Shingo, a village of 1,919 in northern Japan, has had a tomb of Jesus since 1935, declared by a promoter of a forged chronicle. Almost nobody there believes it, yet the Shinto rite hit its 62nd edition in 2026.
Murakami's salmon run fell from 55,000 fish to 1,400 in a decade. Now the town is spending about $32,000 to attempt what Norway and Chile have not: closing the life cycle of chum salmon entirely on land.
A paint maker in Imabari spent five years building a bear deterrent launcher called Kintaro. Its president fired it at his own body for a year and a half, and zoos refused to let him test it on a real bear.
Odakyu Hakone will run a charter train on August 30, 2026 with every window pushed open on a 107-year-old railcar that has no air conditioning. The Hakone Tozan Railway's Type 100 retires in January 2028.
Fujikyu is turning a retired commuter train into SADEN, a day sauna sitting on the tracks at Shimoyoshida Station near Mt. Fuji. The Blue Train sleeping car that stood on the site will not be scrapped.
Bridgestone's airless AirFree tire is now in permanent service on an autonomous shuttle in Higashiomi, Shiga, a national first. How its puncture-proof resin-spoke design works, why driverless and MaaS fleets need it, how it contrasts with Michelin's Uptis strategy, and whether it's really Moon-bound.
On July 7, 2026, Noto Airport became the world's first airport to carry the Pokemon name. All 111 Flying-type Pokemon and a giant Pikachu now anchor a recovery push for the quake-hit Noto Peninsula. We unpack the airport's own damage-and-revival story, Japan's distinctive model of rebuilding through beloved characters, and how to visit.
A free Pokemon footbath opened in May to help quake-hit Noto recover. Less than two months later, three of its seven statues (Vaporeon, Psyduck and Gyarados) are damaged, and one has prompted a police report. A look at what happened and how Japan is reacting.
On June 19, 2026, Iizaka Onsen in Fukushima launched a town-wide all-inclusive plan: one ¥25,000 passport for 16 inns, 13 baths, and 25 shops, with local sake, disc gyoza, and day-baths on the house. A look at a shrinking spa town's bet on a whole-district tourism model.
A stray calico named Tama once saved a doomed rural rail line. Now Japan's Wakayama Electric Railway plans to turn the whole route into 'Nyanderland', a cat nation with passports, visas, and a queen.
Aquaponics rarely pays as a standalone farm. So how does Aomori's closed-school project plan to make money? By monetizing the cafe, tours, education and welfare work around the tank, backed by public funds.
Yokkaichi City handed its reservoir grass-cutting to nine goats, dropping annual costs from $5,000 to $3,100. Meet the hungriest grounds crew in Japan and the comeback of goat grazing.
Niseko, Japan's premier ski resort, is moving beyond its winter-only image. We break down 'Niseko by Nature', the new brand from the Niseko Promotion Board (NPB), what a tourism DMO actually does, and how to enjoy Niseko's green season.
Japan's 2025 census preliminary count puts the population at 123 million, down 3.1 million in five years, the steepest drop since records began. The country fell from 11th to 12th in the world, overtaken by Ethiopia. We translate that number into cities you can picture, then compare how South Korea, Italy, and China face the same cliff, and ask whether Japan's immigration, birth-support, and regional-revival policies are working.
In Japan's science city of Tsukuba, a coffee roaster and the KEK physics lab created five drip-bag blends named after subatomic particles, each tuned to the particle's real character. Why visiting researchers love them as souvenirs.
JAL, JALUX and ispace have unveiled ARGO PROJECT, the first lunar transport service run by an airline. A box called Möbius Ark will carry cultural items to the Moon on ispace's Mission 3 in 2028. Here is why a 75-year-old airline is moving into space logistics.
Roadkill of the Amami black rabbit, a 'living fossil' found only on two southern Japanese islands, hit a record 185 in 2025. The grim milestone is a side effect of Japan's celebrated invasive-species eradication programs, including a 24-year mongoose campaign declared complete in 2024.
ufotable, the studio behind Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Chapter 1 and its ¥117.9 billion worldwide gross, announced on May 11, 2026 the acquisition of a 98-year-old former Mizuho Bank building in Tokushima. The 1928 structure, which survived the WWII firebombing of the city, will become a new entertainment hub and could turn into the next must-visit destination for global Demon Slayer fans making the pilgrimage to Japan.
Japanese telecom giant NTT runs a land-based shrimp farm in Iwata, producing 180 tons/year and capturing the largest domestic share. A deep dive into the 10-year plan to free Japan from its 90% shrimp import dependence, plus how it stacks up against Norway and Singapore.
JR East launches Japan's fastest and longest Level 4 autonomous bus on May 29, 2026, on the tsunami-rebuilt Kesennuma BRT in Miyagi Prefecture: 60 km/h top speed and 15.5 km route, both national records. As China's Baidu and Waymo race ahead with city robotaxis, Japan is taking a quieter, magnet-marker path on dedicated bus corridors.