Japanese fashion brand XLARGE released a collection of t-shirts with Inuyasha on Saturday. Inuyasha is a manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi which was serialised in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday from 1996 to 2008. The anime series first aired in 2000, and four movies have been released.

The tee collection features designs of the main character cast and is available to buy in Japan at all XLARGE and XLARGE/X-girl stores as well as online at calif and ZOZOTOWN.

XLARGE x INUYASHA S/S TEE INUYASHA | White, Black, Burgundy | Sizes: S/M/L/XL | Price: ¥6,050 Each (Tax Included)

XLARGE x INUYASHA S/S TEE KAGOME | White, Black, Green | Sizes: S/M/L/XL | Price: ¥6,050 Each (Tax Included)

XLARGE x INUYASHA S/S TEE SANGO & MIROKU | White, Black, Orange | Sizes: S/M/L/XL | Price: ¥6,050 Each (Tax Included)

XLARGE x INUYASHA S/S TEE SESSHOMARU | White, Black, Purple | Sizes: S/M/L/XL | Price: ¥6,050 Each (Tax Included)

Season two of Astro Connect’s Online Planetarium series began on Friday. The project, which has streamed every Friday since April 2020, is a chance for people to connect with the stars and space.

The project began as a means of entertainment for people who have been in lockdown and unable to go outside due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our time indoors has increased, and so Online Planetarium serves as a way for people to have fun while begin able to travel. The stream, which is in Japanese, focuses on talking about space and stars.

The Pokémon Tokyo Banana confection series launched its first two products that it ever released at Yume Town, Yume City, LEC, and Yume Mart branches in the South-west most part of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu on May 14.

Pikachu Tokyo Banana (Banana Flavour) | Includes 2 | ¥292 (Tax Included)

Eevee Tokyo Banana (Caramel) | Includes 2 | ¥292 (Tax Included)

Heart-shaped tail ends

Six different packaging designs each for Pikachu and Eevee

Tokyo Banana are popular cream-filled cakes and are the official souvenir sweet of Tokyo. The Pokémon series turns these fluffy treats into cute confections for you to enjoy with your favourite Pokémon during snack time.

Pikachu was the first to enter the Pokémon Tokyo Banana series who was turned into a banana custard cream-filled sponge cake. The second was Eevee with the fluffy sponge a delicious caramel macchiato flavour and filled with sweet banana custard cream

The confections are both branded with adorable heart-shaped tails, and each comes with one of six possible packaging designs.

©2021 Pokémon. ©1995-2021 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
ポケットモンスター・ポケモン・Pokémonは任天堂・クリーチャーズ・ゲームフリークの登録商標です。

GROOVE X’s home robot series LOVOT is set to launch its first collaboration with Sanrio’s beloved character Hello Kitty on May 17 with the release of a limited-edition set of two robots.

Yellow nose sold separately

The Hello Kitty x LOVOT original set comes with a charm (pictured far right)

Dress up in a cute Hello Kitty outfit

Those who purchase this set receive an original cloissone ware charm, each of which has a unique serial number on it. There’s also a cute Hello Kitty outfit for dressing up your robot. The base of these robots, all of which are handmade individually, are coloured white like Hello Kitty and features her cute whiskers and red ribbon.

LOVOT launched four years ago and began selling its home robots in December 2019. This marks the company’s first tie-up with Hello Kitty, a character known to all around the world.

2021 SANRIO CO., LTD. APPROVAL NO. S620221

AMAZAKE STAND opened its first branch in Kamakura a year and a half ago as the first store in Japan serving homemade rice-malt amazake sweet sake. The cafe has announced that its second branch will open in Sendai on June 10, 2021. It hopes to promote the delicious taste of amazake to more people and pass it down to the next generation.

Homemade Amazake – Plain (Small Size) | ¥390 (Tax Included)

Strawberry Chocolate Amazake – Blueberry Cheesecake Amazake – Apple Pie Amazake | From ¥600 Each (Tax Included)

Amazake is a great alternative for those who can’t handle the taste of ordinary strong sake. The cafe makes it with koji and rice from Tohoku and offers it in a range of different flavours. All beverages are made without granulated sugar and include a range of ingredients that have beautifying effects on the skin and help with recovering from fatigue such as grape powder, amino acids, and Vitamin B.

ARMA BIANCA opened orders for a new collection of merchandise that brings together the Legosi, Haru, and Louis from the anime series BEASTARS and Tobu Zoo in Japan.

Acrylic Key Rings: Single ¥650 / Whole Box ¥3,900 (Before Tax)

The stylish trio are enjoying a day out at Tobu Zoo in the merchandise line-up. Hook one of these key rings to your bag, accessories, keys, or place them around your room.

Pins: Single ¥400 / Whole Box ¥2,400 (Before Tax)

The pins feature the characters along with their names (in Engrish it seems!)

Big Acrylic Stands: ¥1,800 Each (Before Tax)

Decorate your desk with a tall acrylic stand of either of the three characters.

Mugs: ¥1,500 Each (Before Tax)

Enjoy your morning coffee with Legosi, Haru, or Louis.

Single-Pocket Pass Case: ¥1,800 (Before Tax)

Keep your cards safe in this handy pass case which features a clear window pocket for showing your ID or other card.

Folders | ¥400 Each (Before Tax)

File your papers with these folders or even use them for decoration.

©板垣巴留（秋田書店）／BEASTARS製作委員会

Hokkaido’s largest hotel resort Hoshino Resorts Tomamu is set to open its enormous new 100-hectare farm area this summer for a limited time between July 1 and September 30. Guests are invited to sit and lay amongst the farm’s animals during the warm season.

Relax in nature

The farm area was originally an agricultural ground home to around 700 cows. Hoshino Resorts Tomamu wanted to bring the space back to its origins for people to enjoy, and so it is now operating as 100s hectares of farmland. The resort has offered a range of limited-time experiences on the land in the past, such as the Cow & Daytime Nap Hammocks where people can doze on hammocks and count the sheep, as well as the Pasture Lounge, and more.

What to expec

Inhale the smells of nature while laying on some comfy beds

Guests are invited to kick back and relax on a warm and cosy bed spanning 30 meters. Its large size means you don’t have to come into close contact with everyone, enabling you to enjoy yourself withour worry. Cushions and blankets are also prepared.

Soak up the sights and sounds of the farm

The cows on the grass

Hammocks for a siesta snooze

Yagi the Postman

Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone has announced a special hydrangea-themed hotel plan for Japan’s rainy season which will run from June 12 to July 4.

Hydrangeas bloom before guest room benches

At KAI Hakone, there is a special guest room with an outdoor bench seating area which looks out into the green forest. Hydrangeas will bloom, providing a gorgeous backdrop as guests enjoy the sounds of the Sukumogawa River.

Hydrangea accessory kit

Guests will be given an accessory kit in their rooms to make their own flower accessories from hydrangea leaves and wooden mosaics. These accessories can be fitted to yukata, used as piercings, and more to serve a Japanese summer vibe.

Enjoy hydrangea sweets and shaved iced

Guests can turn their rooms into a little tearoom with the wooden mosaic plaques provided on which they can tuck into a range of hydrangea-flavoured sweets and desserts along with a cup of matcha. The shaved ice is a KAI Hakone-original made with jelly and syrup coloured purple with hydrangea.

The hydrangea is perhaps the most celebrated flower in all of Hakone, arriving in early summer. It’s hailed in a variety of ways, one of the most popular being the Hydrangea Train, a nickname given to the train that runs from Odawara Station to Gora Station. Passangers are treated to an incredible view out the train window as their vision is filled with vivid hydrangea flowers.

This year marks the second that KAI Hakone is offering its seasonal hydrangea plan. If you’re able to visit during this time, don’t miss out.

UNIQLO are set to collaborate with Jujutsu Kaisen for the first time ever in a new t-shirt collection from their UT brand on June 4. The Jujutsu Kaisen manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami has sold over 45 million copies, making it one of the best-selling series of all time.

The Line-Up

Men’s T-Shirts (7 Designs)

Kids T-Shirts (4 Designs)　

This first collection features iconic scenes and lines taken from the main characters of the manga series. The line-up is a must-grab for fans looking to express their love of the series, which saw the first season of its anime adaptation conclude in March. A second collection is planned for release.

©芥見下々 / 集英社

InterContinental Tokyo Bay is set to serve up a special afternoon tea by French pastry chef Pierre Hermé at five of its restaurants including New York Lounge from June 1 to August 31.

A colourful, fruit-filled line-up

From the left: Mosaic Cheesecake, Macarons, Ispahan, Emotion Satine

From the left: Jardin de Misole, Jardin de L’atlas, Infiniment Cassis

Chocolate gateaux line-up

Two jam scones, one with raspberry and one with lemon

The savoury items are made by the French restaurant next door

The full afternoon tea at New York Lounge

The full afternoon tea at Hudson Lounge

The full afternoon tea at Manhattan

The full afternoon tea at La Provence

The full afternoon tea at Italian Dining Zillion

The afternoon tea line-ups are a collaboration between French pastry chef Pierre Hermé, who has been called the pastry industry’s Picasso, and award-winning executive chef Junji Tokunaga. Their first time working together, the duo have created an afternoon tea service packed with fruits like passion fruit, raspberry, orange, lychee, lemon, and more. Tokunaga also baked up chocolate gateaux as an homage to Hermé.

Items on the menu include Pierre Hermé’s signature Ispahan which is a rose-flavoured macaron stuffed with rose cream, fresh lychee, and raspberry; Mosaic Cheesecake which harmoniously combines griotte cherries and pistachio; the refreshing Emotion Satine in all its passion fruit, orange, cream cheese, and mascarpone richness; four original gateaux chocolate oranges by Tokunaga; scones, and more.

The afternoon tea served at French Dining Manhattan, a restaurant which has a terrace overlooking Tokyo Bay, also comes with its own original savoury line-up, while Fine Dining La Provence and Italian Dining Zillion serve up lunch plates with theirs.

Core Global Management is set to open the all-new Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort on July 1, 2021. In line with its opening, Japanese calligrapher Shoko Kanazawa has been put in charge of designing the hotel’s name logo.

The sea and sky meet in the Infinity Onsen

Tsukifune: the buffet restaurant

Enjoy Japanese-style food at Kumonami

Tatami baths

Fires prepared by the staff everyday

A look inside the guest rooms

A look inside the guest rooms

Yunokawa Onsen is one of the three major hot spring resorts in Hokkaido. During the Edo period, Matsumae Chikatsumaru, who later became the lord of the Matsumae domain, and Enomoto Takeharu, the president of the former Tokugawa shogunate, are said to have bathed in this very hot spring. Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort is a chance to enjoy the good old days of Hakodate Yunokawa.

The rooftop offers an unbroken view of the incredible Tsugaru Straits. Guests can also enjoy a tranquil moment at the historic hot spring with a cup of Hakodate’s local sake and dango in hand underneath a moonlit sky while surrounded by the lights of fishing fires. There’s also a chance for both kids and adults to take a dip in a tatami bath – something you don’t really see in Japan.

FUJIFILM SQUARE in Minato, Tokyo, has announced the HAKU graphy Hommage to Hokusai exhibition by Mineko Orisaku which will run from July 21 to August 19 this year.

Hommage to Hokusai ©Mineko Orisaku

Following sunset (Tanuki-ko Lake) ©Mineko Orisaku

Pine and Mt.Fuji (Kawaguchi-ko Lake) ©Mineko Orisaku

Since announcing her “HAKU graphy” project in 2017, Mineko Orisaku has been experimenting with combining gold leaf and photography. This is different from the usual method of printing photos onto printing paper or washi paper, instead using FUJIFILM’s Acuity UV inkjet printer to print delicate gold leaf. This technology allows a wider use of printing materials and colours.

Mineko Orisaku’s exhibition is an homage to Hokusai, one of Japan’s most celebrated ukiyo-e painters and artists. She has used FUJIFILM’s large-format GFX digital camera for her works on Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji to create something unique to her vision. Her work can be enjoyed alongside another Hokusai exhibition taking place at FUJIFILM Photo Salon Tokyo’s Space 1 and 2.