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
One of Japan's largest arcade game festivals, with every machine free to play, a trade day for the industry and a User Day open to the public.
Tokyo · 6–7 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
One of Japan's largest arcade game festivals, with every machine free to play, a trade day for the industry and a User Day open to the public.
6–7 Nov 2026TokyoA special night opening each autumn at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, with its historic buildings lit up, candlelight and fires in old hearths.
6–7 Nov 2026Koganei · TokyoA 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 · NaganoThe highest of the three mountains of Dewa in Yamagata, sacred to the moon god, with a shrine at the summit that opens only in high summer.
Tsuruoka · YamagataUniversal Studios Japan in Osaka offers movie and TV-themed attractions including Hogwarts, roller coaster rides, live shows, and character meet-and-greets.
OsakaSpecialized aquarium featuring approximately 180 penguins from nine species, with interactive exhibits including a natural sea swimming environment.
NagasakiA merchant street of fireproof dozo-zukuri shophouses rebuilt after the fire of 1900, selected as an Important Preservation District in 2000.
Takaoka · ToyamaAn all-weather open-air atrium in central Toyama that hosts events and can be rented as event space.
ToyamaA shopping and entertainment district on reclaimed land on the Chatan coast, with import shops, restaurants, live music venues, a cinema and hotels.
Chatan · OkinawaAlmost all JR trains nationwide, including most shinkansen
from ¥50,0007, 14 or 21 days, adult
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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.
