Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
Mercure Miyagi Zao Resort & Spa, a highland resort hotel overlooking the majestic Zao mountain range, is offering a new stay plan through November 30, 2026, featuring a tasting of three sakes chosen from five Miyagi labels for adults and a shaved frozen strawberry dessert made with Shichikashuku-grown strawberries for children.
From September 9 to November 28, 2026, Mercure Urabandai Resort & Spa offers a motorcycle touring stay plan built around covered parking, a gear-drying room, a buffet dinner overlooking the parking area, and an open-air hot spring bath facing Mt. Bandai's autumn colors, priced from ¥12,020 per person per night, based on double occupancy.
Netmarble has updated its action RPG MONGIL: STAR DIVE with new 5★ character Vivian, the top vote-getter in a pre-registration popularity poll, alongside a three-week special event and new epic quest, and has also revealed its update roadmap through Ver. 1.6.
MUS, the successor to "Disney SERIES CREATED by MOUSSY," is opening its very first store at Sunshine City Alpa in Ikebukuro on October 16, 2026. The brand is also weaving a new "NATUVENTURE" story under its Disney SERIES CREATED by MUS line, introduced in August at D23 in the US, with further details still to come.
Craft beer brewery Nagahama Roman Beer in Shiga Prefecture is releasing a limited-batch beer, Nagahama Fresh Hop IPA, from September 22, 2026, brewed with hops that go from harvest to the kettle in about five hours to capture their fresh aroma.
On September 9, 2026 — the museum's own "Chameleon Day," inspired by the way a chameleon's curled tail resembles the numeral 9 — Nara Ikimono Museum in Nara City opens the "Chameleon Observation Camp" exhibition, running through September 30. Visitors can see four chameleon species, including Oustalet's chameleon, whose total length can reach nearly 70 cm, the longest in the chameleon family.
Nekoyacho Building's annual autumn festival "Neko Matsuri" returns to Hiroshima on September 26, 2026, marking the complex's third anniversary with a record 27 shops, bakers, and makers from across Japan, alongside food, shopping, and hands-on workshops throughout the building.
Starting September 9, NIPPONIA HOTEL Ise Kawasaki Shonin-machi and Ise Rickshaw Tamaya are launching the "Tamaya Kago Plan," a new experience that puts guests in the starring role of a milestone celebration — riding Kansai's only traditional town palanquin through the historic streets of Ise, guided by a local rickshaw driver who knows the city inside out.
Lounge South Court at Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower is serving a "Halloween Plate" with five spooky-cute monster sweets and a "Halloween Evening High Tea" from October 1 to 31, 2026, featuring a berry-jelly "monster eye," a mochi "ghost," rotating Halloween desserts, and roast beef slider burgers with a choice of two drinks.
OM Digital Solutions will launch the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III, a compact Micro Four Thirds standard zoom lens with enhanced close-up shooting and dust- and splash-resistant construction, in late October 2026.
Tokyo-based luxury watch and jewelry reseller Haruyoshi has acquired a Patek Philippe Nautilus "Tiffany Blue" (Ref. 5711/1A-018) — a double-signed model released in 2021 to mark the two brands' historic partnership and limited to just 170 pieces worldwide.
Sanrio Characters' Pompompurin gets two new merchandise lineups — the "Kirameki Gold Party Series" and "Pom Pom Hero Series" — with mascot plushies, acrylic stands, keychains, and more going on sale at Munyugurumi Patio stores from September 17.