The fallen apples of Typhoon Hagibis
When the Typhoon Hagibis floods hit Nagano, it near-destroyed the apple farms for which the area is famous, with contaminants in the floodwaters making it impossible to salvage any of the surviving fruit.
A fine tree that's worth getting to know
In postwar Japan, the government's Forestry Agency claimed that the Japanese beech was a useless tree. That's utter nonsense — beech wood is great for interiors and the tree is not only important for wildlife water management, but it also produces edible leaves and ...
Will our insects keep on disappearing?
With concern, but little surprise, I read an article by Daphne Rousseau in The Japan Times on July 2 about a mass extinction of insects in Krefeld, Germany, near the Dutch border. There, based on a study going back almost 30 years, entomologist Martin Sorg ...
Growing old as the new era dawns
C. W. Nicol relects on more than 35 years of working to conserve the environment in Japan.
Young eco-warriors use their smarts to combat environmental concerns
The 7th AEON Eco-1 Grand Prix environmental competition highlights school kids' inventive solutions to environmental issues.
All hail Caesar's wild mushrooms
Many people make that distinction between "good" mushrooms and "bad" toadstools, though there's no scientific difference between the two — and there are some branded as "toadstools" that are, in fact, delicious.
Living the slow life can be a religious experience
CW. Nicol visits Zenryoji temple in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture for a Candle Night public event, led by chief priest Tomonobu Narita, for a slow-life-themed evening.
A wetland works wonders in battered Tohoku
A proposed wetland nature center in Miyagi Prefecture would give wild birds a new home while attracting bird-loving tourists to Tohoku.
There's no business like snow business
A few weeks ago I had things to do in Tokyo and Yokohama, so I had a ticket booked for a late-afternoon train from Nagano on Jan. 22. Then that morning my manager in Tokyo phoned to tell me I should come early ...
A return to Resolute: Exploring the wintry climes of northern Canada
We sailed from Greenland, across Baffin Bay, on Aug. 4, 2017. The sea was calm, and largely free of ice floes, although still dotted here and there with icebergs. The following day we reached the small community of Pond Inlet, more than 600 kilometers ...
Don't be fooled, pests are a problem — no matter how cute they appear
I recently went out to my friend John Harris' country home in the Isumi district of Chiba Prefecture, about 100 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. His house is midway down the Pacific coast of the Boso Peninsula, close to the small town of Onjuku, which ...
Come what may, we're doing just fine
Rain had started pelting the cherry blossoms when I returned from Tokyo last month, squelching the plans of countless would-be outdoor revelers. Here in Kurohime in northern Nagano Prefecture the snow was melting and the Torii River, which rises in ancient Togakushi and is fed ...
