Construction material created using soil from vegetable fields

TOKYO, Nov. 4 — A building material for interiors using soil from vegetable fields was created and used at a store in Tokyo. The material is produced by casting clay into forms and drying them just like sun-dried bricks. It can absorb and release humidity, and also has the ability to fix carbon. It is an eco-friendly material that can also be crushed and reused. Imomatsu, a food store in Tokyo, requested an architect to develop the material in order to make its interiors match the store’s goal of promoting the attractiveness of the vegetables it sells. The architect created the material using soil taken from fields in the town … Continue reading

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Aomori Prefecture’s 3D puzzle challenge: Tell the difference between six apple skins

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

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F1 hybrid wagyu beef menu proving popular at a feed producer-operated restaurant in Nagano

NAGANO, Oct. 24 — Greenland Shinshu, a manufacturer of feed and organic fertilizers based in the town of Minowa, Nagano Prefecture, offers Japanese hot pot dishes such as sukiyaki and shabu-shabu using F1 beef — wagyu beef crossed with another breed — and dairy beef at its restaurant in the town. The restaurant, which opened in May, has been posting strong sales, as the Momiji brand beef produced by a local dairy farm from cattle raised with locally-made feed is proving popular because it is more affordable compared with Japanese Black wagyu beef. The restaurant, named Kuroge-gyu Restaurant Aisu Kobo, is located on the first floor of a complex facility, … Continue reading

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Lights from Wajima Shiroyone Senmaida shining in Niigata this year

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

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Farmer in Nagano Prefecture completes 5.4-meter Medicine Master Buddha

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

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