What You’ll Learn in This Article
- What you can do with a USJ Power-Up Band and how to enjoy it
- Who should buy one and who may not need one
- Price, where to buy, and what to watch for when buying used
If you are wondering whether to buy a Power-Up Band for SUPER NINTENDO WORLD,
¥4,900 (tax included) for one can feel a little expensive.
Do you really need a Power-Up Band? What can you do with it? What if you are visiting with kids and want to save money?
Is it okay to buy one on Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions?
What can you experience in Donkey Kong Country?
Here is everything you need to know.
■Do You Need a Power-Up Band?
•A Power-Up Band gives you more ways to have fun
•If you are only interested in Mario Kart, you may not need one
•Buying from a resale marketplace can greatly reduce the fun
■What Can You Do with a Power-Up Band?
Here is a summary of the experiences available when you buy a Power-Up Band.
The band is needed to fully enjoy Nintendo-themed activities in USJ’s SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, including collecting coins and items through the “Power-Up Band Key Challenges.”
It is worn like a wristband or watch and comes in character-inspired designs such as Mario and Luigi.
Required for the Key Challenges
Hit ? Blocks to get items such as Mushrooms, clear games around the area, and collect three keys!
At the end, you can enjoy a boss battle with Bowser Jr.
These games involve physical actions such as jumping and punching.
Defeat Bowser Jr. to get the Golden Mushroom back.
Inside the dungeon, there are also mini-games that use items such as Mushrooms and Ice Mushrooms that come out of ? Blocks.
Smash lots of blocks with your own strength.
Freeze plenty of Koopa Paratroopas.
And enjoy collecting loads of coins.
Hit ? Blocks and Many Other Types of Blocks
There are dozens of spots around the area where you can hit ? Blocks and collect familiar items from the world of Mario.
You can have fun collecting coins and items.
For two people, buying two Power-Up Bands makes the experience smoother, but it is possible to participate with just one.
With only one band, however, one person must finish first and the other person must then join the back of the line, which can make the wait much longer.
Record Your Mario Kart Score
Rewards earned in Mario Kart are also recorded on the Power-Up Band.
Is the maximum score in a single race 1,000 points?
You clear it by scoring over 100 points, and some people score 300 points or more.
It is satisfying to have a high score saved.
How to Score 200+ Points on Mario Kart at USJ: High-Score Strategy Guide
Use It in Donkey Kong Country and Mine-Cart Madness
The new area Donkey Kong Country opened in 2024.
There are points in Donkey Kong’s Mine-Cart Madness attraction where you can use a Power-Up Band for interactive experiences.
If you are already waiting for the attraction, be sure to try them.
There are also many places throughout the area where you can use the band.
Rhythm Activity “Conga”
Barrels from the Donkey Kong games appear in real life.
You can enjoy hitting them like Donkey Kong, even without a Power-Up Band.
If three people clear the rhythm game by hitting the barrels together in time, a mechanism makes the rhino character Rambi appear.
Find the Hidden Message
Hidden letters such as “D” are scattered around Donkey Kong Country. Touch a “DK” mark with your Power-Up Band to collect a letter, which you can then check in the app.
You may be able to guess the message, but searching for it while exploring the area is part of the fun.
See the following experience reports for more details.
Power-Up Band Price
The price is ¥4,900 (tax included).
There are now eight designs in total: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, and Yoshi, plus Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.
Note: The price was ¥3,200 when the area first opened, increased to ¥3,800 in April 2022, and then to ¥4,200 in January 2023.
It increased again to ¥4,900 in April 2024.
How to Avoid Damaging Your Power-Up Band
Keep the following points in mind to avoid damaging your Power-Up Band.
•Do not hit ? Blocks with the watch-like part of the band
(Use your fist instead)
•At Piranha Plant Alarm Panic, hit with the hand that is not wearing the band
(If you swing your arm too hard, the band could come off, fly away, and fall to the level below)
Can You Skip the Power-Up Band?
You can enter SUPER NINTENDO WORLD without buying a Power-Up Band.
Even without a band, you can experience the most popular attraction, Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge , as well as Yoshi’s Adventure.
In other words, you can enjoy the main attractions without a Power-Up Band.
If you do not visit USJ often and want to enjoy classic attractions, limited-time attractions, and shows beyond Mario, you may prefer to spend a shorter time in Nintendo World and move on to other areas.
On the other hand, if SUPER NINTENDO WORLD is the main reason for your USJ visit, you may be disappointed unless you understand the following drawbacks.
What You Cannot Do Without a Power-Up Band
There are some experiences you cannot do unless you are wearing a Power-Up Band.
Some Attractions Are Unavailable
There are several activities you cannot experience without a band.
■Piranha Plant Alarm Panic
■Thwomp Flip Panel
■Bob-omb Kaboom Room
■Koopa Troopa POW Block Punch
■Goomba Crazy Crank
■Bowser Jr. Boss Battle
■Slot Game
■The barrel game in Donkey Kong Country?
Each is a mini-game lasting about one or two minutes, but using your own body and feeling like Mario is the kind of fun that is unique to a theme park.
It may feel like a shame to miss out on those special experiences.
Also, if you hit a block without wearing a band, the block will not react and only a disappointing sound effect plays.
On Yoshi’s Adventure, you cannot enjoy making eggs light up in multiple colors, and in the dungeon you cannot reveal hidden marks.
Official USJ: Power-Up Band Key Challenges
Some Areas Are Off-Limits
Only guests with a band can enter the dungeon where the scenery becomes enormous, making it feel as though your body has shrunk.
You need a Power-Up Band to explore the mysterious space and see the giant enemy waiting beyond it.
There is also a fortress where Bowser’s son, Bowser Jr., appears. You can find paintings, graffiti, and treasure chests related to Bowser Jr. and battle him at the end, but you cannot enter this area without a band either.
Plan your USJ visit
Once your date and plans are set, check these three essentials.
Check crowds first
Wait times can vary greatly depending on the day you visit.
■How to Experience It Without Buying a Power-Up Band for Everyone
Some people may want to try the experiences but hesitate to buy a band for every member of the group.
Here are ways to save on the cost of bands while still taking part.
Buy Bands Only for the Children
If two parents and two children are visiting SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, one option is to buy bands only for the two children.
Only children wearing bands can take part in the experiences, but each band holder may have one companion. If both children have bands, both parents can watch them play and take photos or videos.
However, for games played by three or four people, during busy periods you may be grouped with people you do not know, including adults.
For an only child, or when two children are accompanied by three or more adults, only one companion is allowed per band. This means some adults may not be able to watch the experience inside the dungeon or Bowser Jr.’s fortress.
Can You Share One Band?
Four friends can share a band, or a couple can buy one and take turns using it.
That kind of use is possible.
If you only want to take turns hitting blocks and taking photos or videos, sharing one is not much of a problem.
However, only people holding a band can join the Key Challenge queue. If you share one, the person without the band has to wait until the band holder finishes before joining the line, which can waste a lot of time.
It is not recommended for larger groups.
For games that can be played as a group, playing together is definitely more fun.
■Cases Where You May Not Need to Buy a Power-Up Band
You Will Spend Only a Short Time in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD
If you only have about one to two hours, riding Mario Kart and Yoshi’s Adventure and taking commemorative photos around the area may already use up that time.
In that case, even if you have a Power-Up Band and can do the Key Challenges, you may only have time for a few of them.
You Do Not Plan to Do the Key Challenges
The biggest benefit of wearing a Power-Up Band is being able to experience the six Key Challenge attractions.
If you only plan to do Mario Kart, you probably do not need one.
You May Visit USJ Only Once in Your Life
With a band, you can check the points you earn in the app or on information monitors inside the park.
The app also shows the stamps you have earned for completing missions and other activities, letting you decide what mission to try next as you work toward completing more challenges in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.
However, completing everything in a single visit is difficult.
It may be possible if you visit USJ two days in a row, but if you do not have an Annual Pass and have no plans to return, you may decide not to buy one.
You Do Not Need to Track Your Coin Total
If collecting coins in the games does not interest you,
you may be fine without a band.
Linking Your Smartphone and Power-Up Band
If you install the official USJ app on your smartphone and link the band, you can check scores such as the coins and stamps you have collected.
The smartphone screen displays a SUPER NINTENDO WORLD illustration in a style reminiscent of Super Mario.
How to Link and Use It
1) Install the official USJ app on your smartphone.
(Installing it at home in advance is recommended)
2) SUPER NINTENDO WORLD appears as an option on the app’s menu screen.
Select it.
3) The SUPER NINTENDO WORLD screen will appear.
First, link your Power-Up Band.
If you have already opened the app once, use the settings button to perform the linking process.
If You Do Not Link It to a Smartphone
You can check the coins and stamps you have collected at checkpoints inside the area.
Drawbacks of Buying a Power-Up Band on Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions
Many used and unused Power-Up Bands are sold on Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions.
They are often about ¥500 to ¥1,000 cheaper than the regular price, which is not a very large discount.
Here are the drawbacks of buying a used band.
•There is a small risk of exposing personal information
•You lose some of the fun of earning stamps
•You lose some of the fun of discovering hidden blocks in Mario Kart
What Does “Personal Information Could Be Exposed” Mean?
When a Power-Up Band’s QR code is scanned in the official USJ app, the app displays a name or nickname, the number of coins earned, and the times stamps were earned.
The same band can be registered on multiple smartphones.
With a used band, the previous owner will already have scanned its QR code.
If you use a social media account name or pen name as your nickname, there is a risk that the previous owner could identify your social media account.
They can also see the date you visited USJ (SUPER NINTENDO WORLD), and can roughly estimate when you were participating in activities.
When an item is mailed to you from a resale marketplace, the seller already knows your name and address, so it may feel unsettling if they can also tell when you are not at home.
Less Fun Earning Stamps
Data on a Power-Up Band cannot be deleted.
One of the best parts of the Power-Up Band is hitting blocks and searching for hidden marks as you work toward completing the collection.
With a used band, marks found and stamps earned by the previous owner are already displayed, which reduces some of the fun.
Less Fun Finding Hidden Blocks in Mario Kart
When you wear a Power-Up Band, part of the fun in Mario Kart is finding hidden blocks along the course and hitting them with shells.
Because much of the excitement comes from discovering and hitting them for the first time, it is less fun if the previous owner has already found the hidden blocks.
Power-Up Bands can be purchased from the official USJ Online Store or inside the park. USJ also sells them online, and the regular model costs ¥4,900 including tax. A separate article explains where to buy them and the benefits of purchasing in advance.
Where Can You Buy a USJ Power-Up Band? Online Store, In-Park Locations & Advance Purchase
SUPER NINTENDO WORLD Area Entry Tickets
During busy periods, an Area Timed Entry Ticket or an Area Admission Guarantee is required to enter SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.
You can obtain one through the smartphone app or at an Area Timed Entry Ticket kiosk inside the park.
What Time Do USJ Mario Timed Entry eTickets Run Out? Weekdays vs. Weekends in 2026
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