Monday, 26 October 2026 · By 37 Frames
A balcony over Shinjuku Gyoen, dinner forty-four floors above the city, a few days by the sea after everyone has gone home. The days around a wedding give the whole trip its character, and these two weeks of Japan destination wedding news bring plenty for those days: new places to stay from Tokyo to the Seto Inland Sea, a French table in Shinjuku, an underwater restaurant returning in Saga, JR East’s winter trains and Kobe’s autumn garden calendar. Following it all is part of planning weddings in Japan. These are the ones we’d keep an eye on.
1. New stays, from Tokyo balconies to the Seto Inland Sea
NOHGA Shinjuku Gyoen opens bookings for July 2027
Reservations opened on 15 October for NOHGA Shinjuku Gyoen, planned to open on 15 July 2027. All 72 rooms will have balconies looking over the garden, with a bakery, a restaurant and a rooftop bar in the plans.
For a summer 2027 wedding in Tokyo, it’s a new address for the nights either side, and in the middle of Shinjuku, a room that looks onto trees rather than towers makes a calmer start to a wedding morning.
Source: Nomura Real Estate Hotels’ announcement, 15 October 2026, checked 25 October 2026.
Ten rooms and sea views at hotel ISLET setouchi
In Murotsu, part of Tatsuno in Hyogo Prefecture, hotel ISLET setouchi opened reservations on 14 October ahead of a planned 9 December opening. All ten rooms will look out to sea, each with a semi-open-air bath, and seven with a sauna. Stays are all-inclusive, built around local food and drink.
At ten rooms, it suits the two of you, or the handful of family who stay on: a few quiet days by the sea once the celebrations are over.
Source: Yado Plus announcement, 14 October 2026, checked 25 October 2026.
KAI Zao adds an onsen stop in Yamagata
KAI Zao opened on 15 October in Zao Onsen, Yamagata. The 49-room ryokan sits in a distinctive 14-sided tower, with hot-spring baths, a sauna and a rooftop whirlpool. Rooms take their colour from safflower, with local furniture and washi paper.
For now it takes bookings from within Japan only, which is where a travel concierge like Awayuki comes in. It’s about 40 minutes by car from Yamagata Station, so we’d plan a driver for the arrival, and let the mountain do the rest.
Sources: KAI Zao official Japanese site, opening 15 October 2026; English property information, checked 25 October 2026.
2. Two new tables, in Tokyo and Saga
Meilleur opens on the 44th floor in Shinjuku
Keio Plaza Hotel’s new French restaurant, Meilleur, opened on 23 October. The 22-seat dining room pairs French technique with Japanese ingredients, with alcohol, alcohol-free and mixed pairings. The seven-course LIEN menu is ¥26K (about US$166, at ¥157 to the dollar) and the nine-course MEILLEUR menu ¥33K (about US$210), tax and service included, with pairings on top. It welcomes guests aged ten and up, and normally closes on Sundays and Mondays.
With 22 seats and the city laid out below, it suits a dinner for two, or with a few of your family. For five or more, book by phone.
Sources: Keio Plaza’s official restaurant details, opened 23 October 2026; Japanese booking menu; English booking menu, checked 25 October 2026.
Yobuko’s underwater restaurant prepares to return
Manbo in Yobuko, Saga, is due to reopen on 16 November after a full renewal, with a new restaurant vessel. The windows in its underwater dining room will be roughly three times their old size, and there will be private rooms for families and groups. Upstairs, tables, chairs and sofas take the place of most of the old raised seating. Booking details and opening hours are still to come.
The new private rooms are the draw for a family lunch, and it sits in the same harbour town as the morning market in this issue’s Region in Focus.
Sources: JR Kyushu and Manbo announcement, 15 October 2026; Manbo’s current notices, checked 25 October 2026.
3. Winter journeys are coming into view
Extra trains for winter stays and an early taste of spring
JR East released its winter extra-train plans on 22 October, covering 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027. Alongside more than 3,600 extra Shinkansen services, the plans include all-reserved-seat trains to Izu in February for the Kawazu cherry blossom, among the first of the year.
For a February wedding with a few days to spare, Izu’s early cherries are a reason to stay on. Seats go on sale a month ahead, at 10AM Japan time.
Sources: JR East winter timetable announcement, 22 October 2026; JR East booking FAQ, checked 25 October 2026. Train plans as of 22 October; blossom never keeps a timetable.
4. Autumn portraits in Kobe
Weekday portraits at Sorakuen this autumn
Sorakuen, the garden in central Kobe, takes photography bookings through its permit system. From 8 November to 9 December, portrait sessions there are weekdays only, one booking per time slot. Weddings held in the garden itself aren’t affected.
If you’re marrying in Kobe this season, we’d plan portraits for a weekday and book the slot early.
Source: Sorakuen’s official photography-permit notice, checked 25 October 2026.
Japan’s Region in Focus: Karatsu and Yobuko, Saga
On Saga Prefecture’s north coast, Karatsu and the fishing town of Yobuko are an easy few days after a wedding in Kyushu. Yobuko’s morning market brings together seafood, dried fish, vegetables and ceramics, every morning but New Year’s Day, with most stalls open from 7:30 until noon. Karatsu’s potters make cups, bowls and sake vessels to be used at home. For couples who travel to eat, the best thing to carry home is both: a taste of the trip, and the bowl to serve it in.
Further reading: Karatsu Tourism Association’s Yobuko market guide; Karatsu pottery guide, checked 25 October 2026.
From 37 Frames
Last week brought us two incredible celebrations. At Mt Fuji, a beautiful couple married as a sea of cloud drifted across the mountain, halfway up its slopes. Our friends there welcomed them so warmly: the shrine was wonderful, and the little café across the road has already shared them on its Instagram.
The next day, in a bamboo forest in Utsunomiya, came the most incredible Indian fusion wedding. We were extraordinarily lucky with the weather for both: two fine days in a wet week. Typhoon No. 30 brought torrential rain the day after the bamboo wedding, and No. 31 has already entered the chat. Typhoons are arriving late this year, and for an autumn wedding, the weather plan deserves as much care as the first plan.
It’s truly wedding season, and there are so many more beautiful celebrations to come.
