Hoshinoya Tokyo, a traditional ryokan in Otemachi, has announced the New Year’s Kabuki Plan, a two-day, one-night stay from January 5 until January 7, 2023. During the Edo Period, citizens enjoyed watching Kabuki plays during the New Year’s holidays, often sipping tea at connected teahouses. This event will invite visitors to experience what this was like, complete with traditional food and decorations.

Watching Kabuki was a chic way for those in Edo to ring in the new year. Theater teahouses were also a popular gathering place–along with arranging tickets, the teahouses offered plot notes, tea, sweets, boxed lunches, snacks, and other drinks.*

*Hiroshi Fujita, Yoshihide Tomizawa (2012) / The Updated Kabuki Dictionary, Kashiwa Shobo

Relax Before Enjoying Tea and a Play

Guests are invited to relax in the Ochanoma (Living Room) Lounge, decorated to look like a traditional teahouse with fans, ukiyo-e prints, and formal curtains. Hanabiramochi, or rice cakes with flower petals, will be served with green tea. These rice cakes are said to date back to the New Year’s tradition of eating hard foods like daikon and rice cakes in the hopes of prolonging one’s life. Characterized by its curious burdock root aroma, the cakes are sweetened with white miso bean paste. 

Enjoy a Post-Viewing Mont Blanc Shaped like Soba with Sweet Dessert Wine

At theater teahouses in the Edo period, sake, snacks, and desserts were served one after another. During this special event, a menu inspired by this practice and prepared by Hoshinoya Tokyo Executive Chef Noriyuki Hamada will be served! Soba noodles were often served after a play in the past. Inspired by this tradition, Mont Blanc made with chestnut paste and sponge cake will be served up to look like this popular dish. Paired with a dessert wine aged in oak barrels, the sweet will be served in a traditional lacquerware basket. In addition, the dish will be paired with Wasabi Pralines, Shichimi Meringue, and Ginger Pate de Fruits. 

Take a Rickshaw to the Kabuki-za Theater

Guests will be taken on an Edo-style tour on their way to the Kabuki-za Theater. Passing through the Nihonbashi area, the first stop will be the Fukutoku Shrine. It’s said that Hidetada Tokugawa paid a visit to and praised the shrine on New Year’s Day in 1614. The next shrine on the docket, Hodo Inari Jinja, was enshrined in Edo Castle during the Edo period to protect the heir to the Tokugawa family. It’s said that the shrine provides blessings for child rearing, matchmaking, and business prosperity. 

This tour will provide a more elegant way to explore Tokyo as guests enjoy exposition from their chauffeur. To make the rickshaw ride even more enjoyable, guests can rent kimonos for an extra charge.

Would you like to take a step back in time this New Year?

For four days only starting in February 2023, fans of Hatsune Miku will want to take an incredible night cruise around Tokyo Bay. The virtual singer will collaborate with the popular Tokyo Bay Night Cruise which travels between Yokohama and Tokyo. The event will include special tickets, exclusive bonuses for guests, collaborative goods, and onboard decorations. Collaborative goods will be available to purchase on the ship or from the Shimapochi online store.

Outline

Dates: February 19, February 26, March 5, March 12

Night Cruise Itinerary:

Osanbashi, Yokohama / Check-in 16:00-18:00

Osanbashi, Yokohama / Departure 18:10, Enjoy the night view from the ship

Takeshiba Wharf, Tokyo / Arrival 19:45

*Guests will be led by a special MC narrating the night scenery. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase.

Special Ticket Fare:

Adults ¥2,000 / Children ¥1,500 (Includes consumption tax and fuel price adjusted for inflation)

[Includes Hatsune Miku Collaboration Sticker and Postcard (6 varieties, random)]

Special tickets featuring Hatsune Miku will only be available to those reserving their spot online. Reservations can be made two months prior to the boarding date. Space is extremely limited, so grab a spot while you can!

Those not interested in bonuses can also enjoy a night cruise during this period, with adult tickets costing ¥1,000 and children’s tickets costing ¥500. More details will be released at a later date.

Yokohama Coffee Festival is coming back for the first time in three years! The event will bring together the best coffee from around Japan, showing off the personality and individuality of each shop. The festival was created to build bridges between shops and customers and to spread coffee culture in Yokohama. Coffee fans should head to Yokohama Park on October 23, 2022. 

Coffee tickets–four cups for ¥1,000–will be available to purchase on the day of the event, allowing visitors to compare different shops. From those who are just starting to enjoy coffee to those who are coffee fanatics, this event will allow everyone to enjoy coffee to the max! Be sure to chat with the charming baristas as you explore the festival!

From October 1 until October 31, Yokohama Royal Park Hotel will hold a special Halloween Fair at its delicatessen and lounge Coffret. In addition to six playful sweets from the Halloween Frankenstein to the Halloween Mummy, two types of autumn bread featuring pumpkin and purple sweet potato will be available, allowing guests to enjoy the taste of the season!

Halloween Frankenstein

Halloween Cat

Halloween Mont Blanc

Halloween Mummy

Halloween Pudding

Halloween Pound Cake

Pumpkin Cream Fondue / Halloween Anpan

Come enjoy this Halloween with some cute and silly sweets!

Shin Yokohama Prince Hotel will be offering a special room and collaboration menu inspired by the popular anime series The Vampire Dies in No Time from September 22 until November 30, 2022. Reservations will open on the hotel’s official website starting September 12 at 1:00 PM. 

The Vampire Dies in No Time follows the hilarious adventures of the vampire Draluc and the vampire hunter Ronaldo. Set in the city of Shin-Yokohama, it makes sense that this collaboration would be taking place!

Original Goods

Collaboration Menu

Guests and fans of the series will be able to enjoy a fully-decorated room and collaboration menu inspired by characters from the popular anime series.

The concept room, located on an upper floor overlooking the Shin-Yokohama cityscape, is decorated with illustrations of Draluc, Ronaldo, and other characters. The guest-only goods feature newly-drawn illustrations. 

Sweets plates and drinks will be served at the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Guests can enjoy desserts shaped like Ronaldo’s red hat and Draluc’s ashes, so don’t miss it!

©盆ノ木至（秋田書店）／製作委員会すぐ死ぬ

Art subscription service Casie is collaborating with HOTEL SHE, KYOTO! A special art exhibition titled GALLERY HOTEL SHE, will be held from September 17 until October 16, inviting guests to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of staying in a gallery overnight!

During the event period, guests of HOTEL SHE, KYOTO will be able to select their favorite piece of artwork from an on-site gallery. The piece will then be hung in their guestroom, and visitors can spend the night appreciating it at their own pace. This is a great way to learn more about art appreciation, and guests can enjoy discussing the art world with their friends and family. 

“Although we may view art in museums and other venues, it is rare to have the opportunity to select and display a work of art of our own choice,” the project description reads. “Through this unique experience, we aim to provide guests the chance to actively engage with art and inspire them to make art a part of their daily life going forward.”

Jun’ichi Nakahara had a fascination with dolls, and this fascination is something he tried to share with as many people as possible during his lifetime. The upcoming Jun’ichi and Dolls Exhibition will focus on his work as a dollmaker and will be held at the Yokohama Doll Museum from July 16 until October 16, 2022. Filled with treasures, fans will be abe to see dolls made by Nakahara himself, along with original drawings and publications. 

A number of prolific creators from numerous fields have also contributed their thoughts on Nakamura’s work, including fashion designers, doll researchers, and artists.

The first 1,000 people to purchase tickets to the exhibition on opening day will receive an original sticker!

Nakahara is known for inspiring the eye style of shojo manga characters, so fans of the medium won’t want to miss this impressive exhibition.

The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in Tokyo will offer a special suite inspired by the upcoming Toshio Suzuki Studio Ghibli Exhibition from July 1 until August 31, 2022. This will include tickets to the exhibition, which will take place at Warehouse Terrada in Shinagawa from July 1 until September 7. 

Toshio Suzuki, a producer at Studio Ghibli, has worked with both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata on a number of beloved masterpieces. The exhibition will feature a large bookshelf housing 8,800 of Suzuki’s publications and favorite tomes. Many of these were published before Suzuki joined Studio Ghibli, and guests are invited to see how the producer was inspired to join the legendary studio after working as an editor at a manga magazine. To commemorate the exhibition’s opening, this special suite is filled with books written by Suzuki along with other books that visitors may enjoy during their relaxing stay. 

In the suite, guests will find a list of 106 books that influenced Suzuki the most. This list will be available to take home. Visitors will also find reproductions of Suzuki’s calligraphy. 

©TS ©Studio Ghibli

Banyan Tree Group, one of the world’s leading independent hospitality groups, held the grand opening of Galleria Nijo Castle Kyoto, on Friday, June 17, 2022. This is the first of the group’s hotels to open in Japan.

Hotel Exterior

Located south of Nijo Castle, a World Heritage Site, and named after the beautiful winter flower, Galleria Nijo Castle Kyoto is a small, modern, and minimalist luxury hotel that offers simple guests a chance to recharge themselves.

Wellbeing Room

For the grand opening, a new Wellbeing Room has been opened where visitors can experience quiet meditation.

Visitors can stroll through nearby gardens, temples, and shrines, take a tour of Kyoto’s many historical sites, or spend time in the Wellbeing Room meditating or practicing yoga to recharge their batteries away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The French Restaurant Singular will also offer up healthy and tasty meals with a focus on local ingredients and producers.

Enjoy a visit to Kyoto in this peaceful space perfect for resting both body and soul.

From June 1 until August 31, Keio Plaza Hotel Hachioji is inviting guests to travel to the adorable world of Moomin by partaking in two tasty buffet events at the Le Clair Restaurant on the second floor. In Moomin’s home country of Finland, people start enjoying the summer following the solstice in June. The theme of this project is ‘Moominvalley Turns Jungle,’ inspiring the hotel’s chefs to create a spectacular original menu. A tasty lunch buffet will be held Tuesday through Friday during the event period, while a sweets buffet will take place on weekends and holidays. The restaurant’s interior will be decorated with artwork from Tove Jansson’s 1956 comic Moominville Turns Jungle.

The Moomin Lunch Buffet is titled ‘Jungle Party in Moominville,’ and will depict a fun summer lunch get-together in the titular character’s home village. The lineup of foods includes smoked salmon canapes, marinated herring, and sardine sandwiches, all typical of Scandinavian cuisine. Plenty of spiced dishes and veggies will be available, the latter looking like they came from Moominmamma’s garden. August 9 is Moomin Day, and the chefs will be preparing some extra goodies for each guest on that day only.

The Moomin Sweets Buffet will feature adorable desserts created by expert pâtissiers and will be inspired by Moomin and his friends enjoying the summer. From red velvet cake made to look like Little My’s dress to chocolate mousse in the style of Moominpappa’s Silk Hat, fans of the series will want to snap plenty of pictures before they dig in! Tons of sweets will include popular Scandinavian ingredients like red currants, raspberries, and blueberries. The welcome plate, limited to one per person, will change monthly, with a Tropical Parfait coming in July and an Edible Jungle coming in August. Light meals will also be available to compliment the sweets.

The Sweets Buffet will also include a special table plan limited to three per day, using plates and mugs included in the Moomin by Arabia 2022 Summer collection. Guests participating in this plan can order a special non-alcoholic cocktail created by the restaurant’s bartender and made with rose-colored ice inspired by Moominmamma’s love for flowers.

More details about the Hatsune Miku Symphony 2022 in Yokohama have been announced! The main visual, drawn by illustrator Rella, celebrates the 15th anniversary of Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin, and Kagamine Len. Megurine Luka, MEIKO, and KAITO also make appearances!

Vocaloid producer keeno has also been chosen to write a song for Hatsune Miku exclusively for the performance in Yokohama. Tickets will go on sale soon, with some seats also including original merchandise. Seats for guests under the age of 18 will also be available. Head to Pia on June 12 to snag your seats!

Additional tickets for the earlier Tokyo nighttime performance to be held at Suntory Hall are now on sale. Details for the Osaka performance will be announced at a later date.

The Tokyo and Osaka performances will feature live music performed by a full orchestra, while the Yokohama performance will be hosted by Hatsune Miku and include a massive screen behind the orchestra with footage for the audience to enjoy!

Comment from keeno

“I’m so honored to have been asked to write a piece for the Hatsune Miku Symphony 2022 Yokohama concert. 

I hope to bring the audience music that will touch their hearts and minds as it is played by a spectacular orchestra. 

The music isn’t finished quite yet, so I’ll continue doing my best!”

© Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.net

Starting July 1, guests visiting the five-star Conrad Tokyo hotel can enjoy a new peach-filled afternoon tea menu for a limited time. Designed in collaboration with the British luxury brand Wedgwood, the lineup includes both savory and sweet items perfect for summer. The afternoon tea will be available on the 28th floor at the aptly named Twenty Eight Bar and Lounge.

In collaboration with Wedgwood, a 260-year-old porcelain and fine china brand used by the British royal family, this special service will feature an afternoon tea plate with a tempting array of sweets. The plate itself is from Wedgwood’s world-renowned Gio collection and features a honeycomb pattern embossed on fine bone china. The contrast between the modern setting, the classic and refined shape of the white tableware, and the beautiful pink treats will come together to create the most memorable summer moment imaginable.

Coconut & Earl Grey Panna Cotta / Rose Jelly / Peach Compote

Wine and Peach Gelatin / Vanilla Mousse

White Peach Mousse / Raspberry Gelatin

White Peach and Soy Milk Sandwich

Apricot Tart / Peach Cream

Peach Soup / Lobster Consomme Jelly

White Peach and Chicken Mousse Tart

Pork Rillettes and Peach Slider

Highlights from the sweets menu include coconut & Earl Grey Panna cotta served with rose jelly and peach compote, peach gelatin infused with red wine and vanilla mousse, and a delectable white peach and soy milk sandwich. For those with less of a sweet tooth, the afternoon tea service also offers delectable dishes like a white peach and chicken mousse tart, a pork rillettes and peach slider, and more. Guests can also enjoy a selection of scones in either plain or coconut, each served with clotted cream and either peach or guava jam. Over 20 beverages will be on offer, including Wedgwood teas.