New Nara Train Lures Expo Visitors

The annual 'Plum Blossom Festival' was held at Kyoto's Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, where maiko and geisha served tea to visiting worshippers.

Japan’s oldest existing train, the Kyoto Electric Railway streetcar (Kyoto City Transport Bureau No. 2 train, commonly known as N-Den), was relocated by crane early on February 19th near the Otenmon gate at Heian Shrine in Kyoto’s Sakyo Ward.

Welcome to Saitama! (Tokidoki Traveller)

As March 3rd's Hinamatsuri approaches, 'Ebitokanino (Shrimp & Crab) Aquarium' in Susami is displaying a collection of unique marine creatures representing the arrival of spring. Among them is the vibrant pink goldie (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), resembling delicate peach blossoms, and the hishigani crab, whose folded claws resemble the layered colors of traditional Hishimochi rice cakes.

Kansai International Airport’s newly renovated immigration area was unveiled this week, boasting an open-concept design that allows travelers to submit passports, facial photos, and fingerprints in a single step.

Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture has become one of Japan’s leading resort destinations, drawing approximately 250,000 foreign visitors each year. Walking through the town, one can see multilingual signs at train stations and restaurants, evidence of the efforts being made to accommodate international travelers.

With the arrival of the Spring Festival, a surge in Chinese tourists is bringing an influx of foreign patients to Japanese clinics. From a vegetarian suffering appendicitis after indulging in local cuisine to an American traveler sustaining a head injury at a ryokan, clinics are seeing a wide range of medical cases.

A powerful cold wave brought extreme winter weather to Japan on February 19th, with strong northern winds sweeping through Tokyo and heavy snowfall blanketing the Sea of Japan side. In Odaiba, Tokyo, pedestrians struggled to walk against the fierce winds, some forming single-file lines to shield themselves from the chill.