Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
Sugar Doll, the dress-up and nurturing game available on the App Store and Google Play, has launched a new Arabian Nights-themed classic gacha "A Thousand and One Nights' Dream Tale" starting August 12, 2026, along with a limited-time background pack.
SUMIDA ART FESTIVAL 2026, the first ward-organized, multi-month comprehensive arts festival among Tokyo's 23 special wards, opens September 4, 2026 in Sumida Ward with more than 100 programs at over 50 locations. Tickets are now on sale for three of its performances — a new dance work and a play about care, both at Sumida Park Theater Kura, and an immersive walking tour running through the neighborhood.
BOOK HOTEL Jimbocho and BOOK HOTEL Kyoto Kujo are hosting a Sylvanian Families collaboration from September 5 to October 31, 2026, with hotel-wide dioramas, exclusive collaboration rooms, and a limited reading-themed cafe menu, cooperating with Epoch Co., Ltd.
Tachibana E Liquors has launched the 151st edition of its whisky lottery, featuring Yamazaki 18 Year as the top prize, with 466 limited entries available starting August 12, 2026.
The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Takanawa Hanakohro, and Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa are opening reservations for their New Year Plan 2027 from September 18, 2026, featuring a countdown party and musical stage shows in the grand ballroom "Hiten," a New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony, and family-friendly Japanese culture experiences.
Tamayose, the modern Japanese confectionery brand run by Maruya Co., Ltd., has released the Matcha Fukiyose Sweet Can Mini, a ¥1,728 tin filled with an assortment of matcha wagashi, available for a limited time while supplies last.
Two new SSR-rank Eichiku characters, Revolutionary Mercenary Tora and Sea Prince Shachi, have joined the smartphone game Teipen Wars, along with a limited-time pickup gacha running from August 11 to August 30, 2026.
The Pie Hole Los Angeles, a pie and coffee specialty shop from L.A., opens its first Kumamoto pop-up at Amu Plaza Kumamoto from August 18 to 31, 2026, offering signature pies like MOM'S APPLE CRUMBLE alongside the Japan debut of the original L.A. BOX, with a portion of sales supporting disaster recovery in Kumamoto.
The Tokiwadaira SONO Project's two-night event fills the area around Tokiwadaira Station in Matsudo, Chiba with a night market, performances, and a collaboration with the local bon odori dance festival on August 29–30, 2026.
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Ikebukuro is holding its monthly theater tour in September 2026, with a Playhouse rigging tour on September 15 and a Concert Hall tour on September 20, giving visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the venue's architecture, artwork, and stage mechanisms.
A taco specialty shop in Yokohama's Naka Ward, TONATIUH TACOS, has grown into a popular spot selling out around 1,600 tacos a day within three months of its May 2026 opening, thanks to its Mexico City street-style flavors.
From August 7 to September 13, 2026, traditional-craft lifestyle brand Tsugu will hold its first pop-up store in the Kansai region on the food floor of Umeda Tsutaya Bookstore, inside LUCUA ILE in Osaka.