the world behind Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, and the most visited theme park in Asia.
History
In December 1992, Osaka Universal Planning Inc. was established in Minato-ku, Osaka to plan and research for the development and construction of a large-scale theme park in Japan. In February 1996, the master agreement regarding planning, construction and operation of the Universal Studios Japan theme park was concluded with American corporation MCA Inc. Osaka Universal Planning Inc. was also renamed USJ Co., Ltd. Licensing agreements regarding the planning, construction and operation of Universal Studios Japan was concluded with Universal in 1998 and later that year, construction of the theme park officially began.In July 1999, Universal sealed a marketing deal with 11 major Japanese companies, including All Nippon Airways and Matsushita Electric, to sponsor the park's attractions.
On February 21, 2001, in preparation for the opening of Universal Studios Japan, All Nippon Airways unveiled the Woody Woodpecker-themed Woody Jet, using the Boeing 767-300, for its domestic flights. The next day, Universal Studios Japan held a pre-opening preview.
The park opened on March 31, 2001. It was Universal's third theme park and the first outside the United States. The park cost US$ 1.7 billion to build.
The opening of Universal Studios Japan gave a boost in the economy of the Kansai region and has added another 29,000 jobs in the region's construction and tourism-related industries.
Lands and attractions
The park covers.The attractions are spread across ten different areas. The [Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Universal Studios Japan)|The Wizarding World of Harry Potter], opened on 15 July 2014 with its flagship attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The area and its attractions were modeled after its previous iterations at The Wizarding [World of Harry Potter (Universal Orlando Resort)|Universal Orlando] and The Wizarding World of [Harry Potter (Universal Studios Hollywood)|Universal Studios Hollywood]. The tenth and newest area, Super Nintendo World, opened after several delays on 18 March 2021.
Hollywood
Based on the neighborhood of Hollywood, Los Angeles.New York City
Based on the city of New York City, New York.| Name | Opened | Description |
| Detective Conan 4-D Live Show ~Jewel Under The Starry Sky~ | 2024 | A 3D/live-action show based on Case Closed. |
| Kuromi Live: Kuromify the World Tour "Crystal Clear" | 2025 | A live-action show based on Kuromi and My Melody. |
Minion Park
An area inspired by Illumination's Despicable Me franchise. It opened in March 2017.| Name | Opened | Description |
| Despicable Me Minion Mayhem | 2017 | A computer-animated simulator ride featuring the characters from Despicable Me movie franchise. |
| Freeze Ray Sliders | 2018 | A flat ride featuring spinning cars, centering on the Minions cooling off the Minion Park Fountain with Gru's freeze ray. |
| Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast | 2025 | A moving walkway shooter attraction themed to the Minions film franchise. |
San Francisco
Located between Minion Park and Jurassic Park, this area right off the lagoon is based on the city of San Francisco, California, and recreates neighborhoods like Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown. The area does not have any rides, but does have four restaurants: Happiness Cafe, Lombard's Landing, The Dragon's Pearl, and Wharf Cafe.Jurassic Park
Inspired by Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film franchise of the same name.| Name | Opened | Description |
| Jurassic Park: The Ride | 2001 | A water-based amusement ride based on Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park and Michael Crichton's novel of the same name. |
| The Flying Dinosaur | 2016 | A flying roller coaster that holds the record for being the most expensive roller coaster ever manufactured by B&M. |
Amity Village
Inspired by Steven Spielberg's Jaws film.| Name | Opened | Description |
| Jaws | 2001 | A scenic boat ride with special effects and animatronics of the titular shark. |
Universal Wonderland
Universal Wonderland is a section aimed at children and families and home to well-known characters like Elmo, Snoopy, and Hello kitty. Opened in March 2012, it contains three themed sub-zones including Snoopy Studios, Hello Kitty's Fashion Avenue, and Sesame Street Fun Zone.Snoopy Studios
Based on the Peanuts comic strip. Snoopy Studios was originally its own standalone area, opening with the park in April 2001 before becoming part of Universal Wonderland in 2012.| Name | Opened | Description |
| The Flying Snoopy | 2012 | An aerial carousel ride with Snoopy-themed cars. |
| Snoopy's Sound Stage Adventure | 2001 | An indoor playground attraction themed to a film set. |
| Snoopy's Flying Ace Adventure | 2025 | An indoor roller coaster based on the storyline of Snoopy sitting atop his dog house imagining himself as a World War I pilot, fighting the Red Baron. It replaced the former Snoopy's Great Race. |
Hello Kitty's Fashion Avenue
Themed to Sanrio's Hello Kitty franchise.| Name | Opened | Description |
| Hello Kitty's Cupcake Dream | 2012 | A Teacups ride with cars themed to different cupcakes. |
| Hello Kitty's Ribbon Collection | 2012 | A themed indoor meet-and-greet with Hello Kitty. |
Sesame Street Fun Zone
Based on the children's television series Sesame Street. It is split into three sub-areas - "Sesame Street Plaza", "Sesame Central Park" and "Elmo's Imagination Playland".| Name | Opened | Description |
| Abby's Magical Party | 2012 | An indoor play area filled with larges spheres and stars. |
| Abby's Magical Tree | 2012 | An indoor rope-climbing attraction themed to a tree. |
| Bert and Ernie's Wonder: The Sea | 2012 | An indoor ball pit themed to Bert and Ernie's bathroom. |
| Big Bird's Big Top Circus | 2012 | A carousel ride with Sesame Street themed animals and characters. Formerly the "Magical Oz Go-Round", it was the only attraction from the "Land of Oz" area to be repurposed for Universal Wonderland. |
| Big Bird's Big Nest | 2012 | A large climbing rope attraction. |
| Cookie Monster Slide | 2012 | A slide with Cookie Monster's tongue as the slide. |
| Elmo's Bubble Bubble | 2012 | A small log flume-like ride for children. |
| Elmo's Go Go Skateboard | 2015 | A Rockin' Tug ride that looks like Elmo's skateboard. |
| Elmo's Little Drive | 2012 | A driving school attraction with Elmo-themed cars, aimed for young children. |
| Ernie's Rubber Duckie Race | 2012 | Guests race rubber duckies down a small river of water. Originally known as "Central Park Duckie Race". |
| Grover's Construction Company | 2012 | An indoor play area themed to water pipes. |
| Moppy's Balloon Trip | 2015 | A high tower ride that affords a view of the area. |
| Moppy's Lucky Dance Party | 2012 | A live interactive show themed to Universal Studios Japan's exclusive "Moppy" Sesame Street character. |
| Sesame's Big Drive | 2012 | A driving school attraction with Sesame Street-themed cars. |
| Water Garden | 2012 | A water fountain play area. Originally known as "Central Park Springs". |
WaterWorld
Based on Universal Pictures' 1995 film of the same name.| Name | Opened | Description |
| WaterWorld | 2001 2018 | A live water stunt show showcasing many special effects. |
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area based on the Harry Potter series. It is a collaboration of Universal Destinations & Experiences and Warner Bros. Entertainment. It opened to the public on July 15, 2014.It contains the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride and the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster. The village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts’ Black Lake are also recreated. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter cost Universal Studios Japan ¥45 billion to construct.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey | 2014 | A motion-based dark ride that takes guests through scenes inspired by the Harry Potter books and films. |
| Flight of the Hippogriff | 2014 | A junior roller coaster based on the creature featured in the books. |
Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World is wedged in at the northern end of the park, west of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and south of the Nintendo headquarters that are just outside of the property. Super Mario Land opened on March 18, 2021, and is focused on the Mario franchise and its Yoshi spin-off series. On December 11, 2024, an expansion themed to Donkey Kong Country opened.Guests enter Super Nintendo World through a warp pipe from an entrance plaza. The pipe leads into Super Mario Land, and specifically Princess Peach's Castle. When guests exit the castle, they enter the courtyard on the second floor, immersed in the Mushroom Kingdom with Bowser's Castle across the area. From the back of the Super Mario Land, guests can walk into Donkey Kong Country.
Seasonal overlays
The park is consistently installing seasonal attraction and show overlays. Some include Halloween Horror Nights, Christmas, Easter, Summer, and Cool Japan. The park's "Cool Japan" seasonal attractions have been based on popular Japanese anime and video game franchises, including: Sailor Moon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan, One Piece, Detective Conan, Lupin III, Monster Hunter, and Final Fantasy.Former attractions
Western
The Western Area, and with it, The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show and the Animal Actors Stage show, were revamped to become Land of Oz in 2006. This involved completely re-theming two live shows, one restaurant and a number of retail facilities.| Name | Opened | Closed | Description |
| The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show | 2001 | 2006 | A stunt show based upon a wide variety of Universal's Western films. Located in the Western Town section of the park, the show featured several cowboy-themed actors surviving death-defying stunts, shootings and explosions. The show closed in 2006 and has since been replaced by Wicked. |
Land of Oz
The Western Area was replaced for 2006 with an area based on L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz book series.The land closed in February 2011 to make way for Universal Wonderland.
| Name | Opened | Closed | Description |
| Wicked | 2006 | 2011 | An abbreviated one-act version of the musical, presented in Japanese. It closed in January 2011, a month prior to the land's closure. |
| Toto & Friends | 2006 | 2011 | An animal trick show, featuring dogs, birds and other trained animals. |
| Magical Oz-Go-Round | 2007 | 2011 | An Oz-themed carousel. This ride was retained during the Universal Wonderland transformation and was rethemed as Big Bird's Big Top Circus. |
Parades
The park has held a variety of seasonal parades throughout the past two decades, including Festa de Parade, Universal Summer Parade – We Are One, and Minion Hacha-Mecha Christmas Party Parade.Universal Studios Japan currently offers the nighttime Universal Spectacle Night Parade. This parade premiered on 17 May 2018, and features floats, performers, and characters based on the Wizarding World, Transformers, Jurassic Park and Despicable Me franchises.
The park also offers a daily daytime parade, titled No limit! Parade. The parade held its first preview performance on 27 February 2023, and officially premiered on 1 March 2023. It features floats, characters, and performers based on Hello Kitty, Peanuts, Despicable Me, Sesame Street, Sing, Mario Kart and Pokémon. While Mario and Pikachu appeared on Universal's No Limit!-marketing float at the Midosuji Autumn Party in November 2022, the No limit! Parade is the first time these franchises have appeared within a Universal Studios parade.
Awards
In 2011, USJ's Christmas tree was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most illuminated Christmas tree in the world having 260,498 lights.- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride
- * 2001 Screamscape Ultimate No.1 Favorite Overall Non-Coaster Thrill Ride
- * 2002 Theme Park Insider World Best Theme Park Attraction
- Animation Celebration
- * 2002 THEA Award WINNER in AttractionPeter Pan's Neverland
- * 2007 THEA Award WINNER in Event Spectacular
- The Gift of Angels
- * 2009 Big E Award, Best Overall Production WINNER in the category "Best Overall Production, More Than $2 Million"
- Hollywood Dreams Parade
- * 2009 Big E Award : Honorable Mention in the category "Best Overall Production, More Than $2 Million"
- Space Fantasy – The Ride
- * 2011 THEA Award winner in Outstanding Achievement
Official hotels
There are five official hotels at or near the park:- Hotel Keihan Universal City
- Park Front Hotel at Universal Studios Japan
Incidents and accidents
In November 2004, a 35-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture suffered nerve damage in her right wrist, affecting the use of two of her fingers. This occurred when her hand got stuck in a safety bar of the E.T. Adventure attraction as an employee pulled it down to secure it.The Yoshi's Adventure attraction suffered two accidents in late 2021, with a Goomba stack animatronic falling onto the ride during operation on August 12, 2021, and a fire starting in one of the ride's indoor areas on November 23, 2021. This caused everyone to evacuate from the ride and the rest of the park. Neither accidents led to any park guest injuries.
In October 2022, an employee at the amusement park found human bones in shrubbery along a road west of the premises.