January 2026

Ginza pedestrian zone

Ginza’s Pedestrian Zone: Tokyo’s Weekend Promenade

Ginza is best known as Tokyo’s most elegant shopping district, lined with department stores, flagship boutiques, and historic cafés. On weekends and public holidays, however, the area takes on a very different character when its main streets are closed to traffic and transformed into a vast pedestrian zone.


Shinjuku Gyoen Chrysanthemum

Japan and the Chrysanthemum

Although first cultivated in China, the chrysanthemum is one of Japan’s most cherished flowers. So important is it that the Emperor and Imperial Family are often referred to as the Chrysanthemum Throne, with the flower featured on the official seal.


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