May 08, 2021 (Life in Japan) - We're taking on Japan's longest roller slide, a slide of 247 meters in length situated on the slopes of the mountains around Tabayama an hour outside of Tokyo.
On our way to Tabayama we try another popular roller slide at Kaboku-en Park in Ome City and see the famous Azaleas at Shiofune Kannon-ji. Grab a sled for the roller slide and some gloves to help you brake, because we're hitting the famous slopes of Tabayama!
Large and strong Typhoon No. 25 (Duzhen) was moving north over waters south of Japan at 9 p.m. on September 20 and is forecast to approach the Kanto region at strong intensity from the afternoon through the night of September 21, bringing the risk of torrential rain, violent winds, flooding, landslides, transport disruption and power outages.
Large and powerful Typhoon No. 25 is expected to make its closest approach to the Kanto region from the afternoon through the night of September 21, with flight cancellations already confirmed, planned train suspensions announced across Chiba Prefecture and possible expressway closures extending across the Tokyo metropolitan region.
A drone filming the illuminated Nagoya City Hall headquarters crashed into a building across the road shortly before 9 p.m. on September 17, with police investigating whether the flight may have violated Japan's Civil Aeronautics Act.
Volcanic smoke continues to rise from Mount Tokachi (Tokachidake), an active volcano in Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido, one week after its eruption alert level was raised to Level 3, restricting entry to the mountain and prompting a series of cancellations at nearby hot spring inns just before the peak autumn foliage season.
Starbucks is considering selling a majority stake in its Japanese business, potentially valued at as much as $3 billion, or about 470 billion yen, as the U.S. coffee chain seeks to concentrate management resources on its struggling North American operations.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture on September 20, touring exhibits that recreate famous scenes from Studio Ghibli films and posing for a photograph with the character No-Face.
Police in Kanagawa Prefecture have rearrested four teenagers on suspicion of murdering a 17-year-old high school student who died after being assaulted in Sagamihara in August.
Drinking parties remain a lively part of social life in Kansai even as younger generations increasingly turn away from alcohol and izakaya bankruptcies rise at a record pace, with customers describing the gatherings less as occasions to drink heavily and more as opportunities to maintain friendships, meet new people and build connections across generations.
Anonymous and fluid criminal groups known in Japan as "tokuryu" are adopting increasingly elaborate tactics, including a scheme in which elderly victims are persuaded to hide cash inside refrigerators before thieves enter their homes, as authorities struggle to combat networks whose members often have no direct contact with one another.
A luxury mansion in Bangkok described as resembling a palace was being used as a base for a specialized fraud operation targeting Japanese people, with Thai authorities detaining 14 people, including four Japanese men.
Copper roofing has been stripped from Shinano-no-miya Shrine in Oshika Village, Nagano Prefecture, leaving the wooden structure exposed in the latest of a series of similar thefts reported at shrines across the prefecture.
A popular Tokyo nightclub hostess and influencer known as Yamatorino, who says she generated more than 200 million yen in sales during a single month, has been arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine with her boyfriend at their home in Roppongi.
A second-year high school student was arrested at the scene after allegedly releasing tear gas spray inside a classroom at Osaka University of Commerce Sakai High School on September 16, leaving 24 students complaining of coughing, throat pain and other symptoms.
