We’ve compiled our favorite parts of this year’s event, including the largest-ever collection of special food, goods, and a new HamiKuma variant.

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is known for the big Halloween bash that it throws every year around this time. This year’s theme is “Sanity? Who needs it?” which is running at the park from September 4 through November 5. We recently checked everything out and have compiled our recommendations for making your time there as enjoyable as possible. However, there’s so much to do that you could easily come back for multiple visits and still not exhaust it all!

A good thing to note at the get-go is that the park is hosting the Hahaha! Halloween Party by day–perfect for the younger and/or easily spooked crowd–and Halloween Horror Nights by night–perfect for those who seek a thrill in the dark. We’ll begin by sharing our favorite things from the daytime, which are, namely, the food and merch.

First up is the Pokémon Unstoppable Halloween Party! original food menu currently found at the Studio Stars Restaurant. If you’re a Poké-fan, we strongly recommend getting a placemat set for a fun and practical keepsake. We ordered almost everything on the menu and were delighted by it all.

● Litwick’s Lit Up at Night Hamburg Steak Meal (2,400 yen [US$16.28])
● A Trick? Misdreavus’ Mixed Berry Cheesecake and Red Vegetable? (950 yen)
● Let’s Party! Pokémon Placemat (700 yen or can be added to any order for 600 yen)

● Pumpkaboo’s Roly-Poly Chicken Bagel Sandwich Meal (2,400 yen)

● Let’s Dance! DJ Gengar’s Grape Soda (800 yen)
● Peek-a-Boo! Banette’s Pear and White Chocolate Mousse (1,100 yen)

We had no complaints about the quality of the food, including the Banette dessert, which is a shade of gray that doesn’t usually spark an appetite. Another fun thing about the dining experience is that the exterior of the restaurant is also currently decorated with plenty of spooky Pokémon illustrations.

If the undeniable cuteness of Pokémon just isn’t your thing, you might appreciate the new food items based on HamiKuma, USJ’s original zombie teddy bear character (and its variants). It’s the first time that the park is selling HamiKuma-shaped popcorn buckets, which are perfect for snacking while walking around. One bucket costs 5,500 yen and comes with three sound clips as well.

Different popcorn carts throughout the park are selling different flavors of popcorn, so be sure to purchase yours with the flavor that you want.

● Carts near the entrance of Universal Wonderland and Gramercy Park–strawberry cookie-flavored popcorn
● Carts near Stage 22 and Playing with Curious George–caramel-flavored popcorn

If you’re more in the mood for a light, on-the-go kind of meal, hotdogs and curry are being sold in the Universal Market Area. They might look dubious at first glance, but we can assure you that they taste great.

● HamiKuma’s Chocolate Keema Curry (1,100 yen)
● HamiKuma Soul Chicken and Cheese White Curry (1,100 yen)
● HamiKuma Punk Dog ~Black Cheese Sauce and Pepper~ (1,100 yen)

This year marks the debut of a new HamiKuma variant known as HamiKuma Candy–which, as you can probably guess, is a colorful, sickly sweet version of the zombie bear that would probably feel right at home in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. HamiKuma Candy has also inspired a few more sweet treats to enjoy.

● Sold at the Universal Market’s Happiness Wagon–HamiKuma Candy Churritos ~Strawberry Candy~ (850 yen)
● Sold at the Beverly Hills Boulangerie–HamiKuma Candy Cake ~Strawberry~ (1,000 yen) and HamiKuma Psycho Circus Cake ~Dark Chocolate~ (1,000 yen)

Once your stomach is full, it’s then a perfect time to check out all of USJ’s exclusive seasonal event goods being sold at various locations throughout the park. There are too many to count, so we’ve picked out a select few to spotlight here.

● HamiKuma beret (4,600 yen)
● HamiKuma mascot keychains with strap (2,800 yen each)

We’ve got a soft spot for the Peanuts crew, and it’s not often that you see Snoopy and Charlie Brown looking so disgruntled.

● Peanuts stuffie keychains (2,900 yen each)
● Peanuts headbands (3,600 yen each)

Now, let’s move on to the later, scarier festivities. Beginning at 6 p.m. and until the park closes, you can experience what it’s like to mingle with the undead in the (in)famous Street Zombies event. Street zombies will appear in seven designated zones, each with a different theme ranging from Possessed Playthings to Chainsaw Chain-Gang. This year also marks the opening of the Factory of Fear: Zombie Tour haunted house attraction. Watch out, because the zombies can definitely sense who’s scared the most…and then they’ll chase those people around even more.

Approximately every 25 minutes, you can also get caught up in a frenzy of dancing in the Zombie de Dance event. Japanese band King Gnu‘s new song “So Bad,” written exclusively for this event, will turn the the hordes of undead into dancing machines–and you along with them.

For a more traditional concert-type experience, we also recommend HamiKuma’s Sweet Scream Party with all four HamiKumas taking over the stage. Their electrifying performance includes lots of interactive audience elements such as call-and-response segments.

We felt like we experienced only the tip of the iceberg for all that USJ has to offer during this season, but we hope that you can devise a perfectly spooky itinerary for yourself. It’s also important to note that special rules regarding costumes and prohibited items are being enforced for the duration of the Halloween event for everyone’s safety. Children aged 12 and under should be accompanied by a guardian at night, and certain attractions, such as the street zombies, are not intended for those of preschool age or below at all.

Finally, on the actual day of Halloween, USJ will host a special all-night event for which a separate ticket is required. Visitors with these tickets can enter the park beginning at 3 p.m. and festivities will last from 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. the following morning. You might as well take advantage of the fact that Halloween falls on a Friday this year to party it up!

For another USJ attraction that we recently recommended, check out the Kate Presents Witch of Block 18: The Mansion Where Witches Play With Emotions event as well.

Reference: Universal Studios Japan
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