Japanese love their pets, but some take their love to a whole new level! Meet Nanami, a playful Japanese pooch can claim to be the only dog in the world to be living in a regular castle. Built as a small replica of Japan’s famous Matsumoto Castle, Nanami’s castle stands 2.5 meters tall and features three rooms. At the front is the main hall, where Nanami can just lay on his belly and watch out for the mailman, while at the back he has a sand-floor room, for cooling down...
Read MoreAn office for everyone: 5 share spaces in Tokyo for creatives and freelancers
With the cost of property in Tokyo so high, and an estimated 6,000 people squeezed into every square kilometre of the city, more and more urbanites are starting to think small. As well as choosing tiny houses that provide everything required for living but with none of the clutter, people are learning that life is far easier if, rather than yearning for their own private spaces and a multitude of possessions, they learn to share. Following in the footsteps of movements such...
Read MoreThe Japanese secret to staying young for longer
Wasabi, the Japanese condiment which offers a delicious kick to the nasal passages with every bite, has long been embraced in Japan, and more recently other parts of the world. However, aside from accentuating sushi or playing jokes on friends, the pungent plant has been found to provide anti-aging effects in recent years. For those who turn up their noses at the thought of a daily dose of wasabi, you may reconsider when you realize how easy it is to benefit from...
Read MoreFun short news stories from Japan
NEWS FROM THE LAB STATS: 76Percent sixth-graders who “enjoy or somewhat enjoy learning English,” according to the education ministry ¥301,000Per capita medical costs in Japan in fiscal 2012—the first time the figure has topped ¥300,000, according to the health ministry ¥764Average minimum wage in fiscal 2013, a ¥15 rise from last year, according to the labor ministry I RISKED MY LIFE COLLECTING THESE THINGS” —Anthropologist Yoshihiko Yamaguchi, on the closing of two museums...
Read MoreHotaka mountains ablaze as autumn starts
MATSUMOTO, Nagano Prefecture–Karasawa Cirque, a popular mountaineering base to the Hotaka mountain range in the Northern Japan Alps, is rewarding climbers and hikers with a gorgeous vista of autumnal reds, yellows and oranges. The leaves of rowan, Erman’s birch and other trees have turned their seasonal colors, in stunning contrast to the dwarf stone pine and other evergreens. The cirque, formed by alpine glaciers, is located at an altitude of 2,300 meters...
Read MoreRitual transfer of deity at Ise Grand Shrine
Many Japanese were visiting the Ise Grand Shrine in central Japan on Wednesday, ahead of an important ritual that is closed to the public. The event dates back 1300 years and involves the rebuilding of the shrine. All of the sacred wooden buildings at the site in Mie Prefecture are dismantled and built anew every 20 years.The event reaches a climax on Wednesday evening with the ritual transfer of the shrine’s deity to its new...
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