Belle Maison’s “Disney Fantasy Shop” has launched eight new items of furniture and sundries to enjoy the world of Disney princesses and heroines. Curtains, rugs, and mini tables will be available from January 7, while mirrors, futon covers, and storage cases will be available from January 31. Prices range from 3,990 yen to 16,900 yen….

Seibu Railway has decided to begin operation of the first of its “Sustaina rolling stock” (Series 8000), which it acquired from Odakyu Electric Railway in May 2024, at the end of May 2025. The cars had been undergoing safety equipment upgrades and design changes at the Musashioka Rolling Stock Testing Center since July 1, 2024,…

Sendai Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall (101-14 Odawara-yamamotocho, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture) will hold the “Half-Price Child Ticket Campaign” from January 14 to February 21. This campaign offers children’s tickets, which normally cost 2,000 yen, for 1,000 yen, and applies to up to three children for one adult. Children (1 year old to elementary school…

TSUBASA, the startup support program of JICA and IDB Lab (Inter-American Development Bank Group) in Latin America and the Caribbean, will hold a launch event for the Open Innovation Challenge TSUBASA2025. Background and Overview The startup ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean has been rapidly revitalizing in recent years. In FY2021, JICA, together with…

Thinking about various social issues facing the world with TV personality and university student Marika Sera, “I want to know the world better! The theme of the fifth session is “Peacebuilding. The theme of the 5th session is “Peace Building. We interviewed Anas Hijazee, who came to Japan as a refugee from Syria, Tomohiro Hayakawa…

Tateyama Kurobe Kanko will begin operating the Tateyama Tunnel Electric Bus between Murodo and Daikanbo on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route on April 15. This new vehicle will replace the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus, which operated for 3.7 km (10 minutes) until November 30, 2024, and is designed to reduce the environmental burden in order to…

I started this article with a not-so-travel-watch-like description. Garuda Indonesia Airlines is conducting an inspection tour, and the destination is the area around Flores Island, where Komodo dragons live. The Komodo dragon lives in Indonesia’s Komodo National Park. Although it is a type of lizard, the largest one is said to be over 3 meters…

IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,500 hotels in more than 100 countries. In Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates about 47 hotels under eight brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of September 2024). For this interview, we asked Yuichiro Imura, Deputy General Manager of ANA InterContinental Manza Beach…

Nanga will release all five models of its SOFT DOWN series for spring on January 10. The soft down is made of water-repellent nylon with an uneven washer finish, and new pastel green and yellow colors have been added for 2025. In addition to the remodeled coat and varsity jacket, a new stadium jacket and…

Rakuten Group, Inc. Representative Director, Chairman and President Hiroshi Mikitani Last year, Rakuten Group achieved a number of successes in various areas. In the Internet Service Business, the annual domestic e-commerce circulation amount was 6 trillion yen, and in the FinTech Service Business, Rakuten Card’s shopping transaction volume reached 6 trillion yen in the third…