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Four cities are the most likely candidates to become vice-capitals in case Tokyo is struck by an incapacitating natural disaster. Over the course of history, Japan has had several capital cities. Most famously, the imperial court was previously located in Kyoto, and before that in Nara. There was also a period of around 150 years when Kamakura, by nature of being the then-ruling shogunate’s base of power, operated as the de-facto capital. In 1868, though, the capital was moved to Edo, resulting

Perfect for when you’ve got to fly, but want to soak. Generally, when it comes to hot springs in Japan, you can pick two of the following three things: convenient location, beautiful view, and not crowded. Someplace with a convenient location and nice scenery? Be prepared to share the tub with a whole lot of other people. Great view and small crowds? Probably going to have to be some small, hidden place way off the beaten path. Centrally located but not crowded? Odds are it’s because the ambian

Three new drinks, featuring seven kinds of tea, join the Starbucks Japan menu. This year’s Halloween parties are over and done with, but that doesn’t mean the fun is over for sweets fans. On November 2, Starbucks Japan rolled out no fewer than three new sweetly soothing beverages, and we rushed out to try them all. “Let’s par-tea” is the theme of this new lineup which aims to please lovers of puns and black tea, and while all three of them looked very tempting, we felt the strongest allure from

The Tokyo landmark is a perfect spot on an ancient ley line of spiritual power to view the sight of Mt. Fuji with a diamond of light on its summit. Twice per year around February and November, anyone close enough to see Mt. Fuji can witness Diamond Fuji, a natural phenomenon when the rising or setting sun aligns perfectly with the mountain’s peak. When the conditions are just right, the sun’s rays then pan outward, giving the appearance of a shining diamond ring nestled on top of Ja

What to be aware of as Japan tightens the rules for tourists saving 10 percent on their purchases. As of November 1, Japan has ended its tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists. Up until now, non-residents making purchases in Japan could avoid paying sales tax when shopping at participating stores by showing their passport as long as their total purchase price came to 5,000 yen (US$31.50) or more. As sales tax in Japan is generally 10 percent, and most major retailers, as well as a great

The full pilgrimage takes weeks to complete, but if you’ve got a couple hours, this Matsuyama experience will show you what makes the tradition so special. The Shikoku Pilgrimage route is, unquestionably, a great Japan travel experience. After all, people have been walking it, tracing the footsteps of famed Buddhist monk Kukai (also known as Kobo Daishi), for 1,200 years now. However, the full route, which goes all around the island of Shikoku, is also a very time-consuming travel experience, t

Papercraft models are small in size, but colossally cool for fans of Studio Ghibli. Earlier in the year Ghibli Park added a new exhibit consisting of over 30 large dioramas made by famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki. Odds are, though, that you don’t have that much space to devote to your love of Ghibli’s art and environments, but Japanese papercraft company Sankei does have a way to let you bring a little piece of the Ghibli world into your home. Going on sale November 3 are three new entries

Those boots weren’t made for walking away with. In tough economic times, where even stores are switching to automated checkouts to save money, it’s no surprise that incidents of shoplifting have been steadily rising in Japan. To combat this, some retailers have employed what are known as “manbiki G-men,” plainclothes security guards whose role is to patrol stores and prevent sticky-fingered shoppers. Although the name is a throwback to prohibition-era FBI agents in the USA, these guards have no

Fender celebrates Red and Green’s 30th anniversary with guitars saluting the Pokémon world in both looks and sound. In the English-speaking world, the start of the Pokémon video game series were the paired releases of Pokémon Red and Blue for the Game Boy in 1998. However, unbeknownst to many young fans at the time, the real origins of the franchise had come out in Japan two years prior, and were titled Pokémon Red and Green. Here in 2026, the global Poké-fan community has a more comprehensive

The Museum of Narratives has an oasis for your feet. They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but it turns out there is a free foot bath in Tokyo. It’s not some rinky-dink little tub in some obscure spot on the outskirts of the capital, either, but right in the middle of downtown, near Takanawa Gateway Station on the Yamanote train line that encircles the city center. Takanawa Gateway is the newest station on the line, and is connected to a shopping, entertainment, and cultural developme

Internationally acclaimed art collective will have a new home not far from Disneyland. Japan’s TeamLab has risen from relative obscurity to become one of the most admired digital art collectives in the world, using their technological wizardry and ethereally emotional sensibilities to craft experiences unlike those from anyone else. Their exhibits and museums regularly top lists of must-visit places for artistically inclined travelers in Japan, but now it’s time for TeamLab itself to embark on

This legal discussion contains scenes of explicit violence and gore. It’s Halloween again, and what better way to ring in the spookiest of holidays than with some thought exercises on complex constitutional law issues. Although most zombie stories focus on a ragtag group of civilians coping with civilization collapsing all around them, the beginning of the outbreak usually shows the military going all out in trying to eliminate the undead threat. And with many of these movies and TV shows takin

Go home and be a family man? Nah, we have to go to work. We keep SoraNews24 HQ clean enough so that we don’t have flies on the wall, but if you were to be, for instance, a shapeshifting tanuki disguised as a fern in the corner of our office on Friday, you might have heard the following conversation take place. Mr. Sato: “Hey, you guys bring your Guile gear?” P.K.: “Yeah.” Mr. Sato: “OK. So, we doing this?” Ahiruneko: “We sure are. But, like, I really didn’t have much to bring.” Mr. Sato: “But,

Parting is such very, very sweet sorrow. No one’s really watching their calories on October 31, right? Between trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, and all those tempting candy displays in the stores, there’s no better occasion for indulging your sweet tooth multiple times during the same day. And if you’re already leaving room for desserts, this Halloween is a very good time to make a visit to Cold Stone, because on October 31 they’re permanently closing their last remaining branch in east Ja

Here there be dragons and bargains. Generally, people don’t go to malls to buy daily necessities like paper towels or detergent. Mall shopping is primarily for fun or special-occasion purposes, and to make the atmosphere even more fun and special, sometimes outlet malls in Japan have collaborations with popular video game franchises. Maybe they put up a Final Fantasy Christmas tree for the holiday season, or set out some Super Mario cardboard character standees. And then there’s what Mitsui Out

Get in the Hard Rock crossover, Shinji! The Hard Rock Cafe currently has two branches in Tokyo, one in the Roppongi Neighborhood and one attached to Ueno Station, but what if the restaurant had a Tokyo-3 branch? And no, we don’t mean a third branch in Tokyo, but a branch inside Tokyo-3, the city that serves as the main setting of Evangelion. That’s the concept behind a new collaboration between the giant robot anime series and music-themed restaurant chain, which has led to a new collection of

No tricks or treats is the plan at Shibuya Center-gai, but cool sweets will be waiting at every other branch. In a way, I suppose you could accuse Burger King Japan of having lost its Halloween spirit. The chain’s Shibuya Center-gai branch in downtown Tokyo, just a short walk from the world-famous Shibuya Scramble intersection, announced on Thursday that it’ll be closed for the entirety of October 31. The storefront’s shutter will be down with a large 臨時休業 (“temporarily closed”) written across

Goodbye Kitty. Vivant has emerged as a major hit on Japanese TV to a degree that only seems to come along every decade or so. It stars Masato Sakai, who also starred in Japan’s last gigantic TV hit Hanzawa Naoki, by the same director, with Sakai this time playing a businessman who gets embroiled in international intrigue. The program has become so popular that it is frequently involved in tie-ups with other brands eager to ride the Vivant wave. And there is perhaps no company that loves collabo

Whether you’re restoring your energy at home or out adventuring in the world, these Hyrulian artifacts will be ready to help. Nintendo fans already have November 5 circled on their calendars, since that’s when the long-awaited remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time goes on sale for the Switch 2. That’s not the only cool Zelda-related release coming up in November though, with Japanese fashion and interior company Takarajimasha, whose name means “treasure island company,” releasing two c

Combining palanquins and muscle suits to make historic sites accessible for all. Along the eastern shores of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake, in Shiga is the city of Hikone, home to one of only twelve castles in Japan with its original main keep still standing. However, reaching the top is not a casual stroll, being guarded by 140 steep, irregular stone steps explicitly designed to exhaust invading samurai, and now those same steps present a modern dilemma. Being a National Special