Honto Japan Editorial– Author –

March in Japan is the month the cherry blossoms open, and on the JMA's own map they do so in the last week, from Kyushu to Kanto, while Hokkaido waits until May. Rain doubles from February, the equinox makes a three-day weekend in 2027, and Okinawa's blossoms are already over.

Japan's Valentine's Day began as a Kobe chocolate shop's idea in 1932, ran its first newspaper ad on February 13, 1935, reached Tokyo department stores in 1958, and got its March 14 reply in 1978 from a Hakata sweet maker. The companies' own timelines, the customs, and what is not a holiday.

JR West sells a discounted HARUKA one-way ticket from Kansai Airport to Kyoto for 2,200 yen, but only to foreign-passport temporary visitors and only outside Japan or online in advance. Here are the exact conditions, what the ticket does and does not cover, and what we could not verify.

Mitsui Garden Hotels is the Mitsui Fudosan chain with a top-floor public bath at 22 of its hotels, a cancellation ladder that starts at 20 percent three days out, no service charge, and a 3-day cleaning rule. Osaka PREMIER becomes Osaka Nakanoshima PREMIER on February 26, 2027. All from the official English pages.

Tokyu Stay is the Tokyo-centred chain with a washer-dryer, microwave and kitchenette in many rooms, preschool children free in a parent's bed, and a 50-80-100 percent cancellation ladder. Check-in 15:00, call if you arrive after 22:00, and a resale plan you can only buy on the Japanese site. All from the official FAQ.

Dormy Inn is the Japanese business-hotel chain with a public bath, a free bowl of soy-sauce ramen at night and a 1,000 yen per person, per hour charge for a late checkout. Check-in 15:00, children under 3 sleep free, tattoos are refused unless a cover sticker fits. All from the chain's own FAQ.

Nagoya's sights sit on one loop bus, the Me~guru: 210 yen a ride, 500 yen a day, closed every Monday. Here is how the station, the castle, the Toyota museum, Sakae and the Tokugawa district fit together, with the hours and fees the city publishes.

About 80 percent of Japan visits a shrine at New Year, according to the association that runs them. Here is what hatsumode is, the exact bow-and-clap sequence Meiji Jingu publishes, the normal gate hours, and what the shrines have not announced yet for 2027.

November is the month Japan dries out: Tokyo's rain falls from 235 mm to 96, Kyoto's from 143 to 74. Maple color reaches Tokyo by the end of the month and Kyoto, on the JMA's own map, in early December. Two holidays, no typhoon landfalls in 30 years.

October in Japan is not the crisp dry month the brochures promise. Tokyo records more rain in October than in any other month, maple color has only reached Hokkaido, and typhoons still approach 1.7 times on average. Eight cities, one holiday, all from the JMA.

Kagoshima City runs the Sakurajima ferry itself, and since October 1, 2025 it no longer sails around the clock: first boat 4:00, last 23:30, 250 yen, about 15 minutes. Here is how the city, the volcano, the tram and the CUTE pass fit together.

Sanrio lists 146 shops nationwide and 32 in Tokyo, but only four Tokyo shops carry the tax-free flag, the Harajuku store runs on entry tickets that expire after ten minutes, and from October 8 to 31, 2026 tourists with a foreign passport get a reusable bag on any single purchase of 11,000 yen or more.