Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
From September 11 to 13, 2026, ARK Hills in Akasaka celebrates its 40th anniversary with the ARK Hills Autumn Festival 2026, featuring a mikoshi procession, bon odori dancing, food stalls from 15 restaurants, and live music and performances.
Astrae Oratio, a new title in development by Dynamis One, has opened registration for its Closed Beta Test on mobile devices, accepting applications from Japan-based players through September 21 alongside a new character visual reveal.
FHG HOTELS and GREENING will open BASE LAYER HOTEL _ UNION, an 86-room "life experience hotel" in Nagoya Sakae, on January 9, 2027, featuring a restaurant and music bar, a large spa and sauna, a fitness gym, and an on-site wedding chapel and banquet space.
Biwako Otsu Prince Hotel's Lobby Lounge Port Nio offers "Halloween Afternoon Tea - The Ghosts' Tea Party" from October 1 to 31, 2026, featuring a charcoal-black Mont Blanc, ghost meringues, and a welcome drink that changes color.
Bandai Namco Experience rolls out a new Cars prize lineup marking the movie's 20th anniversary, featuring a Super Large Lightning McQueen plush, character mascots, and a storage box, available from August 21, 2026 at Namco locations nationwide and online.
Starting September 2, 2026, Cheese Garden is releasing the seasonal Goyotei Japanese Chestnut Cheesecake — a baked cheesecake combining Japanese chestnut paste with the inner skin left on for a fragrant, elegant autumn flavor — available at all stores and online through late October.
CHOCOLATIER PALET D'OR launches a second Autumn Customize Parfait and a new Coffret Mariage chocolate box from September 4, 2026, combining house-made chocolate with seasonal chestnut, sweet potato, grape, and pear.
CONVERSE TOKYO is releasing its first collaboration with Puella Magi Madoka Magica on August 21, 2026, featuring a four-item lineup — including a T-shirt, an acrylic stand, and a HARIO Lampwork Factory necklace — built around new artwork of six characters by artist Samehoshi.
Dazaifu City and Nishi-Nippon Railroad have released the 2026 batch of "Dazaifu Plum Cider" on August 19, now in its 11th year. Made from plum syrup produced by Fukuoka Agricultural High School students using plums harvested at the Dazaifu Government Office Ruins, 40,000 bottles are going on sale across Fukuoka Prefecture, including two new retailers.
CosmicBreak Universal brings back its collaboration with MegaHouse's Desktop Army figure series from August 19 to October 7, 2026, offering Sylphie II for free, 25 types of exclusive enhancement parts, and a limited-time gacha featuring the Titania series.
A second collaboration between the mobile RPG Detariki Z: Special Defense Agency Daily Life and the game Sugar Conflict begins August 20, bringing new collaboration characters to limited-time gacha, a themed event, login bonuses, and serial code campaigns running through early September.
enBED, a private all-inclusive villa hosting just one group of up to two guests per day in the forest of Takashima's Kutsuki area, Shiga Prefecture, is set to open in November 2026, built around a sauna, a Shigaraki-ware bath, and dining designed for a trip centered on doing nothing. A pre-opening giveaway offering three free overnight stays is open for entries through August 31, 2026.