Japan is launching a nationwide effort to make its nightlife more accessible to tourists, by improving transport and funding events. As other destinations outpace Japan’s tourist spending on culture and recreation, the country is reconsidering nightlife’s role in holidaymaking.

Playing off the fact it sounds similar to Japanese phrase kitto katsu – or ‘you’ll surely win’ – KitKat has long been marketed as a lucky charm, building itself into local tradition. As a result, it’s become the nation’s favourite chocolate bar and Nestlé is opening a factory to satisfy and cash in on local preferences.

From ramen shops to sushi stands, there’s no doubt that eating out is big business in Japan. But authentic, local dining is off-limits to many foreigners due to the formidable language barrier that persists outside major cities. Could an app get tourists to pick up the chopsticks?

Sake may have waned in popularity in Japan, but the demand for rice wine is rapidly growing elsewhere in the world. The Sake 2020 Project, formed in anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics, is leading the effort to ‘create a better environment to promote sake to foreign customers’.