Travel

New Era for Furusato Tax: Tokyo Offers High-End Dining and Kyoto Adds Geisha Experiences

TOKYO, May 24 (News On Japan) - The Garden Lounge at a hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, featuring a grand chandelier and a high ceiling, is offering a unique experience as part of the furusato tax program.

The highlight is an afternoon tea enjoyed with a view of the lush garden, now available as a return gift for donations to Shinjuku Ward. Since the program started in October 2023, the afternoon tea voucher, offered for a 20,000 yen donation, has been highly popular.

Previously, return gifts for furusato tax donations were often local specialties from rural areas, leaving urban areas like Shinjuku with fewer appealing options. This led to a significant loss in tax revenue for central municipalities, with Shinjuku Ward's tax revenue decreasing by about 3.8 billion yen.

However, metropolitan municipalities are now entering the return gift competition, changing the landscape of the furusato tax system.

Source: FNN

Dust Storms Forecast To Hit Tokyo

Rain affected parts of Japan on Tuesday morning as a low-pressure system and front moved through, bringing heavier downpours in some areas. Skies are expected to clear across much of the country this afternoon. However, yellow sand drifting in from the Asian continent is forecast to spread over a wide area, raising concerns over reduced visibility and worsening health conditions.

Japan Gov't Warns of Possible Megaquake

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku.

New Shinkansen Reservation Service Lets Users Book in One Minute

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes.

Bear Found in Bushes in Central Sendai Finally Culled

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

Father Admits Killing and Body Abandonment in Kyoto

Police investigating the death of an 11-year-old boy whose body was found in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture believe his father moved the remains between several locations over a number of days in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Travel NEWS

Tokyo Taxi Fares Raised 10%

Taxi fares in Tokyo's 23 wards, as well as Mitaka and Musashino, rose by about 10% on Monday, marking the first increase in the central Tokyo area in roughly three and a half years.

Typhoon No. 4 Moves Eastward Away from Japan

Typhoon No. 4, Sinlaku, moved northeast on April 19 while accelerating over waters near Minamitorishima, east of the Ogasawara Islands, according to weather officials. Although the storm is rapidly moving away from Japan, rough seas are expected to persist, prompting continued caution across the island chain.

Nara Turns To Hot Springs To Heat Up Tourism

The city of Nara is preparing to search for geothermal sources, hoping onsen facilities can help increase overnight stays in the ancient capital, where the city has long struggled to turn day-trippers into hotel guests despite being one of Japan's best-known sightseeing destinations, ranking last nationwide in annual overnight visitors in 2021 and underscoring weak tourism spending.

Nagano Rocked by Successive Strong Quakes

A series of earthquakes struck northern Nagano Prefecture, with the strongest registering upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale.

Kofukuji Begins Once-in-a-Century Repair

The dismantling of the upper ornament of the five-story pagoda at Kofukuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Nara, was opened to the media on April 15 as the temple undergoes its first major restoration in around 120 years.

Japan Names 40C-Plus Days

Japan already classifies days with highs of 30C or above as manatsubi (midsummer days) and those reaching 35C or above as moshobi (extremely hot days). It has now introduced a new term for days when temperatures climb to 40C or higher.

New Shinkansen 'Doctor S' to Succeed Doctor Yellow

JR Tokai has announced a new inspection-equipped Shinkansen named 'Doctor S', set to take over the role of the famed 'Doctor Yellow', the bright yellow bullet train affectionately known as the train that brings good luck when spotted.

Japan Sees Record Tourist Numbers

Spending by foreign visitors to Japan from January to March rose 2.5% from a year earlier to 2.3378 trillion yen, the Japan Tourism Agency said, marking the third-highest quarterly total on record, while the number of inbound visitors in March increased 3.5% to 3,618,900, setting a new record for the month.

< 2 3 4 5 >