Tokyo Weekender

10 stories

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoLady Gaga Is FamilyMart’s Newest Employee Lady Gaga is scanning purchases and mopping floors at FamilyMart, although sadly only on television. The pop star became the unlikely face of the convenience-store chain’s new recruitment campaign on…

September 25

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoShin Ohashi Is Japan’s New Swim Star | News Roundup In this week’s news roundup, we report on Shin Ohashi and his triumph at the Asian Games. Typhoon Dujan batters Japan.

September 25

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoSeven x Seven Itoshima: A Stylish Stay on the Fukuoka Coast Set on the western edge of Fukuoka, the Itoshima Peninsula is known for its dramatic coastline, farm-carpeted valleys and soft coastal light.

September 25

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoA Stay in the Heart of Sapporo: Mitsui Garden Hotel Sapporo and Sapporo West For visitors to Hokkaido, Sapporo is a natural starting point. A bustling city surrounded by mountains and nature, it offers all the pleasures of a big city — world-class food, lively nightlife…

September 25

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoYour October 2026 Horoscope October in Tokyo brings the crisp, cozy magic of mid-autumn. The muggy summer days have faded into a distant memory, replaced by bright blue skies, cool evenings and trees slowly dressing themselves…

September 24

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoOne Ok Rock’s Taka Faces Backlash for Defending Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran’s tour had already lost Macklemore and become, to many, a symbol of the cowardice of artists who preach political neutrality by the time Taka Moriuchi decided to defend him.

September 24

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoKatsuura, Chiba: Exploring the Isumi Region’s Surfing Coast Along the Isumi region’s eastern coast, life revolves around the sea. The region has the easygoing character of a classic Japanese beach town, with independent cafes, casual seafood restaurants and a…

September 24

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoA Tokyo Hotel Is Turning Abandoned Suitcases Into Rooftop Gardens Luggage left behind by a hotel guest might normally end up forgotten in storage or headed for disposal. In Tokyo, some are taking root instead.

September 24

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoGreat Teacher Onizuka Is Back: GTO 2026 Live-Action Drama Review The Great Teacher Onizuka manga by Tooru Fujisawa was an instant hit when it came out in 1997. It was quickly followed in 1998 by a live-action drama and, a year later, by an anime.

September 24

Tokyo WeekenderTokyoTokyo’s Subway Floors May Soon Tell You Where To Stand During Tokyo’s peak hours, there’s always room for one more — right when you’re certain no further human could fit on board, someone squeezes in, the doors reluctantly close and there you are with…

September 21

Day by Day Japan plans a first trip to Japan the way a friend who lives here would: one day at a time, with the trains and the prices written down.

Each route is a real day or weekend: where to go first, how long the walk or the train takes, what the ticket costs and where to eat on the way. Prices come from the operator's or the place's own published fares and carry the date they were checked; where we have not checked a price, the route says so instead of guessing. If it rains, the route has a plan B.

Around the routes sits the week in Japan. Every few hours the site reads the Japanese city and food press and the English-language desks in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka, and puts the places they name on one map. Headlines stay in the language they were written in, every story links to its source, and we quote no more than a line.

The routes and notes are written by one editor under a pen name, Sora Nakamura, drafted with AI assistance from checked material and read before they go out. Day by Day Japan is independent: no advertisers, no affiliate links, no bookings.