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Universal Studios Japan requiring consent form for adults-only horror attraction

Casey Baseel Jul 26, 2026
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USJ goes R-18 for the first time.

When theme parks in Japan have Halloween events, oftentimes they’re drawing inspiration from the lighthearted aspects of the season, such as playing dress-up and eating candy. That’s how we get things like plushies of a park’s mascot characters wearing purple capes or pumpkin-flavored desserts served at its snack bars.

But for the past 15 years, Universal Studios Japan, a.k.a. USJ, has also been trying to incorporate some genuine fear into its Halloween Horror Nights, and it’s taking things up to an unprecedented level this year with the launch of its first “R-18” rated horror attraction.

R-18 is the term used in the Japanese entertainment and media industries for content that is prohibited for those under the age of 18, the age of legal adulthood in Japan. Though overseas Japanophiles with certain interests might most commonly encounter it when applied to dojinshi manga with salaciously sexual scenes, R-18 restrictions also get placed on content with extreme levels of gore, violence, or psychological intensity, and it’s the last of those that USJ is promising/warning of with Zanzo, a brand-new horror attraction debuting as part of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights.

Zanzo translates to “afterimage,” and guests will take on the role of participants in a study at a dubious medical facility that’s researching nightmares. It’s not a spoiler to say that the research process is not a particularly benign one, with USJ describing it as taking place in “a bizarre space where the boundary between hallucination and reality becomes indistinct,” as a nightmare you cannot wake up from “gnaws at your mind, eroding it down to its core.” In less flowery terms, USJ discloses that the Zanzo attraction will subject guests to “the psychological horror of isolation and confinement,” so it doesn’t sound like you and your friends will be able to psychically cling to each other for mental support when things start to get really scary.

Because of the intensity of the experience, not only is Zanzo limited to guests 18 and older, you’re also required to sign a consent form before stepping foot into the nightmare research facility.

▼ Universal Studios Japan has previously had Resident Evil/Biohazard events that were limited to guests 13 and older, but Zanzo will be their first time for an adults-only attraction.

If all of this has you saying “Yeah! Sign me up!”, Zanzo will be receiving test subjects from September 11 to November 8. Note that it requires a 1,900-yen (US$12) supplementary ticket in addition to regular admission to the park. Tickets can be reserved through the Universal Studios Japan website from July 27, and while technically part of the Halloween Horror Nights, reservations can be made for as early as 10 a.m., if you want to get your Zanzo experience done early so that you can spend the rest of the day as a traumatized puddle.

Related: Universal Studios Japan
Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times (1, 2)
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