KYOTO - Kyoto’s traditional Obon event, Gozan no Okuribi -- more commonly known as Daimonji -- was held on Saturday night, sending off the spirits of ancestors who returned to the living world during Obon, while also offering prayers for good health.
Despite the rain, large crowds gathered with umbrellas in hand to spend time watching the flickering fire.
According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, about 22,000 people gathered at five sites across the city this year.
Source: TBS
Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.
Strong Typhoon No. 28 is expected to move away from Japan into the Pacific, while Typhoon No. 29 is forecast to intensify into a very strong storm near the Ogasawara Islands, with uncertainty over its eventual path leaving open the possibility of an approach toward Japan. As of 3 p.m. on October 7, Typhoon No. 28 was moving west at about 35 kilometers per hour over waters south of Japan.
The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.
A core member of the international ransomware group Qilin was detained in Japan and handed over to German authorities, according to people familiar with the case, as Japanese companies and institutions face a growing wave of cyberattacks that has exposed nearly 15 million pieces of personal information this month alone.
New Year postcards for 2027 arrived at post offices across Hokkaido on October 6, with designs featuring sheep for the upcoming Year of the Sheep as Japan's traditional New Year card market continues to shrink.
Bears are becoming increasingly active across Japan ahead of winter, with poor acorn harvests in parts of the country raising concerns that hungry animals may venture closer to homes and tourist areas in search of food.
Japan Airlines has revamped its domestic lounge at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, adding private workspaces, meal options timed to passengers' departures and facilities for families as it seeks to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse range of travelers.
Fans from across Japan gathered in Furano, Hokkaido, on October 3 to visit filming locations from the television drama "From the Northern Country," marking the first weekend since the death of the series' screenwriter, So Kuramoto.
Young men leaped onto horses racing at full speed through the grounds of Kasuga Shrine in Takahama, Aichi Prefecture, on October 3 as the city's traditional Takahama Omanto Festival got underway.
Around 38,000 dolls, including traditional Japanese dolls and stuffed animals, were brought to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward for the annual Doll Appreciation Festival, where visitors bid farewell to old and damaged dolls in a ceremony expressing gratitude for the years they had been cherished.
Nearly one year after the Osaka-Kansai Expo closed, the former exhibition grounds were opened to the media on October 2, revealing that around 90% of the pavilions and other facilities have been demolished, while the Forest of Tranquility remains a peaceful green space at the center of the site.
Osaka will launch regular nighttime sightseeing cruises on October 3, offering visitors a new way to enjoy the city's illuminated waterfront, including the historic architecture of Nakanoshima and the skyline surrounding Osaka Castle.
Hokkaido's highest peak, Mount Asahidake in the Daisetsuzan mountain range, recorded its first snow cover of the season on October 2, with the area around the Asahidake Ropeway's Sugatami Station, at an elevation of approximately 1,600 meters, blanketed in snow.
