A yearly autumn show of sand sculptures carved by professionals from Japan and abroad at Ashiya Seaside Park in Fukuoka, lit up at night with sound and light.
Ashiya · 23 Oct – 8 Nov 2026
Since 1 November 2026, tax-free shopping in Japan is a refund: pay the tax at the till, clear customs at the airport, then get it back. Every step and rule.
Latest Post ・ 2026/11/03
Skateboarding, BMX and breaking brought together for the first time at Kasama in Ibaraki, in a town that has built itself around urban sports.
Kasama · 7–8 Nov 2026
A museum of teddy bears and stuffed toys in Nasu, with the much-travelled Teddy Edward, antique Steiff bears, artist bears and a stuffed toy workshop.
Nasu
A yearly autumn show of sand sculptures carved by professionals from Japan and abroad at Ashiya Seaside Park in Fukuoka, lit up at night with sound and light.
23 Oct – 8 Nov 2026Ashiya · FukuokaA re-enactment on a river bed in Fuefuki, Yamanashi, where about seven hundred people in armour refight Takeda Shingen against Uesugi Kenshin.
8 Nov 2026Fuefuki · YamanashiAn itasha and cosplay festival in Odaiba, with around 1,000 cars, motorcycles and bicycles covered in anime characters, stage shows and cosplay.
8 Nov 2026TokyoFootraces run in inflatable T-rex costumes, held in parks, on beaches and at local festivals across Japan since 2022, with adult and juvenile classes.
8 Nov 2026Ueda · NaganoSkateboarding, BMX and breaking brought together for the first time at Kasama in Ibaraki, in a town that has built itself around urban sports.
7–8 Nov 2026Kasama · IbarakiVideo game music from the Monster Hunter series receives live orchestral treatment by the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra in this touring concert series.
9 Nov 2026Sapporo · HokkaidoAn open-air museum in Aichi preserving over 60 buildings from Japan's Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa periods, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel.
Inuyama · AichiShinto shrine in Moka enshrining Daikoku and Ebisu, with a main hall, offering hall and worship hall designated Important Cultural Properties.
Moka · TochigiA Hachiman shrine at Dogo in Matsuyama, said to stand where Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu stayed, with 1667 buildings that are an Important Cultural Property.
Matsuyama · EhimeSite of Date Masamune's castle on Mount Aoba in Sendai, begun in 1601 without a keep, with stone walls, a rebuilt gate turret and his equestrian statue.
Sendai · MiyagiMount Koya is a sacred temple complex where the entire mountain is treated as one unified holy domain dedicated to Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
Koya · WakayamaHead Tendai temple of northeastern Japan, founded in 850 and expanded in the 12th century, with the gold-covered Konjikido hall and World Heritage status.
Hiraizumi · IwateAlmost all JR trains nationwide, including most shinkansen
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Since 1 November 2026, tax-free shopping in Japan is a refund: pay the tax at the till, clear customs at the airport, then get it back. Every step and rule.
2026/11/03Yuchelin, a new rating for Japanese hot springs, judges the water itself. Its first three-star list names 21 onsen, from Hokkaido to Yakushima.
2026/10/27Sake grades and temperatures, shochu with hot water, umeshu five ways, highballs, sours, Hoppy and Japanese wine: how to order the drinks on an izakaya menu.
2026/10/18Your season-by-season guide to 2026 anime, updated for fall: what aired, what's airing now, what's coming in 2027 and where to watch it all from anywhere.
2026/10/17Japan Game Awards 2026: "Pokemon Pokopia" takes the Grand Award, "Word Game" the Game Designers Award, and the Pokemon series a ministry honour for 30 years.
A million and a half people between Tokyo and Yokohama, and almost nobody stops. What is actually in Kawasaki, and why it is worth getting off the train for.
