Visit Osaka: Super Nintendo World 3-Hour VIP Tour at Universal Studios Japan

I read a lot of blogs, Facebook Group posts, reddit threads, etc. when it came to planning our visit to Universal Studios Japan.

I knew the lines would be crazy and wait times long, and I knew the ability to get Express Passes via Klook or the USJ website was an adventure in itself.  After much research, I decided to get VIP Tour Passes through the USJ website.  I went onto the English site on the date and time of ticket release, however, the VIP Tour tickets were not available.  I read that sometimes there would be a delay, but after 20 minutes and no VIP Tour tickets available, I left my computer for a few minutes only to see that they got released, but stated "no stock" for any June dates.  In shock and frustrated, I tried my luck on the Japanese website and found that VIP Tour tickets were available for my desired date (as well as on many other dates two months prior).  

I bought 3-Hour Super Nintendo World VIP Tour Tickets.  You do have to buy a separate Studio Pass (general admission).

I also discovered that if you have AMEX, you can book additional time slots that may not be available on the USJ website, and you have priority access to Kiniopio Cafe.

There are 3-hour group and 5- and 8-hour private tours you can choose from as well.

The day of our tour, we arrived at Universal Studios Japan around 930am, and went through security, which only took about 15 minutes. We entered through the special VIP building. Our tickets were scanned, and they gave us our 3 Express tickets each, which were good for the following:

• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™
• Flight of the Hippogriff™
• Hollywood Dream - The Ride
• Minion Mayhem
• The Flying Dinosaur
• Jaws
• Jurassic Park - The Ride
• Space Fantasy - The Ride

We each also got a a 10% coupon good for Kiniopio Cafe and other restaurants on site (not valid at carts), ponchos (in case it rained or we went on Jurassic Park), and our lanyards.

The Tour also included VIP ride access to:

• Donkey Kong's Crazy Mine Cart
• Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge™
• Yoshi's Adventure™
• Jaws

This meant we bypassed all the lines (including Express) and went through exits and special accesses.

 
The website states the tour is conducted in Japanese, but the guides either speak English and / or use a translator machine.

For the 3-Hour Tour, you have access to the lounge 30 minutes prior to your tour. There is no food, but there are drinks. It's a nice place to just sit and relax, use the restroom, and charge your phones before a long day of rides and walking. If you arrive at the park well in advance of your tour time, you can go on rides and use your Express Passes.

While in the lounge, the tour guide goes through a brief run down of what to expect.

We were grouped with other participants, and our tour started a little late because a couple arrived into the lounge at 1025am, so they had to get briefed separately.

And after the tour had already started, a group of 3 joined in.  They seem to be very uninformed, asking what rides they could go on and when, but our tour guide was very friendly, and he was so patient with everyone. Some in our group only spoke Chinese, so he had to translate to both English and Chinese.

The first ride we went on was JAWS.  I really enjoyed the ride and the energy of the skipper!

Throughout the tour our guide would give us interesting trivia about certain buildings and attractions, that I won't spoil here. 

We did take two 15 minute breaks, during which time you could use the restroom or find a snack.

Of course the highlight was Super Nintendo World.

We had ridden Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge at Universal Studio's Hollywood, so we knew what to expect.   

Yoshi's Adventure was a very tame, kiddie ride. 

Mine Cart Madness in Donkey Kong Country was my favorite SNW ride.  

After the rides, we went straight to the counter at Kiniopio Cafe - no need to wait in the long queue.  This is where the tour ended.  After we ate, we explored USJ on our own and used our Express Passes.

We did not do any mini games in SNW since the lines were too long.

If you do not get a VIP Tour or Express Passes, you can still get into SNW and get Timed Entry via the app (or go early enough to not need Timed Entry).

When we arrived, I got us Timed Entry for late evening in case we wanted to return.  We didn't return, however, and we also didn't want to wait in line to get back in (it was very long). 

Minion Park was decked out in Easter decor.  

I loved how friendly all the USJ team members were.  Always waving and smiling even if you were passing by a ride or attraction.

It was a very warm day.  People were sitting or standing in whatever shade they could find.  Some were even lying on the ground.  More people than not had umbrellas.  

For those who had the patience to wait in line for 180+ minutes, many had those collapsible stools that can be carried or fit in your backpack (I read some amusements parks do not allow this, but USJ does).  

Unfortunately, Jurassic Park - The Ride (my favorite ride!) was closed, but we still enjoyed the other rides we went on, and we did have a lot of snacks and drinks throughout the day.  

We left around 6pm (they used to have a parade, but as of this post they have not restarted it).

We skipped Universal Wonderland since it was geared toward much younger kids.

Yes, the VIP Tours are pricey, but to me, it was well worth it.  We didn't have to wake up and stand in line 3 hours before opening, or wait in more lines to get into Super Nintendo World or to get on rides.  No waiting for JAWS or Kiniopio Cafe either.  

SNW was by far the most crowded world, so if SNW is not your thing, you could very well just be fine standing by or getting Express 4 or 7 passes for the other worlds' rides.

On Klook, they offer the Express 7 with designated times. With the VIP Tour, you get the same amount of rides without having to be tied to a designated time slot, other than your tour, so that's something you should consider.

The rides we had VIP access to bypassed even the Express lines. If we went standby for each of the 4 rides, we would have waited at least 480 minutes. That's 8 hours! And that doesn't even include the line to get into Super Nintendo World or to Kiniopio Cafe.

I'm very glad we got the VIP Tour. 

On the train ride back, we actually got the USJ train!

It was such a cool way to end our visit!