HOW TO USE JAPAN THEME PARK CROWD PREDICTION CALENDARS

While planning a trip to a Japanese theme park, many people ask me which day is likely to be the least crowded.
Most visitors to Japan are, of course, aware that weekdays are going to be less crowded than than weekends and national holidays but…

Did you know that there are crowd prediction calendars that can help you know ahead of time which Japanese theme parks are likely to be busy and on which day?

I will walk you through how to read these Japanese crowd prediction calendars here.

This blog post contains some affiliate links. This means that I will receive a small commission if you book a hotel or make a purchase using one of my links – at no additional charge to you.

I recommend buying tickets directly for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea directly via the Tokyo Disney Resort. However, some people find that the site won’t accept their overseas credit card ( I know, as it’s happened to me a LOT!). So the next best option, in my opinion, is to book via Klook. Click here to book Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disneysea via Klook. Klook send you an email with a QR code – scan that code into your Tokyo Disney Resort app and you’re good to go (go into the Tokyo Disney App to show your ticket for scanning at the disney gate. Remember to scan everyone from your group onto the same app on the one phone – that way you are able to apply for the fast passes and show lotteries as a group and can ride and sit together etc.) I have written here how the fast passes etc work at Tokyo Disney Parks in Japan.

Mark Twain Riverboat at Tokyo Disneyland

TOKYO DISNEYLAND & TOKYO DISNEYSEA CROWD PREDICTION CALENDARS
There is a Japanese website that helps predicts just how busy the park will be on a particular day (I’m not exactly sure of the science involved but I assume it is connected to pre-booked tickets, the Japanese school calendar and Disney Hotel reservations.)

For this website- I don’t recommend using google translate to switch to English. Instead, keep it in Japanese and I explain how to read it below.
Here is the link to the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea crowd prediction calendar.

The crowd prediction calendar for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea.

This crowd prediction site is able to correctly predict crowd numbers based on the weather, tickets already sold, monthly averages. school and national holidays and new rides and limited time only events.

**NOTE: THIS GETS SUPER CONFUSING IF YOUR COMPUTER /PHONE TRIES TO AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATE THE SITE INTO ENGLISH. THE NUMBERS AND BOXES BLUR TOGETHER. KEEP IT IN JAPANESE AND FOLLOW MY CHEAT SHEET

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Confusing, right?
Let me break it down and make it easier to read.
This is the key for what all of the colours refer to:

Then above that is the calendar. In Japanese, the months of the year start with the numerical order of the month + the kanji character for “moon” that looks like this “月”. So… January is written as 1月　and February is 2月…and so on and so forth.
The example below is 4月 …so … it is for April.

So choose which park : Disneyland or DisneySea. Then look at the days of the month and match the colour with the day of the month you are thinking of visiting.

Obviously, the white, blue or green are the ideal days to visit and black is the least ideal.

Extra tip: Although I wouldn’t recommend going to Disneyland in a blizzard or anything like that but we have found that a little bit of rain is actually a good thing as it can keep other people away so that’s more space in lines for you!
Summer is actually harder than Winter as the Japanese Summer is so hot and muggy.

On rainy days, characters sometimes surprise guests in the restaurants. Look who surprised us one rainy day at Dockside Diner at Tokyo Disneysea.

Please note that “not busy” in Japan can look a lot busier than you may be used to in theme parks overseas.

If you are having a hard time choosing between the two Tokyo Disney parks, I have written a break down of the differences (and also talked about which ones your kids might like based on rides, characters, parade options etc.)

See here for my tips on making the most of a day at Tokyo Disneyland.
See here for my tips on making the most of a day at Tokyo Disneysea.

I have written, in depth, on how the fast pass system in Tokyo Disney parks works here, if you’d like to read.

The beautiful Beauty and the Beast ride. Riders are taken through the attraction in moving tea cups. It’s so lovely. This is at Tokyo Disneyland.

Here is what to pack for a day out at Tokyo Disney Resort – especially when visiting with kids .
See here if you’d like to stay at a hotel near Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea.

I have written in detail about the newest section of Tokyo Disneysea – Fantasy Springs in detail here (I give tips on what to expect and how to manage the expectations of small children when visiting.)

The Rapunzel ride at Tokyo Disneysea – in the Fantasy Springs section.

This blog post contains some affiliate links. This means that I will receive a small commission if you book a hotel or make a purchase using one of my links – at no additional charge to you.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN CROWD PREDICTION CALENDAR
THE NEW DONKEY KONG COUNTRY SECTION: Opened Dec 11.
It will be sooooo busy from Dec – June 2025 so please please please please get all the express passes you can (need to be purchased ahead of time.) With kids, I wouldn’t make promises that you will get to see this new land BUT you may get to see more of the others as the crowds will be focused on this section (great news for Super Nintendo World and Harry Potter fans!) I’ve written more about Donkey Kong Country here.

Here is the crowd prediction calendar for Universal Studios Japan.
As with the Tokyo Disney Park crowd prediction calendars – choose the month and then look at the days. The weather forecast is written under the day of the month and a letter “A-F”. A is the least crowded and F is the most crowded.

I, personally, wouldn’t ever visit Universal Studios without express passes – and, unlike Tokyo Disney Parks, these need to be purchased in advance (when you buy the entry ticket for the park.). You can make your purchase on the official Universal Studios Japan website – however, it isn’t very international credit card friendly for most people so .. if that is the case for you, you may like to purchase your park ticket and USJ fast passes via Klook (see my affiliate link here.)

How to choose the right Express Passes for your family at Universal Studios Osaka?
Best thing to do first, is check the height of your children in centimetres (I explain here in my detail here why it’s a good idea to know the height and weight of your kids before travelling to Japan, anyway) and then looking at the height restrictions for the rides you’re interested in. No point buying a ticket for ride that you won’t be allowed on because of height restrictions.
The most popular fast pass packs are those that include one of the Super Nintendo World rides as those often mean guaranteed entry into the Super Nintendo World area – so I recommend grabbing one of those first, if you can. Here is a link for buying your express passes via Klook right now.

See here for my write up on Universal Studios Japan.

See here for my recommended hotels near Universal Studios Japan.

See here for places to eat as a family just outside the Universal Studios Japan gates.
See here for my recommended things to do with kids in Osaka.

LEGOLAND JAPAN CROWD PREDICTION CALENDAR
Legoland Japan is in Nagoya. It rarely ever gets crowded – so much so that I don’t recommend purchasing their fast passes. Ride lines are short and the park is spacious and empty (mainly as this park caters to younger children.)
I have written about Legoland Japan here.

Click here if you would like to book the Legoland Resort Hotel next to Legoland Japan.

Here is the link to the Legoland Japan crowd prediction calendar.
Scroll down to the calendar that looks like this.

The crowd prediction calendar. Legoland Japan

Make sure you are looking at the correct month – 04= April , 05 =May etc.
Green = least crowded
Yellow = a little crowded
Orange = crowded
Red = very crowded
Predictions are based on high vs low season, weather, special events, days of the week, number of pre-purchased tickets so far, number of people who have annual passes etc.