Feb 13, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Room 404: What happened when we stayed in an unlucky hotel room in Japan There’s a reason hotels don’t use this number for their rooms. In Japan, the numbers “4” (“shi”) and “9” (“ku”) are associated with death and suffering, due to the way the word “shi” can also be us...
Feb 13, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism Prefectural government will pay for tickets to encourage international travelers to visit their corner of Japan. Japan’s Shinkansen bullet network is made up of a number of different lines, but oft...
Feb 13, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed Home economics class pizza had more tsumami than it was supposed to. Pizza, famously, is hard to screw up, so much so that “_____ is like pizza. Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good,” became ...
Feb 13, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Can you eat lunch in Tokyo for less than 500 yen? We go in search of the elusive cheap meal to find out what you can eat for US$3.20 in Tokyo. It wasn’t that long ago when spending less than 500 yen (US$3.20) on lunch in Japan was an easy option....
Feb 13, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- How to make fancy matcha sake chocolates with just 15 minutes of real work【Recipe】 Matcha mirin nama chocolate sounds, looks, and tastes fancy, but is super-easy to make. With Valentine’s Day coming up, all of Japan is thinking about chocolate…but here at SoraNews24, we’re thinki...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Asakusa’s Yoi no Yoi bar crawl is one of Tokyo’s best local nights out Just 1,000 yen per stop lets you drink, eat, and mingle with friendly strangers through this historic neighborhood. Here at SoraNews24, we’re always on the lookout for fun and exciting events to pa...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026 Hanami season arrives early with this limited-edition collection of mugs, tumblers, gifts, and Stanley cups. One of the things we look forward to as we inch closer to spring in Japan is the soon-to...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026 Limited-edition drinks capture the excitement and anticipation of a Japanese spring. As we come out the other end of winter, spring feels like it’s just around the corner, and in Japan that means s...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Is a snow day the perfect day to beat the crowds at a popular ramen restaurant? [Experiment] Restaurant known for numbingly spicy ramen and intimidatingly long lines lures us out in the Tokyo snow. As we headed to bed last Saturday night, meteorologists warned us that snow was on the way t...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Sanrio changes Hello Kitty lead designer for first time in 46 years A new dawn calls for Japan’s most famous cat…but who will be picking up the baton? Back in 1974, a new character called Hello Kitty appeared in Japan, born from the hands of then-27 year-old Sanrio...
Feb 12, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Testing Japan’s fluffy mayonnaise pancake cooking hack【SoraKitchen】 Mr. Sato heads to the SoraKitchen with a bowl of pancake batter, a tube of mayo, and a desire to know if, and how, this cooking hack works. Pancakes are one of those wonderful foods that are honest...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Five amazing snow-view open-air Japanese hot springs in Hokkaido [Photos] Great reasons to add yukimiroten to your vocabulary and itinerary alike. Before we talk about places to hop into a hot spring, let’s dip our toes in the waters of bathing-related Japanese linguisti...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Studio Ghibli adds new anime character badges to its streetwear shop in Japan Tiny plump badges with a lot of heart, and they’re affordably priced too. When you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli, the love doesn’t fade when you grow up – in fact, it can become even stronger as your s...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Paying for prostitution isn’t illegal in Japan, but it could be soon Ministry of Justice eyeing changes to Prostitution Prevention Law. For our latest installment of “words they probably didn’t teach you in Japanese class,” let’s examine the word baishun. It’s writt...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Satisfy your sweet tooth with cheesecake and more all-you-can-eat sweets at Cheese Garden This special sweets buffet is easily accessible from Tokyo and is truly baking the world a better place. We’ve been on a bit of a sweets kick since the start of the new year, having recently paid a...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- McDonald’s Japan hack: What happens when you put an apple pie inside a Big Mac? This could be the best idea in the world…or the worst. Our reporters are always looking for new ways to spice up their lives, so when our McDonald’s-loving reporter P.K. Sanjun found himself browsi...
Feb 11, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Our reporter is willing to die on the pseudo-Italian restaurant Olive Hill Saizeriwhatnow? For many years now, Saizeriya has been the undisputed king of unbelievably cheap and questionably Italian food. As long as you’re not picky about authenticity and appreciate good-ta...
Feb 10, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Man in Japan takes four parakeets hostage in attempt to force woman to meet with him Tells woman that “There is no way for you to save the parakeets except to come home.” On February 7, in the hours between 1 and 2 a.m., a 20-something woman in the town of Nanyo, Yamagata Prefectur...
Feb 10, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video] New bullet train goes into service next month with route connecting Tokyo and Tohoku region. Usually, when planning to use the Shinkansen, you’ll need to make a choice between booking a reserved or...
Feb 10, 2026 from SoraNews24 -Japan News- Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido Japan is pissed off about the off-piste skiing. Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost, coldest, and snowiest prefecture, boasts world-class skiing and snowboarding venues. That’s not just an expression, e...
