Japan’s hospitality has long been admired, and rightly so. Its precision and attentiveness are often held up as a global benchmark. But it is no longer sufficient to assume that hospitality alone defines the visitor experience.

In 2026, the Tokyo metropolitan area will witness a wave of new tourist attractions and the renewal of major commercial facilities, raising expectations for fresh sources of excitement and revitalization across the region.

Japan was once known worldwide as a nation of tireless workers. Today, however, the reality is very different. Official statistics reveal that working hours have fallen sharply over the past three decades, while productivity remains stubbornly low compared with other advanced economies.

The traditional New Year’s first tuna auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu Market reached an unprecedented milestone on the morning of January 5, when a giant bluefin tuna from Oma in Aomori Prefecture was sold for a record-shattering 510.3 million yen.

As inbound tourism to Japan rebounds to record levels, a growing mismatch is emerging between what international travelers seek and what Japan’s tourism industry continues to offer.

Spending on ice cream in Japan has surged by roughly 50 percent over the past decade, transforming the dessert from a children’s snack into a daily reward for adults.

The number of global users of Meta’s photo- and video-sharing app Instagram has exceeded 3 billion. Since its acquisition in 2012, the platform has continued to expand both its user base and feature set, evolving into one of Meta’s most important sources of advertising revenue.

Local governments across Japan are accelerating efforts to tackle the growing problem of vacant houses. As the population ages and shrinks, the number of abandoned homes that are not used for rental or other purposes reached a record high in 2023.

Japan’s idea of a vacation did not begin with luxury resorts or overseas travel. It started with Touji, the traditional practice of staying at a hot spring for weeks to restore the body and mind after long periods of hard work.

Japan is rapidly becoming a global treasure island for retro and second-hand goods, attracting a growing number of inbound tourists whose primary purpose of travel is shopping for used records, film cameras, and vintage game software.

Sanwa Manufacturing, a Tokyo-based company specializing in disaster preparedness products, began selling large tote bags in 2021 that embody the phase-free philosophy.

The concept of phase-free disaster preparedness, which eliminates the traditional divide between emergencies and everyday life, is steadily gaining traction in Japan.

Matcha is rapidly gaining popularity overseas. Amid the global boom in health-conscious foods, it is increasingly used in lattes, desserts, and other beverages. The surge in inbound tourism to Japan is also helping to spread matcha culture worldwide.

Shizuoka Prefecture is steaming up the travel scene with a unique twist: transforming decommissioned buses into mobile wood-fired saunas. The latest addition, Car No. 3 of the “Sabbath” fleet, debuted at Gotemba Premium Outlets with a lively “Birthday Steaming Festival.”

“Sleep tourism” — travel designed around the pursuit of quality rest — is gaining traction. Originating in Europe and the United States amid a growing focus on health and wellness, the trend is now making waves in Japan’s hospitality sector...

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of international travelers worldwide is estimated to reach 1.4 billion in 2024, recovering to 99% of pre-COVID levels. Total export revenue from the global tourism industry, including passenger transport, is expected to hit a record $1.9 trillion (approximately 270 trillion yen)...

In 2024, global wine production and consumption both fell to their lowest levels in 63 years, marking the sharpest downturn since 1961. The decline reflects not only the mounting effects of climate change on vineyards but also inflation and shifting consumer behavior, which are pushing people further away from wine...

Kabuki, Noh, Kyogen, and Bunraku are among Japan’s most renowned traditional performing arts. Refined over centuries and recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, they serve as cultural treasures admired worldwide...

For many people, mirin is simply known as a cooking ingredient that adds sweetness and shine to Japanese dishes. Yet its original form was quite different: a sweet, premium sake that was especially popular among women in the Edo period...

With the boost in inbound tourism, Japan faces an unexpected problem: a significant rise in abandoned suitcases. Tourist attractions, hotels, and even major airports are seeing record numbers of luggage left behind by international visitors...

Japan is facing an accelerating demographic shift. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Japanese population as of January 1 stood at 120.65 million, a drop of 908,574 from the previous year—the steepest annual decline since records began in 1968...

On August 6, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced its annual population data based on the Basic Resident Register. As of January 1, 2025, Japan's population was 120,653,227, a decrease of 908,574 from the previous year...

Over the past decade, "sake brewery tourism" has become a growing trend in Japan. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 drastically reduced visitor numbers, forcing many breweries to rethink their strategies and visitor experiences...

Japan’s traditional New Year cuisine, osechi ryori, has experienced an unexpected change in recent years—not driven by culinary experts, but by the influence of anime. One notable example is the Detective Conan Osechi, a boxed meal set themed after the long-running mystery series Detective Conan (Case Closed)...

Japan's movement to promote "anime sacred site pilgrimages"—where fans visit real-life locations featured in anime—gains momentum across the country. By 2025, 36 prefectures will feature at least one site on the "88 Japanese Anime Sacred Sites" list, based on votes from fans in Japan and abroad, matching the previous record...

The number of employed people is at an all-time high. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on January 31st that in 2024, the number of employed individuals reached 67.81 million...

The influx of visitors to Japan is boosting the Japanese economy. Consumption is expected to reach 8.1395 trillion yen in 2024, with the number of visitors projected to be 36,869,900, both of which are record highs...

Night buses are increasingly becoming "moving hotels." A bus company in Kochi Prefecture will be the first in the country to introduce buses with seats that transform into fully flat sleeping berths...

Hotel Okura will offer tatami mats and open-air baths to attract local and Southeast Asian customers interested in Japanese culture. Okura focuses on overseas expansion and plans to raise its domestic and international hotels to 150 by 2030. ..

In 2023, the average runtime of the top 30 global box office hits was 132 minutes, 13 minutes longer than a decade ago. Notably, films longer than two and a half hours now comprise about a quarter of the total...

In Shirakawa Village, located in Gifu Prefecture and known for the World Heritage site "Shirakawa-go," approximately 70% of its 1,500 residents work in tourism. The Gassho-style village embodies the quintessential Japanese landscape, and due to its increasing popularity with international visitors...

ANA HD will connect central Tokyo to Narita Airport (located in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture) in only 10 to 20 minutes. This will be Japan's first service to charge passengers for rides, with expected fares comparable to those of a taxi...