Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
Benelic Co., Ltd. launches the second installment of its Galaxy Jewelry ICECREAM capsule toy series, featuring translucent, gem-like ice cream keychains inspired by Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune, arriving at capsule toy vending machines nationwide from late August 2026.
Bandai Namco Experience and Bandai Namco Amusement are opening the Gashapon Bandai Official Shop Yamaguchi Izutsuya store, a 230-machine capsule toy specialty store, inside the Yamaguchi Izutsuya department store in Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Japan Koki Corporation's food brand GINZA TOKYO opens its first shop, GINZA TOKYO 樂 gaku, as a limited-time pop-up at Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin from August 12 to 18, 2026, offering Japanese wagashi and tea crafted from domestic ingredients.
Grand Mercure Lake Hamana Resort & Spa in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, rolls out summer 2026 programs including a boat cruise departing from its own pier, a customizable mini unadon at the dinner buffet, a Tamiya Mini 4WD experience, and family activities such as ground golf, hand-held fireworks, and a pool season extended through September 27.
Hakone Tozan Railway's historic Type 100 rail cars, retiring in January 2028, are being celebrated with a chartered Natural Cooler Experience tour aboard the non-air-conditioned cars on August 30, 2026, plus a 10-piece Memories of the Type 100 model train collection going on sale later this year.
To celebrate 30 years since its 1996 opening, Hakone Venetian Glass Museum welcomes elementary and junior high school students free of charge and gives every visitor a commemorative gift on August 8, 2026, alongside a five-day lineup of concerts by internationally active musicians and a scaled-up water fireworks display of about 70,000 crystal glass beads.
Six new cup designs inspired by High School Musical — three acrylic cups and three stacking cups featuring the film's characters and signature lines — go on advance sale at Disney THE MARKET in Nihombashi Mitsukoshi from August 5, 2026, ahead of general release through Skater's official online shop and retailers nationwide from August 17.
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo's lobby lounge "Le Jardin" introduces a Halloween-themed afternoon tea featuring playful ghost, mummy, and bat motifs alongside autumn ingredients like chestnut and pumpkin, available from October 1 to 31, 2026.
A new line of IDOLiSH7 merchandise built around the "Kapurikko Hoobaru" visual, previously seen on acrylic stands, brings the artwork to a pill case, double mirror, bangs clip, and 16-design sticker collection, arriving in early October 2026 from Movic.
From September 15 to November 16, 2026, Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay presents its first afternoon tea made with coffee from Bacha Coffee, pairing the Morocco-born brand's aromatic beans with shine muscat, pear, and chestnut across five dining venues and in-room dining.
JAPAN 47 GO highlights five fireworks festivals taking place across Japan this August, from Hiroshima's Yassa Hanabi Festa to Tochigi's final Sontoku Summer Festival, complete with dates and links to crowd forecasts and route search.
Ahead of Japan's up to nine-day Obon holiday, JR Nagoya Takashimaya is rolling out new and summer-limited sweets to enjoy chilled, Nagoya specialty souvenirs, and bento boxes with prepared quantities increased by more than 20 percent after strong Golden Week sales.