Category Archives: Others

【News】 Forest kindergartens gaining popularity, prompting regional municipalities to promote them to lure young families (Aug. 23, 2015)

Izumi Shirayanagi Forest kindergarten programs, which let preschool children play and learn in a natural environment such as mountains and rice paddies, are becoming increasingly popular in Japan. Spending time outdoors in nature is believed to have a positive impact on children’s development both physically and mentally. Local governments have begun providing assistance to the programs to encourage young families to move in to depopulated rural villages. Forest kindergartens first started in Denmark and Germany as outdoor nurseries without ceilings or walls. In Japan, similar activities are introduced by kindergartens, nurseries, afterschool classes and private childcare groups. According to the national network of forest kindergartens, children of such kindergartens play … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Others | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Forest kindergartens gaining popularity, prompting regional municipalities to promote them to lure young families (Aug. 23, 2015)

【News】 Egret flowers spreading white wings (Aug. 20, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada In Isezaki-shi, Gunma Prefecture, 8,500 stocks of egret flowers are now in full bloom at “Egret Flower Show.” The show is held by a 71-year-old amateur plant grower, Hiroyuki Ishihara, to offer the public the chance to have a close look at the pearly white blossoms that resemble egret birds in flights. Egret flowers are one type of terrestrial orchids found in wetlands. It actually is one of the near threatened species listed in the Red List of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. In Gunma Prefecture, it has already become extinct, according to the local government. In Ishihara’s greenhouse, tens of thousands of egret flowers are … Continue reading

Posted in Others, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Egret flowers spreading white wings (Aug. 20, 2015)

【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Old shore artillery battery looking down at peaceful ocean (July 26, 2015)

Kentarou Tominaga, Kotaro Yamada and Hiroki Arai Miura-shi in Kanagawa Prefecture is known for producing a wide variety of high-quality vegetables. In one of the fields there, however, there is a round flat odd structure that actually fits in the place and everyday life of local residents. It is what remains from an old artillery battery, Kenzaki Battery, built by the Imperial Japanese Army. The facility was built in current Minamishitaura-machi in Miura-shi as a part of the Tokyo Bay Shore military bases developed in Meiji Era and during World War ll. A 6-meter-long 15-inch naval gun was located to protect Tokyo and Yokosuka Military Port. Less was known about … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Others, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Old shore artillery battery looking down at peaceful ocean (July 26, 2015)

【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Broken plan buried under vegetable garden (July 25, 2015)

Kazuhiro Eguchi There is an unusual vegetable garden in Hananoi, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba Prefecture, with six large concrete tubes sticking out from the ground. The tubes in fact belonged to the old underground facility for the rocket-powered interceptor aircraft “Shusui”, which was to be completed by the Imperial Japanese Army before the end of World War Il. This area was part of Kashiwa Air Field which was established by the Japanese Army to combat US air raids over the country, particularly Tokyo. Shusui with a rocket engine was going to be located here for defense against B-29s. The aircraft, however, never played its intended role as its development did not complete … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Others, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Broken plan buried under vegetable garden (July 25, 2015)

【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Second World War bunkers now protecting cows in pastures (July 23, 2015)

Tetsuya Onda Some bunkers from Pacific War still remain in the pastures in Makinouchi, Nemuro-shi in Hokkaido, the region with successful dairy industry. The bunkers were built during the Pacific War in order to protect military airplanes in one of the Imperial Japanese Navy airfields in Nemuro, which was a defense base in the Northern part of Japan. They were domes entirely covered with earth to camouflage. There are five bunkers in the region and four out of them sit still in the farmland of Akio Kusuhara, 40, who came to Hokkaido from Aichi Prefecture as a new farmer six years ago. According to his wife, Wakana, 27, “Cows like … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Others, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Series】 World War II 70th Anniversary – Second World War bunkers now protecting cows in pastures (July 23, 2015)