#kagoshima

#kagoshima

Osaka, Japan's third largest city after Tokyo and Yokohama, has a youthful energy to it. Locals love it for tabearuki, which literally means walking and eating at the many shotengai-covered arcades, lined with stalls and tempting street food.

A massive, six-story reinforced steel and concrete castle in Akabira, Central Hokkaido, has hit the market for a staggering 10,000,000 Yen-approximately $64,000 USD. Built in 1991, this isn't a crumbling ancient ruin, but a modern structural feat totaling 1,571m² of building space on a sprawling 5,045m² freehold lot.

Fall's scarlet and gold was fading from the mountains around Sapporo as I sat with a small group around a heavy wood table with a charcoal grill in the center. We watched a chef cook channel rockfish over the coals. This northern Japanese delicacy is cherished for its meltingly sweet flesh, which takes on a light pink color because of the species' shrimp-heavy diet.

Intervening at the head office of Imabari Shipbuilding's Marugame Site presented an opportunity to reorganize the working environment of multiple parties involved in the construction of large tankers, formerly scattered across a vast industrial area of 0.88 km.

Haruka Kojin (artist), Kenji Minamigawa (director), and Hirofumi Masui (production manager) are the founding trio of 目[mé] (which means "eye" in Japanese). Their approach? "To create works that allow us to relive the 'world as it is' that constantly unfolds before our eyes," they explain on their website. This rather mysterious intention has nonetheless led the Japanese collective, created in 2013, to exhibit at the Japan Society in New York and the Centre Pompidou-Metz, which have presented several of their installations. Japanese private homes seem to be a favorite disruptive space for the artists, who have previously integrated an extremely minimalist art gallery into a dilapidated house on another Japanese island in 2020. Other notable works include giant inflatable faces installed above natural landscapes and the recreation of monumental waves.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian scientists documented something interesting: in areas with more trees per capita, the number and severity of COVID-19 cases were lower than in places with fewer trees, even when accounting for differences in human population density. This work is part of a growing body of research around the world investigating whether time spent in forests and nature can provide protection from infections, such as COVID-19 and pneumonia; inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis; and even cancer.

San Jose is home to one of three surviving Japantowns in the country. The other remaining Japanese communities are also in California cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles. Japanese immigrants came to San Jose in the late 1890s in search of farm work, originally settling in Chinatown before establishing their own cultural community in the region.

The Bud­dhis­ti­cal­ly inflect­ed " ichi-go ichi‑e" is just one in the vast library of yoji­juku­go, high­ly con­densed apho­ris­tic expres­sions writ­ten with just four char­ac­ters. (Oth­er coun­tries with Chi­nese-influ­enced lan­guages have their ver­sions, includ­ing sajaseon­geo in Korea and chéngyǔ in Chi­na itself.) It descends, as the sto­ry goes, from a slight­ly longer say­ing favored by the six­teenth-cen­tu­ry tea mas­ter Sen no Rikyū, " ichi-go ni ichi-do " (一期に一度).

Behind [Mount Fuji's] beautiful landscape is the reality that the quiet lives of citizens are threatened. We have a strong sense of crisis. To protect the dignity and living environment of our citizens, we have decided to bring the curtain down on the 10-year-old festival, he added in his statement. Authorities cited repeated incidents of disruptive behaviour from tourists in the city, which lies to the west of Tokyo.

I grew up visiting this house. It originally belonged to my grandfather's older sister, and whenever I traveled down from Iwate, the northern prefecture in Japan where I grew up, this was where the family gathered. Later, I worked as a rehabilitation consultant at hospitals in Osaka and Yokohama. I moved, but this place was always in the back of my mind.

Anyone who visits Japan, whether it's just for sightseeing or for skiing/snowboarding, needs to do some karaoke. In the U.S., most karaoke is done in a bar with everyone watching. In Japan, most karaoke is done in private rooms for just you and your friends. It really takes things to the next level. Skiers and snowboarders at Hakuba Goryu Snow Resort in Japan don't need to go far out of their way to get some karaoke in.

The road to ramen paradise ends in the unlikeliest of places. At Men Endo, located in a suburban street, next to a school and a low-rise apartment block, bowls of noodles disappear in a flurry of slurps, gulps and hurried but heartfelt exchanges of appreciation between customer and chef. On a cold afternoon in Yamagata, a city in Japan's northeast, the wait for a seat at Men Endo's counter is mercifully short.

As an American who's traveled to 44 countries over the last 30 years, I've seen my fair share of unforgettable places. But if I had to choose one place to visit again and again, it would be Bali, an island and province in Indonesia that combines vibrant culture, natural beauty, and a pace of life that feels both energizing and restorative. After spending a month on the island in 2023, I fell in love. Here's what made my trip to Bali so special.

The best places to visit in May take advantage of that elusive window of perfect weather as spring turns to summer, when it's not too hot and it's not too cold-all you need is a light jacket. That frees up essential space in our carry-ons (big puffy jackets and thermal leggings can stay home, finally), creating more room for souvenirs from wherever we may go.