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May 04, 2026
 

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Justin Randall
Shohei Ohtani and his pet dog made an appearance at last year's Sapporo Snow Festival ¡ª not in person but as some of the snow sculptures that make the event an international draw.
LIFE
Jan 31, 2026
How to enjoy the Sapporo Snow Festival like a local
Snow, cold and crowds make Sapporo¡¯s marquee winter event, running this year from Feb. 4 to 11, a must-see for travelers everywhere.
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.
Yen soars as Japan intervenes after issuing 'final' warning
Pedestrians walk past a stock quotation board showing the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
Not even Japanese bathhouses are immune from shocks of Iran war
The interior of Ume-no-yu, a public bathhouse in the city of Nagano. Soaring oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East are threatening to deal a final blow to a storied Japanese institution: the sento, or traditional public bathhouse.
New Zealand officials reject statue remembering 91²Ö¿â comfort women
A statue symbolizing former South Korean comfort women in Seoul
Water shortages hit tourist spots in Japan during Golden Week
A hot spring facility in the city of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, has suspended the operation of its open-air baths since March.
Japan determined to prop up yen through intervention
An electronic board displays the foreign exchange rate of the yen against the dollar along a street in Tokyo on Thursday.
For tourists in Japan¡¯s outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan's famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country's outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.
¡®Sashiko¡¯ needlework artisan says craft is about 'the stories behind the stitching'
Traditional Japanese needlework has exploded in popularity, but a book from a third-generation artisan aims to bring more context to the craft's newfound popularity.
Tennis trailblazer Kei Nishikori announces his retirement
Kei Nishikori, who has won 12 titles on the ATP Tour and climbed as high as No. 4 in the world rankings, on Thursday announced his retirement.
Japanese fried chicken with a Southern twist
A buttermilk-inspired marinade gives a rich umami flavor to your fried chicken.
Documentary captures the long echo of Fukushima's nuclear disaster
Toru Yamada¡¯s documentary ¡°At the Triangle Intersection,¡± which delves into the lingering impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, follows Tetsu (center), the matriarch of the Watanabe family, her son, Takemasa (right) and her daughter-in-law, Shigeko.

Podcast

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

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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