Mar 02 (South China Morning Post) - A group of Buddhist devotees in Japan subjected themselves to a freezing tradition known as waterfall meditation or Takigyo on February 28, 2021.
The annual ritual that has been carried out for centuries at a temple in Nakano city is seen as a way to purify the body and mind. This year it has even served as a way for participants to relieve the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aichi’s famed Konomiya Hadaka Festival took place on February 10th at Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa City, where men clad in only fundoshi loincloths clashed in a frenzied struggle. The traditional event, which has continued for over 1,200 years, centers around the ‘Shin Otoko’ or ‘Sacred Man,’ chosen by lottery, whom participants believe will cleanse them of misfortune if they manage to touch him.
Rice prices in Japan continue to rise, despite the government’s plan to release emergency reserves in an effort to stabilize the market. A bowl of tendon, topped with freshly fried tempura, is incomplete without steaming hot rice, but the cost of this staple has been steadily increasing.
An avalanche occurred around noon on Monday along a prefectural road in Fukushima City, leaving two hot spring inns isolated once again due to record snowfall.
With just two months remaining until the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, new initiatives are being introduced to enhance visitor convenience.
Foreign tourists spent a record 8.1 trillion yen in Japan last year, an amount equivalent to the cost of building 203 Tokyo Skytree towers. As Japan continues to attract visitors from around the world, many are curious about where this money goes and the financial backgrounds of those spending it.
Authorities in Kobe are investigating a series of suspicious stones found placed on residential gates, warning they may serve as burglary markers.
Six Kyoto University students have been arrested for storming the university’s main administration building during a 2022 dormitory festival with about 250 others, disrupting operations with loudspeakers, leading police to conduct a search of Kumano Dormitory on Sunday.
Gen Z, known for valuing their personal time, is redefining how they unwind after work. From low-alcohol cocktails to board games, new trends are emerging in Tokyo's nightlife scene.
The annual Otomo Festival took place on February 6th at Kamikura Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. The event saw men clad in white robes, each carrying a flaming torch, racing down the shrine’s steep stone steps in a centuries-old tradition.
A 55-year-old demolition worker has been arrested on suspicion of violating Hokkaido’s Public Nuisance Prevention Ordinance after entering a convenience store wearing only stockings on his lower body and exposing himself to a female clerk.
A newly built public toilet in a remote village in Nara Prefecture has become the subject of controversy—not for its design, but for its staggering cost of nearly 1 billion yen.
North Safari Sapporo, a zoo in Sapporo, Hokkaido, known for allowing visitors to stay near lions and seals and often referred to as Japan’s 'most dangerous zoo,' is now facing potential closure due to a dispute over its land use.
Two self-styled "private arrest" YouTubers have been handed suspended sentences after being convicted of inciting a man to bring illegal drugs.
