News On Japan

Tokyo's Yamanote Line train services back to normal after renovation work

TOKYO, Jan 09 (NHK) - Train service on part of Tokyo's Yamanote Line resumed early Monday morning after large-scale renovation work was carried out at Shibuya Station over the weekend.

All of the approximately 540 trains operating on the outer loop of the Yamanote Line were stopped from Osaki to Ikebukuro stations via Shibuya. The suspension lasted from Saturday's first train through Sunday's last.

The number of trains on the outer loop running to other stations and those on the inner circle were heavily reduced.

The service change is believed to have affected some 530,000 people.

Thousands of workers took part in the fourth stage of the five-part renovation process over the weekend.

They rerouted the track for the Yamanote Line's outer circle and consolidated the platforms for the outer and inner loops into one. ...continue reading

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Travel NEWS

Traditional ukai cormorant fishing, a seasonal custom signaling the arrival of early summer, began on May 20th along the Chikugo River in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, following the opening of ayu sweetfish fishing on the river that flows through southern Fukuoka.

Surrounded by mountains in Kyoto Prefecture, Miyama’s Kitamura district preserves one of Japan’s most iconic rural landscapes, where rows of traditional thatched-roof houses have been maintained for generations through strong community cooperation and deeply rooted village traditions.

The Japanese government has released a set of guidelines titled "Six Rules to Avoid Encountering Bears" as bear sightings across the country continue to rise sharply compared to the same period in previous years.

Video footage appears to show graffiti being carved into bamboo at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, with witnesses claiming two foreign visitors were involved in the vandalism.

Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka Prefecture, which enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning, opened its restored main shrine to the media on May 18th after completing its first major renovation in 124 years.

A 78-year-old man who drove off a brown bear by punching it in the nose has recounted the terrifying ordeal, as an unusual surge in spring bear sightings continues across Japan, including in the Kanto region and Tokyo.

A bear sighting in a residential area of Hachioji, western Tokyo, at the end of April has heightened concerns among local residents as encounters involving bears continue to increase across Japan.

A Russian man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Mutsuishi in Okutama Town, western Tokyo, at around 12:10 p.m. on May 17th, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Fire Department.