International passenger traffic at Kansai Airport reached a record high of 27.08 million in fiscal 2025, up around 2 million from the previous year and highlighting strong demand for overseas travel across western Japan.
Residents of Okinawa were given an early preview on April 27 of a new thrill ride at theme park JUNGLIA OKINAWA in Nakijin Village, Okinawa Prefecture.
A rare spring mirage appeared over Toyama Bay on April 26, creating a striking optical illusion in which a bridge seemed to transform into a flattened diamond shape floating above the water.
Regular service by an electric passenger ferry linking Tokyo's Nihonbashi and Toyosu began on April 26. It marks Japan's first scheduled service using a fully electric passenger vessel operated by a private company.
A new sightseeing train operated by Nankai Electric Railway began service on April 24, connecting Osaka's Namba Station with Koyasan, a World Heritage site, raising expectations for regional tourism growth.
Bear sightings are surging across northeastern Japan in an unusually early spring trend, prompting the fastest issuance on record of bear alerts in multiple prefectures including Aomori and Iwate. Incidents have already left a police officer seriously injured and a member of the Self-Defense Forces attacked.
The planned extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo has come under renewed scrutiny after Japan's Finance Ministry said the project had reached a level at which it should, in principle, be canceled.
The Nara Prison Museum, created from the former Nara Prison, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in the Meiji era, will open to the public on April 27.