AOMORI, Oct. 30 – The “Aomorik Cube” puzzle featuring six different Aomori-made apple skins on all sides is causing a buzz for being too difficult to solve. Each side of the six-sided 3D puzzle has a picture of skins of different but all red apples, making it extremely difficult. It is a challenge from Aomori Prefecture, which required two days to solve even for the official of Aomori’s Tourist Attraction and Exchanges Section, who planned the item to promote apples produced in the northernmost prefecture on Japan’s main island. The Aomorik Cube uses pictures of skins of Fuji, Jonagold, Sekai-Ichi, Kogyoku, Chiyuki, and Mutsu apples. It was released on October 17 … Continue reading →

Oct. 27, Niigata – An annual winter event of the quake-hit city of Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture-Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces Illumination-is here in Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture this year. It is a part of the program called Ojiya Hotaru (meaning “Ojiya fireflies” in Japanese) held at an observatory on Mt. Yamamoto in Ojiya, one of the cities that also experienced a large-scale earthquake in 2004. One section of the venue was covered by approximately 15,000 light-emitting diode (LED) lights called Pet Botaru, which were brought from Wajima, recreating the scene of the original rice terrace event in Wajima. The lights change colors every 15 minutes and allure the visitors. An … Continue reading →

NAGANO, Oct. 17 – Haruo Nishizawa, a 75-year-old farmer in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, has built a big Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) sculpture measuring 5.4 meters in height and 4 meters in width at home.  He recently held an eye-opening ceremony for the statue to which he dedicated more than four years of work. Yakushi Nyorai is said to cure illnesses and save people from suffering and disasters, and Nishizawa, amidst his farm work, carved it with his prayers. His farm is in the Koedo area of Shinshu-Shinmachi Town in Nagano Prefecture. As you turn off the National Route 19 and head towards Ogawa Village, you can see the impressive … Continue reading →

HIROSHIMA, Oct. 19 — A giant field with 30,000 flowers arranged to depict Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is attracting visitors to Hana no Eki Sera, a tourism farm in Sera, Hiroshima Prefecture. The flower art, created with 30,000 plants of red, blue and white cultivars of scarlet sage and orange and yellow zinnias on a 55-meter-long, 45-meter-wide field, shows Ohtani walking slowly toward first base, apparently convinced he hit a home run. It is expected to be available for viewing until Nov. 4. The art, featuring Ohtani who became the first Major League Baseball player ever with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season, … Continue reading →