The late Fumiko Hayashi wrote in her novel “Ukigumo” (Floating Clouds) that it rained “35 days in a month” on Yakushima island, 60 kilometers south of Kyushu. The island is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for its rainy weather and yakusugi cedar trees that are more than 1,000 years old. But, according to a leader of a local volunteer group, Yakushima also is home to other symbolic trees. These are yakutanegoyo, a species of Japanese white pine, which only grow in the wild on Yakushima and Tanegashima islands, according to Kenshi Tezuka, leader of the volunteer group overseeing the white pines on Yakushima.
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Expect long lines and the smoky aroma of grilled fish to fill Tokyo’s Meguro district as the Meguro Sanma (Pacific saury) Festival comes back to the streets on Sept. 4. The annual festival will carry special meaning this year as up to 6,000 sanma will be delivered fresh from the city of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, one of the areas heavily affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11. With the toppings of sudachi lemon and grated daikon (radish), also donated by cities in Tokushima and Tochigi prefectures, the fish will be offered free to visitors.
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Repeated eruptions from the Sakurajima volcano have produced large amounts of ash draping the city center Sept. 15, the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Agency said. Eruptions from the volcano overlooking the city of Kagoshima began on Wednesday morning, dumping 217 grams of ash per square meter (7 ounces per 10 square feet), the third-highest level of ash to fall since records began in 1994. Volcanic ash covered much of Kagoshima’s Tenmmonkan entertainment and business district on Thursday morning, visibly forming clouds as cars drove through it and many pedestrians covering their faces with towels or surgical masks to avoid breathing it in.
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September 16th,2011
Japan News | tags:
Japan News |
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Such is the march of progress. Concrete, metal, wood, carbon slats and clay roof tiles define the way homes are built today. But over the centuries, one technique has endured: the thatched roof. Not only is it one of the oldest building techniques known, it offers the added advantages of durability and protection from the elements — although one cannot downplay the risks of fire hazard. The work of creating a thatched roof from scratch also fosters community spirit, still alive and well in rural Japan but less so in the nation’s cities. Although many regard thatching as a dying art, a new generation of craftsmen in Japan is trying to keep it alive. One of those is Minoru Shiozawa, a representative of Kayabuki-ya, a company that runs thatching workshops.
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Once a year, it becomes a hub for traditional culture when it hosts the Koenji Awaodori Festival. It is the second largest of its kind in Japan, the largest being held in Tokushima.
The “Awa” refers to a feudal administration in Tokushima Prefecture in the 16th century. Back then, to celebrate the opening of Tokushima Castle, the local daimyo (feudal lord) hosted a large party. Drunken revellers stumbled around and this is believed to have been the origin of the dance.
Koenji’s version of the celebration consists of an average of 188 groups comprising nearly 12,000 dancers in total. While it is smaller than Tokushima’s (which reportedly draws 1.3 million people), it is less formal and allows for spectators to get up close to the performers. However, get there early in order to get a prime view.
Another interesting aspect of the event is that performers will spring up in back alleys, side streets and even shop entrances. So make sure to explore the neighborhood as much as possible.
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The official climbing season for Mount Fuji is drawing to a close on Aug. 31, which means potential climbers should act fast. With 10 stations along the trails, most people begin their ascent to the summit of Japan’s most famous mountain from the fifth station. Mount Fuji’s crater is surrounded by eight peaks, and it usually takes around 90 minutes to circle the perimeter. Kengamine Peak is the highest point in Japan.
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Forty-five percent of children tested in the region around Japan’s stricken nuclear plant were found to have traces of radioactive elements in their thyroid glands, an official said Thursday. The official said that the iodine concentrations — found in tests that the government carried out about five months ago in Fukushima prefecture — were not considered alarming in terms of their health impact. “The government’s official position is that none of the children showed radiation levels that would be problematic,” he told AFP. The government’s nuclear accident taskforce tested 1,149 children aged up to 15 about two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns, blasts and fires at the Fukushima plant. Radioactive iodine tends to gather in the thyroid glands of minors in particular, increasing the risk of developing cancer later in life.
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The report comes a day after Tokyo ordered the suspension of all shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima prefecture after discovering that cattle fed rice straw contaminated with high levels of radioactive cesium had been shipped nationwide
Japanese consumers have become increasingly worried about food safety following cases of contaminated vegetables, tea, milk, seafood and water due to radiation leaks at the tsunami-hit nuclear plant in Fukushima, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
A total of 1,235 cattle that ate straw containing radioactive cesium have been shipped from Fukushima and seven other prefectures to other parts of Japan, Kyodo reported, up from the 500 reported Tuesday.
The straw, which was left in rice paddies even as the Fukushima plant leaked radiation after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, contained cesium up to 500 times the levels considered safe.
The government is still conducting tests to determine whether the meat itself was contaminated.
Experts say the health implications for consumers from cow feed contamination were not immediately clear.
Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima plant continues to leak radiation more than four months after the disaster.
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Japan’s campaign to save energy is finally letting overworked salarymen and women to take advantage of summer in a way that has long eluded them: a long vacation. Spurred by the atypical vacation schedule prompted by the rearranged work hours this summer, major travel agencies in Japan are offering a burst of long vacation packages. Mainstream travel agency JTB group is offering a series of domestic and international long-term travel packages that are between 14 and 30 days long. But their campaign was inspired by an 11-year-old survey report by the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare on what people say they do when they get time off. Based on this survey, the ministry proposes a two-week “L Rest,” that’s ‘L’ as in long enough to allow people to think about their life-another ‘L’-away from work.
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China’s top flood control center on Tuesday said it has advised local governments to prepare for rain-triggered flash floods.
Heavy rain has triggered floods in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, according to a notice of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Further action to stop flooding should be taken in the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Chongqing municipality, as well as the respective flood control centers of the Yellow, Huaihe and Yangtze rivers, the headquarters advised.
More efforts should be made to remove any potential dangers in areas vulnerable to flash floods and provide efficient forecasts to ensure people’s safety.
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