September 04, 2012
Tourist attractions are a yen a dozen in Tokyo, but a group of positive-minded students says there is room for another.
September 03, 2012
It was a dinner of biblical proportions: Thousands of festival-goers shared a giant stew on a riverbank in Yamagata on Sept. 2.
August 26, 2012
DAISEN, Akita Prefecture--Twenty-eight fireworks manufacturers competed for supremacy in the late summer night skies here, much to the delight of some 760,000 people who gathered on the banks of the Omonogawa river on Aug. 25.
August 26, 2012
A western Tokyo neighborhood with an unusual name is reaching into its distant past to revitalize its businesses and attract more visitors.
August 26, 2012
OGORI, Fukuoka Prefecture--Nyoirinji temple here will display about 600 wind chimes carrying the wishes of visitors, many of whom sought respite from the summer heat.
August 25, 2012
Forget Godzilla and giant robots. Merchants in Tokyo's Akihabara district, the anime and electronics mecca of Japan, have been battling two truly ferocious foes this summer: slumping tourism and thrifty shoppers.
August 25, 2012
With clear skies and good visibility, visitors on the 634-meter-tall Tokyo Skytree tower’s observation deck often take photos of Mount Fuji in the distance, but Suguru Minamikawa did the opposite.
August 19, 2012
INAKADATE, Aomori Prefecture--In the hands of a true "artiste," just about anything can be transformed into a canvas for creative expression--even a rice paddy.
August 18, 2012
OSAKA -- That's a big old box, for a supersize battlebot.
August 17, 2012
If you're fishing around for something to do this summer, the Art Aquarium Exhibition 2012 being held at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, offers an eye-catching exhibition of living art.
August 13, 2012
TOKUSHIMA--In a scene that would have done Frank Zappa proud, a group of "dancing fools" took to the streets of Tokushima Aug. 12 to kick off Awa Odori, the four-day summer dance festival.
August 08, 2012
It’s one of nature’s late developers. The century plant, a giant agave succulent, which takes decades to mature, has burst into flower in two parks in Tokyo.
August 03, 2012
Blazing vividly against the night sky, a fleet of enormous floats featuring historical heroes and mythical creatures rolled through the streets of Aomori on Aug. 2.
August 03, 2012
GIFU--A museum devoted to an eccentric fishing tradition that uses live cormorants to catch river fish opened here on Aug 1.
July 28, 2012
After the first dinosaur footprints ever discovered in Japan were found in Kanna in rural Gunma Prefecture in 1985, the tiny town began promoting itself as a "dinosaur kingdom," the country's version of "Jurassic Park."
July 28, 2012
KYOTO--Visitors to Kyoto's Shimogamojinja shrine, in Sakyo Ward, waded through teeming crowds and knee-deep water to take part in a traditional foot-bathing ritual at the Mitarashi Matsuri festival on July 27.
July 26, 2012
Hoping to capitalize on "moe" culture, a seafood restaurant specializing in delicacies from Rumoi in Hokkaido opened this spring in Tokyo's fabled Akihabara "Electric Town."
July 26, 2012
SAN MARINO, Calif.—With ponds of koi fish, a newly installed ceremonial teahouse and sloping bridge, the reopened Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library in San Marino is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year after an extensive, yearlong renovation.
July 21, 2012
OSAKA--A muscle-bound local hero is leading the charge in the makeover of the Shinsekai district of Osaka, one of the most popular entertainment areas of the city.
July 21, 2012
In one of Japan’s largest photo exhibitions, opening in Tokyo on July 20, the images were all shot by the public, demonstrating that photography skills are not the sole domain of professionals.