Discover insider tips, travel guides, and inspiring stories for your next adventure in Japan
Grand Mercure Lake Hamana Resort & Spa in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, rolls out summer 2026 programs including a boat cruise departing from its own pier, a customizable mini unadon at the dinner buffet, a Tamiya Mini 4WD experience, and family activities such as ground golf, hand-held fireworks, and a pool season extended through September 27.
Hakone Tozan Railway's historic Type 100 rail cars, retiring in January 2028, are being celebrated with a chartered Natural Cooler Experience tour aboard the non-air-conditioned cars on August 30, 2026, plus a 10-piece Memories of the Type 100 model train collection going on sale later this year.
To celebrate 30 years since its 1996 opening, Hakone Venetian Glass Museum welcomes elementary and junior high school students free of charge and gives every visitor a commemorative gift on August 8, 2026, alongside a five-day lineup of concerts by internationally active musicians and a scaled-up water fireworks display of about 70,000 crystal glass beads.
Six new cup designs inspired by High School Musical — three acrylic cups and three stacking cups featuring the film's characters and signature lines — go on advance sale at Disney THE MARKET in Nihombashi Mitsukoshi from August 5, 2026, ahead of general release through Skater's official online shop and retailers nationwide from August 17.
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo's lobby lounge "Le Jardin" introduces a Halloween-themed afternoon tea featuring playful ghost, mummy, and bat motifs alongside autumn ingredients like chestnut and pumpkin, available from October 1 to 31, 2026.
A new line of IDOLiSH7 merchandise built around the "Kapurikko Hoobaru" visual, previously seen on acrylic stands, brings the artwork to a pill case, double mirror, bangs clip, and 16-design sticker collection, arriving in early October 2026 from Movic.
From September 15 to November 16, 2026, Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay presents its first afternoon tea made with coffee from Bacha Coffee, pairing the Morocco-born brand's aromatic beans with shine muscat, pear, and chestnut across five dining venues and in-room dining.
JAPAN 47 GO highlights five fireworks festivals taking place across Japan this August, from Hiroshima's Yassa Hanabi Festa to Tochigi's final Sontoku Summer Festival, complete with dates and links to crowd forecasts and route search.
Ahead of Japan's up to nine-day Obon holiday, JR Nagoya Takashimaya is rolling out new and summer-limited sweets to enjoy chilled, Nagoya specialty souvenirs, and bento boxes with prepared quantities increased by more than 20 percent after strong Golden Week sales.
Sync Innovation Co., Ltd. has opened pre-orders for new TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen merchandise featuring mini characters from the popular "mochocho" series, with a tightly-packed, eye-catching design.
Kame no Yu by HATAGO INN, a rebranded hotel in Kumamoto City, opens in November 2026 with natural hot spring baths, a public bathhouse open to local residents, and a new manga library for overnight guests.
Karuizawa Marriott Hotel is offering a seasonal French dinner course that blends Shinshu's autumn harvest with the region's fermentation culture, available from September 1 through November 30, 2026, at the hotel's Grill & Dining G restaurant.