HOKKAIDO, Apr 25, 2024 (Huckberry) - In our final episode in Japan, the DIRT team went road-tripping through beautiful, snowy Japanese landscapes—and tasting everything in sight. A crown jewel in the northeast corner of Japan, Hokkaido may be famous among skiers and snowboarders for the luscious "Japow," but way beyond the tourist trail there's a burgeoning new food scene and a unique and vibrant history.
When Japan kicks off its World Cup campaign against the Netherlands at 5:00 a.m. Japan time on June 15 at Dallas Stadium in Texas, the Samurai Blue will do so without one of their most influential players. Liverpool midfielder and former captain Wataru Endo has been ruled out through injury, prompting coach Hajime Moriyasu to hand the captain's armband to Ajax defender Ko Itakura while relying on Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka and Crystal Palace playmaker Daichi Kamada to help fill the void left in central midfield.
A fire broke out at a Buddhist temple in Obihiro, Hokkaido, on June 13th, sending flames soaring from the building and causing temporary alarm in a nearby residential neighborhood before being largely extinguished about two hours later.
The Japanese government on June 12th released new guidelines calling for women’s toilets to have at least as many fixtures as men’s toilets in public facilities, seeking to address the persistent problem of long queues at women’s restrooms in places such as train stations and event venues.
Japan captain Wataru Endo has withdrawn from the national team's World Cup squad due to injury and announced his retirement from international soccer, dealing a major blow ahead of Japan's Group F opener against the Netherlands on June 14th (June 15th Japan time), as the team continued preparations near Nashville, Tennessee, on June 11th.
As bear sightings continue at an unusually high pace across Akita Prefecture, a veteran wildlife photographer who has spent nearly 30 years observing and photographing Asian black bears says the animals are appearing more frequently, moving closer to human settlements, and increasingly adapting their behavior to survive.
The first auction of Raiden Watermelon, a specialty product of Kyowa in Hokkaido's Shiribeshi region, was held in Sapporo on June 9th, with a pair of melons fetching a record-high 400,000 yen.
Seven-Eleven Okinawa and local dairy farmers have begun working together to find new uses for milk produced during the summer vacation period, when school lunch programs are suspended and demand for fresh milk declines.
The harvest of Nanko plums, a specialty product of Minabe Town in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan's largest ume-producing region, has reached its peak, with farmers busy gathering the highly prized fruit despite another disappointing crop year.
Major meat processor Itoham announced on June 5th that it will launch a new lower-priced product line next month as companies continue to grapple with rising costs driven by inflation and instability in the Middle East.
Did you know that some Domino’s Pizza locations in Japan offer an all-you-can-eat deal? It is a super rare experience available at only a very limited number of stores.
World-renowned musician YOSHIKI is betting on Hokkaido wine as Japan's next global export success story, joining a growing list of international figures and industry leaders who see the island as one of the world's most promising emerging wine regions.
I'll attempt to spend $100 on street food in Kyoto, Japan, but there's one problem: Japan is not really a street food country. Most people prefer to eat indoors, and finding street food is surprisingly difficult almost anywhere in the country—except in places like Nishiki Market. (More Best Ever Food Review Show)
Japan will begin trial sales of the world’s first fully farmed eels for consumers on May 29th, marking a major milestone for the aquaculture industry as domestic eel prices have already fallen by about 40% from a year earlier.
