Universal Studios Japan

Under the old system a ticket had a price, and the planning question was which day to go. Under demand pricing the ticket is the day: quiet Tuesdays in February are cheap, Golden Week and the New Year holidays are not, and the spread is large.

The behaviour that follows is different from what people are used to. Buying early is now a hedge rather than merely a convenience, because a date that looks quiet in March can be repriced upward in June once demand for it becomes visible. Waiting for a price to fall is not a strategy the system rewards.

It also means comparing USJ against Tokyo Disney on price no longer works from a guidebook. Both parks now price dynamically and the answer depends entirely on your dates. Price both, for your dates, on the day you decide.

The Studio Pass gets you through the gate. It does not get you onto anything quickly. USJ sells Express Passes separately, in several tiers, each covering a specified set of attractions, and on a busy day the difference between having one and not is the difference between six rides and two.

They are expensive, they sell out for popular dates well in advance, and they are not a single product – the tier that includes the ride you actually came for may not be the cheapest one. Read the attraction list on each tier rather than the number in its name.

Budget honestly: entry plus an Express Pass plus food inside the park is a substantial day for two people, and it is the single largest discretionary line on most Osaka itineraries. If the park is the reason you are in Osaka, that is fine. If it is a thing you are fitting in, the same money buys a great deal of the rest of this city.

JR Yumesaki line to Universal City, about twelve minutes from Osaka Station with a change at Nishikujo, and the walk from the station to the gate is a couple of minutes. Note it is JR: neither the Osaka Amazing Pass nor the Enjoy Eco Card covers it, because both stop at the Osaka Metro network.

There is also the Captain Line ferry across the bay from Tempozan, beside Kaiyukan, which is covered by the Osaka Amazing Pass and is a pleasant way to combine the two if you are doing an aquarium-and-park day. The aquarium itself is not on the pass.

Arrive before opening. Not at opening – before it. The gate queue on a busy day starts forming well ahead of the published time, and the first ninety minutes inside the park are worth more than the last three hours. Plan on a full day either way; this is not a half-day attraction and treating it as one is how people end up having paid a great deal for four queues.