TRAVEL

Buddhist monks and matchmaking services may sound like an unlikely combination, but many Buddhist sects in the country are now offering such services for their monks as their temples face a dearth of successors and possible integration with other temples. One such sect is the Koyasan Shingon, headquartered on Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture. Out of its 3,700 temples nationwide, some 800 currently have no managing monks and are being overseen by other temples. In Japan, it is typical for relatives of monks - especially head monks - to inherit caretaker duties of their temples. (Japan Times)

Tama, the popular mascot cat at a train station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, got her first "station staff" Thursday in a ceremony attended by local residents and tourists. Tama, the appointed "Station Manager" of Kishi Station on the Kishikawa Line, has lived at the station for five years and is hugely popular with tourists. But as she is getting on in years, the railway brought in a youngster named Nitama to help out. About 100 tourists attended Thursday's ceremony to see the famous feline and her likely successor. (Japan Times)

A Dutchman thought to be connected to the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been arrested in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, on suspicion of acting violently against a man involved in whaling. Erwin Vermeulen, 42, allegedly pushed the man in the chest while trying to force his way onto a seaside road where entry is forbidden because of whale-hunting activities, according to police. (Japan Times)

The national weather agency issued heavy rain warnings Sunday for several areas across the country, raising fears that further landslides and flash flooding were in store for the Kii Peninsula, which took heavy damage from Typhoon Talas. Another slow-moving storm, Typhoon Roke, the 15th of the season, brought rain early Sunday to parts of Nara and Wakayama prefectures, where landslides triggered by Talas produced natural dams that are now in danger of collapsing if additional rain accumulates. (Japan Times)

With heavy rain predicted from Friday evening near landslide dams in Nara and Wakayama prefectures, the land ministry was calling for some residents to evacuate due to the possibility of further serious landslides and floods in their areas. The dams were formed by landslides triggered by strong rains dumped by Typhoon No. 12 earlier this month. If the dam in the Akatani district breaks, a flow of mud and rocks about 300 meters wide could travel about 20 kilometers downstream.　As a result, a nonbinding evacuation directive has been issued to 521 people in 270 households in the two prefectures. (Yomiuri)

The Cultural Affairs Agency has decided to conduct a full-scale investigation into the damage caused by Typhoon No. 12 to a UNESCO World Heritage Site that spreads across Wakayama, Nara and Mie prefectures. Agency staff were to be sent on Wednesday to investigate the harm done to the heritage site known as "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range." Huge landslides occurred within the site on ancient roads known as Kumano Kodo, and there was also damage to the Kumano Sanzan shrines. It may take several years to restore the areas to their original state. (Yomiuri)

Fishermen in the traditional whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, scrubbed Thursday's kickoff of their annual hunt for dolphins, whales and other cetaceans due to an approaching typhoon off the Pacific coast. "We'd like to head out to sea soon, but you just can't beat a typhoon," Masayuki Miyoshi, deputy head of a local whaling association, said. The town was the focus of the controversial U.S. documentary "The Cove," which critically depicts the dolphin hunt there. (Japan Times)

A temporary bypass was opened Thursday so that rescue supplies could be delivered to residents in the Nara Prefecture towns of Gojo and Totsukawa, which were cut off by Typhoon Talas. Every previously isolated area except part of Totsukawa is now reachable by road. The region's 12th storm of the year had killed 54 people and left 55 missing as of Thursday afternoon, doing most of its damage in three prefectures: Nara, Wakayama and Mie. Although the typhoon is gone, the Meteorological Agency was warning that more heavy rain was in store for the three prefectures through Friday, and urged local residents to be alert for potential hazards, particularly mudslides. (Japan Times)

Police and coast guardsmen have held a security drill to practice protecting Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, from protesters during the town's annual dolphin hunt. A prefectural police official said Wednesday's drill was aimed at guarding the town from protesters before the hunting season starts in September. About 100 law enforcement officers gathered in the bay where the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" was filmed. (Japan Times)

Japan will seek to extract natural gas from seabed deposits of methane hydrate, also known as "burning ice", in the world's first such offshore experiment, a news report said Monday. The test is scheduled for a stretch of ocean southwest of Tokyo, between Shizuoka and Wakayama prefectures, over several weeks in the fiscal year to March 2013, the Nikkei financial daily said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is preparing to request more than 10 billion yen ($127.5 million) for the project, the report said. (AFP)

The Kansai region is the heart of Japan because you have so many places which are rich in history and the diversity of the region is amazing. Kobe is a lovely city because the city is well designed and the surrounding area is very beautiful. The city of Osaka is the economic powerhouse in Kansai and this city is vibrant and ultra-modern and ranks easily within the top ten commercial cities in the world (ranked 7th). Also, Awaji Island is very close and this island adds to the stunning diversity of Kansai and is a pleasant holiday destination. Kyoto and Nara are famous because of being former capitals in Japan and the essence of Buddhism remains strong within stunning architecture. The city of Nara is the cradle of high culture in Japan. Meanwhile Himeji and Wakayama are blessed with magnificent castles and Himeji castle dominates this city and in Wakayama you have so many places to visit and Koyasan and Kumano are stunning. (moderntokyotimes.com)