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Hey Japan!
@hey-japan.com
Explore the best of Japan with us! Follow for event updates, travel guides, and insider tips. Hokkaido to Okinawa, we've got it all. https://hey-japan.com
Otaru's canal warehouses exist because of herring fertilizer and citizen defiance. Built to store fish ground into crop feed, they made the city one of Japan's richest. When the government tried to demolish them for a highway in the 1960s, residents fought for a decade — and won.
February 10, 2026 at 9:30 PM
A powerful winter pressure system is burying Japan right now. Northern regions recorded over 180 cm of snow in 24 hours. Tokyo saw 5 cm Sunday — enough to close expressways and halt trains. Even typically mild Kyushu is under rare snow warnings. February 2026 is hitting different.
February 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
The “Ukiyo-e Cat Encyclopedia: Lazy, Round, and Totally Cat” exhibition opens at The Eki Museum Kyoto from April 4 to May 10, featuring over 100 ukiyo-e prints exploring cats in Japanese art and culture.
More: www.hey-japan.com/event/ukiyo-...
February 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM
We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW

People In The Box - Seijatachi

Listen on Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/%E8%81%...
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/4KqsLR...
Listen on YouTube Music: music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJgX...
February 8, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Shiranui Monogatari (The Tale of Shiranui) was a popular Edo-period story blending samurai honor, revenge, and the supernatural. This ukiyo-e by Toyokuni III depicts a scene based on a Kawarazaki Theater performance from Kaei 6 (1853), showing Wakana-hime atop a giant spider amid churning waves.
February 7, 2026 at 9:30 PM
The "Shimane Crafts: Iwami Nagahama-yaki & Nagahama Dolls" exhibition at the Shimane Prefectural Art Museum, running until March 9, focuses on Nagahama-yaki pottery and Nagahama dolls, once distinctive products of the Iwami region.
February 7, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Zoorasian Brass Anime Carnival, performed by the Zoorasian Philharmonic Orchestra, will be held on May 6 at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.The concert features symphonic arrangements of anime songs from Digimon Adventure, Dragon Ball, Detective Conan, Zootopia, and more.
February 6, 2026 at 9:30 PM
“Doraemon: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil and the Secrets of Adventure Exhibition” is on view at the Fujiko·F·Fujio Museum through June 21, featuring original artwork from the Doraemon film Doraemon: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil (1984).
February 5, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Hina tsurushi kazari are hanging decorations made of small, colourful fabric ornaments displayed during Hina Matsuri. The exhibition is free to view at the Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, Main Lobby (15th floor), from February 3 to March 3.
February 5, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Ehomaki is a thick sushi roll eaten on Setsubun. The custom is to eat it silently, without cutting it, while facing the year’s lucky direction to bring good luck and good health. This year’s lucky direction is south-southeast.
February 3, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Setsubun is a Japanese festival held on February 3rd that marks the day before the start of spring in the traditional calendar. People throw roasted soybeans while shouting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (Demons out! Good luck in!) to drive away bad luck and invite good fortune.
February 2, 2026 at 9:09 PM
The special exhibition “The Happiness of Netsuke” is currently on view at the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum through March. The exhibition focuses on netsuke that express humour and playful ideas.
Netsuke are small carvings originally used as toggles to secure personal items worn with kimono.
February 2, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Godzilla × Hokusai “collaboration”: Godzilla Ukiyo-e Giclée Prints featuring Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Sudden Shower beneath the Summit, and Nihonbashi in Edo.
A Hanzō Co., Ltd. production in collaboration with the film Godzilla Minus One.
February 1, 2026 at 9:30 PM
We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW

7th Vega - Hey! Crush!

Listen on Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/hey-cru...
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5llPol...
Listen on YouTube Music: music.youtube.com/watch?v=TLm0...
February 1, 2026 at 5:16 PM
A new attraction for cat lovers: a giant glowing cat lights up the Daiwa House Premist Dome Observation Deck in Sapporo, Feb 4–11.
January 31, 2026 at 9:30 PM
For cat lovers:
“The Terrible Things My Cat Did to Me” — an exhibition by illustrator 'poshichi'.
Humorous and affectionate scenes from everyday life with cats.
Feb 14–Mar 8, 2026, Galerie GEEK/ART (Shibuya, Tokyo)
Admission: Free
January 31, 2026 at 2:01 PM
KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL at Kitano Tenmangū Shrine runs from February 1 to May 24, dedicated to Japanese aesthetics, history, and seasonal change through immersive art installations and performances. www.hey-japan.com/event/kyoto-...
January 30, 2026 at 9:30 PM
"Takashi Yanase Exhibition: Life Is a Joy-Bringing Game", a traveling exhibition, comes to Nagoya from Feb 6 to Apr 5. The exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of the Yanase Takashi Memorial Anpanman Museum and brings together approximately 200 original artworks. www.hey-japan.com/event/takash...
January 30, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Kanto’s Largest-Class Illumination, Sagamiko Illumillion, runs until May 10, with a special spring immersive show starting on February 6 featuring popular music artists and Tamagotchi collaboration installations. More www.hey-japan.com/event/sagami...
January 29, 2026 at 10:30 PM
“Kyoto-Style Climbing Kiln: Sake Vessels and Tea Vessels” will be held from January 30 to February 11 at the Kyoto Ceramic Center, offering the public an opportunity to experience both historical craftsmanship and contemporary ceramic expression in an accessible setting. Admission is free.
January 29, 2026 at 2:02 PM
ANIPLEX POP UP SHOP is being held until March 15, at Animate Ikebukuro Main Store, 7F NORTH (Tokyo), featuring exhibitions and merchandise from popular titles such as Fate/strange Fake and Gnosia.
January 28, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Android Opera "MIRROR – Deconstruction and Rebirth" by Keiichiro Shibuya will be held in Osaka on May 16. The vocal performer is Android Maria, accompanied by a live orchestra and Buddhist monks from Mount Kōya’s Kongōbu-ji Temple performing shōmyō. www.hey-japan.com/event/keiich...
January 28, 2026 at 2:01 PM
A kotatsu is a mostly low wooden table with a heater fixed underneath and a thick blanket draped over the frame. People sit on the floor, slide their legs under the table, and trap warm air inside. The blanket does most of the work, keeping the heat in so the whole body warms up, not just the feet.
January 26, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Hokora (祠) are small shrines found by roadsides, in villages, on mountains, at field edges, or within larger shrine and temple grounds, dedicated to local kami, guardian deities, or nature spirits for protection and veneration. Their charm lies in bringing the sacred into everyday life.
January 26, 2026 at 2:30 PM
We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW

LUNA SEA - Rosier

Listen on Apple Music: music.apple.com/album/mother...
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5zDJTh...
Listen on YouTube Music: music.youtube.com/watch?v=iV6x...
January 25, 2026 at 5:14 PM