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July 24, 2026
 

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ONSEN

The school's flag is returned to the city during a closing ceremony at Shimoibano Elementary School in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Feb. 14.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 4, 2026
Shrinking city in Miyagi Prefecture braces for uncertain future
Faced with school closures and declining births, the city of Osaki is struggling to find a way forward.
The Kongo family¡¯s residence and workshop in the Taisho Era, photographed about a century ago.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Feb 9, 2026
What keeps Japan¡¯s 1,000-year-old companies alive?
Across religion, hospitality and the arts, the country¡¯s oldest institutions show how craft and continuity can endure.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber¡¯s chief executive, in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture. The ride-hailing giant¡¯s chief executive has made a bet on how it can finally grab a bigger piece of one of the world¡¯s largest taxi markets.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2026
Uber¡¯s quest to crack Japan leads through a rural hot-springs town
Since Uber entered Japan in 2014, the country, one of the world¡¯s largest taxi markets, has remained a fortress, but the company is now making inroads in rural areas.
The open-air bath at Tsurunoyu Hot Springs in Nyuto Onsenkyo, in Semboku, Akita Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 29, 2025
Kagura and onsen culture to be recommended for UNESCO heritage
A government panel has chosen kagura, a Japanese traditional performing art, and onsen hot spring culture as candidates for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage designation.
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) ¡ª a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 15, 2025
At Ginza¡¯s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
With ¡°onsen¡± baths in every room, Fufu Tokyo brings its modernized take on the traditional Japanese inn to the capital.
Japan may cover half the cost of installing fences around outdoor baths at traditional inns and hotels to prevent bear attacks.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 11, 2025
Japan weighs aid for outdoor bath fences amid bear attacks
The Japan Tourism Agency is aiming to cover half the cost of installing fences around outdoor baths at inns and hotels.
Abandoned Japanese-style inns in the Kinugawa hot springs resort in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, in March 2023
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 9, 2025
Japan to subsidize demolition of abandoned inns
Many large hotels running since the end of World War II were left to rot in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
A man's body was found at around 9 a.m. on Friday near to the site where a bear was hunted in a wooded area of Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Oct 17, 2025
Body found after possible bear attack at onsen in Iwate
Iwate Prefectural Police believe that the body is that of a 60-year-old employee of a hot spring.
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags ¡ª an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 6, 2025
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
A new luxury resort might halt the decline of Kawayu, but only if locals and businesses can agree on how to move forward.
With graffiti now covering the crumbling walls of the main thermal baths in one of Europe's oldest spa towns, a group of young architects hopes to restore the picturesque Romanian resort.
WORLD / Society
Aug 19, 2025
The volunteers battling to save Romania¡¯s famed thermal baths
The picturesque Baile Herculane spa town¡¯s baths have fallen into an advanced state of decay.
Local authorities in Tokyo are resorting to unconventional measures to raise voter turnout, including partnering with public bathhouses amid Japan¡¯s ongoing sauna boom and collaborating with high school students to create promotional materials.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jun 16, 2025
Tokyo teams up with bathhouses to boost voter turnout for assembly election
The previous election in 2021 showed a much lower turnout rate among younger demographics.
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2025
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
Located deep within Kyushu¡¯s Shimabara Peninsula, this hot spring town offers dramatic scenery worth the effort it takes to get there.
Local authorities on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three hotel staff members who went missing in the city of Fukushima on Monday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Feb 18, 2025
Three hotel staffers found dead after going missing in Fukushima mountains
The three men were found collapsed in the snow near the hot spring source at around noon on Tuesday.
Ginzan Onsen hot springs in Obanazawa, Yamagata Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Dec 23, 2024
Picturesque Japan hot spring town limits day trippers
Authorities in Ginzan Onsen have become fed up with a rise in road problems, quarrels and other nuisances.
Totopa in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 25, 2024
Japan¡¯s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
The modern sauna experience is more than just taking a seat in some steam ¡ª?whisking, aufguss shows and spectacle all play a part.
Washing stations at a hot spring bath at Hoshinoya Tokyo, operated by Hoshino Resorts, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024
Luxury Japan hot springs brand to open first U.S. location in New York state
The president of Hoshino Resorts had made it his personal goal to bring Japanese hot spring resorts to North America.
A total of 65 stores in Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai offer various food and drinks, with many that incorporate fresh ingredients from the Toyosu market.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
New Edo-inspired venue near Toyosu market offers more than fish
Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai hosts restaurants and an onsen area that uses water sourced from popular hot spring towns in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023
Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths
It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2023
Struggling hot spring resorts get boost from Chinese investors
Many Chinese buyers of inns and hotels are willing to pay twice the market price to take them over, according to sellers and industry sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2023
A long and winding visit to ¡®secret¡¯ Ubayu Onsen
Secluded and remote hot springs are yet another example of Japan¡¯s deep bathing culture.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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