Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
The open-factory event GOSEN KNIT FES 2026 takes place in Gosen, Niigata, on November 21 and 22, 2026. Highlights include a BEAMS PLUS Limited Store, an official bus tour of knit and weaving factories, a stage costume exhibition by knit designer Chihiro Hasunuma, and a digital stamp rally.
On November 28 and 29 and December 5 and 6, 2026, Osaka Prefectural Hana no Bunkaen in Kawachinagano opens in the evening for its 10th "Bamboo Lights and Autumn Leaves Illumination," lighting about 120 maples and 200 bamboo lanterns, with limited food and drinks.
From November 18 to December 25, 2026, Hankyu Umeda Main Store's "Warmest White Christmas" campaign features hands-on events such as a capsule toy over 2 meters tall, a Christmas live by the instrumental band Zα SAVAGE, a kids' gospel concert, workshops with artist 村山大明, and a Santa Claus greeting.
Hanshin Umeda Main Store will hold its first breakfast-themed event, "Ashita no Asagohan" (あしたの朝ごはん), at Shokusai Terrace on the 1st floor from November 25 to 30, 2026, with morning plates, soups, breads, coffee, and baked sweets.
A wrapped Series 885 limited express will run from Hakata to Takeo-Onsen on December 12 and 13, 2026, timed with the Hogwarts Hour event in Nagasaki, while original Harry Potter × JR Kyushu goods go on sale from November 14.
Harry Potter – Mahou Dokoro, the shop for official Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts goods, opens its first permanent Kansai store on the 13th floor of LUCUA SOUTH in Osaka on November 24, 2026, with advance-sale items and purchase bonuses.
Hatsune Miku will perform at the New Year's countdown music festival COUNTDOWN JAPAN 26/27 at Makuhari Messe, taking the stage first on the GALAXY STAGE at 12:05 PM on December 29, 2026.
The Helena Rubinstein counter on the 10th floor of Hankyu Umeda Main Store reopened on November 11, 2026 with a private treatment cabin available nowhere else in the Kansai region, plus limited-quantity gifts with purchase and a double-points campaign running through November 15.
Five plushies and three figures from the animated series Helluva Boss by Youtooz are now available for pre-order in Japan. Plushies are scheduled to release from late June 2027 and figures from late August 2027, with in-store sales at INFOLENS GEEK SHOP Ikebukuro PARCO.
Hikawa Satei (氷川茶庭), a Japanese-style café on the grounds of Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine in Saitama, is extending its hours from November 7 to 23, 2026, to coincide with the shrine's projection mapping event. A limited matcha baumkuchen souvenir is also on sale.
The 14th Hirosaki Neputa Asakusa Festival runs from November 20 to 22, 2026 in Asakusa, Tokyo, with Hirosaki Neputa float parades on November 21 and 22 and sales of Hirosaki apples and local specialties.
From January 20 to February 20, 2027, Hoshino Resorts Tomamu in Hokkaido opens its Ice Hotel, where everything from the ceiling to the furniture is made of ice, for one party per night. The room is redesigned around a circular motif, and a new Ice Welcome Plate is served.