Sep 12 (Business Insider) - Grown in just one country in the world, one bunch of these Japanese grapes can sell for $90 to $450.
Ruby Roman grapes are evaluated on three qualities: their uniform color, size, and taste, all of which impact the final value. The grapes were developed by a union of local farmers and the Ishikawa government. In 2020, one bunch of these grapes sold at auction for $12,000. That's about $400 a grape.
Tokyo announced on November 26th that it will overhaul its lodging tax system by replacing the current fixed-rate structure with a uniform tax equivalent to 3% of accommodation fees, a move intended to respond to sharply rising hotel prices.
Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture issued a warning on social media after receiving what was believed to be a photo of a bear spotted in town, but the image was later revealed to be a fake created with generative AI.
A powerful earthquake struck the Aso region of Kumamoto at around 6:01 p.m. on November 25th, toppling a residential gate in Aso City and scattering roof tiles across the road, while rockfalls and damage were reported in nearby areas.
A Ferris wheel at the Expocity commercial complex in Suita, Osaka, known as the tallest in Japan at 123 meters, came to an abrupt stop on November 25th after a lightning strike disabled its operating system, leaving 20 passengers trapped in nine gondolas until the early hours of the following morning.
A large-scale water outage continued across parts of Okinawa on November 25th after a damaged pipeline caused significant leakage the previous day, with local authorities reporting ongoing disruptions as of 11:35 a.m.
Three women in their 20s to 30s were arrested in Osaka on suspicion of soliciting clients for prostitution on the streets of Umeda, with the arrests taking place on November in the hotel district of Taiyūji-cho in Osaka’s Kita Ward.
A Ferris wheel at the Expocity commercial complex in Suita, Osaka, known as the tallest in Japan at 123 meters, came to an abrupt stop on November 25th after a lightning strike disabled its operating system, leaving 20 passengers trapped in nine gondolas until the early hours of the following morning.
A Thai girl who was 12 at the time was forced to work illegally at a massage parlor in Tokyo, leading the Metropolitan Police Department to rearrest the store’s operator as investigators continue to examine how the girl was trafficked to Japan.
A man believed to have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run that left one person dead and 11 others injured in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on November 24th was taken into custody as police began questioning him on a voluntary basis.
A large fire that broke out late on November 23rd at a waste plastic recycling plant in the city of Bando in Ibaraki has continued to burn for roughly 18 hours, with no clear timeline for containment. The blaze was first reported at around 10:40 p.m. on November 23rd when nearby residents alerted firefighters after seeing flames and smoke rising from the site.
A taxi crashed onto a sidewalk in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district late in the morning on November 21st, leaving a woman in her 50s injured in an area crowded with tourists near the iconic Togetsukyo Bridge.
A man arrested on suspicion of killing three members of his family at their home in Sapporo’s Kita Ward on October 31st is believed to have attacked them in the first-floor living room, where all were later found collapsed.
With November 22nd recognized as Good Couple Day, Meiji Yasuda Life released the results of its annual survey highlighting Japan’s perceptions of married life, including the ranking of the country’s most admired celebrity couples.
