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?

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.

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.

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.

Tokai Kiosk Company has announced a Kyushu and Okinawa themed fair which will run at all branches of Tokai Kiosk from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station starting on March 2. Customers will be able to enjoy a range of local foods and products from Kyushu and Okinawa.

Kyushu Okinawa Fair Poster

A Look at Some of the Available Products

Salted Shiroi Tabekko Doubutsu

Sugar Butter Sand Tree – Amaou Strawberry Butter

Okinawa Bireley’s Ishigaki Island Pineapple

Sausage & Egg Yuzu Kosho Sandwich

This is just a peek of what will be available to try from Kyushu and Okinawa this spring. If you’re travelling in Japan this March, then don’t miss out.

Japanese company @YOKOHAMA is helping to promote the regional development of Yokohama by collaborating with GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA using the multimodal mobility service app “my route” with the launch of a campaign.

The campaign is taking place for residents of Yokohama, running from February 8 to 28. All people need to do is download and open the app and fill out the form. Fifty lucky people will have the chance to win a free ticket to GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA, an amusement park themed on the popular Gundam franchise.

my route is an app that lets users search for the most affordable way to travel as well as letting them book and buy tickets. @YOKOHAMA’s portal site is also now linked to the app, offering information about local stores, events, and other information regarding Yokohama.

Ome—a city located in western Tokyo that’s about an hour’s train ride from the populous Shinjuku. It’s a place enjoyed by many for its hiking and river swimming locales, as well as its architecture, in which one can still feel the influences of Japan’s Edo period, and kindness of the locals.

MATINOEKI OUME, an Ome-based company, recently launched its “Made in OME” project which aims to revitalise the city. The project will create a new kind of Ome through the eyes of the millennial generation. Its goal is to polish and refine the appealing aspects of Ome to offer up new tourism opportunities while bringing in new fans to the city.

Made in OME’s first step towards that is teaming up with DJ and YouTuber Yuna Yabe and illustrator and streamer MIOCHIN, two models signed to ASOBISYSTEM who will represent the millennial generation as the navigators of this journey as they participate in workshops with local producers and manufacturers, developing a variety of products such as sweets made with ingredients from Ome, like baumkuchen and chocolate rolls, and more.

You can catch their activity live over on MIOCHIN’s official Instagram page. Visit Made in OME’s official website below for more details.

Yuna Yabe

MIOCHIN

The two of them will host a free ‘monitor tour’ on February 21, 2021. These monitor tours aim to have people developing a strong relationship with new products from Ome. Participants will learn about the history and culture of Ome via local producers and manufacturers with products such as sake and indigo dyeing. Made in OME plants to expand their range of tourist monitor tours in the future.

Local Ome residents will also be invited to the tour in the evening of the same day. Learn all there is to know about Ome at Made in OME’s website which is available in English, Japanese, and Chinese.

FANCL has brought the hot spring experience to its flagship site FANCL Ginza Square for a limited time with a variety of content that makes visitors feel like they’ve come to a Japanese onsen. The experience, named Tabi Suru Square Yu, is running until February 11, 2021.

Café au Lait / Fruit au Lait / Soy Milk Aojiru – ¥300 Each

Reiwa Honzen (FANCL Ginza Square Floor 9F)

Lunch Sana Winter Seafood Bento | ¥3,500

Winter Dinner Seafood Course | From ¥9,000

FANCL BROWN RICE MEALS (FANCL Ginza Square Floor B1F)

Hiroshima Oyster & Spinach Risotto Parmesan Cheese Galette Lunch Set | ¥1,850

Tomato Cream Pasta Lunch Set ¥1,850

Original Hand Towel

FANCL Ginza Square Onsen Essentials Set | ¥3,668

Breathing exercises at SUU-HAKU

At Tabi Suru Square Yu, visitors can enter a room that fully recreates the experience of being in a hot spring. The room is set at the same temperature, is filled with the same aromas, and is decorated in the same way. Visitors sit on one of the relaxation sheets to soak up the experience – effectively getting into a hot spring without having to change their clothes.

A variety of classic drinks and dishes sold at hot springs in Japan will also be sold, and visitors can get involved in the breathing exercises on offer.

Japan is set to get its first ever permanent city cable car in Yokohama on April 22 called the YOKOHAMA AIR CABIN.

The YOKOHAMA AIR CABIN is a cable car system that will offer locals and tourists a chance to enjoy Yokohama from a new perspective whether during the hot summers or during the cool evenings when the city lights wake up.

The system will be connected directly to Sakuragichō Station and Shinko Pier for easy, quick access to enjoy Yokohama Minato Mirai from up high.

If you’re planning a trip to Yokohama at some point, be sure to take a ride on YOKOHAMA AIR CABIN, officially opening on April 22, 2021.