Event guide · Sat 31 Oct 2026
Universal Studios Japan at Christmas: Holiday Wonders, the night shows, and the countdown ticket sale
Universal Studios Japan's Christmas season, Universal Holiday Wonders, opens on Friday 13 November 2026 and runs through Sunday 17 January 2027. The two Gramercy Park night shows start on 25 November, a regular Studio Pass covers the whole season, and New Year's Eve is a separate event whose countdown Party Pass goes on general sale on Wednesday 4 November. The season, the shows and the two very different tickets, in order.
What you need to know, in short: Universal Studios Japan turns the winter of its 25th anniversary year into a Christmas season called Universal Holiday Wonders, running from Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027 at the park in Osaka's bay area. The season itself needs nothing special: a regular date-specific Studio Pass covers it. The two night shows at Gramercy Park start later, on Wednesday 25 November. And New Year's Eve is a different event entirely: the NO LIMIT! Countdown 2027 runs on a separate Party Pass, whose general sale opens at about 21:00 on Wednesday 4 November. Our Osaka attractions page carries the park's ticket options; this guide covers the season, the shows and the countdown sale.
The season: Holiday Wonders
Universal Holiday Wonders is the winter seasonal event of the park's 25th anniversary year, and it fills the whole period from 13 November to 17 January. Two pieces run for the full season. The Universal Food Festival takes over restaurants and food carts across the park, the largest food event the park has run, with seasonal menus and character greetings appearing in the dining areas. And in the Wizarding World, Hogwarts Magical Night: Winter Magic projects a winter show onto Hogwarts Castle, about ten minutes long. Neither needs a separate ticket: both are part of an ordinary day at the park on a Studio Pass.
The night shows at Gramercy Park
| Show | Where | Dates | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Up the Night: Christmas Celebration | Gramercy Park, New York area | 25 November to 11 January | About 30 minutes |
| Joy of Lights | Gramercy Park, New York area | 25 November to 11 January | About 10 minutes |
Light Up the Night is the headline show. Elmo, Snoopy, Hello Kitty and the park's other characters, in winter outfits, perform alongside the snow people and a cast of entertainers through a story told in holiday songs, with snow falling over Gramercy Park. Joy of Lights is the quieter return: a show of light and melody built around messages to loved ones, revived this year for the first time in nine years. The messages projected during the show are chosen by lottery from submissions, which stay open until Monday 14 December 2026. Two things to note before you plan an evening around them. There is no performance of either show on 31 December, when the park hands the night to the countdown. And the front viewing area is ticketed separately: a special viewing area entry ticket, from 1,700 yen (about US$11), reserves a place in the set area in front of the stage, sold through the official site and Lawson Ticket. The shows themselves can be watched from the rest of Gramercy Park.
Tickets for the season
A Studio Pass is date-specific, and December dates at this park sell out. Book the day as soon as the trip is fixed rather than at the gate. If Super Nintendo World is the point of the visit, the park manages entry to that area in season, so regulars pair an Express Pass with the Studio Pass; our Osaka attractions page sets out both products. One caution that matters for this article: the Studio Pass below is for ordinary park days across the Christmas season. It does not cover the countdown night, which is sold separately, through the official channels described next.
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The countdown: a separate ticket, on sale 4 November
NO LIMIT! Countdown 2027 ~Discover U!!!~ takes over the park from 19:00 on Thursday 31 December 2026 to 21:00 on Friday 1 January 2027, up to 26 hours, and the Party Pass that covers it allows re-entry throughout. The pass costs 16,900 yen (about US$107), one price, tax included. Sales have run in stages: an annual pass presale in early October and a Lawson Ticket first-come presale from 23 October to 3 November came first. The general sale opens at about 21:00 Japan time on Wednesday 4 November, through the official web ticket store and Lawson Ticket, with official hotels selling to their own guests. Two cautions. The general sale happens only if an allocation remains after the presales, and the park says so plainly. And a regular Studio Pass for 31 December does not roll into the night: holders must leave by 17:00, the park closes from 17:00 to 19:00 to reset, and only Party Pass holders come back in. Yen prices in this article are converted at 158 yen to US$1, the rate used across this site in October 2026.
Put the two halves together and the season has a shape: the shows and the food festival for a daytime visit from mid-November, and one hard deadline, the evening of 4 November, if the year is going to end inside the park. Our Christmas in Japan guide covers the season beyond Osaka, and the New Year guide sets out what the countdown week looks like across the country.
Sources: Universal Studios Japan official site, the Universal Holiday Wonders event page (the season dates from 13 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, the food festival and the Hogwarts winter show), the Light Up the Night and Joy of Lights pages (Gramercy Park, 25 November 2026 to 11 January 2027, no shows on 31 December, the running times, and the message submissions to 14 December), the special viewing area ticket details (from 1,700 yen), and the NO LIMIT! Countdown 2027 ticket page (the Party Pass price of 16,900 yen, the hours from 19:00 on 31 December to 21:00 on 1 January, the presale stages, the general sale from about 21:00 on 4 November and the 17:00 limit for regular 31 December passes). Checked 31 October 2026.
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