A month-by-month guide to Japan in September 2026: the Kishiwada Danjiri festival (19-20 Sep), the 5-day Silver Week holiday, the Asian Games, red spider lilies, the mid-autumn moon, and how to plan around typhoon season.
Japan's McDonald's Pokémon 30th burgers (July 22–Sept 1, 2026): the three new items, prices from ¥580, collectible starter-Pokémon wrappers, and my honest taste test.
Dazaifu Tenmangu near Fukuoka is the head shrine of Tenjin, deity of learning, where students pray for exam success. History, how to visit during the just-completed main-hall renovation, plum season, and access.
The Starbucks on the approach to Dazaifu Tenmangu is wrapped in about 2,000 cedar battens woven by architect Kengo Kuma. What to see, how to visit politely, and how to fold it into a shrine trip.
Beat the 40°C summer at Spa Resort Hawaiians in Iwaki, Fukushima: a giant all-weather dome where the pools are real hot-spring water, plus Japan's longest body slide, a live hula show born from a coal town, and easy access from Tokyo.
Feel an earthquake in Japan? Drop, cover, hold on — and near the coast, get to high ground without waiting for a warning. A calm, official-sourced guide for visitors: what shindo means, the phone alarm, and what to do in a hotel, train, street or on the coast.
Go early. That’s the whole secret to Kadoya Tofu (角屋豆富店), a family tofu maker in Oshino that calls itself the “Tofu Station.” Get there in the morning and there’s still-warm tofu — and, when I visited, a little counter where…
Most people come to Oshino for the eight famously clear spring ponds of Oshino Hakkai. I come for the tofu. A few minutes from the ponds, an old family tofu maker called Hakkai Tofu (八海とうふ / Asano Shokuhin) turns Mt.…
Hanshin Koshien Station is a 3-minute walk from the gates — about 13 minutes from Osaka-Umeda, 18 from Kobe. The right lines, both airport routes, and why JR Koshien-guchi is the mistake to avoid.
Glass and cans are banned, there are no lockers and no re-entry at the 2026 summer tournament. The game-day routine that works: the AEON shopping run at 8:00, a heat kit that holds up, and Koshien curry inside.
Every image on Hidden Japan Gems was personally photographed on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan. Please don't re-use without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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