Miyako Hotel Hakata will have its grand opening on September 22, 2019. To help spread word of the luxurious secrets behind its doors, an official report was released detailing everything there is for guests to look forward to.   Its metropolitan exterior is inspired by the spectacular natural landscapes of KyushuMiyako Hotel Hakata can be found by taking the Tsukushi Exit of Hakata Station where it stands directly in front, towering above the surrounding buildings. The basement floor of the hotel is directly connected to the station for ease of access. This floor is also home to a convenience store, restaurants and more and can be used by non-guests too.The building is a gorgeous eye-catching glass cube which offers an abundance of natural light during the day. At night, the hotel exterior is illuminated with 168 LED lights, giving it an metropolitan appearance. The building rooftop has a running 'waterfall' which is inspired by the majestic rural environments of Kyushu. Its iconic design makes it instantly-recognisable, with hopes in mind that this will make it a new landmark of Hakata.The lobby houses a gorgeous cafe lounge serving food and drinkUp on the 3rd floor is the clean, bright and spacious front lobby where staff are waiting to greet guests warmly. In addition to the reception desk, there is CAFÉ EMPATHY, a cafe and lounge which can be used by both guests and non-guests. The cafe is produced by Transit General Offiice which is known for having produced the The Rail Kitchen Chikugo―a restaurant train―amongst a host of shared offices, hotels and more.The spectacular menu line-up includes an array of delicious drinks from herbal teas to flavoured lattes, as well as an assortment of light meals made using ingredients from around Kyushu. They also serve an original afternoon tea that's served from 14:30. Everything on the menu is nothing short of Instagrammable and perfect for those who love to wine and dine on drinks and food that is both cute and fancy.   The colourful flavoured lattes come in four flavours and can also be ordered for takeout. One of them is the Beets Latte which is a pink colour which comes from the beetroot used to make it. It has a subtle sweetness and smooth flavour.   The stocked teas include those made by Paris-based tea company KUSMI TEA, such as the Anastasia which is a mix of standard black tea and citrus, as well as an array of decaffeinated fruit teas.Spend your time in luxury in your roomFloors 5 through 12 are all lined with guest rooms. There are four types of rooms, all large, including Twin and Double. Each and every room has been given the same level of care and attention to create the most comfortable experience for guests.The Deluxe room is the perfect package if you're looking to indulge in a little extravagance, whether as a treat to yourself or together with that special someone. The room design is stylish and simple, allowing for optimal relaxation. The bed is roomy and is ideal for watching the television or chatting.   All guest rooms are also equipped with tablets from which you can control the air con, lights and so on. The TV can even tell you whether the restaurant is full or not which is a super convenient feature.A restaurant and bar menu created by a Michelin-starred chef & dreamy terrace poolOn floor 13―the top floor―you will find Miyako Hotel Hakata's must-see feature: the SOMEWHERE RESTAURANT & BAR. This all-dining restaurant's concept is "A Beautiful Place Somewhere." Its dinner menu was conceived by Michihoro Haruta, the chef at Crony, a Michelin 1-starred restaurant in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo. The innovative menu is made with local ingredients from Fukuoka and across Kyushu. The wine menu was created by Kazutaka Ozawa, a sommelier at Crony. The restaurant enjoys a laid-back atmosphere that isn't overly formal or strict, with a glass exterior including the roof, allowing diners to enjoy the romantic evening atmosphere.   Breakfast is served to both guests and non-guests and is served as a western-style buffet packed full of assorted foods such as freshly-baked bread, omelette, Eggs Benedict, and more. They serve an original Japanese-style breakfast too for those who fancy Japanese food. The tall windows allow natural light to pour into the restaurant.Right next to the restaurant is the hotel's very own spa, offering a natural hot spring pool, jet bath, footbath and more. As part of the hotel's grand opening, the spa is free for all guest until March 31, 2020. The hotel offers rental swimsuits too so you can freely and easily enjoy a nighttime dip. And when night truly sets in, you can gaze an unbroken view of Hakata from the roof, and the 'waterfall' next to the pool will also be lit up.   There's even a special poolside menu so you can order cocktails and light food from the terrace. With everything illuminate in beautiful lighting, your cocktail in hand, you can certainly snap some Instagram-worthy shots. And if you're looking for a warm bath, there is a large public bath and even a sauna indoors.

Shimocho is one of the districts of Hida Takayama and is overflowing with traditional culture that you absolutely must experience. To make the most of your trip, there is a summer yukata-wearing programme running from July 20th which is the perfect opportunity to wear cooling and refreshing Japanese clothes while strolling and exploring the streets.    This year will be the 7th time the programme has been run. The Hida Takayama de Nippon no Natsu Yasumi programme allows visitors to dress in a comfortable and cooling yukata, stroll, explore, try different foods and enjoy the culture of the area. This year's theme is "romance and yukatas" and gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy programme-limited desserts and the rich culture of the district.     Discover Hidden Beauty with the Stroll MapVisitors will be given a map packed with wonderful spots of the area. The map will also include the destinations of 31 shops where you can enjoy special experiences, meals and desserts that are limited to those who take part in the yukata programme. Recommended spots to visit are also drawn on the map in a very cute handwriting-like style, so you can stop by these places easily while enjoying your walk. There are even many places on the map that only a local would know about.    Some of the special benefits of the programme allow you to enjoy the best regional cuisine that Hida has to offer, including the wonderful experience of restaurants that have been loved by the locals for generations, a beef delicacy restaurant, and much more. Besides food, the programme also gives you the opportunity to witness the beautiful festival floats used during the Takayama festival at the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan. You can also enjoy experiencing baking your own senbei crackers and gold panning.     The programme includes a wide range of experiences for you to enjoy from local shops to food to culture to some new experiences.  An old-style café called Sabou Usagi is particularly popular with the locals. Here, the coffee is made using a vacuum coffee maker. With the summer programme, you can enjoy the delicious heart Tiramisù served here.   The stroll map includes a variety of locations such as the Takayama Tourist Information Centre, Hida Takayama Tourism Convention Association, Hida Takayama Travel Hotel Association and much more. The map also includes some of the accommodations available around Takayama, some important train stations and much more. You can easily download this map from the official website. (Japanese only )     Stroll the Streets in an Elegant YukataChange into a traditional Yukata that matches the beautiful surrounding townscape. There are four shops Yukata rental shops available to pick up your favourite Yukata, so there is no need to worry if you did not come prepared. There are also some accommodations that allow for yukata rental. If you decide to join the Hida Takayama Nippon Natsu Yasumi programme, make sure to share your beautiful memories on Instagram with the hashtag #Hidasummer 

How about spending some time in the nature? Takaosan is one of the closest natural recreation areas in Tokyo, and it is only about 50 minutes away from Shinjuku station.       Takaosan is considered a sacred mountain, and has been a center of mountain worship for more than 1000 years. There are several temples and you will have the chance to view monks going through ascetic trainings at Biwa Waterfall. Takaosan is 599m high and there are 6 different trails you can hike to the summit. It takes about 90 minutes to hike from the base of the mountain to the top. You are able to utilize cable cars and chair lifts that lead halfway up the mountain. My friends and I decided to take the 6^th trail, which is considered to be one of the roughest trails because it has stepping stones and runs along the stream. After hiking about 5 minutes, you’ll see several stone Buddhist images wearing a red hat called a Senshin Shichifukujin.   Then you’ll see Biwataki waterfall which requires you to take the left trail branch at the intersection.   After viewing the waterfall, you will enter a slippery narrow trail. It started snowing on the day we hiked so it was even more slippery. Make sure to wear shoes with good trends. There is a resting place near Daisanbashi Bridge after the narrow trail. Here my friends and I ate some chocolate and granola bars and drank some water. It’s very important to keep yourselves hydrated. After hiking for about 40 minutes the trail ascended the valley. Then there are stepping stones at intervals. It started snowing harder here and the view was beautiful.   After the stepping stones, the trail gets gentle until you reach the stairs. Many people took a rest in this area because there are more than 100 steps. After the steps, you will reach a wide open road and after hiking for another 10 to 15 minutes you will get to the top!   At the top there is a mini soba and udon restaurant where you can rest and eat.   My friends and I were going to cancel our trip due to the snow, but we were actually glad we went because the view was spectacular. You can always climb the Takaosan on a sunny day, but you won’t have that many chances to see the snow covered Takaosan!   ■Writer：Jessica Poluhowich ■SNS：@mintbaaby

The event that has a lot of lights everywhere called “Hiroshima Dreamination” is going to be held decorating with more than a hundred forty million light bulbs in Peace Boulevard and downtown in Hiroshima as the concept of “Fairyland.” This year there will be art objects of “Hiroshima Peace Memorial” and “Torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine” that both of these are the 20^th anniversaries of designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site at a green zone in Peace Boulevard. There also will be “open cafe” in this area to make everyone enjoy this.

This event is mainly held in Peace Boulevard, and each area has a different theme of lights. At C area named “Prayers of Hiroshima Peace Memorial,” a white and beautiful lights-up shaped like a Hiroshima Peace Memorial which has been twenty years since it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage is expressing the hope for Hiroshima. At the east side of this area, there is a zone that you can write down the congratulation messages for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the baseball team that has won the central league this year. D area called “Torii gate and The World Tree” has an art work designed in the motif of torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine which also has been twenty years since it was designated as a UNESCO. You can enjoy the collaborations of torii gate and the mysterious world tree which is a symbol of life.  There is a “sweet cafe” that sells hot drinks and sweets at L area. The huge cake and fruits, the chairs and table shaped like sweets are waiting for you.

 

Other than these, there are some art works such as a photo spot that you can pretend the be  “queen of ice,” the illumination of the beautiful night sky that you can look up when you go inside of the “Flower Tree,” the light-up that expresses the light for peace by holding hands called “Love and Peace.” “The world of ice” at E area is expressing the image of the ship and whale proceeding in this beautiful but severe world by helping each other. “Flower land” at G area is expressing the peaceful world that people, bug and dinosaurs are playing together after you wandered around in fairyland. Why don’t you visit the town in Hiroshima filled with light-ups?

 

■Information

Event Schedule：Thursday November 17^th 2016 to Tuesday January 3^rd 2017 (48 days)

Light-up Time Schedule：5:30PM to 10:30PM

Places：Green zone in Peace Boulevard, Left bank of Motoyasugawa River, Namiki Street, Kinza district, Central Street, Main Street, Naka-no-tana shopping street, Alice garden, Higashi-shintenchi Public square, public area in the left bank of Kyobashi-gawa river, Motomachi Credo, Kamiya-cho shareo, Hakushima q-garden

Call for inquiries：Hiroshima Light-up Executive Committee Office

☎ 082-247-6805　http://www.dreamination.com/index.html

 

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■Related article：Best 7 photo taking spot in Harajuku to take a photogenic picture in Tokyo　sightseeing

The theme park which is filled with lots of flowers called “Ashikaga Flower Park” is going to hold this event called “Flower Fantasy -the light of the flower garden-” from Saturday Oct 22nd to Sunday February 5th in 2017. This was acknowledged as one of three Kanto area illumination events. They put up more than three hundred and fifty million light bulbs to light up the trees in winter, and you can enjoy the beautiful light of the flowers everywhere in this park.

One of the programs called “The miracle of huge Wisteria” is showing purple lights to look like wisteria flowers blooming one after another. The way it flutters in the breeze looks like real wisteria flowers. There are other great programs such as “The light of Roses” which uses five hundred roses, “The light of Wisteria,” and “The light of Water lily” which is newly included in 2016. There are some fabulous time-limited programs such as “The fusion of the light and Amethyst sage” to mid-November, Christmas light-up called “Christmas Fantasy” from the end of November to the end of December, New year’s light-up called “The competitive performance of the light and Paeonia suffruticosa in winter” from new year to February 5th .

This park will be open till 9:00PM on weekdays, and 9:30PM on weekends and holidays during this event.  Please enjoy the colorful light-up after it gets dark.

 

■Information

Event Schedule：October 22 nd(Sat)to February 5th(Sun)in 2017

Place：Ashikaga Flower Park

Admission：Night time fee from 3:30PM to 9:00PM (9:30 on weekends) cost 800yen for adult, 400yen for kids.

*Day time fee from 9:00AM to 3:00PM cost 400~700yen for adult, 200~400yen for kids.

 

Access：It’s an 18 minute drive from Tohoku Expressway Sano-Fujioka interchange on route 50.

It’s a 30 minute drive on shuttle bus from Tobu Railway Ashikaga-city station.

Call for inquires：https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/flowerfantasy_special2016/jp/

 

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■Related article：Meguro River will be dyed in sakura coloured illuminations this winter for this year’s “Meguro River Minna no Illumination 2016″

 

■Related article：【MOSHI MOSHI Pick-up spot】Enjoy the nature in Okutama-machi and Hinohara-mura by using this transportation

It is great fall season in the area around Okutama-machi and Hinohara-village which has 1500 meter high mountains and some lakes includeing Lake Okutama which is one of the important source for supplying drinking water for Tokyo. This west Tama area is popular for people who enjoy hiking. As a matter of fact, the free shuttle bus is going to run this round trip route which connects JR Okutama station, Okutama lake, Yama-no-Furusato-Mura to Hinohara-mori for limited period in 2016. The local buses do not go to these sections.

＜JR Oume line Okutama train station which you can start hiking in Okutama＞

This shuttle bus runs a wonderful route which goes to quite popular spots in west Tama area such as Ogochi Dam in Lake Okutama where you can see the dynamic scenery and Hinohara-mori which preserves beautiful Japanese beech.  If you are going to walk in the forest in Hinohara-mori, it is recommended to go around Mito great falls which only takes about an hour to stroll.

It is also good to go sightseeing efficienctly by using a taxi. Keio Jidosha co. is setting a recommended route for tourist which goes from Okutama station, Nippara cave, Nippara valley, to JR Oume line Sawai train station.  (It takes about three hours, cost 17,280 yen. Prior booking is essential.) You can visit great places such as Nippara cave which is said to be one of the best sightseeing spots in Tokyo, Nippara valley which is little-known but a good place for seeing fall leaves, and Ozawa Sake brewing which is pretty close from Sawai train station.

Why don’t you go enjoy the nature in Okutama-machi and Hinohara-mura in this great fall season by using this special route?

 

■Information

▶Service Period：November 12th (Sat), 13th (Sun), 18th (Fri), 19th (Sat), 20th (Sun), 23rd (Wed), 25th (Fri), 26th (Sat), 27th (Sun)

 

▶How to use shuttle bus：You can use this bus for free without reservation, but its tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.  You are also required to fill out a questionnaire.

*The bus stop in Okutama station is in front of the tourist office where you go left after getting through the ticket gate.  Please be careful not to mix up with other local buses.

*if seats are full (40 seats are available), you won’t be able to use this bus even standing up.

▶Shuttle bus service schedule：Okutama train station to Hinohara mori : Ginkgo liner

• Weekends schedule (three times per day)

 Leaving Okutama train station at 10:35AM, 1:15PM, 2:15PM

• Friday (two times per day)

Leaving Okutama train station at 10:35AM and 2:15PM

*It takes about 15 minutes to Lake Okutama, 40 minutes to Yama no Furusato-Mura, 1 hour and 10 minutes to Hinohara mori from Okutama train station.

*Please note that if you used Ginkgo liner, there is no returning shuttle bus from Hinohara mori on that day. There is local bus which goes to JR Musashi-Itsukashi train station from Hinohara mori. (The last bus leaves at 4:45PM.)

 

Hinohara mori to Okutama train station: Autumn leaves liner

• Weekends schedule (three times per day)

Leaving Hinohara mori at 11:20AM, 12:20PM and 2:50PM

• Friday schedule (once per day)

Leaving Hinohara mori at 12:20PM

 

▶About using a taxi：It cost 5760 yen for an hour, 17,280 yen for about three hours.

*Prior reservation is essential.

*Recommended route is starting from Okutama train station, Nippara cave, Nippara valley to Sawai train station. (It takes about three hours.)

*Admission for facilities are not included.

 

▶Call for inquiries

• Free shuttle bus service (only on weekdays 9:30AM to 5:30PM)　TEL.03-5909-8090

• About a taxi　Keio Jidosha co. (9:00AM to 6:00PM)　TEL.0428-22-2612

 

*This business is a demonstration experiment of Tokyo and Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

▶Top photo：Sanzu Great Falls in Hinohara mori