Universal Japan’s Best Friends Forever

Universal Studios Japan announced it will start a campaign to attract young people who live outside of Japan’s Kansai region.

momopy – Universal Studios Japan

USJ is located in the city of Osaka, which is the heart of the Kansai region, an area that takes in half a dozen prefectures that surround Osaka Bay.

The new plan will allow groups of three to five students who can prove they don’t live in Kansai to register to buy special admission tickets between Feb. 1 and March 31 for one-day entrance passes that will also be honored during the same period of time in 2018 on condition that the recipients of the passes go with the same people they registered with.

The system is called Best Friends Forever Pass, and tickets go on sale Jan. 23 for the price of a regular ticket. The idea is to attract students to come to the theme park during spring break.

The Japanese school year typically ends in February and begins anew on April 1 or thereabouts. To qualify, students must be older than elementary school age and live or study outside of the Kansai region. USJ recently announced plans to invest more than $435 million in a new Nintendo-based attraction that will open in 2020.