| Feb 04 | A taste of old Japan in a mountain ryokan |
 The Japanese clearly value tradition, yet for one reason or another - fire, natural disaster, the second world war, an enthusiasm for progress - there aren't many towns left that truly encapsulate the way things were. Kyoto has its temples, but in between them is a thoroughly modern city.
Takayama is different - an old castle town in the mountains of central Japan. You can still see the ruins of the 17th-century castle in the town's Shiroyama Park, but Takayama is much better known for its townscape of narrow lanes and low wooden buildings stained the colour of espresso. With its steep hills the town couldn't produce much rice, so it produced artisans instead. Many were carpenters, who would go on to work on the palaces and temples in Kyoto, then return to construct their signature lattice-front buildings for local merchants.
(guardian.co.uk  ) |
| Feb 03 | Ice sculptures, snow slides at Hokkaido fest |
The City of Sapporo will be hosting the 63rd annual Snow Festival this month. The event is considered a "must see" for tourists and about 2 million people visited the festival last year.
The main draw is a collection of sculptures created entirely out of snow and ice. This year, organizers say that 222 sculptures will be on display.
The festival is held at three different sites in the city. The main site is at Odori Park, which is in the middle of downtown Sapporo. The site will feature 136 sculptures, and stages that will host a variety of performances scheduled to take place throughout the week. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 03 | Japan's celebration of Spring: Penis and vagina festivals |
 Dating back more than 1,500 years, Japan's rites of spring are deeply rooted in its agricultural past.
As in all the world's ancient cultures, such observances were believed to promote a successful harvest and produce many babies.
It is ironic that Japan's Penis and Vagina Festival is an annual event dating back to ancient times and today that nation has one of the world's lowest birth rates.
The government hopes to ease the financial burden of child-rearing and encourage more children by offering a monthly stipend of $280 per child.
But these annual festivals, which attract many tourists and fill local coffers, offer more encouragement on a visceral level. (weirdasianews.com ) |
| Feb 02 | Hamamatsu new 'gyoza' capital |
 Boasting dozens of restaurants and shops and the highest household consumption rate of "gyoza," Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, has long been regarded as the capital of the Chinese dumpling as well.
News photo
Pot stickers: "Gyoza" dumplings are arranged for a photo Wednesday at a restaurant in Minato Ward, Tokyo. YOSHIAKI MIURA
But no longer.
For the first time in 16 years, the city lost its No. 1 ranking in gyoza consumption, beaten out by Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, according to a recent survey of household spending released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Last year, Utsunomiya households spent on average just ¥3,737 on the dumplings, down 40 percent from a record high ¥6,133 in 2010. Meanwhile, households in Hamamatsu spent ¥4,313, down 10 percent from ¥4,754 in 2010.
(Japan Times ) |
| Feb 02 | Gundam park to open in Odaiba |
 A theme park featuring popular "anime" series "Mobile Suit Gundam" will open on April 19 in Tokyo's Odaiba district.
According to Bandai Co., the new theme park, named Gundam Front Tokyo, will have a huge dome-shaped screen showing images of Gundam, the venerated fighting robot in the popular series, and rare documents related to the series' production will be on display.
The theme park will be on the seventh floor of a new shopping complex, DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, opening on April 19.
An 18-meter statue of Gundam will stand outside the complex. A second outlet of the popular Gundam Cafe, located in Akihabara, Tokyo, will also open on the second floor of the complex. (Japan Times ) |
| Jan 31 | Akihabara opens subculture center |
A new landmark has opened in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district that houses specialty shops for "Akiba culture" goods.
The six-story Akiba Culture Zone, which used to be a Laox Co. computer store until it closed in 2007 after business declined, now has tenants offering such items as comics, animation figurines and pop idol goods.
The shops include K-Books on the first and second floors, which stocks about 140,000 books and comics and about 300,000 recycled items, including games, figures and coterie magazines. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 29 | Fish tales of Tsukiji |
 Streets are bathed in indigo hues when I emerge from the Hibiya subway line's Tsukiji Station, heading for Tsukiji Oroshiuri Shijo which, though its name translates simply as "Tsukiji Wholesale Market," is actually the world's largest fish market. At 6 a.m., it's too late to catch the famed tuna or melon auctions, but I've got scaled-back ambitions. Fish stories and a filet or two will do.
Heading south on Shin Ohashi avenue, with Tsukiji's Jogai Shijo (outer market) on my left, I pass through clouds of steam from sidewalk ramen shops. What changes there must have been in this area, I muse, since it first began to rise as landfill from Tokyo Bay in the Edo Period (1603-1867). By the mid-1600s, fishermen living on both the new mudflats of Tsukiji and raised islands across the Sumida River were netting the primary source of protein for the estimated half a million residents of Edo (present-day Tokyo). (Japan Times) |
| Jan 27 | New National Theatre, Tokyo, opens season with Puccini classic |
| The New National Theatre, Tokyo, (NNTT) is opening its 2012 opera season with a classic by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The Puccini piece, "La Boheme," is especially popular with Japanese opera fans and this time around it will be directed by Jun Aguni and conducted by Germany's Constantin Trinks. The piece is set in Paris in the 1830s and centers on the love story of poet Rodolfo (Ji Min Park), and seamstress Mimi Veronica Cangemi). It will be both Cangemi and Park's first performances at the NNTT. Cangemi is an Argentinian soprano and has performed on some of the most celebrated stages in the world. Park is a tenor who hails from South Korea. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 26 | 47 prefectures in 100 days to woo back tourists |
 While tourism in Japan has been sluggish since the March 11 calamity, a British couple recently completed a 100-day tour of all 47 prefectures to help bring foreign travelers back to the country.
Their journey blogs have been accessed more than 50,000 times in the last four months.
Jamie Lafferty, a 28-year-old writer, and Katy Morrison, a 29-year-old photographer, made the journey as part of the Travel Volunteer Project initiated by a travel agency in central Japan.
Magellan Resorts & Trust Inc. in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, launched the initiative to show the world through foreigners' eyes that Japan remains a safe and attractive destination. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 26 | Japan - The Ryokan Experience |
 Ryokans are Japanese-styled inns from centuries ago and are more than just a place to stay. They offer the visitor a chance to experience traditional Japanese lifestyle; from tatami (rice mats) covered floors and futon beds to Japanese styled baths and local cuisine presented in an authentic manner. They are a window into life in Japan in the old days.
Ryokans originated sometime in the 17th century, and their primary purpose was to serve those travelling along Japanese highways such as the famed Tokaido road between Tokyo and Kyoto. They are typically stationed in a quiet, idyllic setting, often next to natural hot springs. While there are quite a few city ryokans in urban areas, seek out the ones next to the hot springs, known as onsen ryokan, for a tranquil Japanese holiday.
The key to having a great time at a ryokan is to understand Japanese traditions beforehand. A quintessential ryokan experience would start when hosts greet their visitors at the street door. After the customary bowing, your shoes are replaced with slippers. According to Japanese tradition, it is considered impolite to ask for your shoes before the stay is over. Tea is served in a large entrance hall, where people can sit and talk, after which guests are shown to their rooms. (totaltele.com ) |
| Jan 25 | Japan to recommend Mt. Fuji, Kamakura for cultural World Heritage |
 The Japanese government decided Wednesday to recommend that Mt. Fuji and the ancient capital Kamakura be added to the list of cultural World Heritage sites, aiming to see them registered by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2013.
The government will file its recommendations with the Paris-based UNESCO World Heritage Center by Feb. 1. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will decide whether to formally register the sites in the middle of 2013.
Mt. Fuji as a cultural World Heritage candidate covers a 70,000-hectare area in Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, including five major lakes, the Shiraito Falls and the Miho-no-Matsubara pine grove. (Mainichi) |
| Jan 25 | Narita part of U.K. open-skies deal |
| Japan and Britain have agreed to add Narita International Airport, the country's largest international gateway, to their open skies agreement as a result of bilateral civil aviation talks, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The addition of Narita will take effect in summer 2013, when the combined number of departures and arrivals at the airport is to be raised to 270,000 a year, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said. Signatory countries to such agreements are basically obliged to permit each other's airlines to set the number of flights to the other's airports and open new routes to them without restrictions. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 25 | 2012 foreign tourist target: 9 million |
| Tourism minister Takeshi Maeda said Tuesday that the government aims to attract more than 9 million foreign visitors in 2012, exceeding the past record of 8.61 million set in 2010. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the estimated number of foreign visitors in 2011 dropped 27.8 percent from a year earlier to 6.22 million due to the March 11 disasters and the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 23 | Japan's isle of white in Sapporo |
 Wild and remote, cold and barely inhabited, Hokkaido is unlike any other place in jam-packed Japan.
Most of the country's northernmost island consists of wilderness, hot springs, forests and national parks, all contributing to a palette of striking mountain and coastal scenery.
The island's capital, Sapporo, began in the 19th century as an administrative centre designed to discourage foreign incursions, but American and European advisers helped chart its future economy.
Possessing few ancient historic relics like Nara, Hiraizumi and Kyoto do Sapporo instead has wide streets, mostly modern architecture and lots of parks, gardens and scattered green belts.
But it's mid-winter, when the greens shed their colour and up to 6m of snow tumbles down, that Sapporo really shines, attracting two million visitors to the glittering Sapporo Snow Festival. (adelaidenow.com.au) |
| Jan 21 | Cherry blossoms to stick to script |
| The cherry blossom viewing season is likely to start at around the same time as usual in many parts of the nation this year because temperatures are expected to rise around late February, Weather Map Co. said Friday. According to a forecast by the private Tokyo-based firm, the year's first cherry blossoms will appear on March 23 in Shizuoka Prefecture, followed by Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Kochi prefectures a day later. Elsewhere, the "someiyoshino" species of cherry tree is expected to bloom on March 25 in Tokyo, March 27 in Nagoya and March 28 in Osaka. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 21 | Foreign tourists to get fixed-rate expressway pass |
| Central Nippon Expressway Co. says it will offer a fixed-rate toll pass for foreign drivers to promote tourism in central Japan. The all-you-can-ride pass is good for seven days and will be available between March 21 and June 30. The pass for the Japan Alps route across Nagano, Aichi and Gifu prefectures will cost ¥7,000, while the pass for taking the Sea of Japan route across Toyama, Fukui, Shiga, Gifu and Aichi prefectures will cost ¥9,000. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 19 | Japan tourism struggles to recover after disasters |
 More than 10 months after the Fukushima meltdown and Japan is still dealing with the fallout - this time the key industry of tourism is reeling from the catastrophe.
According to government figures released Tuesday, the number of foreign nationals entering Japan dropped 24.4% from a record of 9.45 million in 2010 to 7.14 million in 2011.
New entries of foreign nationals - a figure that excludes working or studying expatriates that may have returned after home leave - made a similarly dismal showing. The Immigration Bureau of the Justice Ministry said new entrants fell from 7.92 million in 2010 to 5.45 million in 2010, slumping 31.2%. (CNN) |
| Jan 17 | Osaka - Hokkaido |
 We wanted to make a ski & snowboarding video this year. This is our journey traveling from Osaka to Hokkaido by train, to make it happen. Luckily, some cool guys up in Niseko & Sapporo helped us out.
Grand Hirafu in Niseko. This is an international playground of skiers and snowboarders. Amazing talent constantly just coming down the hill.
Sapporo Kokusai. We got some sick local & national snowboarders. A super cool group of guys who endured a light blizzard, then rocked out on the kicker non-stop. (Chibi Moku ) |
| Jan 16 | France's Louvre to show art and solidarity in Japan |
 The world-renowned and most visited Louvre Museum of France is due to bring more than 20 art works to Japan as a show of solidarity with the Japanese in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11 and which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
The announcement on Friday was made by Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities at the Louvre museum.
Louvre which is home to the world's greatest masterpieces will hold the exhibit in Japan specifically in the severely hit areas from the March disaster. The exhibit dubbed as "Meeting, Love, Friendship, Solidarity in the Louvre collections" will run from April 20 to September 17 in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. (Tokyo Times) |
| Jan 15 | Call of the powder: sublime snow in Japan |
 There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of hurtling down a steep, untracked slope of knee-deep powder. It is an uncomplicated pleasure, pure and exhilarating; carving turns into the untouched snow and sending up white plumes in your wake.
Fortunately, Japan gets masses of feathery powder, and many resorts turn a blind eye to off-piste skiing and have refined the art of Zen and grooming - taking a minimalist approach on selected runs.
Having been raised on the icy slopes of New England, where deep powder runs are akin to Loch Ness monster sightings, Japan has been a revelation. In New England there are about 20 different words for icy conditions, and you get your money's worth out of your ski edges. Here, conditions are incredibly good and, unless you ski in Hokkaido, it's not nearly as cold. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 13 | Niseko, Japan's own St. Moritz |
 I am barefoot and naked padding along a stone path in the depths of Japanese winter, surrounded by snow-laden pine trees. I slip into a hot pool fed by natural underground springs. Huge, slow-moving snowflakes gently settle on my hair. In the dusk I can see just a few vague figures across the pond-size area - other women barely visible through the steam.
Earlier that day I had been communing with the snow in a more conventional way, skiing my way through deep blankets of powder on Mount Annupuri in Niseko. The network of ski areas around the small resort village of Hirafu on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, see almost constant snowfall from December to April, a type of "Champagne powder," as aficionados call it, that is a result of low pressure systems over northeast Hokkaido meeting high pressure systems over northwest Siberia. The winds from Siberia pick up moisture from the Sea of Japan, and the resulting bands of clouds dump huge amounts of snow when they reach the mountains. (New York Times ) |
| Jan 12 | Mother Nature finally smiles on Japan, with bumper ski season |
 Skiers and snowboarders are basking in bumper snowfalls in Japan, while the United States is struggling with below average snowfalls.
But ironically bookings for Japan have been down following last year's earthquake and tsunami.
Whistler in British Columbia has recorded some of the best snowfalls in Canada, with a 208cm base, and Alberta resorts such as Banff and Lake Louise were also doing well.
But most of the US is suffering below average snowfalls with many of the most popular resorts struggling to reach a half-metre base.
Niseko on Japan's northern island Hokkaido has had more than 10m of snow fall this season. (news.com.au ) |
| Jan 08 | Hide out with Samurai in Japan |
 Surrounded by unspoilt forest, we traverse the footbridge over a steep ravine to the crystal-clear Umenoki Todoro Falls.
There is hardly a person in sight it feels a world away from the bright lights and crowded city streets of Osaka and Tokyo.
This is Gokanosho on the island of Kyushu. Accessible via a windy, one-lane road that climbs into the mountains, it is considered one of the last secluded areas on Kyushu.
The district is famous for being a hidden refuge for a samurai clan in the 12th century. Luckily, we have a local guide who can easily navigate the area.
As a first-time visitor to Japan, I expected lots of hustle and bustle and there is no doubt that the country is heavily populated. But when you reach this national park, you get the sense that this is the real Japan. The area is remote and rugged, and the locals are especially friendly, with Gokanosho home to several quaint villages. (The Age) |
| Jan 01 | Skis, goggles, hats - and radiation monitors: thousands crowd the slopes during Fukushima's ski season |
 It seemed to be a typical festive winter scene, with crowds of smiling skiers of all ages dressed in colourful hats and goggles making their way down snow-covered slopes.
But the setting is perhaps less predictable: for the ski scene was unfolding in Fukushima, a region of Japan that has become synonymous globally as home to the world's worst nuclear crisis in decades.
Last week, thousands of skiers took to the snow-covered slopes of Fukushima for the official seasonal start of the ski season in resorts across the mountainous region following heavy snowfall.
However, there were clues that this was no ordinary ski season - in particular, the daily postings of radiation readings in the region alongside the more standard snow reports as well as the regional authorities monitoring food safety levels. (telegraph.co.uk) |
| Jan 01 | Yakushima seeks environment-tourism balance |
Yakushima Island off Kagoshima Prefecture in 1993 became the country's first natural site to be entered on UNESCO's World Heritage list, together with the Shirakami Mountain Range in northeastern Japan.
Known for its many large cedar trees and hot springs, Yakushima is still enjoying a boom in tourism 18 years after registration. The increase in the number of visitors, however, has caused the island's environment to deteriorate, and the local town government has been exploring ways to make tourism compatible with environmental protection.
The number of visitors to the famous Jomon Sugi cedar tree on the island's 1,396-meter Mount Miyanoura, the highest peak in the Kyushu region, reached about 90,000 in 2010, a threefold increase from 2000. (Japan Times) |
