December is one of the hardest times of year for a last-minute trip to Japan. During the year-end holidays, the trains and theme parks are packed.
Many of the country's most in-demand tickets — from Ghibli to the Nintendo Museum to teamLab — sell out weeks ahead and never go on sale at the door.
This page lists what to book before a December trip to Japan, organized by category, with the most time-sensitive items at the top. Every date below was checked against official or officially sourced information, as of October 31, 2026.
If you book only one thing early, reserve your shinkansen seat. Reserved seats go on sale one month before your travel date at 10:00 a.m. Japan time, and New Year departures fill up fast.
Act in the next two weeks:
- Ghibli Museum tickets for December go on sale November 10.
- Kabukiza's December program goes on sale November 14 (date to be confirmed).
- Shinkansen seats go on sale one month before you travel, so early-December dates open in the first half of November.
Most entries below link to our full guide, so you can jump straight to the booking steps.
On-sale dates at a glance
Booking rules differ by venue, and most tickets go on sale on a set date calculated from your travel date. Here is the quick reference for December 2026.
What | When it goes on sale | Same-day tickets? |
|---|---|---|
Ghibli Museum (Mitaka) | 10th of each month, 10:00 a. | No |
Ghibli Park (near Nagoya) | 10th of each month, 2:00 p. | No (reservation only) |
Nintendo Museum (Uji, Kyoto) | Lottery ~3 months ahead; December sold directly as slots open | No |
teamLab Planets (Toyosu) | Timed tickets, released about a month ahead | No (online only) |
SHIBUYA SKY | Timed entry in 20-minute slots | Yes (sunset slots go first) |
Sanrio Puroland (Tama) | Date-based; visit reservation required | Yes (reservation still needed) |
Tokyo Disney Resort | Daily at 14:00, two months ahead | If not sold out |
Universal Studios Japan (Osaka) | Demand-based pricing; buy early | If not sold out |
Shinkansen reserved seat | One month before travel, 10:00 a. | Non-reserved cars on Hikari/Kodama |
Kabukiza December program | On sale Nov 14 (to be confirmed) | No (reserved in advance) |
The year-end travel crunch (Dec 25 – Jan 5)
The New Year holiday is Japan's busiest travel window of the year. From December 25, 2026 to January 5, 2027, all Nozomi trains on the Tokaido–Sanyo shinkansen run fully reserved, so the usual non-reserved cars disappear. See our full year-end shinkansen guide for the details.
Reserved seats go on sale one month before your travel date at 10:00 a.m., and the most sought-after New Year departures are the first to go.
For the Tokaido and Sanyo Nozomi, use JR's smartEX or EX service and book the moment seats open, one month before your date.
On JR East lines, Eki-net opens advance requests a week before the one-month sale date and assigns seats when sales open — but it does not cover the Tokaido or Sanyo Nozomi. Hikari and Kodama trains keep their non-reserved cars, so they are the fallback if your Nozomi is full.
If everything is sold out, a standing-room limited express ticket is sometimes available at the station from the day before, though not online. Rail passes sold through Klook or Trip.com can cost more than buying direct, so compare before you commit.
Museums and timed-entry attractions to lock in
These attractions often catch travelers off guard, because same-day tickets are rarely available, with SHIBUYA SKY as the main exception.
The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka releases tickets on the 10th of each month at 10:00 a.m. for the following month only, so December entry goes on sale on November 10.
There is no box office and no same-day sales. Overseas visitors buy through the JTB group or the Lawson Ticket English site.
Ghibli Park near Nagoya works differently. It releases tickets on the 10th for two months ahead, so December dates have been on sale since October 10.
The Nintendo Museum in Uji runs a lottery about three months before each visit month, so December's lottery has already closed. December slots are now sold directly on the official site as they become available, so check the calendar.
You need a Nintendo Account and an identity document at the door, and there is no same-day ticket.
teamLab Planets in Toyosu uses timed tickets that are released about a month ahead and sell out on weekends and holidays, so buy online rather than hoping for a walk-up.
SHIBUYA SKY offers timed entry in 20-minute intervals. You can usually buy at the door, but the sunset and after-dark slots are the first to go.
Theme parks: date-based tickets and demand-based prices
Tokyo Disney Resort releases dated tickets every day at 2:00 p.m. for two months ahead, and the year-end dates sell out fast. Buy as soon as your date opens.
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka now uses demand-based pricing, so busy dates cost more and prices can rise as availability shrinks. Buy as early as you can.
Studio Pass purchases cannot be canceled, though most passes allow a free date change. Express Passes for the top rides sell out well ahead of your date.
Sanrio Puroland near Tokyo requires a visit reservation to enter, even with a ticket. Same-day tickets are sold at the door, but you still need the reservation, and prices vary by date.
Kabuki and Kyoto's late-autumn reservations
The December Grand Kabuki runs at the Kabukiza in Tokyo from December 2 to 25, with general sales starting November 14 (date to be confirmed).
Full-program tickets are for reserved seats and are sold in advance. Single-act (hitomakumi) tickets are the cheaper option if you only want a scene or two.
In Kyoto, late-autumn foliage lingers into December. The NAKED meets Nijo Castle (二条城) evening illumination runs through December 5 and needs a ticket.
Rurikoin (瑠璃光院) holds its autumn special viewing through December 13; check the current reservation method on the temple's site before you go.
The Kyoto Imperial Villas (Katsura, Shugakuin and Sento Palace) accept online applications in advance through the Imperial Household Agency, with a limited number of same-day numbered tickets on-site. Check the agency's site for the month you are visiting.
Discounts and lodging to sort out early
The Kyushu recovery travel discount gives up to 50 percent off stays in the seven Kyushu prefectures, and up to 60 percent in Kumamoto and Kagoshima, capped per person, per trip.
Each prefecture sets its own application window through a travel agency or booking site, and applications close when the budget runs out, so by December many may already be closed. Check the prefecture's official page before counting on it.
If a temple stay at Koyasan (高野山) is on your list, book early. The mountain's lodgings fill up during the autumn foliage season and holidays, so reserve through the temple or the Koyasan Shukubo Association.
Booking ahead makes a December trip to Japan much easier. Reserve your shinkansen seat and the attraction tickets you need now.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
