Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
A pop-up celebrating Heisei-era kawaii culture, featuring the first collaboration between Hoppechan and Heisei Fancy Characters, runs at Daimaru Kobe through May 18, 2026.
Now in its 5th year, Hotel Metropolitan Morioka's WELLNESS TIME 2026 event offers five sessions of Zen meditation led by a temple abbot, followed by a traditional shojin cuisine breakfast — open to both first-timers and returning participants.
S.Weil by HOTEL NEW GRAND at Yokohama Takashimaya is introducing a refreshing new Lemon Pie dessert this early summer, featuring a tangy lemon cream layered beneath a smooth yogurt cream, available from May 1 through August 31, 2026.
Hotel New Otani Makuhari's Japanese restaurant Senbazuru is offering the limited-time "Okonomi Don Gozen (Kiwami)" from May 7 to June 30, 2026, letting diners choose any two mini donburi from a selection of ten varieties.
To celebrate the upcoming Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 5, innisfree is launching a special limited edition collection featuring beloved characters, available in limited quantities from May 1st, 2026.
For the month of June 2026, Sanyoso in Izu-Nagaoka Onsen will host a limited-time Japanese Garden Café within its nationally registered tangible cultural property main building, where visitors can enjoy locally sourced tea and sweets while gazing over the historic garden.
Izu Shaboten Animal Park is experiencing a wave of newborns this spring, with six species — including Indian crested porcupines, ring-tailed lemurs, lesser galagos, kinkajous, prairie dogs, and Egyptian fruit bats — born between February and April 2026.
Three restaurants at JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo are serving seasonal menus centered on fresh herbs and early summer ingredients, running from May 1 through June 30, 2026.
Chihiro Rokuhira and Hakuri Sazanami from the manga Kagurabachi are joining MegaHouse's "Look Up" figure series, featuring seated figures that look up at approximately 110mm tall, priced at 4,620 yen each with a scheduled release in late October 2026.
Kamakura Les Anges has launched "Wine and Fruit Jelly," a chilled summer dessert made with Delaware Pink Orange Wine from Kamakura Winery — a bronze award winner at Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 — available from April 24 to late August 2026.
A 1/7 scale pre-painted figure of Takakiyo Kanan from Kanan-sama wa Akumade Choroi has been announced by Kotobukiya, based on an original illustration drawn specifically for this figure by manga author nonco. Priced at 22,000 yen (tax included), the figure is scheduled for release in November 2026.
A hilltop dog run called Sky Site has opened at Kannonyama Fruit Garden in Kinokawa City, Wakayama, offering one group per hour the chance to enjoy sweeping views of the Kinokawa River alongside their dogs.