The Lunar New Year holiday has begun as the Chinese government continues to call on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, prompting questions about how popular destinations once favored by Chinese tourists are now faring. (News On Japan)

Japan’s transport ministry has decided on a policy to prohibit the use of mobile batteries on aircraft as early as April following a string of incidents in which the devices caught fire during flights. (News On Japan)

Fukui has everything we love on a trip: peaceful temples surrounded by forest, amazing local food, friendly people, and...no crowds. In this video we want to share some of our favorite spots, from Zen temples and forest shrines to dinosaurs and local food. Hopefully you'll see why we keep coming back! (Japan Guide)

The Hirayu Great Falls Ice Festival will begin on February 15th in the Okuhida Onsen area of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, where a massive frozen waterfall is illuminated during the winter months to create a fantastical nighttime scene. (News On Japan)

A trip to Japan feels smoother when you understand what is happening beyond guidebooks and travel blogs. (News On Japan)

A ceremonial “whirlpool opening” was held in the Naruto Strait on February 15th, between Naruto City in Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, marking the start of the spring tourism season, with massive whirlpools forming beneath the Onaruto Bridge that spans the strait. (News On Japan)

China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday began on February 15th, marking the start of the longest Spring Festival break on record at nine days. (News On Japan)

Long lines have been forming daily outside the Japanese Embassy in Russia as people seek tourist visas to visit Japan, with an unprecedented boom in travel interest despite Moscow designating Japan an “unfriendly nation” over sanctions related to the Ukraine invasion. (News On Japan)

The global matcha boom is driving up costs in Japan’s historic tea capital, with Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture set to raise usage fees at its municipal tea rooms by roughly 50% as soaring demand pushes up the price of tencha, the raw material used to produce matcha. (News On Japan)

A unique certificate is being issued to visitors to Fuji City in Shizuoka Prefecture who arrive hoping to see Mount Fuji but find the famous peak hidden from view, part of a local effort to share the mountain’s ever-changing charm even on cloudy days. (News On Japan)

Plum blossoms are now at their best viewing season at the plum groves of Minabe Town in Wakayama Prefecture, widely known as Japan’s leading plum-producing region. (News On Japan)

JR Tokai has decided to begin construction on the Yamanashi Prefecture station for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen on March 11, marking the start of work on the only station along the Tokyo–Nagoya section where construction had yet to begin. (News On Japan)

Workers dressed as ninjas are carrying out weed removal on a castle stone wall in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, a city known as the home of ninja. (News On Japan)

A large discount retailer Don Quijote has opened its first inbound-focused specialty store in the Kansai region in Kyoto City, aiming to better serve the growing number of overseas visitors. (News On Japan)

JR East and Japan Airlines have signed a partnership agreement aimed at regional revitalization and revealed they will consider integrating tickets in the future. (News On Japan)

A traditional fire festival in which men dressed in white race down steep stone steps carrying blazing torches was held at the World Heritage-listed Kamikura Shrine in Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, on February 6th. (News On Japan)

A new wave of high-end hotel development in Nara is accelerating as Kintetsu Miyako Hotels announced plans to open a luxury accommodation facility on former grounds of Todaiji Temple, aiming for an autumn 2028 launch. (News On Japan)

Oigawa Railway, where around half of its entire line has remained out of service for more than three years due to typhoon damage, is pressing ahead with a long and difficult recovery plan toward full reopening in the spring of 2029, as its president—known as a “local railway revival specialist”—makes a painful but strategic decision to prioritize commercially viable steam locomotives while keeping a small margin for dreams. (News On Japan)

Hokkaido’s signature winter event, the Sapporo Snow Festival, opened on February 4th across three venues in Sapporo, including Odori Park in the city’s central district, featuring more than 200 large-scale snow and ice sculptures that will be on display through February 11th as the festival marks its 76th edition. (News On Japan)

Once a thriving canal, Kyoto’s Takase River, which flows through the Kiyamachi entertainment district in central Kyoto, has completed a long-running restoration project after 15 years, reviving a waterway that prospered during the Edo period as a key link between the city center and Fushimi. (News On Japan)