LGBTQ
Love and Cherry Blossoms: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride in Japan’s Rural North
While Tokyo’s cherry blossoms had all but disappeared from the trees, Japan’s most iconic trees had just gone into full bloom in…
Iwate
LGBTQ
FOOD
The Soba Big Three: Enjoy These Regional Variations on Your Next Japan Trip
There are more types of soba in Japan than you can shake a stick at - but these three regional styles capture…
TRAVEL
Japan’s Morioka Hailed as New Top Tourist Attraction
Want to do something a little different on your trip to Japan? Get out of Tokyo and Kyoto and head north to…
HISTORY
A Forgotten Tohoku “Tree War” and an Enduring Rivalry
To this day, a rivalry exists between the northern Japanese prefectures of Aomori and Iwate. And its source? A bunch of trees.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Zuzu-ben: How Japan’s Northern Dialects Became Shorthand for “Hick”
Why a wide range of local dialects in Japan's north are intrinsically - and unfairly - associated with rural backwardness.
TRAVEL
Promoting Prefectures Through Punny Pokemon
The Local Acts initiative is helping promote prefectures through pokemon, including many that were affected by the Tohoku Earthquake.
FOOD
Japanese Sanma Prices Soar Amidst Record-Breaking Meager Hauls
Why Pacific saury (sanma) prices in Japan are soaring - and what people and the government are doing about it.
FOOD
Bringing Back Neolithic Japanese Food
How did people in Japan eat 15,000 years ago? One museum in Iwate Prefecture seeks to bring the culinary joys of ancient…