Lake Yamanaka Autumn Leaves Festival 2026: Dates, Light-Up Hours & Local Tips
Planned dates 30 Oct-15 Nov 2026, nightly light-up 16:30-20:30, and how to arrive by bus from Shinjuku - with my own full-colour photos from the lakeshore.
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420+ field-tested travel guides across every Japanese prefecture, by Nobu — written from places he has actually stood in.
Field Notes from Every Prefecture
Every place I’ve walked. In one feed.
420+ articles, written from the places I actually stood in. Filed by region, by season, by what the trip is really about.
Hokkaido Rail Pass 2026-27: Prices, the All-Reserved Rule, and When It Pays
The Hokkaido Rail Pass costs Y22,000 for 5 days - and the classic Sapporo-Hakodate-Otaru itinerary costs Y21,140 in tickets. When the pass wins, the all-reserved seat rule, and the reseller pages that have not caught up.
Sapporo Snow Festival 2027: Dates, Sites and the Otaru Overlap
The 77th Sapporo Snow Festival runs 4-11 February 2027, and Otaru's Snow Light Path runs 6-13 February. The overlap window, the official Odori block plan, and what is still unannounced — checked against the Japanese announcements.
Fujiyoshida Yabusame Festival: Where Hoofprints Tell the Future (Sept 18–19, 2026)
Fujiyoshida's yabusame festival, Sept 18–19, 2026: horses run from 1 p.m. on the 19th, and between the runs a hereditary diviner reads the hoofprints — the districts' forecast through next spring. Access, times and my 2025 procession photos.
GALA Yuzawa Guide (2026-27): The Ski Resort Inside a Shinkansen Station
The Shinkansen stops inside GALA Yuzawa's ski centre — 77 minutes from Tokyo by the resort's own count. What last season's calendar, prices and non-skier tickets tell you before the 2026-27 details appear.
Shiga Kogen Lift Tickets 2026-27: One Ticket, 18 Ski Areas, and a Discount That Isn’t the Point
Shiga Kogen has published its 2026-27 prices: ¥9,500 a day, one ticket for all 18 ski areas and 45 lifts. The two-day ticket saves just ¥500 — because the product is flexibility, not discount.
Suwa Taisha: All Four Shrines, and Why the Order Does Not Matter
Suwa Taisha is four shrines with no head shrine and no set order. The Upper Shrine is south of Lake Suwa and the Lower Shrine north — the opposite of what the shrine s own English page says.
Who Actually Forecasts Japan’s Autumn Colours (and Why the Government Stopped)
Japan has had no government autumn forecast since 2008, and it only ever covered Kanto. Every date you read comes from a private company. What the state still measures, and why its definition is not the one you want.
Happo-one 2026-27: The 39% Lift Discount You Need a Japanese ID Card to Buy
Hakuba Happo-one cuts its ¥9,800 day pass to ¥6,400 from 1 October. The only condition is a My Number card — so foreign residents of Japan qualify and tourists do not. The English pages never mention it.
Hotokuji Temple Floor Maples in Kiryu, Gunma: 2026 Dates, Rules and What the English Pages Get Wrong
The 2026 floor-maple opening runs 17 October to 30 November, at 800 yen in October and 1,200 in November. JNTO puts the temple in the wrong prefecture and the temple English page gets the illumination an hour wrong.
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