Long lines have been forming daily outside the Japanese Embassy in Russia as people seek tourist visas to visit Japan, with an unprecedented boom in travel interest despite Moscow designating Japan an “unfriendly nation” over sanctions related to the Ukraine invasion.
China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday began on February 15th, marking the start of the longest Spring Festival break on record at nine days.
A trip to Japan feels smoother when you understand what is happening beyond guidebooks and travel blogs.
A ceremonial “whirlpool opening” was held in the Naruto Strait on February 15th, between Naruto City in Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, marking the start of the spring tourism season, with massive whirlpools forming beneath the Onaruto Bridge that spans the strait.
The global matcha boom is driving up costs in Japan’s historic tea capital, with Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture set to raise usage fees at its municipal tea rooms by roughly 50% as soaring demand pushes up the price of tencha, the raw material used to produce matcha.
A unique certificate is being issued to visitors to Fuji City in Shizuoka Prefecture who arrive hoping to see Mount Fuji but find the famous peak hidden from view, part of a local effort to share the mountain’s ever-changing charm even on cloudy days.
JR Tokai has decided to begin construction on the Yamanashi Prefecture station for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen on March 11, marking the start of work on the only station along the Tokyo–Nagoya section where construction had yet to begin.
A large discount retailer Don Quijote has opened its first inbound-focused specialty store in the Kansai region in Kyoto City, aiming to better serve the growing number of overseas visitors.