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When travelling to Japan, remember the country sits in a seismically active zone. Before you go, download a disaster-prevention app, save your embassy's contact details, and bookmark the Japan Meteorological Agency for real-time alerts. Our emergency guide:

Emergencies - Travel Guide | Hey Japan!

Travel Japan safely with emergency tips for earthquakes & tsunamis. Essential safety apps, contacts & evacuation guide.

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The touring "The Summer Hikaru Died" exhibition, the series' first ever, makes its Kansai debut in Osaka. The Netflix horror anime is at Namba Marui, Osaka, till 16 August – immersive photo spots, original art, setting materials, and exhibition-only merch.

Promotional key visual for the exhibition: two anime boys, one white-haired and grinning, one dark-haired and solemn, framing a vivid tangle of red and green organic tendrils that glows at the centre, with the Japanese title down the middle. ©モクモクれん／KADOKAWA・「光が死んだ夏」製作委員会 Provided by Marui Group Co., Ltd. (株式会社丸井グループ)

scattered across the floor, a screen showing swirling red-and-blue artwork on the wall, and rippling projected light washing over the whole space. ©モクモクれん／KADOKAWA・「光が死んだ夏」製作委員会 Provided by Marui Group Co., Ltd. (株式会社丸井グループ)

The Menchi cat figure and photo wall:
A large white cat figure sits on a wooden bench in a brightly lit exhibition space, beside a wall of illuminated anime stills from the series. ©モクモクれん／KADOKAWA・「光が死んだ夏」製作委員会 Provided by Marui Group Co., Ltd. (株式会社丸井グループ)

The "inside Hikaru" photo spot: a visitor reaches toward a backlit panel of a smiling white-haired anime character mounted on a wall, in a dim exhibition space with large Japanese text beside it. ©モクモクれん／KADOKAWA・「光が死んだ夏」製作委員会 Provided by Marui Group Co., Ltd. (株式会社丸井グループ)

On 1 August, Himeji Castle glows cyan for Japan's "Water Day", lit water-blue from sunset to mark the importance of water and healthy water cycles. The castle and Arcrea Himeji both take part.

Himeji Castle at night, its white keep lit up in bright cyan against a black sky, with the stone ramparts and walls below illuminated white. ©Himeji City

We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW hanabie - Life Is Short, O Brave Girl Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/life-is... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/3uXfyn...

60 years of Ultraman, all in one place. The Ultraman Series 60th Anniversary Exhibition runs at Space LABO, Kitakyushu, until 30 August – heroes and kaiju from Ultra Q to Omega. www.hey-japan.com/event/ultram...

ULTRAMAN EXHIBITION – Ultraman Series 60th Anniversary Exhibition 2026, Kitakyushu | Hey Japan!

Ultraman 60th Anniversary Exhibition at Space LABO: six decades of heroes, from Ultra Q to Omega, in one chronological journey.

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It's peach season – the time of year for peach desserts and sweets across Japan. See what each season in Japan has in store with our "Year in Japan" calendar: www.hey-japan.com/year-in-japan

Raised as a woodcutter's daughter - until a giant spider revealed she was the last heir of a slaughtered clan, and handed her the sorcery to avenge them. Princess Wakana rides the Earth Spider in Shiranui Monogatari, the Edo period's longest illustrated serial: 90 parts over 40 years. By Kunisada.

A richly colored Japanese woodblock print set against stormy blue-green waves. At upper right, a young woman with an ornate hairpin and a red-and-white patterned kimono kneels atop a monstrous giant spider, unrolling a long paper scroll covered in handwriting. The spider spirit has a rounded, leopard-spotted body, two glowing yellow eyes, a bristling fanged mouth, and thick hairy legs, rising out of swirling grey clouds. At lower left, a man in dark patterned robes lies sprawled in the surf beneath an enormous tumbling drum - deep blue, studded with gold bosses, laced with gold cord, and marked with a coiled dragon on its rim. A pale skull rests near his head. Red and yellow cartouches carry Japanese text: the title Shiranui Monogatari (The Tale of Shiranui), the character names Wakana-hime (Princess Wakana) and the fisherman Nadazo, and the artist signature Toyokuni ga.

Kasukabe City in Saitama has installed the first Crayon Shin-chan design manhole cover. It features the Nohara family among wisteria blossoms, the city flower, with Shin-chan holding a traditional local kite. Two designs are now on the streets, with both also displayed inside City Hall.

Circular manhole cover with a light blue border on a stone-tiled surface, showing a close-up group portrait of the Nohara family from Crayon Shin-chan: Shin-chan, his father, mother, baby sister Himawari, and dog Shiro. Purple wisteria hangs from the top, with "Crayon Shin-chan" written in colorful katakana across the bottom and "Kasukabe City" in Japanese along the left edge. ©「クレヨンしんちゃん」©臼井儀人／双葉社・シンエイ・テレビ朝日・ADK

Circular manhole cover on a paved sidewalk showing the Nohara family from Crayon Shin-chan. Shin-chan stands in the center in his red shirt and yellow shorts, with his mother, father, baby sister Himawari, and dog Shiro around him. Purple wisteria blossoms decorate the sides, with "Crayon Shin-chan" written in colourful katakana at the top and "Kasukabe City / stormwater" in Japanese at the bottom. ©「クレヨンしんちゃん」©臼井儀人／双葉社・シンエイ・テレビ朝日・ADK

That teal cylinder over Shibuya isn't named for having 109 shops. "109" is a numeric pun: tō (10) + kyū (9) = Tōkyū, the company that built it in 1979. It also doubles as the store's original hours - 10am to 9pm. A landmark with a math joke baked into its name.

One of Osaka Castle's two oldest buildings is open this summer. The Inui Turret, an Important Cultural Property built in 1620 and rarely opened inside, can be visited on weekends and holidays from 18 July to 16 August.

The white L-shaped Inui Turret on its stone base above the moat at Osaka Castle, with the green-roofed castle keep rising behind it and the city and mountains beyond. ©Osaka Castle Park Management Co., Ltd.

The Inui Turret, a two-storey white-walled turret with black tiled roofs, standing on a sloping stone wall above the moat at Osaka Castle under a blue sky. ©Osaka Castle Park Management Co., Ltd.

The bare wooden interior of the Inui Turret's first floor, with exposed pillars and beams, a plank floor, and two staircases leading up, lit by daylight from the windows. ©Osaka Castle Park Management Co., Ltd.

Animation studio MAPPA marks 15 years with a major retrospective exhibition in Tokyo, running 16 September – 7 December 2026. MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary features displays on Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen, plus exclusive art. www.hey-japan.com/event/mappa-...

MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary 2026, Tokyo | Hey Japan!

MAPPA's 15th anniversary exhibition opens in Tokyo, 16 September – 7 December 2026, featuring Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen displays.

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Wonder Festival [Summer] returns to Makuhari Messe in Chiba on 26 July. Japan's biggest garage-kit event, where independent artists and hobbyists show and sell highly detailed anime, game, and mecha figures, alongside previews from major makers. www.hey-japan.com/event/wonder...

Wonder Festival [Summer] 2026, Chiba | Hey Japan!

Experience Wonder Festival - Japan's premier garage kit event with amateur artisans, anime sculptures & toy company previews at Makuhari Messe.

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Shizuoka's biggest summer night market takes over Sunpu Castle Park, 24–26 July. "Ice Fes & Asian Night Market" brings authentic Asian street food and cooling shaved-ice desserts across three areas, plus a Songkran water festival, lantern night, and live stages.

A crowd of visitors browsing white food-stall tents at dusk during the Asian night market, warmly lit from within. The nearest stall, hung with cloth banners, sells Taiwanese boiled dumplings (sui-gyoza). The image is from last year's event. Image provided by nonii Inc.

A night scene in a park where thousands of soap bubbles drift through the air, lit purple and pink against a deep blue sky, with a performer and onlookers silhouetted below. Image provided by nonii Inc.

Dozens of glowing paper sky lanterns rising into the night sky above a crowd. Image provided by nonii Inc.

The event poster for "Ice Fes & Asian Night Market" Shizuoka, illustrated with a smiling girl holding a water gun, surrounded by red lanterns, floating sky lanterns, a koi, and an array of Asian street food and desserts. Text gives the dates 24 July (16:00–21:00) and 25–26 July (14:00–21:00) at Sunpu Castle Park. Image provided by nonii Inc.

Kishu Odori Bundara-bushi, one of Wakayama's largest summer events, returns for its 58th year on Saturday 1 August. Thousands of dancers in matching costumes fill the streets around Wakayama Castle, with food stalls and an eve celebration too. www.hey-japan.com/event/kishu-...

Kishu Odori "Bundara-bushi" 2026, Wakayama | Hey Japan!

Kishu Odori Bundara-bushi, Wakayama's biggest summer dance festival, returns on 1 August, with thousands of dancers around Wakayama Castle.

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Shojo manga magazine LaLa marks its 50th anniversary with a takeover of Shinjuku Station's Metro Promenade in Tokyo, 20–26 July. Interactive displays celebrate 34 titles, including "Natsume's Book of Friends" and "Ouran High School Host Club".

Two people stand before a pink station wall covered with rows of oversized shojo manga covers, each a liftable flip-up panel, one visitor raising a page to peek beneath. Text along the bottom reads "MONTHLY LaLa" and "Flip up any cover that catches your eye!" ©Hakusensha Co., Ltd.

A hand lifts a huge flip-up manga page at Shinjuku Station's Metro Promenade, revealing a black-and-white Ouran High School Host Club illustration of the host club members riding a rose-decorated horse-drawn carriage, with Japanese text reading "Host Club Special Parade!!" A pink corridor lined with more displays recedes behind it. ©Hakusensha Co., Ltd.

We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW VAUNDY - odoriko Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/odoriko... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/1uK4zA... Our weekly pick - personal taste, no charts involved. Spotlighting Japanese artists across every genre, so there's something for everyone.

Eating kakigori is one of the best things to do in summer. It is Japanese shaved ice: a mound of finely shaved ice soaked in flavoured syrup, strawberry, matcha, melon, or lemon, and often topped with condensed milk or sweet azuki beans.

A tall mound of strawberry kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) drenched in red syrup, topped with whipped cream and pastel pink and white puffed-rice balls.

Kasai Rinkai Park's sunflower field, around 25,000 plants beside Tokyo Bay, is lit from 18:00 to 20:30 between 31 July and 16 August. Entry is free. Lantern-making workshops run at weekends, 500 yen, booked in advance. www.tokyo-park.or.jp/special/flow...

Key visual: a sunflower field beneath a sky graded from deep blue to pink at the horizon, scattered with points of light, with the event title in Japanese. Provided by TSP Taiyo

Map of the event site at Kasai Rinkai Park, showing the six lit areas along the central path from the station to the aquarium, with the sunflower field, Ferris wheel, workshop location, and food trucks marked. Provided by TSP Taiyo

Artist's impression of Area 2: visitors walk along a tree-lined path at dusk, the trees strung with lights and hung with glowing spheres, artificial sunflowers along the verge, and the illuminated Ferris wheel ahead. Provided by TSP Taiyo

A field of sunflowers in full bloom under a blue sky, with trees and a lawn behind. Provided by TSP Taiyo

The Fate/Grand Order exhibition -stargazer- runs at Mori Arts Center Gallery, Roppongi (Tokyo), until 14 September 2026. Development materials, new footage, and a life-size figure of Mash Kyrielight, plus a collaboration cafe on the same floor. www.hey-japan.com/event/fate-g...

Fate/Grand Order exhibition -stargazer- 2026, Tokyo | Hey Japan!

Fate/Grand Order exhibition -stargazer- at Mori Arts Center Gallery, Roppongi: 17 July to 14 September 2026. Tickets from 3,800 yen, plus a collaboration cafe.

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The "Galaxy Express Milky Subway" exhibition comes to Sapporo PARCO from 8 to 23 August, on the 7th floor at PARCO FACTORY. Photo spots, production materials, and elements from the film. Entry 1,500 yen. Director Yohei Kameyama holds a signing on opening day.

Key visual for the exhibition: seven characters sit along a subway carriage seat, with the title, dates, and venue in glowing green text over the image. ©亀山陽平／タイタン工業

An exhibition space with a row of illuminated vending machines showing food items, red bar stools in the foreground and explanatory panels on the wall to the left. ©亀山陽平／タイタン工業

A station sign reading Shin-Kisaragi in Japanese and English, mounted above a row of coloured plastic seats, with a uniformed mannequin standing to the right. ©亀山陽平／タイタン工業

A recreated train carriage interior with red bar stools and chrome tables, facing a window showing a starfield and the Milky Way. ©亀山陽平／タイタン工業