Travel Agenda: Turning Japanese in San Francisco; Berlin gets a hip new hideaway; County Dublin hosts Festival of World Cultures

Today...

A new cultural centre is opening in San Francisco. New People is dedicated to Japanese pop culture, with a cinema, shop, Japanese deli and art gallery. A free street festival in Japantown will mark the event ( newpeopleworld.com ).

This week...

Berlin gets a hip new hideaway on Monday. Don't be fooled by the Michelberger Hotel's Scandinavian-cool interiors – high price tags apply only to the design, with rates starting at €59 ( michelbergerhotel.com ). In Amsterdam, the Grachtenfestival is underway. Set on the banks of the IJ, the Hermitage and around the city centre, its focus is classical music but there are architectural walks, boat tours and a children's programme too; to 23 Aug ( grachtenfestival.nl ).

In the diary...

Traverse the globe at the Festival of World Cultures in south County Dublin on 29-30 August. The programme features musicians from Rajasthan to Morocco, as well as a performance from Jane Birkin, street theatre and markets ( festivalofworldcultures.com ). Finally, BA's new service from London City Airport to New York JFK takes off on 29 September. The twice-daily business-class only service will stop en route at Shannon for refuelling and US immigration clearance ( ba.com ).