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January 23, 2026
 

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Justin Randall
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags ¡ª an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 6, 2025
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
A new luxury resort might halt the decline of Kawayu, but only if locals and businesses can agree on how to move forward.
The Betsukai Pilot Spirits welcomed new players (left to right) Yuta Yamanaka, Roman Guthrie, Scott Bellina and Leo Jiminian this year, pictured here with Yassir Lachkar of the Ishikari Red Phoenix.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Sep 1, 2025
Overseas sluggers step up to bat in small-town Hokkaido
The residents of Betsukai, Hokkaido ¡ª where cows outnumber people 7-to-1 ¡ª have extended a warm welcome to five players from overseas who joined the Pilot Spirits.
The Hokkaido East Trail links some of the northern prefecture's most striking national parks and landscapes.
LIFE / Travel
May 24, 2025
In search of untouched Japan? Meet Hokkaido¡¯s newest hiking trail.
The 410-kilometer Hokkaido East Trail links three national parks as it winds through marshland, calderas and more.
Tokoro Ruins Museum Director Yuuki Nakamura says that 'most Japanese people don¡¯t know' the history of the Okhotsk culture, but he and others are betting that travelers might be intrigued enough to visit and find out more.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 22, 2025
Bear skulls and pit dwellings: Hokkaido aims to sell ancient history
The Okhostk culture thrived in northern Hokkaido from the fifth to ninth centuries and may have provided the Ainu with some of their best-known rituals.
The first official government survey of Hokkaido backcountry skiing could spell changes for trails in the northern prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 1, 2025
First official survey set to change backcountry Hokkaido skiing
From October 2024, the land ministry has been gathering opinions on Hokkaido¡¯s alpine adventurers with an eye toward increased support and safety for off-piste enthusiasts.
Lantoko, a company operated by Taiwan native Ping-Fang Lan, offers drift ice walking tours and other exhilarating experiences in and around Shiretoko National Park.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 13, 2025
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido¡¯s unique charms
With adventure tourism on the rise in Hokkaido, a new generation of foreign-born guides is eager to greet travelers.
For the 20 Questions column this year, writers asked their interview subjects about everything from their lives in Japan to their thoughts on news topics.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 28, 2024
There were plenty of hot topics to opine on in 2024
We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.
By windsurfing around the British Isles, Jonathan ¡°Jono¡± Dunnett says he was rescued from disillusionment and depression.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2024
Jonathan Dunnett: ¡®The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.¡¯
With his bright orange sail, windsurfer Jonathan Dunnett is pretty visible out on the water. This means he draws attention from other boaters and the odd shark.
Walking through Tokyo's varied neighborhoods and the sub-communities within them can be the best way for a tourist, even one with limited time, to take the city in.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 5, 2024
Sure, Tokyo¡¯s trains are amazing. But are they ruining your trip?
Amid a visit to the infinite urban landscape that is Tokyo, what does it mean to maximize your time?
In addition to standup comedy, Anthony Jeselnik co-hosts the podcast ¡°The Jeselnik and Rosenthal Vanity Project¡± with NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 11, 2024
Standup comic Anthony Jeselnik, known for fierce roasts, to play first Japan show
The comedian will hit Tokyo as part of the Asia stretch of his worldwide ¡°Bones and All¡± tour.
In the future, more tour operators and sites of interest may start marketing themselves based on travelers' preferences to set their own schedules.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2024
When Japan travels, it doesn¡¯t mind going it alone
Regardless of the destination, more tour operators and regions are leaning on ¡°travel as a form of self-care.¡±
However non-Japanese fathers in Japan manage the vagaries of life abroad, many share a preference for forging ahead for the benefit of their children.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 14, 2024
There¡¯s no one-size-fits-all fatherhood for foreign-born dads in Japan
From Hokkaido to Okinawa, fathers in Japan talk getting married, raising kids and taking life as it comes.
In 2023, Bryan Eastlake (left) began a three-year contract with the local Takahama tourism association to write, post photos and otherwise promote the small town in northern Kyoto Prefecture to a wider audience.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
May 20, 2024
The new vanguard of rural revitalization efforts in Japan
Currently, the Regional Revitalization Corps has around 200 foreign residents working in different industries around the country.
Photographer Toko Jinno is passionate about documenting the lives of Japan¡¯s fishermen.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 11, 2024
Toko Jinno: 'Eating fish is common in Japan, but the lives of fishers are not so well-known'
Photographer goes behind-the-scenes of the fishing industry in hopes to inspire and educate people to support its workers.
Summer averages in eastern Hokkaido float in the high teens and low 20s, not necessitating widespread air conditioning usage in homes and businesses.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2024
Fear the impending heat? Escape to Kushiro, the land of no summer.
A once mighty fishing port, Kushiro now aims to capture the hearts of tourists seeking escape from sweltering urban jungles for a misty paradise.
Director of the Akan International Crane Center, Miyuki Kawase, says tourism is incredibly helpful for the birds, but the people who come to take pictures of the birds have to remember they are still wild animals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 24, 2024
Miyuki Kawase: ¡®Experience, whether happy, sad or painful, makes you grow¡¯
The director of the Akan International Crane Center in Hokkaido tells us how she found herself in a career centered around the symbolic white birds.
The sport was created in the town of Kushiro in 1978 by former Olympic ice hockey goalkeeper Katsuji Morishima, who married two things every East Hokkaido resident has ¡ª a pair of rubber rain boots and a love of ice hockey.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Feb 22, 2024
A pastime in frozen Hokkaido: Rubber boots ice hockey
No skates are needed for Hokkaido's unique brand of ice hockey, which is a popular way to stay active during the north's long winters.
At the Akan International Crane Center, just north of the city of Kushiro proper, visitors can see the majestic red-crowned crane ¡ª a symbol of Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 17, 2024
Faces of the north: A Hokkaido town grapples with depopulation
Residents of Kushiro face an issue that more and more communities in Japan are having to deal with. The city may be young, but it's rich with tradition.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024
Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo
You probably don¡¯t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido¡¯s hunters do.
Japanese regulations determine which hunters can handle certain firearms based on the individual's experience and the level of rifling in a long gun's barrel.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 3, 2024
Hokkaido hunters say more firepower means more humane kills
A revision to Japan¡¯s firearms laws would mean new hunters would be temporarily limited to less potent shotguns.
Thai woman arrested in Japan for smuggling 'zombie cigarettes'
Seized cartridges containing etomidate are shown at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Tuesday.
Kabuki actor Nakamura Tsurumatsu arrested for alleged damage at Tokyo restaurant
Kabuki actor Nakamura Tsurumatsu, whose real name is Daiki Shimizu, has been arrested on suspicion of breaking a Tokyo restaurant's door by kicking it on Sunday, sources said.
Growing number of anime studios setting up bases outside Tokyo to secure talent
Mappa¡¯s employees work at the anime studio¡¯s office in the city of Osaka in September. Some parts of the image are blurred for privacy reasons.
Heavy snow hits wide areas of Japan as extreme cold front hits
Central Sapporo on Wednesday morning. Around 50 centimeters of snowfall is expected in Hokkaido in the 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Osaka says 'I'm a little strange' after Melbourne fashion statement
Naomi Osaka arrives for her first round match against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Tuesday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
At peace with baseball and refusing to be benched by surgeries, Warren Cromartie mulls legacy
Former Giants star Warren Cromartie worked with Kazuma Okamoto during his stint as a guest hitting instructor for Yomiuri.
In calling a snap election this soon, Takaichi is making it personal
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announces her will to dissolve the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
U.S. and Japan turn to drones to help offset China¡¯s military advantages
Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area in November.
Snap election in February presents wintry challenges in Hokkaido
Workers in Sapporo's Odori Park prepare for the annual Snow Festival, which will take place during next month's Lower House campaign and Feb. 8 election.
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
The Amtrak Cascades line provides service along the Pacific Northwest from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

After a busy couple of weeks on the public lecture circuit, German-born physicist Albert Einstein took a few days of relaxation on Hiroshima Prefecture¡¯s Miyajima island.
When Einstein came to Hiroshima
By Patrick Parr

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