Category Archives: Others

Non-standard strawberries used in skincare facial masks in central Japan

FUKUI, Feb. 9 — ICHIGOOJI, a strawberry farm in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, put on sale 3D facial masks containing strawberry extract as skincare ingredient. The farm came up with its own compound of ingredients for the masks to increase their skin-conditioning effects, making use of extract from non-standard strawberries. It set up a skincare brand Dr. BERRY with an aim to boost its revenues. The ingredients include strawberry fruit and seed extracts that help improve skin condition and white strawberry juice with skin moisturizing properties, as well as human adipose-derived stem cell-conditioned media extract that activate cells. The farm cultivates three strawberry varieties — Akihime, Benihoppe and a white strawberry … Continue reading

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Farmers take pride in return of Tokyo University of Agriculture’s runners, cheering squad, and radish dance to Hakone Ekiden

KANAGAWA, Jan. 5 – Tokyo University of Agriculture returned to this year’s Hakone Ekiden (Tokyo-Hakone Round Trip University Ekiden Race) for the first time in ten years in the year of the 100th anniversary of the annual athletic event. So did the iconic dancing of the university’s cheering squad. The dance is called Aoyama Hotori or more commonly, Daikon Odori (Japanese radish dance). A farmer who provided the radishes for the dance and a teacher who helped the cheering group members grow radishes praised the runners for completing the race and the cheering group for supporting the runners, saying they were proud of them. The farmer in Kokubunji City, Tokyo, … Continue reading

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Is it really a toy or genuine?

TOKYO, Dec. 23 – A series of capsule toys featuring Japanese local milk brands is making a big hit in Japan. The gacha toys created under the supervision of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) are as small as a little finger but look precisely like a 1-liter milk carton or a 200-ml milk bottle, which you see every day everywhere in Japan. Having a retro feel that attracts mostly young people and a lineup that allures collectors, they are helping to create milk fans. You turn a lever of the gacha vending machine to get one of the six miniature milk cartons and bin, like that famous … Continue reading

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Driverless pop-up shop vehicle with AI concierge gathers attention at Japan Mobility Show 2023

TOKYO, Oct. 30 – At the Japan Mobility Show 2023, held at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward, Tokyo, Toyota’s autonomous-driving mobile shop vehicle attracted visitors’ attention. The vehicle will address the shortage of drivers and assist people having difficulties accessing retail stores in some areas of Japan. The shop car is a little smaller than a minibus and won’t block tr affic even if it’s parked in a house yard. It has no seat but shelves, a fridge, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. One of the attractions of the vehicle is that shoppers can enjoy chatting with an artificial intelligence (AI) figure on the screen by talking … Continue reading

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Tsujun Bridge in Kumamoto Prefecture designated as national treasure

TOKYO, Sept. 26 — The education ministry on Sept. 25 designated Tsujun Bridge in the town of Yamato, Kumamoto Prefecture, as a national treasure and issued a notice in the official gazette. The historic stone bridge is still used to this day to provide agricultural water and it is the first time for a civil engineering structure built for agricultural use to be recognized as a national treasure. Local people hope the designation will help promote agriculture and tourism in the area. Tsujun Bridge, one of the country’s biggest arched stone bridges, was constructed in 1854 during the Edo period to supply agricultural water to a nearby plateau. The bridge … Continue reading

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