Honto Japan Editorial– Author –

USJ's ride lineup changed more in 2026 than most guides admit: the Sesame Street area closed for good in May, Space Fantasy only exists as a remix until August 17, and the night parade is gone. Here's what's running, the two-tier height rules (Mario Kart from 107 cm with an adult), the four queue systems, and what you can't carry on board.

Two full days covers Kyoto's icons at a sprint; three lets you actually feel the city; four adds Nara and a slow morning. What each day count really buys you — and what it quietly costs.

Seven days in Japan forces one big choice: sprint the Golden Route, or go deep on one region and enjoy every hour of it. Both versions day by day — and an honest take on which one you'll be gladder you picked.

Two weeks is where a Japan trip stops being a highlight reel: the full Golden Route at a humane pace, plus Hiroshima and Miyajima — with a built-in rest day most itineraries forget. Day by day, with the swaps that let you make it yours.

The day-by-day Golden Route plan we'd hand a friend — plus the parts most itineraries skip: which tickets sell out and when they open, the peak weeks when every Nozomi seat is reserved-only, the 160 cm suitcase rule on the shinkansen, and how to ship your luggage ahead for about the price of two coffees a bag.

A booster pack is 200 yen, not the 180 most guides still quote - and the September release is 360. Japan's tax-free system switches to a departure refund on November 1, 2026. The official store does not ship overseas, and warns that foreign-issued cards may not work.

Tokyo sushi runs from ¥115 conveyor plates to ¥30,000+ omakase counters — and the middle tiers are where most visitors should actually eat. Every format explained, what each roughly costs, and how to book the ones that need booking.

Japan has incredible street food — it just doesn't live on the street the way it does in Bangkok. Markets, festival stalls, shopping streets and food halls are where it hides. What to eat, where to go, and the eating-while-walking rule most visitors get wrong.

A guide to Tokyo's finest hotels — the Aman, the Ritz-Carlton, the Peninsula, the reopened Park Hyatt and more. Where each sits, what it's known for, and how to choose between the skyline suites and the Imperial Palace views.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn — tatami rooms, futon beds, yukata robes, a multi-course kaiseki dinner and often a hot-spring bath. Here's what a stay includes, the onsen and tattoo etiquette to know, and how to book one.

When is the best time to visit Tokyo? Spring and autumn are the sweet spots for comfortable weather, cherry blossoms and fall color — but each season has trade-offs. A month-by-month breakdown using official climate data, plus the crowds and costs to plan around.

Kura Sushi's famous ¥115 plate is real, but almost none of the stores tourists actually walk into charge it — Asakusa, Shibuya, Ginza, Dotonbori and Kyoto are all a higher tier. Here's the price by store, the booking that needs no Japanese phone number, and what five plates in the slot actually wins you.