This spring, Hilton Nagoya is set to serve up a special afternoon tea set and buffet plan at its first floor all-dining restaurant IN PLACE 3-3. The theme of the afternoon tea line-up, which will be served either as a set-only plan or the set plus a buffet, is ‘Lost in Europe.’ Fans of Lewis Carroll’s beloved novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can look forward to jumping in the rabbit hole as they indulge in a colourful and delicious line-up that sends them straight to wonderland.

The plans will run for three months during which three different menu line-ups will be served, each with a European feel to them as Alice finds her curiosity tending away from Japanese cuisine to the delectable assortments of overseas.

Spain will serve as the first menu. Travelling to Spain, Alice finds the country one overflowing with creativity in the arts, so says the story of this fun afternoon tea. Dishes will be plated with desserts fusing together Spain’s food culture with that of Wonderland, traditional Spanish desserts, sweet treats inspired by Spanish art, and more. Many of the irresistible items will also be made with almonds – Spain being the second largest producer of almonds in the world.

Inside the restaurant, diners will feel like they have travelled to a Spanish rendition of Wonderland with a mix of styles from both locations, such as Spanish sunflowers, mosaic tiles, stained glass windows, and more.

A little look at the menu (some of it)

1. Afternoon Tea Set Menu: ¥4,600 (Tax Included)

Cubism Cheshire Cat Arroz Con Leche

A coconut-flavoured Spanish rice pudding made with coconut lavender jelly. Its design, from the stripes to the grinning teeth, are references to the Cheshire Cat.

Blue Caterpillar Siesta Cake

A cake covered in striking blue chocolate, made with pistachio mousse, and filled with a mixed berry jelly.

Butterfly Windmills Mousse

An artistic delight made with smooth chestnut mousse and colourful butterfly wings attached.

Plate Menu

Pistachio Crema Catalana in Berry Sauce

A traditional dessert of Catalonia, this crema catalana features a rich pistachio-flavoured custard cream and is served with a berry sauce.

Savoury Items

Salted churros that are crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the inside, and a checked bocadillo filled with Spanish omelette.

Lost in Europe Afternoon Tea Set Summary

10 desserts, two savoury items, and a choice of a soft drink, coffee, or tea.

2. Afternoon Tea Set & Dessert Buffet: Adults ¥5,000 / Children ¥2,500

Mischievous Crazy Clock Cake 

A warped, melted clock made with passion fruit cream and orange and mango mousse.

Mosaic Tile Sangria Jelly (Non-Alcoholic)

A refreshing beverage made with non-alcoholic white wine and grape, strawberry, and grapefruit jelly, all made to look like mosaic tiles.

Savoury Items

Pick from nine different savoury items like paella, sopa de ajo garlic soup, patatas bravas, tapas, and more.

There are also a range of other desserts like a coffee jelly ice cream, a melon cake, and more, as well as fruity iced candies.

Afternoon Takeout Box

Customers can also get their afternoon tea set to go with a mix of desserts and savouries.

Hoshino Resorts OMO7 Asahikawa opened its Penguin Room on April 6, a single new guest room themed around penguins designed in collaboration with Asahikawa Zoo.

Penguin Room Feature ①

Guests are immediately greeted with penguins galore as the enter their room, with penguin plushies by the bedside, on the ceiling, and pretty much everywhere else. It will be like staying with a family of penguins for the duration of their stay.

Penguin Room Feature ②

After a visit to Asahikawa Zoo, guests can head back to their hotel room where a variety of fun penguin-related items are stocked including games, all of which will remind them of their time at the zoo.

Penguin Room Feature ③

The room is also decorated with boards featuring photos and information of animals at Asahikawa Zoo. The boards are handwritten by the zoo staff, something they do every spring season.

Hoshino Resorts OMO7 Asahikawa previously collaborated with Asahikawa Zoo when a polar bear themed room. Now, penguin lovers can have their dream come true as they spend their time surrounded by penguin decorations in their room. The hotel is just a 30-minute car ride from Asahikawa Zoo, so why not make a plan to experience both if you’re visiting Hokkaido this spring?

Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto is collaborating outdoor recreation product brand Coleman to launch the Hotel Camp Buffet which will run from May 1 to August 31 at the hotel.

Guests can enjoy a fusion of the hotel and camping experiences as Coleman provides their tents, tables, chairs, and other outdoor items to be used at Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto. The hotel chef, Honda, has also conceived a camp buffet for guests to enjoy at both lunchtime and dinnertime.

The hotel is carrying out all necessary measures against COVID-19 including providing guests with a how-to breakdown at all tables, providing alcohol spray, mouth guards with the Coleman logo so guests can enjoy dining and talking, and more.

Coleman x Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto Hotel Camp Buffet

Individual Room Plan | Capacity: 4-6 People

Enjoy a camping buffet with tents, chairs, and other camping goods provided by Coleman. Everything will already be set up for guests to enjoy.

Lunch & Dinner Buffet Menus

Dinner

・Beef churrasco in black pepper

・Chicken paella

Lunch

・Frankfurt and smoked berry ham

Lunch & Dinner

・Meat and potato cottage pie

・Atlantic salmon wood plank grill

・Croque-madame style hot ham and cheese sandwich

・Spare ribs in BBQ sauce

Hokkaido-based luxury resort Hoshino Resorts Tomamu is set to sell a limited-time selection of original craft beers this summer from July 1 to August 31.

Tomamu Pilsner

Tomamu Amber Ale

Tomamu Black Ale

The Japanese word for corn is toumorokoshi, but in Hokkaido it’s called toukibi. This collection of corn beers is made with natural water drawn from Hokkaido along with other tasty ingredients. These beers are each made in collaboration with North Island Beer, The Heavy Snow Beer, and Onuma Beer, and come in response to the decrease in occasions to be able to enjoy chilled glass of beer as a result of COVID-19.

The beers have sweet notes of corn and are each made in the style of the three respective beermakers who each have their own malt, hops, and flavours they pick.

Keio Plaza Hotel will turn 50-years-old on May 1, 2021. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the hotel has announced a special room plan which will take place in its Imperial Suite Room, the only room in the hotel that still has the same design as when it first opened 50 years ago.

The Imperial Suite Room sits on the 41st floor of the hotel, offering a panoramic view of the east and west of Tokyo. This premium suite has been stayed in by countless VIPs and state guests. The concept for its design was conceived by Japanese modernist designer Isamu Kenmochi who is known as a pioneer of the ‘Japanese-Modern’ style.

Guest staying in the room for this plan will be greeted and serviced by a concierge. An optional tour of the hotel will also be offered by the concierge who is an expert in its history.

Before dinner, guests will be treated to a piano performance and enjoy some aperitifs made by the bartender. The bartender in question has won numerous awards at cocktail competitions and can make a drink catered to guests’ preferences. 

Dinner is enjoyed with a front-row seat of Tokyo’s nightscape from up on the 44th floor. The full course meal is made with seasonal ingredients chosen by the head chef and comes with wine selected by the hotel’s sommelier. As a freebie, guests are given delicious baked confections as well as a bath towel embroidered with their own name.

Befco is collaborating its Hoshi Tabeyo star-shaped rice crackers with the lovable Peanuts comic strip to open a themed café at Hotel Nikko Niigata. Named the “Hoshi Tabeyo x Snoopy Café @ Hotel Nikko Niigata,” the café will open for a limited time from April 9 to May 9.“

Snoopy and fans of Japanese snacks can look forward to an original themed menu, with every food item and drink ordered getting them a free novelty. Of course, the café will sell its own original merchandise too. The café will be decorated in all things Peanuts and Hoshi Tabeyo, and there will even be two photo booths for snapping a commemorative photo of your fun day.

The Menu

1. Snoopy Beef Stew: With a juicy meat and bouillon base, this stew is made with beef, onion, and mushrooms, all topped off with a Snoopy made from rice.

2. Snoopy Hamburger Curry: Snoopy’s rice ears are topped with a hamburger, and the curry sauce is made with fruit and vegetables. There’s even a little Woodstock made from cheese.

3. Snoopy Hot Sandwich: There are two different sandwiches, one with ham and cheese and the other with potato salad, and both have a different toasted illustration on them. These come in a free lunch box.

4. Hoshi Tabeyo Shaka Shaka Caesar Salad: A salad served in a cup drizzled in a Caesar dressing and with Hoshi Tabeyo rice crackers instead of croutons.

5. Thick Soufflé Pancake: Fat and fluffy pancakes combined with French meringue and served with a Snoopy cookie and sweet-tasting Hoshi Tabeyo. Enjoy together with the accompanying strawberry sauce.

6. Chocolate Parfait: A towering, chocolate-packed parfait layered with chocolate sauce, chocolate cornflakes, chocolate ice cream, and brownie. This is all topped off with a Snoopy cookie and Hoshi Tabeyo rice cracker.

7. Hotel Original Cookies (Set of 4): Crunchy cookies with various prints of familiar faces like Snoopy and Woodstock.

8. Lemonade: A sweet and refreshing lemonade beverage served with honey.

*Dishes 1-3 come with the Shaka Shaka Caesar Salad

*Ordering anything from the menu gets you one of four possible Hoshi Tabeyo x Snoopy postcards

Merchandise

© 2021 Peanuts Worldwide LLC（ 短縮形 © 2021 Peanuts ）

The Karuizawa-based hotel and hot spring complex Hoshino Onsen Tombo-no-yu joined hands with local apple farmers last year to help support apple cultivation for their apple hot springs. This is now being taken to the next level with the opening of Ringo Tsuchi, an apple farm that Tombo-no-yu staff helped to build. The farm opened on March 19, and locals will be able to visit part of the farm for free starting on April 26.

The project ties in with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, specifically the 12th goal: “Responsible Consumption and Production,” which looks to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Karuizawa is located in Nagano Prefecture which is ranked as the 2nd biggest producer of apples in Japan. When growing apples, those fruits which incur any kind of damage or grazing isn’t shipped to the country’s supermarkets or stores. It’s these not-so-perfect apples that Tombo-no-yu uses for its apple hot spring experience. Though it may just be a small step towards that goes, it still goes a small incremental way towards achieving it.

Free entry to Ringo Tsuchi

The main raw materials at Ringo Tsuchi (“Apple Earth”) are the apples used in the apple hot springs and fallen leaves from around the Hoshino area. In addition to compost and water, the materials are fermented, which adds the necessary nutrients to growing apples and creates soft and breathable soil. And since compost is added, it creates an environment where gardening tools can be used in the earth without any prior preparation.

The completion of Ringo Tsuchi

In the mid-October last year, work was carried out at Nomoto Kajuen Orchards in Mimakigahara Okubo, Nagano, to carefully select picked apples and not-so-perfect apples. These apples were used for the apple hot springs at Tombo-no-yu over a three day period from October 23 to 25. The apples are placed in both the male and female hot springs to float on the water.

After that three-day period, the apples were collected, washed, and cut to be used for compost. Since fermentation removes water content, the staff also had to add water twice a month to manage the compost.

Working with the locals

Katsuya Nomoto is a representative of Nomoto Kajuen Orchards, a farm that grows apples, prunes, and more. The farm takes advantage of the area’s high altitude and takes pride in its work to cultivate produce that is healthy to the body and environment using soil microbes as an organic fertiliser. It’s also officially recognised as a farm dedicated to supporting Nagano’s environment, and carries out school trips for children to visit, creating ties with the local community.

The incredible Hoshino Resorts BANTA CAFE, a beachside cafe which offers guests a breathtaking ocean view along the Okinawan coast, has announced the upcoming Beachside Art Festival which will take place from April 10 to May 9. The festival will bring together artwork from a range of artists born and raised in Okinawa and leading the island’s youth culture. There will be a range of events from live painting to workshops, exhibits, and more.

The participating artists have all taken part in personal art exhibits, art events, showcased their work at concerts, and more both inside and outside Japan, but due to COVID-19, many events have of course been cancelled. Beachside Art Festival will serve as a way to display their wonderful works while supporting them at the same time.

The Artist Line-Up

DENPA

nami

HAYATO MACHIDA

Chibana Yukinaga

MACHIDA visiting BANTA CAFE to check the feel of the ocean and their artwork

Vibrant artwork with the ocean as the backdrop

Visitors will be greeted by artwork dotted across various locations around BANTA CAFE. If they follow the top of the cliff down to the beach they will find sofas to sit on which have also been decorated with the artists’ artwork. Then there’s the Goro Goro Lounge with its enormous window that stretches an entire wall and offers a panoramic view of the sea. Here, visitors can look out at the artwork which will look like it’s floating above the horizon. All drinks ordered also come with a free sticker featuring artwork by the four participating artists.

Experience art-in-the-making with live painting

DENPA and MACHIDA will host their own live painting sessions where they will take inspiration from the surrounding environment.

HAYATO MACHIDA @ April 10, 2021 / April 11, 2021

DENPA @ April 18, 2021

Times: 11:00-13:00 / 14:00-17:00

Where: In front of BANTA CAFE on the beach

Price: Free

Have a go at traditional Okinawan bingata dyeing

Visitors can have a go at making their very own coasters from nine different colours using a traditional Okinawan stencilled dyeing technique known as bingata.

Running: April 24, 2021 / May 1, 2021 / May 2, 2021 / May 5, 2021

Times: 10:00 / 12:00 / 14:00 / 16:00 (Each slot lasts approx. one hour)

Capacity: 4

Where: Iwaba Terrace

Price: ¥2,000 (Tax Included)

Note: Online booking required

Take home a souvenir at the beachside museum shop

A museum shop will be open for the event on weekends and holidays where you can pick up art prints, stickers, postcards, and other mementos.

Opening Days: Weekends & Public Holidays

Opening Hours: 10:00-18:00

Where: Beachside Terrace

Hoshino Resorts has launched a hotel plan at its BEB hotel branches called “Milky Sweet Room Stay.” The plan was devised in collaboration with Japanese confectionery brand Fujiya and their popular Milky soft candy. Guests will be able to stay in rooms decorated in all things Milky, an experience that is running from March 26 to June 30.

Milky Sweet Room

Look like Peko-chan, the Milky mascot, with the top and overall set

Find Peko-chan at Hoshino Resorts BEB5 Karuizawa

Make a Milky smoothie on a bicycle at Hoshino Resorts BEB5 Tsuchiura

Milky Sweet Room Stay opening campaign

Guests will be able to enjoy Milky like they never have before in all kinds of deliciously sweet ways. Rooms are adorned with Milky cushions, a doll of Peko-chan who is the face of Milky, Milky wallpaper and decorations, Milky bath products, and of course Milky candy.

At the Karuizawa branch of Hoshino Resorts BEB5, guests must locate Peko-chan in three locations around the area. Those who find all three will win all-you-can-eat French toast covered in Milky sauce. at the Tsuchiura branch, guests can get a set of ingredients to make their own smoothie by pedalling on a bicycle. It takes about 30 seconds for your Milky shake to be ready.

The iconic Milky packaging design is also being revamped in celebration of the brand’s 70th anniversary. As part of the celebration, guests can expect t see a line-up of past designs along with some rare ones. Hoshino Resorts is also holding a campaign to promote the room where dix people can win a ¥50,000 voucher for Hoshino Resorts as well as a set of assorted Milky candy.

Atrium Co., Ltd. is set to open the all-new ‘toggle hotel suidobashi’ on April 1, 2021. Reservations opened on Monday (March 22).

Original Items

Room Colour T-Shirts | S/M/L/XL | ¥2,000 Each　

My Bottle | ¥700

The hotel houses 84 bedrooms for groups of 2-5 people, with each floor of the hotel dyed in a different colour, meaning every stay at the hotel will be a unique experience.

Which colour suits you the most?

If you’re looking to experience Aomori’s culture, then Hoshino Resorts Aomoriya is the hotel to stay at. Every year throughout the year the accommodation hosts many festivals. This summer, guests can look forward to the Goldfish Festival which will run from June 1 to August 31. Inspired by local tradition, the hotel will be decorated with paper goldfish floats—including one towering 3-meters tall—known as kingyo nebuta or kingyo neputa in Japanese. Shaved ice will also be served to help guests cool off.

Kingyo Nebuta goldfish floats, a summer tradition of Aomori

Aomori is synonymous with its myriad of goldfish festivals. The must-have decoration at these festivals are their goldfish floats which are lit up in the evenings. Their origin lies in the tsugaru-nishiki, a species of goldfish found only in Aomori’s city of Tsugaru. People revered them back in the day and so created the floats to showcase that. They are a symbol of summertime Aomori and adored by locals and tourists alike.

Kingyo Sukui Yatai: Challenge yourself to Japanese festival goldfish scooping

A new stall arrives at Hoshino Resorts’ Goldfish Festival this year: the classic Japanese goldfish scooping experience, a common sight at summer festivals. The goldfish you catch can be ‘rented’ and taken to your hotel room. Guests have to meet certain requirements if they want to be able to take the fish home with them. The staff look after the fish every day so guests can rest assured they are treated well. Goldfish scooping will be held with social distancing measures in place, with only one group allowed in the stall per turn.

4 Exciting Things to Look Forward to

Surrounded by over 450 ningyo neputa goldfish floats

Goldfish ice cream made in the form of traditional Japanese amezaiku candy art

Time: 19:00-22:00

Where: Yottemare Sake Bar

Price: ¥900 (Before Tax)

Take your scooped fish to your hotel room

Time: 16:00-21:00

Where: Jawamegu Plaza

Price: ¥500 (Before Tax)

Includes: 2-3 fish, fishbowl, air pump

Over 30 summer yukata to pick from with goldfish designs

Time: 15:00-20:00

Where: Jawamegu Plaza

Price: Adults ¥500 / Kids ¥300 (Before Tax)

Japan’s glamping resort HOSHINOYA Fuji is offering a very special service to guests this spring: the ability to reserve a peach blossom farm to themselves where they can enjoy their own private Hanami flower viewing experience together with complementary tables, chairs, blankets, and desserts. It will run from April 5 to 20.

Surrounded by peach blossoms in full bloom

The location of the peach farm is in Fuefuki, Yamanashi. This is an exclusive plan into a place that has never before been open to the public. It will offer a magical Japanese springtime experience with the florally-fragrant peach blossoms set against a backdrop of the snow-topped mountains.

Tuck into peach-flavoured crepes

Guests will be treated to a glass of sparkling wine together with skillet-cooked crepes in caramel sauce, peaches, and finished with a dollop of ice cream. A truly indulging and extravagant way to enjoy Japan’s spring time this year.