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Atama Daibutsu: Mysterious Buddha Found in the Middle of a Hokkaido Lavender Field? Let’s Investigate! | LIVE JAPAN travel guide Walking around Makomanai Takino Cemetery, located in Hokkaido Prefecture’s Sapporo City, you will see just the head of a large buddha statue from afar. Many tourists are surprised at the Atama Daibutsu statue's entirety once they get a closer look. Huge, historical buddha statues can be found thro...

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Breaking News: The giant Gundam in Yokohama, Japan will be moved to Osaka World Expo starting next April.

The new Gundam statue will be constructed in a "salute from a knee" pose with one arm extended upwards to symbolize reaching out toward space and the future.

Gorgeous

Near Tokyo! Atsugi Ayu Festival 2024: Schedule, Food Stalls, and Fireworks - Japan Travel Guide MATCHA Atsugi Ayu Festival is held every year in early August in Atsugi, near Tokyo. The fireworks display on the first night is extra crowded with more than 500,000 attendees each year. There’s also a dance contest, parades, fish-grabbing, and food stalls!

JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL ONLINE 2024 is NOW OPEN!

From June 05 noon – 19 noon*, we offer you our special selection of Japanese films
for FREE and in multiple subtitles.

Check the website linked in bio and take a trip to Japanese films right now!

*Japan standard time

Streaming dates (Japan standard time):
First half: 23 films, June 05–19, 2024
Second half: 2 TV dramas, June 19–July 03, 2024

Note: Dates and number of works vary depending on country/region.

👉For more details, please check our website👀
https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/jffonline2024/

Don’t miss it !!!!! 🎬

15 & 16 June WARRINA CINEPLEX.
Double Feature Presentation featuring Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out and Rascal Does Not Dream of Knapsack Kid, concluding the High School Arc.

🎆

2024 Tokyo Fireworks Guide: Your Ultimate Calendar for Summer in Japan | LIVE JAPAN travel guide As summer approaches, Japan's cities prepare to light up the skies with dazzling fireworks displays, and Tokyo is no exception. With several shows happening across the city, it can be hard to keep track of them all. That's why we've put together the ultimate Tokyo Fireworks Guide – your comprehens...

Wooo hoo 2025

Japan Sale^ on now 👉 https://bit.ly/3ViRYFp

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The serenity of the beauty

I miss the combini 🥲

Is there something you didn’t know?

21 facts you did not know about Japan:
1. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands, with the four largest being Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku.
2. The Japanese word "karaoke" comes from "kara" meaning "empty" and "oke" meaning "orchestra," essentially meaning "empty orchestra."
3. Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world, with an average lifespan of around 85 years.
4. The Japanese railway system is one of the most punctual in the world, with trains typically running on time to the second.
5. Japan is home to over 1,500 earthquakes each year due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
6. The Japanese art of flower arrangement, known as ikebana, focuses on harmony, balance, and simplicity.
7. Japan has more than 50,000 people who are over 100 years old, making it one of the world's leaders in centenarians.
8. The Japanese consume about 24 billion instant ramen packs each year.
9. Sumo wrestling is Japan's national sport and has a history spanning over 1,500 years.
10. Japan has over 6,000 islands that are uninhabited.
11. The Japanese city of Fukuoka has the world's first subway system to have been hit by a typhoon.
12. In Japan, tipping is considered rude and is not customary in restaurants or other service industries.
13. The Japanese archipelago stretches over 3,000 kilometers from north to south.
14. The world's oldest company still in operation, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, has been operating since 705 AD and is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.
15. Japan has the second-largest music market in the world, after the United States.
16. There's a Japanese island called Ōkunoshima, commonly known as "Rabbit Island," where hundreds of friendly rabbits roam freely.
17. Japan has more than 3,000 McDonald's restaurants, the second-highest number of McDonald's outlets in the world after the United States.
18. Japan has more than 200 volcanoes, 108 of which are considered active.
19. The world's shortest escalator, located in Kawasaki, Japan, has only five steps.
20. Japan has more than 6,000 islands inhabited by humans.
21. Japan has one of the lowest rates of obesity in the world, partially due to its traditional diet and emphasis on portion control.

So well thought out

A vending machine that was taken so much consideration to the cityscape. ❤️
cre: Amazing Japan

Gunkanjima Island - Nagasaki, Japan .
Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.
FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD have a history as odd, or as poignant as Gunkanjima’s.
The tiny, fortress-like island lies just off the coast of Nagasaki. The island is ringed by a seawall, covered in tightly packed buildings, and entirely abandoned - a ghost town that has been completely uninhabited for more than forty years. In the early 1900s, Gunkanjima was developed by the Mitsubishi Corporation, which believed - correctly - that the island was sitting on a rich submarine coal deposit.
For almost the next hundred years, the mine grew deeper and longer, stretching out under the seabed to harvest the coal that was powering Japan’s industrial expansion.
By 1941, the island, less than one square kilometer in area, was producing 400,000 tonnes of coal per year.
And many of those working slavishly in the undersea mine were forced laborers from Korea.
Even more remarkable than the mine was the city that had grown up around it.
To accommodate the miners, ten-story apartment complexes were built up on the tiny rock - a high-rise maze linked together by courtyards, corridors, and stairs. There were schools, restaurants, and gaming houses, all encircled by the protective seawall.
The island became known as “Midori nashi Shima,” the island without green.
Amazingly, by the mid-1950s, it housed almost six thousand people, giving it the highest population density the world has ever known. And then the coal ran out.
Mitsubishi closed the mine, everyone left, and this island city was abandoned, left to revert back to nature.
The apartments began to crumble, and for the first time, in the barren courtyards, green things started to grow. Broken glass and old newspapers blew over the streets. The sea-breeze whistled through the windows.
Now, fifty years later, the island is exactly as it was just after Mitsubishi left. A ghost town in the middle of the sea.

Stunning

Tochigi's giant wisteria, the world's largest wisteria, in full bloom
📸marutsubame3

The wisteria had just started as my trip ended last year

the beauty of Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture 💕
📍 Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine
cre: mintimu

Niigata, Toyama, and Nagano: Travel Through Beautiful Paintings of Nature and Art People from all over the world visit Japan to soak in the beauty of its nature that shows a different face with each season. In this article, we escape the chaos of the big city to explore the area around the Sea of Japan and the Northern Japanese Alps. More specifically, we visited Niigata's coasta...

These are some of my photos from Takayama 08/04/2023.

Time to level up your blossom game 🌸

KNOW YOUR BLOSSOMS - With Cherry Blossoms hitting full bloom here in the Tokyo area this weekend, and our very own Camp Zama Cherry Blossom Festival happening tomorrow, let's take a look at some of the differences between the pink petals found around the country during springtime.

Cherry Blossoms, or Sakura, arguably the most famous of the Japanese flowers, are most recognizable for their short-lifespan, in addition to the distinct divot they have in their petals. Ranging from white to light pink, they are 'here today, gone tomorrow' illustrating Japan's concept of the 'beauty of impermanance.'

Plum blossoms, or Ume, usually preceed the Sakura in blooming, starting around the winter timeframe. Their petals are more rounded, and usually bloom straight off of the branch, as opposed to an offshoot! Be on the lookout for their dark pink petals.

Peach blossoms, or Momo, have a distinctive prong-like petal arrangement, with colors ranging from whites to light-pinks - suspiciously similar to Cherry Blossoms, but just as pretty.

As we gear up for our Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday (with guest appearance by Robohon!) we'll use this guide to see which flowers are blooming while we're out and about in Japan!

Beautiful Takayama

A little late but worth the wait! 🌸

Tokyo cherry blossom progress report 2024: mid-bloom approaching peak bloom The 2024 sakura season has begun, and we're tracking the progress so you know the best time to see the cherry blossoms