Twentythree

New stores add a fresh taste and aroma to high-speed travel on Japan’s busiest bullet train route.

One of the joys of Shinkansen travel is being able to bring your own food and drinks on board. However, with the high-speed rail service being famously punctual, you don’t always have time to pick up what you need when rushing to get your train.

It’s a pre-departure dilemma that Starbucks is now seeking to address by opening stores right at the platform. Late last year, the chain broke new ground by opening its first-ever Starbucks on a Shinkansen platform, and now it’s announced plans to open additional stores at two more major stations on the line.

The first location opened on JR Shin-Yokohama Station’s downbound Platform 11 last November and quickly proved popular with travellers. However, demand also led to queues and longer wait times, prompting Starbucks to temporarily close the store in April to improve its ordering system before reopening in June.

The chain now appears confident that it has a good working model from which to expand operations, and so has announced that the “travel Starbucks experience” will soon be arriving at Shinkansen platforms at JR Kyoto Station and JR Nagoya Station, with the new locations scheduled to open from next year.

While Starbucks hasn’t shared any details about the exact platforms where the new stores will be located, or when in 2027 they will open, the existing Shin-Yokohama branch gives us a pretty good idea of what we can expect.

Rather than being full-scale cafes with chairs and tables, the new stores look set to be takeaway kiosks – the Shin-Yokohama Shinkansen platform store measures just 13.9 square metres (150 square feet) – with no seating at all.

Designed for travellers with trains to catch, the new kiosk-style Starbucks focuses on speed, serving a limited menu of freshly brewed coffee, including decaf options, and a small selection of snacks. Orders are placed via a touchscreen terminal, and the store is entirely cashless.

The new Kyoto and Nagoya platform branches look set to follow the same formula, so Shinkansen passengers can easily squeeze in a Starbucks order before stepping on the train. With the Shin-Yokohama platform branch recently receiving its own unique digital stamp in Starbucks’ “My Store Passport” app feature, which allows visitors to collect a virtual souvenir of their visit, the Kyoto and Nagoya branches are likely to receive their own stamps when they open too.

▼ The Shin-Yokohama stamp highlights its location in Kanagawa Prefecture.

With all three platforms servicing the Tokaido Shinkansen, Japan’s most popular route that runs from Tokyo to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka, we wouldn’t be surprised if a Starbucks Shinkansen stamp rally might soon be in the works. For the chain that gave us 47 prefecture-exclusive Frappuccinos and a Discovery Series that celebrates local regions and traditions, we have a feeling that the new Shinkansen platform stores are just the start of the journey for the “travel Starbucks experience”.

Source: Press release
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Insert images: Press release, ©SoraNews24
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Towering lanterns, traditional balancing skills, and a special anime collaboration make this an unforgettable Japanese festival experience.

There are many famous summer festivals in Japan, but the Akita Kanto Festival is one of the most magical and awe-inspiring. Held in Akita City every August, this festival features fantastical lanterns that sway to represent rice stalks, held aloft by people who balance the enormous structures on their hips, shoulders, palm, chins and foreheads in an amazing display of dexterity and teamwork that draws thousands of spectators.

Now the festival is drawing more than spectators, it’s drawing anime characters too, with the popular manga and anime series Golden Kamuy making an appearance at the event. This tie-up with the festival is particularly apt as Akita Prefecture is the birthplace of Genjirou Tanigaki, one of the characters from the series, and the region’s history and culture have strong links to the world depicted in the story.

▼ Anime characters balancing the lanterns on their forehead and shoulder, just as performers do at the real-world festival.

The event, which runs until 26 August, consists of two main parts: an exhibition of character panels featuring newly drawn visuals and a pop-up shop, all being held at Atrion, a multi-purpose complex located about a five-minute walk from JR Akita Station. Fans of the series will want to head to Atrion during the day so they can view the large character panels, featuring the cast dressed in Kanto Festival outfits.

The displays are impressive in scale, with the characters appearing almost life-sized. Combined with the Kanto lantern poles, some of the displays reache more than three metres (9.8 feet) tall, recreating the awesome sight of the real-world festival.

The characters of Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi are shown as members of the “hayashikata”, the musicians who provide the festival’s traditional sounds.

While the people who physically balance the Kanto poles, known as “sashite”, have traditionally been men, women have participated as musicians since the late Showa period (1926-1989). These days, visitors to the actual festival can see many female performers taking part in this important role.

▼  Lanterns decorated with Golden Kamuy character names recreate the look of the famous Kanto displays.

The same floor is also home to a pop-up shop selling collaboration goods, including acrylic stands, keychains, T-shirts, towels, and other items featuring the festival theme.

▼ The designs capture the personalities of the characters perfectly, and the Akita dog costumes are incredibly cute.

The Golden Kamuy event is a great way to get into the mood of the festival, which is best enjoyed at night, when the lanterns light up the sky as they tower over the crowds, swaying from side to side, and occasionally crashing down by accident before being picked up again. The night event, which runs from 3-6 August, is worth hanging around for, and while you wait there are plenty of things to see and do around Akita City.

▼ Just across from Atrion is Senshu Park, a public park built on the former grounds of Kubota Castle.

During summer, the park’s moat is covered in blooming lotus flowers, creating a beautiful sight that feels worlds away from the busy city streets.

Visitors should also keep an eye out for Akita’s famous summer treat, babahera ice cream. The colourful ice cream is shaped into rose-like designs by skilled vendors using quick movements that are almost like a performance.

During the day there are some events to give you a taste of what’s to come at night, and when you see the Kanto poles in person you can get a sense of why the festival is considered a true test of skill. The largest poles, known as “Owaka”, measure around 12 metres (39 feet) long and weigh approximately 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Moving them into position requires teamwork, but the real challenge begins when performers balance them on different parts of their bodies.

The techniques, known as “myogi”, include balancing the pole on the palm, shoulder, forehead, and hip. Watching performers hold the massive structures steady using various parts of their body is an incredibly impressive sight to behold.

▼ The hip technique is considered one of the more advanced moves, requiring years of experience and incredible body control.

When darkness falls, the main streets stretching from JR Akita Station toward Akita City Hall are transformed into a pedestrian-only festival area.

One by one, the giant Kanto poles are raised into the night sky, and the warm glow of hundreds of lanterns begins to float above the streets as traditional music plays and performers move with careful concentration beneath the towering displays. From a distance, the lanterns look like stars drifting through the city, while up close, the skill and concentration of the performers creates a completely different kind of spectacle.

Sometimes the poles collide, and sometimes they fall, giving you a sense of just how heavy and difficult they are to control. Sometimes, performers manage to save a pole from falling, regaining control at the last minute, eliciting cheers of delight and applause from the crowd.

Beneath the beauty of the lanterns lies years of skill and team effort, and watching it all unfold up close is all part of the magic of the festival.

At the western end of the festival venue near Akita City Hall, visitors can also find a food village filled with local specialties, including Yokote yakisoba, Hinai chicken ramen, and Akita sake.

This year also saw a new addition to the festivities, with a drone show filling the sky above the city. Unlike fireworks, drones can perform directly above urban areas, acting like a giant moving canvas above the festival crowds.

▼ One of the cutest displays was the giant representation of an Akita dog, a symbol of prefectural pride.

Towering lanterns, incredible performers, local food, and a touch of Golden Kamuy magic makes this year’s Akita Kanto Festival one of the best events of the year. The festival is much more than a parade, it’s a display of skill and a traditional performing art, and it’s easy to see why it remains one of Japan’s most unforgettable summer celebrations.

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Move would leave Japan’s fourth-largest city without consular services.

With a population of roughly 2.3 million people, Nagoya is the fourth-largest city in Japan. It also holds an extremely important position in Japanese industry and its connections to the global economy, by nature of being the closest major city to the head office of Toyota and many of the automakers factories and suppliers.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government is planning to close its consulate in Nagoya, according to a report from Reuters citing sources who spoke under condition of anonymity.

According to the report, the U.S. State Department has sent notices to multiple congressional committees informing them of its intent to close the Nagoya consulate, as well as the U.S. embassy in Granada, consulates in Canada (Winnipeg) and Indonesia (Medan), and an embassy branch office in Cameroon (Douala). The downsizing does not appear to be tied to any diplomatic disagreements and to instead be a cost-cutting move by the U.S. government.

Shutting down the Nagoya consulate would leave the full embassy in Tokyo and and the consulate in Osaka as the nearest alternatives, both of which are roughly and hour and a half away from Nagoya by Shinkansen, and even lengthier trips by more affordable modes of transportation.

Closing the Nagoya consulate would not likely have an immediate or significant impact on the lives of most American citizens living in the area, however. Passport renewal, the most commonly required government service by Americans living abroad, is already handled by mail, with no in-person, on-site renewal option available. Overseas voting for U.S. elections is also a by-mail only affair. As of last year, U.S. consulates and embassies in Japan no longer offer notarization services for “affidavits of competency to marry,” a form requested by the Japanese government when foreigners are getting married in Japan, and instead provides an online form that can be downloaded online stating that the U.S. government has no such certification system.

All of which is to say that many American expats can live in Japan for years, or even decades, without ever having to physically go to a consulate or embassy. Even for those who do need to visit a U.S. government office in-person, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan website already informs them that “The U.S. Consulate in Nagoya no longer provides American Citizens Services,” and directs them to the Osaka consulate instead.

As such, the Nagoya consulate’s role is more diplomatic liaison than service provider, facilitating cultural exchange and establishing ties with local educational, scientific, and business organizations.

▼ Recent posts from the U.S. consulate in Nagoya have highlighted chief consul Anna Wang visiting a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries facility in the city…

ワン首席領事が、名古屋市の三菱重工業大江工場を訪問し、民間機セグメントの皆さまと意見交換しました。ボーイング787「ドリームライナー」の主翼構造材「ウィングボックス」は、長年にわたりすべてここで製造されています。日米の航空宇宙産業パートナーシップを支える重要な取り組みです。… pic.twitter.com/xR4gRFNdA2

— 在名古屋米国領事館首席領事 (@USConsNagoya) July 21, 2026

▼ …and a visit to Nagoya by an American youth baseball team as part an international sister cities program.

7月12日、四日市ドームにてロングビーチと四日市のリトルリーグチームによる交流親善試合が開催されました！ 領事館からはアメリカ建国記念キャップとボールを提供し、1963年から続く両市の姉妹都市交流を祝いました。 日米の友情がこれからも続いていきますように！ pic.twitter.com/WthiUc370P

— 在名古屋米国領事館首席領事 (@USConsNagoya) July 14, 2026

So no, closing the Nagoya consulate is unlikely to trigger an immediate crisis for American expats in terms of accessing government services, nor will it bring an immediate halt to international cultural exchange. That said, it’s not going to make those things easier either, and it’ll be a sad development if the consulate does end up being deemed an unacceptable expense.

Source: Reuters, U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan (1, 2, 3)
Top image: Pakutaso
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Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain is now serving up simmered kinmedai.

When people think of Yoshinoya, they think of beef, and not just any beef, but cheap beef. That’s not to say Yoshinoya’s beef bowls are low-quality or bad-tasting, but the chain’s flagship fare is definitely more “good honest grub” than “fine dining.”

So we were surprised, and intrigued, when we found out that Yoshinoya is now also serving up fancy fish.

On July 27, Yoshinoya added the Gyu Kinmedai no Nizuke Teishoku, or Beef and Simmered Sea Bream Set Meal, to its menu. Kinmedai specifically is the Japanese name for the fish called splendid alfonsino in English, but no matter which moniker you use, it’s a premium variety of seafood, prized for its natural sweetness and satisfyingly substantial texture.

Finding the kinmedai set meal took a bit of sifting through the menu. The touchscreen terminal used for ordering at the Yoshinoya branch we visited didn’t mention the new item on its top screen, nor did we find it in the “limited-time specials” section. Instead, it was mixed in with the other options in the teishoku (定食) set meals tab. 899 yen (US$5.50) gets you a simmered kinmedai fillet, white rice, a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of Yoshinoya’s classic simmered beef which ordinarily tops its beef bowls. Alternatively, there’s a 799-yen version of the kinmedai set that skips the beef and gives you a plate of pickles in its place, but we opted for the full 899-yen set.

Size-wise, we were happy with the kinmedai fillet. Given how kinmedai isn’t something that’s even available at budget-friendly fast food restaurants, Yoshinoya only giving you a tiny sliver of the stuff wouldn’t have been a shock, but this was a decently sized slice, and a visually bountiful one too.

Most importantly, though, it was also a delicious slice of kinmedai! Slow-cooked in a traditional soy sauce-based simmer sauce, the fish is imparted with sweet and salty notes, and while it might not quite match what you’d get at a fancy seafood specialty restaurant or a portside eatery where the fish just came off the boat an hour ago, Yoshinoya’s kinmedai still has an excellent flavor. Basically, anyone who likes kinmedai will like this, and the fact that it’s available at such an accessible chain as Yoshinoya is incredible.

Though the fish is served on its own plate, we highly recommend letting some of the sauce drip onto the rice, since it’s so good that you won’t want to let a single drop go to waste.

Something has to be seriously tasty to make the beef in a Yoshinoya set meal feel like a supporting part instead of the main attraction, but that’s definitely what happens here. While this isn’t the very first time for Yoshinoya to serve up fish (they include salmon in some of their breakfast sets, for example), it is their first time to offer such a fancy fish as kinmedai.

So yeah, this is definitely worth digging through the menu to find. Just be aware that even though the Beef and Simmered Sea Bream Set Meal is listed with the regular set meals, it is in fact a limited-time item, though one without an announced specific ending date, so you’ll want to try it while you can.

Top image: Yoshinoya
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Fans will need to be residents of Japan in order to buy these items from the Pokémon Center Online.

Scalping is becoming an increasingly large problem for the Pokémon franchise, and the latest move by the Pokémon Company to clamp down on the practice is a new system that requires a Japanese government-issued ID card for making certain purchases through the Pokémon Center Online store. As unveiled last month, the system works in tandem with the Digital Identification App, an app created by the Digital Agency (part of the prime minster’s cabinet) and the My Number Card, a government-issued ID card that’s also used in the administration of social services such as health insurance and social security/national pension payments.

The Pokémon Center Online has now announced the first items which will require shoppers to prove their identity through the Digital App, with four Pokémon Card Game items designated for such protection, all of them part of the Pokémon Card Game’s 30th Celebration series and scheduled to go on sale next month. The restricted items are:

● Pokémon Card Game Mega Expansion Pack 30th Celebration Box (7,200 yen [US$46])
● Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Futuristic Box (27,500 yen)
● Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Espeon and Umbreon Premium Deck Set (6,200 yen)
● Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Card Set (9-type complete set) (10,800 yen)

▼ The Futuristic Box is a bundle that includes two guaranteed Pikachu ex promo cards, card shields, a deck case, and a play mat, and a display case, among other items.

▼ The Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Espeon and Umbreon Premium Deck Set features two ex cards of Espeon and Umbron each, part of two separate decks with a grand total of 60 cards.

Now, if you’re wondering how non-residents of Japan can get a My Number Card and use the Digital Identification App, the answer is that they can’t. So in requiring verification through the app, the Pokémon Center Online is effectively restricting sales of the affected items to Japanese residents only.

That’s an unhappy side effect, but odds are the Pokémon Company imagines that legitimate foreign fans aren’t likely to be getting shut out of making the purchases. While visiting tourists do indeed drop a lot of cash on Pokémon stuff in Japan, merch such as Pokémon plushies, T-shirts, and even Happy Meal toys are the big draws for fans from overseas. Pokémon cards sold in Japan explain the card’s capabilities in Japanese text only, so the language barrier makes them of limited appeal or utility for foreign fans who’re actually interested in using them to play the game, which would suggest that foreign shoppers who are buying and limited-edition cards/card sets are doing so for some other purpose. On the other hand, it could be that the Pokémon Center Online’s decision to require use of the Digital Identification App is simply because it’s Japan’s most extensive domestic platform for electronic identity verification, thus making it the most easily available infrastructure for tracking repeat/bulk purchases by the same person, regardless of nationality.

▼ The Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Card Sets come in nine versions, with a guaranteed set of cards representing a single generation’s starter Pokémon, a display stand, and two packs of cards.

It’s not clear whether physical Pokémon Center stores in Japan will also require buyers to use the Digital Identification App/a My Number Card in order to make purchases. No other retailers currently have any such requirements in place, but may enact their own sort of anti-scalping methods.

Pre-orders for the restricted item open on August 10 for the Pokémon Card Game Mega Expansion Pack 30th Celebration Box, 30th Celebration Futuristic Box, and 30th Celebration Espeon and Umbreon Premium Deck Set with a slated shipping date of September 15, with the respective dates for the Pokémon Card Game Mega 30th Celebration Card Sets are August 28 and October 15.

Source: Pokémon Card Game official website, Pokémon Center Online via Oricon News via Livedoor News
Top image: Pokémon Card Game official website
Insert images: Pokémon Card Game official website (1, 2, 3)
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The convenience store chain offers the summer’s most kawaii collab by bringing 26 characters from different worlds together.

Major Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart is celebrating its 45th anniversary in September with some of the cutest, most recognizable mascots out there!

As of August 4, Family Mart locations across Japan are hosting a Sanrio characters and manufacturers’ mascots campaign. Buying eligible products will allow you to receive promotional prizes, and saving up stamps from showing your FamiPay app at the time of purchase will earn you entries in a lottery for more prizes. Plus, there will be limited-time Sanrio goods for anyone to purchase.

▼ The campaign designs pair 13 popular Sanrio characters with 13 mascots of famous snack brands. What a fun, one-of-a-kind souvenir those would be to bring home–especially for any hardcore snackers!

First, let’s focus on the promotional prizes you can receive with purchase of two eligible products. How do you know which products are eligible for the campaign? That’s easy–just look for this bright green label on applicable items in the store:

The prizes will arrive in two rounds and in two different forms–acrylic keychains and cloth drawstring pouches–as detailed below. They will be randomly distributed to customers making qualified purchases.

Round 1 began on August 4 at 10 a.m. and with eight acrylic keychains.

The Sanrio/snack pairings here are:
● Hello Kitty x Koala’s March (Lotte’s Koala March)
● Little Twin Stars x Noppo Toppochan (Lotte’s Toppo)
● Kuromi x Petagoo (Nobel Seika’s Petagoo Gumi)
● Hanamaruobake x Hachinosuke (Nobel Seika’s Hachimitsu Kinkan Nodoame)
● Cinnamoroll x Potta (Calbee’s Jagabee)
● Cogimyun x Kappaebikun (Calbee’s Kappaebisen)
● My Melody x Apollochan (Meiji’s Apollo)
● Badtz-Maru x Hiiobaachan (Koikeya’s Karamucho)

Round 2 begins on August 18 at 10 a.m. with five more acrylic keychains.

● Tuxedo Sam x Mr. P (Kellogg Japan’s Pringles)
● Ahiru no Pekkle x Kyorochan (Morinaga Seika’s Chocoballs)
● Usahana x Totomaru (Morinaga Seika’s Ottotto)
● Pochacco x Chikin Ramen Hiyokochan (Nissin Shokuhin’s Chikin Ramen)
● Hangyodon x Demaeboya (Nissin Shokuhin’s Demaeiccho)

Round 2 will also have cloth drawstring pouches. The pouches come in a pink version and a green version, with six of the collaborative designs on the former and seven on the latter.

Second, let’s take a look at the fabulous prizes you could win by saving up enough stamps to enter the prize lotteries. To gain stamps, simply display your FamiPay app while making an eligible purchase. Each purchase will grant you one stamp. You can enter three different lotteries depending on the number of stamps you’ve saved up which each result in a different prize. This part of the campaign runs from August 4 through August 31, and you can enter the lottery between August 4 and September 4.

● 5-stamp lottery
Prize: Storage box with 13 items / 20 winners
The “grand prize” is a reusable box that pays homage to the campaign’s designs. What’s inside is a special secret waiting for the winners…!

● 3-stamp lottery
Prize: Original sticker printing code for stickers / 500 winners
Winners can print their stickers on sticker paper using their gifted code between September 24 and October 15 at any of Family Mart’s multi-function printing machines.

● 2-stamp lottery
Prize: Family Mart points worth 500 yen (US$3.18) / 100 winners
It’s not much, but it’s yours to spend however you’d like.

Third, Family Mart will also offer special Sanrio goods for anyone to purchase for the duration of the campaign, including plenty of puffy stickers that have been all the rage in Japan recently. Please note that the availability of certain items may differ slightly within different stores.

● 3-D character nail accessories (2 kinds)
990 yen / On sale August 4
These puffy nail accessories add a fun texture to anyone’s manicure. The two versions are Hello Kitty (red and black-bowed) or My Melody and Kuromi.

▼ Pictured below: Hello Kitty version

● Sanrio characters monochrome series glitter rhinestone stickers (6 kinds)
528 yen / On sale August 7
Each puffy sticker has five sparkly rhinestones attached to it for when you’re feeling extra fancy.

● Hello Kitty sparkly capsule stickers (4 kinds)
528 yen / On sale August 7
Filled with sequins and glitter powder on the inside and gold and silver foil stamping on the outside, these stickers certainly make a statement.

● Sanrio characters clear candy stickers (4 kinds)
528 yen / On sale August 7
These puffy stickers with silver foil stamping on a clear background are perfect for decorative touches or for showing off in your sticker collection case.

● Sanrio character encyclopedia stickers (2 kinds)
528 yen / On sale August 7
With the characters’ names written on the removeable backing sheets, these puffy sticker sheets can be folded to display as your very own character encyclopedia.

● Sanrio characters candy stickers (5 kinds)
550 yen / On sale August 7
Stickers of popular Sanrio characters eating sweets? Yes, please, with a cherry on top!

● Sanrio characters slide mirror keychain
990 yen / On sale August 20
Group A: one out of seven randomly selected, Group B: one out of six randomly selected
Mini mirrors that are designed to mimic stained glass cookies are equally stylish and practical.

We have to say–we think that Family Mart really hit the kawaii jackpot with this latest campaign. We can’t wait to get snacking and packing prizes of our favorite mascots!

For another winning product at Family Mart’s new Famima flagship store in Tokyo, please sip up our recommendation here.

Source, images: PR Times
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