The Brief

🇯🇵 Japan

Eastern AsiaCapital TokyoJPYJapanese
Advisory
Level 1
Exercise normal precautions · State Dept ↗
as of 2025-08-11
Weather
71°F / 22°C
Overcast · H 77° L 67°
Currency
JPY
159 per $1
Entry
Requirements
U.S. State Dept ↗
Standing intel: weather, currency & advisory · updated May 28, 2026

What’s moving in Japan

28 stories · last 90 days
The Latest
Corporate & Business Travel

United's Biggest-Ever Expansion Comes With a Fare Warning

United will launch nonstop service to 10 new international destinations starting in 2027 — Ibiza, Valencia, Marseille, Toulouse, Luxembourg, Ljubljana, Terceira…

Aug 26
Hotels & Resorts

IHG Converts 14 Kyoto Hotels to Garner and Holiday Inn Express

IHG has signed a deal to convert GCP Hospitality's 14 open M's-branded hotels in Kyoto to its midscale soft brand Garner and to Holiday Inn Express, with one…

Aug 25
Hotels & Resorts

IHG Converts 14 Open Kyoto Hotels to Garner and Holiday Inn Express

IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed to convert all 14 of GCP Hospitality's 'M's' hotels in Kyoto, rebranding the portfolio under the midscale Garner and Holiday Inn…

Aug 24
The Index
This month
IHG's Kyoto Land Grab: 14 Hotels Convert OvernightAug 23
United's 2027 build-out opens eight new nonstop US gatewaysAug 22
IHG Flips GCP's Entire 14-Hotel Kyoto Portfolio to Garner and Holiday Inn ExpressAug 22
Walk Japan's New Salt Road Traces the Alps Beyond Tokyo-KyotoAug 20
Japan's Quiet Alternative to an Overcrowded KyotoAug 18
Globus and Cosmos Push Small Group Discovery Beyond Europe for 2027Aug 14
American reshapes upgrades, Delta opens a new Tokyo gatewayAug 10
Delta relaunches Seattle–Narita, opening a second front against Alaska's Tokyo serviceAug 8
Choice Privileges Devalues Japan Awards for the Third TimeAug 8
Earlier
Delta reopens Tokyo, discounts a route nobody's booking yetAug 7
Choice and Accor Both Trim Loyalty Value, AgainAug 7
Heritage Conversions: A Prison in Nara, a Château in BurgundyAug 5
Omotenashi Becomes Shorthand for Anticipatory Butler ServiceAug 4
China's Outbound Rebound Is Capped by Capacity, Not DemandJul 29
Japan's First B2B Trade Portal Opens 20,000+ Ryokans at 13% CommissionJul 22
Japan Travel Trade Portal Opens 20,000 Previously Unreachable Properties to Direct Advisor BookingJul 21
Japan Departure Tax Triples to ¥3,000 on July 1; Kyoto Hotel Levy Reaches ¥10,000 per NightJun 25
Japan Visa Fees Quintuple from July 1 — Reprice Non-Exempt Clients NowJun 24
Two Entry Rules Change July 1: Japan Visa Costs 5× More; US Offers a $750 Queue-JumperJun 24
Two July 1 Deadlines Every Japan and U.S. Itinerary Needs to Address NowJun 23
Globus and Cosmos Open Full 2027–28 Asia & Africa Lineup NowJun 22
Fuji's Fractures Push Japan Alps Into Primary-Recommendation Territory — Trade Window Closes July 6Jun 18
Fuji Has a Crowd Problem. The Japanese Alps Don't — and a July 6 Trade Deadline Opens the Door.Jun 17
JAL Bans All 6,000 Cabin Crew From Layover Alcohol After Third Incident in Twelve MonthsJun 17
Globus and Cosmos Open 2027–28 Bookings on New Asia and Africa ItinerariesJun 17
Developments from the last 90 days · Standing intel from REST Countries, Open-Meteo, Exchange Rate API & the U.S. State Department