Sapporo Park Closed After Bear Attack On Dog Walker

Japan will introduce a major overhaul of its tax-free shopping system for foreign visitors on November 1, replacing immediate tax exemptions at stores with a refund system that requires travelers to pay the full consumption tax upfront and claim reimbursement when leaving the country, a change expected to reshape retail strategies and purchasing behavior across the tourism industry.

Heavy rain linked to former Typhoon No. 30 continued to affect large parts of Japan on October 26, with authorities warning of potentially dangerous rainfall from the Kanto region to Shikoku, raising concerns in Chiba Prefecture's Shisui Town, where flooding caused by Typhoon No. 25 last month left homes and roads submerged for nearly three weeks.

Asuka Village in Nara Prefecture is introducing new measures to control rising visitor numbers following the July 2026 World Heritage registration of the 'Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological Sites of Japan's Ancient Capitals,' seeking to protect its historic landscapes and residents' daily lives while benefiting from growing international interest.

The underground platform of the planned Kanagawa Prefecture Station on Japan's Chuo Shinkansen maglev line was opened to the public for the first time on October 24, offering visitors a rare glimpse of the high-speed railway project under construction in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, with demand for the tour exceeding available places by approximately 12 times.

Japan marked the final Sunday of October with traditional autumn events across the country on October 25, including a spectacular water discharge drill at the World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture, a seasonal salmon feast in Miyagi Prefecture, and a parade of northeastern Japan's most famous festivals in Tokyo, despite widespread rain caused by a stationary autumn rain front.

The Northern Alps in central Japan have entered the height of their autumn colors, with the alpine landscape around Tateyama's Murodo Plateau in Toyama Prefecture offering spectacular views of red and yellow vegetation, rugged mountain ridges and the rare Japanese rock ptarmigan, a protected bird species whose survival depends on the delicate balance of the mountain ecosystem.

Motorcycle owners across Japan can now choose their preferred license plate numbers under a new system introduced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on October 19th, with popular numbers allocated by lottery and applications costing between 2,500 and 3,000 yen.

Temperatures fell to their lowest levels of the season across much of Japan on the morning of October 18, with Rikubetsu in Hokkaido recording minus 4.3 degrees Celsius, the country's lowest temperature so far this autumn, before sunshine brought warmer conditions during the day and some areas experienced unseasonably hot weather.