A baby red-shanked douc langur named Mee, from a species called the world's most beautiful monkey, has gone on display at Yokohama Zoorasia. We look at what this critically endangered birth means, and at Japan's habit of naming zoo animals by public vote and following each individual's life story.
GAIA RESORT ACURA, a new rental villa in Zao, Miyagi, preserves the workshop and stained-glass art of the late Honda engineer Akira Ishizuya, who worked on the CVCC engine. A stay built around Japan's craftsmanship for car and motorsport fans.
A new private tour called NINJA ORIGINS lets travelers train as real ninja in Iga and Koka, the birthplace of ninjutsu. From 200,000 yen (about $1,260) per person per night, guests sleep in restored historic buildings and join shrine rituals and a museum infiltration mission, as part of a model that funnels tourism revenue back into heritage conservation.
Japan welcomed 3.69 million foreign visitors in April 2026, down 5.5% from a year earlier, even as the yen sat near 159 to the dollar. We unpack the three forces behind the drop (China's travel advisory, an Easter calendar quirk, and Middle East flight cancellations) and ask whether this is actually the right moment for foreigners to book that long-postponed Japan trip.
Hokuriku Electric has broken ground on a 2,000 kW hydropower plant in Komatsu, Ishikawa, the first in Japan dedicated to a bullet train. All output will flow to JR West under an offsite PPA. How does Japan's decarbonization push compare with SNCF and Deutsche Bahn?
On May 17, 2026, Empress Masako waved goodbye to a polar bear at Tobe Zoo in Ehime, telling her 'I hate to leave.' Meet Peace, the 26-year-old 'miracle bear' who became Japan's first successful hand-raised polar bear, and the keeper who took her home to live with his family.
Tokyo's 19.7-meter Unicorn Gundam statue, an Odaiba landmark since 2017, will be dismantled at the end of August 2026, leaving Japan's capital without a life-sized Gundam for the first time in nearly two decades.
ufotable, the studio behind Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Chapter 1 and its ¥117.9 billion worldwide gross, announced on May 11, 2026 the acquisition of a 98-year-old former Mizuho Bank building in Tokushima. The 1928 structure, which survived the WWII firebombing of the city, will become a new entertainment hub and could turn into the next must-visit destination for global Demon Slayer fans making the pilgrimage to Japan.
Air Canada launches the first-ever direct flight between North America and Hokkaido in December 2026, connecting Vancouver and Sapporo's New Chitose Airport with three weekly Boeing 787 services. Who it targets, why now, and what makes Hokkaido a winter prize.
Frass discovered on a wild cherry tree at Yoshinoyama, Nara—home to 30,000 sacred cherry trees revered for 1,300 years—has been confirmed as damage from the invasive red-necked longhorn beetle. The first such case in any Japanese national park. A story at the intersection of invasive species, climate change, and cultural heritage.
After Japan returned its twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei to China in January 2026, Tokyo's Ueno Zoo lost its star attraction for the first time in 15 years, and visitor numbers fell two months running. Governor Yuriko Koike is now backing an unlikely successor: the shoebill, a motionless African bird with a fearsome stare that she calls kimo-kawa, creepy-cute. A shoebill-shaped cart began running in May. Here is why the casting works better than it sounds.