Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
Ikebukuro PARCO is completing the largest renewal in its history this fall, with new and renewed shops opening across its fashion floors and two official pop culture stores, Ultraman and Star Wars, arriving as Japan's first of their kind, from September through November 2026.
PRIME 1 STATUE has released a 1/15 scale Legacy Museum Collection statue of the Carnotaurus from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Pre-orders opened on September 2, with the statue scheduled to ship between January and April 2028.
Kaga City's KAGA Parfait, a locally sourced dessert reinvented every year, marks its 10th anniversary with a new 2026 edition available from July 25 at four participating shops, each priced at ¥1,800.
Starting October 1, 2026, Kai Akiu in Miyagi's Akiu Onsen offers a new three-generation family plan inspired by Date Masamune's hospitality, featuring a hands-on zunda-making experience and a private "Date-Style Celebration Banquet" for milestones like a 60th birthday or Shichi-Go-San.
Kamogawa Sea World is hosting its popular animal encounter program for 13 limited days in October 2026, featuring five hands-on activities including an orca handshake, beluga touch-and-feed, and dolphin sign training, with an overnight hotel stay option also available.
L'AVENUE, a Kobe/Kitano patisserie led by chef Shigeo Hirai, is bringing its chocolate-centered sweets, including a Daimaru Kobe-exclusive item, to the department store.
LIMI feu's shop at Isetan Shinjuku Main Building 2F TOKYO Closet reopened on September 2 with a renewed, punk-inspired space of pink lattice and silver accents, offering an early look at select pieces from the 2026-27 Autumn/Winter collection alongside store-exclusive items.
Mobile Factory's location-based game series Station Memories! is holding a collaboration campaign with Love Live! from October 2 through October 31, 2026, featuring a collaboration gacha and a point-based access event.
A new NuiPal plush line brings all five magical girls from Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising- to palm-sized, boa-soft form, with pre-orders now open ahead of a planned January 2026 release.
This autumn, Manza Prince Hotel in Gunma presents a season of experiences themed around "Four Colors Unique to Manza" — a hot spring plan framed by golden foliage (September 26 to October 31, 2026), cuisine built around Tsumagoi's cabbage harvest, stargazing sessions at 1,800 meters, and guided walks through the historic hot spring town.
Sega will release physical PlayStation®5 and Nintendo Switch™ 2 versions of 'Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault' — Digital Sun's action RPG with shop-management elements — in Japan on Thursday, December 10, 2026, through a co-publishing partnership with UK publisher Silver Lining Interactive.
Sky Dining Tenku on the 31st floor of Nagoya Prince Hotel Sky Tower will host two Christmas buffets from November 6 to December 27, 2026, the White Noël lunch buffet with snow-white desserts, and the Sky Noël dinner buffet, which adds a choice of four main dishes from December 11.