TRAVEL
Bon Odori: Inside Japan’s Soulful Summer Dance Tradition
Every summer, neighborhoods and remote mountain villages across Japan ring with taiko, flute, and shuffling feet. Bon Odori is Japan's quietly extraordinary…
TRAVEL
Every summer, neighborhoods and remote mountain villages across Japan ring with taiko, flute, and shuffling feet. Bon Odori is Japan's quietly extraordinary…
FOOD
It's getting more expensive to eat rice in Japan, with prices nearly doubling. Will a release of strategic reserves help?
SOCIETY
The governor of Akita Prefecture has some choice words for people who object to Akita City's decision to exterminate a bear that…
SOCIETY
An Itoku supermarket in Akita City finally re-opened after a bear invaded and occupied it for over two days. While residents are…
CULTURE
The namahage are wild, Krampus-like New Year's mountain gods of Akita Prefecture. But what's the story behind the horns and straw coats?
CULTURE
Who's a good boy? For many in Japan, the answer is Hachiko. Learn about the dog who touched a nation's heart.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Why a wide range of local dialects in Japan's north are intrinsically - and unfairly - associated with rural backwardness.
CULTURE
Bamboo battles, precarious log rides, and a literal firefight make up three festivals in Japan that'll get your blood pumping - but…