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Japan’s permanent Pokémon theme park zone announces grand opening date, ticket sale start

Poképark Kanto is opening sooner than expected on Tokyo’s southern border.Waiting can be hard, especially when you’re waiting for something that sounds as cool as the first-ever permanent Pokémon theme park zone. But following the formal reveal of Poképark Kanto back in July, which included the announcement that the facility on the border of Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture would be opening in Spring of 2026, we didn’t really have any choice but to be patient, did we?But in a very welco

Starbucks Japan unveils the new Soupuccino

Straddling the line between food and cappuccino.Starbucks is famous for its drinks, but this month all eyes will be on its food, with the announcement that customers in Japan will be receiving a brand new menu item called the Soupuccino.Whipped up fresh by baristas, the Soupuccino is said to be a “fluffy cappuccino-style soup“. The star flavour is fragrant black truffle, with mushrooms including porcini for depth, and roasted bacon and vegetable bouillon for richness.The truffle-scen

October 26, 2025: Trump in Asia for diplomatic tour

• President Donald Trump has left Malaysia, completing the first leg of his diplomacy tour in Asia, and is now on his way to Japan, where he will meet the country’s first female prime minister, Sanae ...

Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025: Key Insights And Highlights

Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025: Real Estate Leaders Unpack Asia’s Property Trends “As AI becomes more advanced, the unique challenge for us is to remind ourselves that we are a human connection ...

One of the busiest stations in Tokyo is changing the name on its signs, but not necessarily to make it easier for people to find their way around.

Things are going to look a little different in JR Ikebukuro Station.Ikebukuro Station is one of Tokyo’s busiest rail hubs, with more than 2.5 million passengers passing through it on an average day. That makes it a major landmark in the city, so a lot of people were startled to hear that it’s (kind of) getting a new name.Starting this Friday, the signage within the JR section of Ikebukuro Station, consisting of the platforms and walkways for the Yamanote, Shonen Shinjuku, Saikyo, and Narita Expr

Stay in a Tokyo hotel with a train driver’s seat in the room

When you really want to immerse yourself in the world of Japanese trains. There are a lot of things Japan does well, and one aspect where it shines is themed hotel rooms. After giving us a way to sleep with Hello Kitty and snooze in the midst of a Godzilla battle, we’ve now discovered a new place to stay, in the Yurikamome 30th Anniversary Collaboration Room at the Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel.▼ The hotel is about a three-minute walk from Ariake Station on the Yurikamome line.▼ You ca

Nintendo’s Kirby zooms into Japanese convenience stores Family Mart’s Super Satisfied Fest

Kirby is making a combini run ahead of the launch of his new game.This November is a big month for Kirby fans. Not only will we be seeing the release of Kirby Air Riders for the Switch 2, the first all-new full-scale game in the franchise since 2022’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Japanese convenience store Family Mart is releasing a batch of new Kirby-themed foods and drinks! And while Kirby Air Riders won’t be out until November 20, the lineup for Family Mart’s Kirby Super Satisfied Fest is on

Totoro embroidered bags and pouches are as fluffy and cute as the Ghibli star himself【Photos】

Design allows you to go from no Totoros to all the Totoros with a flick of your wrist.When designing anime-themed fashion items, the easy route is just to take an existing piece of apparel or accessory and slap an illustration on it. If you want to make something really special, though, you go the extra mile and make something that not only has the look of its source material, but the feel of it too.So yes, these Totoro tote bags from Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku are filled wit

Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with all-new Pikachu and Foongus

Find out if these new Pokémon are worth capturing.As the year draws to a close, sweet-toothedPokémonfans are celebrating with the annual release of Japan’s Mister Donut x Pokémon collaboration. Last year, the star of the show was Diglett, so fans were keen to find out which pocket monster would be making its sweet debut this time around.When the company announced it would be Foongus, a mushroom-inspired character with a head shaped like a Poké Ball, we immediately hot-footed it down to Mis

Package delivery in Japan may be delayed due to bear risks

The bears are disrupting our national infrastructure now.This year’s spate of bear attacks really has been unlike any other year before it, and frightening incidents seem to be reported on a daily basis. Still, these incidents are largely limited to the rural areas of Japan, so for the majority living in the nation’s urban areas is easy to keep thinking of it as someone else’s problem.But now the problem has grown so large that effects are starting to be felt by people all over

Tokyo’s first gourmet choco banana specialty shop is worth stopping in Harajuku for

Dip Me Banana elevates the simple snack to something a whole lot more substantial and special.The choco banana seems like it should be about as simple as a dessert can be. It’s just a banana dipped in chocolate, right? Unless you buy into that “Fruit is nature’s candy” philosophy, you could even make the argument that a choco banana is really only half a dessert.Ah, but what if you wanted to tip the scale more towards undebatable-dessert elements? That’s how you end up with Dip Me Banana, Tokyo’

Never forget that Mister Donut’s super-simple ramen is actually very hard to beat

The chain may not be called “Mister Ramen,” but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to make a really good bowl of noodles.Mister Donut doesn’t play coy with what it has to offer, does it? The donut chain puts its signature menu item right there in its name, and the “Mister” part tells you that while they’ve got a sense of fun, they also have respect for the craft of donut-making.But while Mister Donut truly is Japan’s premier donut provider, they actually have a handful of non-dessert items on

All-you-can-eat lunch buffet for just 850 yen right next to Shinjuku Station

Grilled fish, curry, and homemade croquettes make for a shockingly affordable and satisfying meal.During a company meeting at the office, the topic came up of how all-you-can-eat restaurants are seeing a surge of popularity right now. So, when our Japanese-language reporter Masanuki Sunakoma was on his commute to our office in Shinjuku, he kept his eyes peeled for any evidence suggesting as much.Shortly, just after leaving Shinjuku Station’s Southeast Exit, he quickly spotted a sign that read “L

Stay in a hotel in Japan where you can see a UFO

Alien spacecraft looks even better when lit up at night. With hotel prices skyrocketing around Japan, we’re always on the lookout for bargain stays, and our latest find comes with something rather extraordinary — a view of a UFO.Located in Makuharihongo, Chiba Prefecture, less than an hour out from Tokyo Station and Narita Airport, this hotel is just a 10-minute train ride from MakuhariMesse, the large convention centre where events like Tokyo Auto Salon and Tokyo Game Show are held.

This beautiful Nara inn was once home to a Living National Treasure

Art, history, and high-end dining make for a unique Japanese getaway.Living National Treasures are legendary figures who play an important role in the transmission of a country’s intangible cultural heritage, all worthy of a great deal of respect in the fields that they represent. So, on our travels through Nara, we were surprised to learn about how the childhood home of one of Japan’s earliest Living National Treasures has been converted into a hotel and restaurant.Born in what was once Osaka P

Brand-new Pokémon park opens in Japan with larger-than-life-size Lapras【Photos】

Lapras’ latest collaboration with the region it’s an ambassador for is now ready to receive fans and provide squeals of joy.Since 2016, Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region has had a special relationship with the PokémonLapras. The Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima suffered severe damage during the 2011 March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and in order to help encourage tourism to the areas which were ready to start receiving visitors again, the Lapras encounter rate in Pokémon GO was

Tokyo police found our lost wallet, but the story of how they did made us feel empty

With no clear answers, it’s up to the wallet’s owner to choose what he wants to believe about the person who had it.About a week ago, our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun was sitting at home when his phone rang at about 10 p.m. Surprised that someone would be calling instead of texting at that time, and not recognizing the number of the caller, he answered the call and tentatively said hello.“This is Detective A from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Z Precinct,” said the voice on the other en

Hello Kitty learns sign language in newest friendship with Japanese artist

Sign language art-themed Hello Kitty pop up shop opens in Tokyo.Hello Kitty is always ready to make new friends. Having just taken part in collaborations with the casts of the Evangelion and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises, the Sanrio star’s newest pal isn’t an anime or video game character, but real-life Japanese artist Hidehiko Kado.Kado was born to deaf parents and became proficient in sign language from an early age. His desire to express thought and emotions that couldn’t be summed up entirel

Hello Kitty and twin sister celebrate birthday at Baskin-Robbins Japan with special merch, sweets

One of Kitty-chan’s favorite foods is the inspiration for her birthday sundae.There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a little sweet reward when you’ve been working hard, and no one works harder than Hello Kitty, who’s been especially busy these past few weeks making new friends and learning sign language. That’s not the only reason the timing feels right for the Hello Kitty Loves Ice Cream campaign at Baskin-Robbins Japan, either, since November 1 was Kitty-chan’s birthday.As of Novembe

Japan’s new Pokémon donut treat marks Ditto’s Mister Donut debut!

Mister Ditto.The new Mister Donut Pokémon donuts recently went on sale in Japan, with this year’s batch featuring the debut of the Fluffy Pikachu and Foongus donuts. It turns out, though, that Mister Donut secretly had another surprise in the oven all along, and it’s one that fittingly involves the easiest Pokémon to overlook.The shapeshifting Ditto will soon be transforming into the Ditto Donut Tree. This decadent offering is actually 10 treats in one. At the base of the “tree” is a white choco