News On Japan

4 days in Fukuoka, Japan: how to eat your way through the city

FUKUOKA - Located at the tip of northern Kyūshū, friendly and sunny Fukuoka has a coastal location on a bustling trading route that has historically made it a popular choice to visit in Japan.

But Fukuoka landed on the Best in Travel list for its mouthwatering culinary options, from the incredible mobile food scene to, of course, the internationally renowned Hakata ramen. We think food lovers will find Fukuoka an exciting addition to their must-travel list.

Fukuoka embodies the dichotomy of Japan: resolutely traditional, unapologetically modern. Fukuoka’s history touches on the very soul of Japan, with its Hakata ramen and pickled cod roe famed throughout the archipelago. Today, it's a vital international trading center with a robust start-up culture – and the fastest growing city in Japan. After Tokyo, Fukuoka is the most common entry city for second-time visitors to Japan: Asian tourists who come for the shopping and stay for the food. This overlooked destination is a place you’ll find yourself thinking about for years afterward. ...continue reading

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A fire broke out at a factory handling waste plastic in Nara City on October 13, sending thick black smoke into the air and prompting the dispatch of 12 fire engines after firefighters received an emergency call shortly before 3:30 p.m. from a factory representative reporting smoke rising from inside the building, with all workers safely evacuated and no injuries reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivered an unusually harsh rebuke of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Kazuo Yana on October 13, describing his claims about cutting road budgets in areas that failed to support him as "inappropriate" and "really lame," while signaling that she would reconsider whether he should remain in office as opposition lawmakers intensified their demands for his dismissal.

Japan is facing a growing wave of cyberattacks as advances in artificial intelligence remove the language barrier that once made Japanese companies difficult targets for overseas hackers, with more than 68 million personal records potentially exposed in a series of security incidents over the past two weeks.

Japan is expected to experience a warmer-than-normal winter as the El Nino phenomenon currently affecting the Pacific Ocean has reached its strongest level on record, with the Japan Meteorological Agency announcing on October 10th that unusually high sea surface temperatures are likely to persist through the coming winter months.

The Otsu Festival, one of Shiga Prefecture's three major traditional festivals, was held in Otsu City on October 11th, featuring a procession of 13 elaborately decorated floats carrying traditional mechanical puppets through the streets, following the festival's addition to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December last year.

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Highly poisonous mushrooms capable of causing severe skin damage through contact and even death if eaten are appearing in large numbers on Mount Takao in western Tokyo, raising concerns for hikers and families as unusually hot summer weather and prolonged autumn rainfall have created ideal conditions for fungal growth.

A long-established noodle shop in Nagoya has become known for extraordinarily large servings, including its signature "Pitcher Koro," a 1.5-kilogram dish combining kishimen, soba and udon in a giant pitcher.

The Hida Taste Festival, a long-running event that began in 1986, is held twice a year in spring and autumn and has become a popular attraction in Takayama. This autumn's festival features 22 vendors offering a wide variety of regional dishes, including grilled Hida beef skewers, mitarashi dango rice dumplings coated in a savory soy-based sauce, and salt-grilled ayu sweetfish.

A massive land-based Atlantic salmon farming facility is taking shape in a mountainous industrial district of Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, where foreign-owned Pure Salmon Japan has begun raising approximately one million young fish as part of an 80 billion yen project that is expected to become one of the world's largest operations of its kind, with plans to ship 10,000 tons of salmon annually from February 2028.

Prices of leafy vegetables are rising sharply across Japan as prolonged rainfall and reduced sunlight in September damage crops and disrupt harvesting, with farmers warning that shortages could continue into winter and push prices even higher during the peak season for hot pot dishes.

Prolonged rainfall in Tokyo lasting more than 20 days, combined with heavy rain from Typhoon No. 25 during the Silver Week holidays, has disrupted vegetable supplies and driven up prices, with some retailers facing the possibility of suspending sales of popular seasonal products such as roasted sweet potatoes.

Nara Prefecture is home to a remarkable variety of traditional dishes, including an ancient cheese-like food dating back some 1,300 years, a wild mountain vegetable enjoyed for generations and a homemade crepe once served on special occasions, offering a glimpse into the region's long culinary history.

Families and visitors are flocking to a farm in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, to enjoy autumn chestnut picking, with this year's harvest producing smaller but particularly sweet chestnuts due to a lack of rainfall.