Japanese IRL mystery game production company Haregake is launching a new game in collaboration with Cosmos Hotel Management who are known for managing the apartment hotel chain MIMARU. MIMARU Tokyo Asakusa STATION, a new branch, is set to open on April 22.

This game will take place around Asakusa in Tokyo and can be played by couples, families, and groups. The event is being carried out with all necessary COVID-19 safety measures in place and aims to get people learning more about the wonders of Asakusa with a game that incorporates elements of the district’s traditional buildings, culture, and more. It’s a chance to sightsee around one of Tokyo’s most iconic areas while solving puzzles at the same time.

The game kit can be bought at the vending machine inside MIMARU Tokyo Asakusa STATION when it opens later this month. It includes the story, which you can read below, and everything you need to get yourself started. There’s also no time limit, so players can take as long as they like while they enjoy the sights.

The Game’s Story

“I want you to find the treasure of Asakusa for me.”

So says the request that finds its ways to you – you, who are a detective.

A certain wealthy individual once resided in Asakusa.

He left a letter behind, and now this letter is in your hands.

“This map – perhaps it shows the location of this treasure.”

Will you be able to locate the treasure resting in Asakusa?

Head on out and solve the mystery as you walk around the district.

Akihabara’s premiere maid café chain “@home café” announced last month the opening of a permanent maid café themed on Sanrio’s popular character Pompompurin. The café is set to open along Harajuku’s famous Takeshita Street on April 14, 2021.

 © 2021 SANRIO CO., LTD.  APPROVAL NO. S620028

@home café has collaborated with many of Sanrio’s popular characters in the past at its Akihabara-based café branches such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and of course Pompompurin, but this time the collaboration is flying out of Akiba and straight into the heart of Japanese pop culture: Harajuku.

This new Pompompurin Café is themed on Pompompurin throwing a party for everyone—that’s you and your friends. It’s a place for Purin to deliver happiness to all who visit in the form of cute and tasty food.

Of course, the @home café maids will also be present, and all wearing original maid uniforms coloured like Pompompurin.

A little look at some things on the menu

The Food

Soufflé Omurice | ¥1,450

Butter Chicken Curry | ¥1,300

The Desserts

Pompompurin Pudding | ¥700

Chocolate Banana Mountain Waffle | ¥1,200

The Drinks

Custard Pudding Latte | ¥850

Muffin’s Caffe Mocha | ¥850

Take a commemorative photo

For just ¥550, you can take a chekki photo at the café. It comes with café-original stickers and paper. For an extra ¥300, you can take a photo with one of the maids.

Pompompurin Birthday Party

April 16 is Pompompurin’s birthday, so on that day the café will have a special dessert prepared (which you can see below) along with novelties for customers, new decorations, and more.

Pompompurin’s Birthday Dessert

Special Birthday Parfait | ¥1,700 | Serving: April 14, 2021 – April 30, 2021

Birthday Novelty

To commemorate Pompompurin’s birthday and the opening of the café, all visitors will receive the pin below for free.

Pompompurin will visit the café

On the evening on April 16, Pompompurin will visit the cafe for his birthday to celebrate with everyone. Details and bookings can be found here in Japanese.

Fuji TV’s ongoing drama series Renai Mangaka opened a theme cafe in Ebisu on April 8 with dishes inspired by the series.

The Menu

Renai Pancakes | ¥1,892 (Tax Included)

Renai Fondant Chocolate | ¥1,122 (Tax Included)

Renai Lemon Sour | ¥660 (Tax Included)

Renai Strawberry Milk | ¥990 (Tax Included)

Renai Bread Gratin | ¥2,805 (Tax Included)

Renai Bread Dessert | ¥990 (Tax Included)

Renai Dessert Plate | ¥1,232 (Tax Included) | Available Early May 2021

Renai Omurice | ¥1,452 (Tax Included) | Available Early May 2021

The story of Renai Mangaka follows Karibe Seiichiro, a manga artist who’s not the best at socializing. He rarely goes outdoors and has a strange way of thinking. One day, he meets his late-brother’s former girlfriend Kuon Aiko, and asks her to be his pseudo-romance partner.

The Moomin Cafe at Tokyo Dome City LaQua introduced a breakfast menu on April 1.

Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich: One – ¥510 (Tax Included) / Two – ¥800 (Tax Included)

Hattifatteners Hot Dog: ¥600 (Tax Included)

Northern Europe Breakfast Plate | ¥1,500 (Tax Included)

Open Fruit Sandwich | ¥700 (Tax Included)

Five fun and delicious items arrive at the Moomin Cafe for the spring season, each with a reference or design inspired by the beloved Moomins.

The popular French characters Gaspard and Lisa are getting their own themed menu at Le Cafe la Boutique du Joel Robuchon in Tokyo. The menu will be served from April 24 to May 9 and takes inspiration from Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben’s children’s book series.

Gaspard and Lisa One Plate & Cocktail Set | ¥3,300 (Tax Included)

Non-Alcoholic Strawberry & Lychee Cocktail | ¥990 (Tax Included)

Strawberry Galette (With Coffee or Tea) | ¥2,420 (Tax Included)

Coasters

Pouch

The first 500 customers who order something from the menu will receive a free coaster, and those who spend over ¥5,000 will get a special pouch.

Enter the charming world of Gaspard and Lisa with this cute themed menu.

(C) 2021 Anne Gutman & Georg Hallensleben / Hachette Livre

Japan’s 203-year-old confectionery shop Eitaro Sohonpo is rolling out a new series of delicious delights over the next three weeks at Nihonbashi E-Chaya.

Week One: From April 7, 2021 all year round

Nihonbashi Dorayaki: Ham & Cheese/Egg Salad/Anko Mochi – ¥303 Each (Tax Included)

Week Two: April 14, 2021 – April 28, 2021

Assorted Sweets Set | ¥1,000 (Tax Included)

Week Three: April 21, 2021 – April 28, 2021 (and the same dates every month from May)

Mangetsu Mochi Omusubi | ¥270 (Tax Included)

Exclusive to Nihonbashi E-Chaya, the new release includes two different deli-style dorayaki as well as an anko red bean paste version, a plate of assorted Japanese sweets, and a red rice ball made with black-eyed peas instead of sesame seeds. Red rice was often consumed on joyous occasions during the Edo period.

Yamaha has set up its iconic yellow LovePiano inside Toyosu Foresia in Tokyo where it will stay until April 20. The piano is for public use so anyone can show off their playing skills.

The LovePiano was built to get more people having a go at playing pianos and music in general. It has seen to over 50 locations in Japan from Shinjuku Station to Shinagawa Station, Sapporo Station, Osaka International Airport, and elsewhere.

Blue Bottle Coffee Japan is opening its first-ever pop-up store this spring at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C. where it will run from April 21 to May 11.

Check out some of the products that will be on offer from the minimalist and stylish coffee brand.

Castella & Coffee Bean Set | ¥3,564 (Tax Included) | Exclusive pre-sale at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C.

Eco Bag & Instant Coffee Set | ¥4,180 (Tax Included) | Exclusive pre-sale at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C.

First Light Single Origin | ¥1,944 (Tax Included)

Renewal Blend | ¥1,836 (Tax Included)

Coffee Beans (200g x 2 bags) | ¥3,456 (Tax Included)

Coffee lovers can get their hands on a range of Blue Bottle Coffee’s bean range as sold at their cafes across Japan as well as an original tote bag to encourage “Coffee Time, Everywhere,” pre-sales on select items like the Blue Bottle Coffee Castella developed in collaboration with Bunmeido Tokyo, seasonal coffee beans, and more.

The pop-up shop will not be serving coffee for customers, but they can enjoy their coffee picks once they get home. And don’t worry if you don’t have a coffee grinder as there are instant coffees too.

Japan’s long-standing Kyoto-based sensu folding fan brand BANANA to YELLOW, which has been around since 1823, opened a pop-up shop at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo on Friday, the store’s first-ever pop-up shop outside Kyoto.

BANANA to YELLOW’s goal is to make traditional Japanese sensu folding fans a fun and stylish experience for the modern day no matter the scene or season. The fans sold at the Shibuya pop-up shop will also include limited-edition designs.

Sensu

The line-up features some of the brand’s signature fans which fuse traditional Kyoto-style folding fans with modern designs. Some of the fans are also printed by hand.

The fans can not only be used as they were originally intended—for manners, style, art, warding off evil, and so on—but also as a general accessory.

T-Shirts

The brand also has a collection simple and casual of t-shirts featuring a classic folding fan pocket as originally featured on Japanese kimono.

Bags

A hand two-way tote bag also equipped with a sensu pocket.

Eau de Toilette

Miyawaki Baisen-an’s popular eau de toilette makes an appearance at the pop-up shop in four daily fragrances with a Japanese-style scent to them.

Guests

BANANA to YELLOW has collaborated with various artists to develop a range of fans. The first three guests include fashion designer Kunihiko Morinaga (Anrealage), artist Shinro Ohtake, and Mahito the People (Gezan).

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.

As part of the ‘hide The 23rd Memorial’ project being held to commemorate the last X Japan guitarist hide, an exhibition titled PSYCHOVISION hide MUSEUM Since 2000 is set to be held at Seibu Ikebukuro from May 11 to May 25.

hide was born in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics. He was sometimes known as the Ugly Pink Machine, a name used in a phrase from some of his own artwork, the titles of his works, and more which read “Who’s this ugly pink machine?” And for 2021, also the year of the Tokyo Olympics, this phrase is making a return as part of the PSYCHOVISION hide MUSEUM Since 2000 exhibition.

hide passed away on May 2, 1998. On July 20, 200, the ‘hide MUSEUM’ was built in his hometown of Yokosuka in Kanagawa, where fans could go and enjoy all things related to the musician. The museum unfortunately closed in 2005, but not before 500,000 fans visited the site. Fans can now look forward to an all-new hide MUSEUM experience.

The museum exhibition will be themed on the future that hide looked to. It will be split into five zones that explore everything from his childhood to setting his eyes on the rock world, forming Saver Tiger, joining X Japan which was originally just called X, embarking on his solo career, and more.

Fans will also get to see a collection of outfits actually worn by hide, his beloved guitars, lyrics of his famous songs actually penned by him on paper, and much more, all of which has been under lock and key by his official management group HEADWAX ORGANIZATION CO.,LTD.

Fans of X Japan and fans of hide won’t want to miss out on this incredible intimate and detailed account of the life of one of Japan’s most revered musicians.

Japanese rainwear brand Wpc. released a special new commercial featuring actors Hio Miyazawa and Suzu Yamanouchi. The collaborative video is entitled “What’s Changed, What Hasn’t Changed.”

The Rainwear Items

Basic Jump Umbrella – Off Paint

Big Silhouette Rain Poncho – Unisex Caramel

Floral Pink Gradation

Colour Mesh Coat – Beige

Free Lookbook

The message of the commercial is one of positivity: that though somethings might change, others do not. It refers to the state of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, that despite being unable to see our loved ones, and that we’re unable to lead the lives we once did, our feelings towards those special to us, and those around us, is eternal.