Feb 19, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Cherry blossom mochi lattes arrive at Japan’s Pronto cafe chain to start sakura sweets season What’s creamy on the outside, jiggly on the inside, and pink and delicious all over? This new sakura dessert drink. There are three signs that we’re getting closer to sakura season. The weather is ...
Feb 19, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japan just had its first same-month foreign tourist decrease in four years One country is clearly the cause, but fewer foreign tourists might not put the pressure it expects on Japan. On Wednesday, the Japan National Tourism Organization announced its latest statistics re...
Feb 19, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals Train etiquette can be hard to navigate for tourists, but locals need to watch their manners too. Every now and then, we see a number of work and business-related companies conducting surveys on tr...
Feb 19, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japanese zoo’s monkey bonds with Ikea stuffed orangutang following abandonment by mother[Video] Punch’s life started with a metaphorical gut-punch, but things are cuddlier, and happier, now. At just about any zoo, you’ll see a lot of kids holding plushies, either one they brought from home or...
Feb 19, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- New service lets you turn manga pages into T-shirt designs, over 200 titles to choose from Manga Plus adds feature that lets fans put manga page art they’ve fallen in love with onto a shirt. Odds are manga publisher Shueisha didn’t spend all that much time coming up with the Manga Plus n...
Feb 18, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- How to make curry in a rice cooker with zero prep work and no water[Recipe] Two steps, one piece of cooking equipment, and zero problems. The SoraNews24 office is, well, let’s call it “creatively cluttered.” That’s especially true at this time of year, when we’re still div...
Feb 18, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- We tried six Japanese burger chains’ coffee to test the state of fast food coffee in Japan[Taste test] In a rare twist, we headed to McDonald’s Japan, Mos Burger, and more without buying a single sandwich, because today we’re all about the beans. Our reporter P.K. Sanjun is a big coffee fan. For mor...
Feb 18, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japanese potato chip Rubik’s Cubes coming soon Delicious difficulty added to the classic puzzle. Of all the puzzles that I constantly get about 80 percent through and then give up, my favorite has to be the Rubik’s Cube. A timeless marriage of ...
Feb 18, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Crazy-cheap Tokyo lunch: All-you-can-eat curry rice for 220 yen (US$1.40)! We go looking for faults in this sounds-too-good-to-be-true Ikebukuro offer. There’s no shortage of writers with healthy appetites on the SoraNews24 team, and as such we’ve rarely been accused of h...
Feb 18, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics] Can Hokkaido’s annual outdoor art event charm a Tohoku girl who’s always been lukewarm on winter travel? “You’ve gotta be crazy to go out of your way to take a trip somewhere at the coldest time of...
Feb 17, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japan has trams that say “sorry” while they ride around town…but why? Gomen means sorry in Japanese, but in this town you’ll see it written on the streetcar destination displays. You’ll encounter a lot of fascinating sights while travelling around Japan, and the fu...
Feb 17, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japan’s bathhouse-themed bar replaces hot water with unlimited alcohol Styled like a traditional sento, this izakaya chain lines its walls with 13 working faucets that let you pour your own drink. In my youth, I used to drink a lot of soda, perhaps to an unhealthy deg...
Feb 17, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Shizuoka hot springs town invites you to see one of the longest hina doll displays in Japan This stairway of hina dolls at a local shrine is a true sight to behold and might actually make you lose your breath for good reason. Spring is almost upon us, and with the advent of March comes an...
Feb 17, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos] Unique Takadanobaba meditation space gets a splash of cuteness to brighten up the deathly décor. Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in is a relaxation space in downtown Tokyo’s Takadanobaba neighborhood. It’s a un...
Feb 17, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- The other side of Shibuya Station has a great restaurant for trying tamagokakegohan It’s worth going against the tourist flow to grab a bite here. When travelers to Tokyo talk about “Shibuya,” they’re usually talking about the streets and centers to the north of Shibuya Station. T...
Feb 16, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Poop is in full bloom at the Unko Museums for cherry blossom season Spring is in the air. In Japan, it has long stood as a symbol of both nature’s boundless fertility and its delicate transience, serving as a regular reminder that all is not long for the world and ...
Feb 16, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Playing Switch 2 games with just one hand is possible thanks to Japanese peripheral maker Gametech wants you to be able to keep one hand free for doing other things while you play. The Switch 2 is a very flexible piece of video gaming hardware. You can play games in handheld mode, on yo...
Feb 16, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Sakura Totoro is here to get spring started early with adorable pouches and plushies Totoro is tickled pink, and so are we. Pretty much anyone with an interest in animated cinema can tell you that there’s a gray Totoro, and anime enthusiasts are well aware that there are blue and w...
Feb 16, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Fives places around Japan to appreciate the plum blossoms this season Spring hasn’t quite sprung yet but we can still soak up its essence in the humble yet mighty plum blossoms. Despite their beauty, plum blossoms, known as ume no hana in Japanese, are often overshad...
Feb 16, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Legendary pie cafe Anna Miller’s finally returns to Tokyo after three-year absence Welcome back, Anna (and Anna’s pies)! It was with sad hearts, and growling stomachs, that we learned back in 2022 that Anna Miller’s would be closing. A legend among sweets fans, the restaurant cha...
