National May 13, 2021
Fukushima flower growers hope to make Tokyo Olympics bloom
by Ayano Shimizu
The town of Namie is hoping to shake off its image as a place forever linked to disaster.
National May 6, 2020
Virus-related closure at Fukushima school brings forth blooms
Teachers and other staff at a Fukushima Prefecture junior high school temporarily closed by the coronavirus pandemic got a surprise when they noticed a sports field that is normally bustling with students has become carpeted with pink flowers. "I have never seen the schoolyard covered ...
National Mar 11, 2020
Japan's florists promote 'flower power' for homes as virus spoils party
by Junko Horiuchi
March, which marks the end of the academic and business year in Japan, is usually one of the busiest periods for the flower industry, with surges in demand for graduation ceremonies at schools, send-off parties and weddings. But this year the spread of COVID-19 is ...
Lifestyle | Kateigaho International Japan Edition Feb 15, 2020
The Sogetsu school of ikebana encourages a more liberated approach to the Japanese art of flower arranging. Akane Teshigahara, the fourth head of the school, matches selected items from the Spogetsu Collection with arrangements celebrating spring.
Lifestyle Mar 23, 2019
by Alex K.T. Martin
It's 2:30 a.m. and dark outside. Tsuyoshi Hirasawa can see his breath in the February chill as he turns the key in the ignition of his white Honda minivan. The large hands gripping the steering wheel are rough and leathery from years of working ...
National Dec 30, 2018
Edible flower family adding color to Japan's culinary arts
by Megumi Iizuka
Katokaen, a flower farm in the suburbs of Tokyo, has built a thriving business by producing blooms that are not only pretty but are also enriching the culinary arts with colorful petals as crisp as lettuce or as sweet and sour as berries. Run by ...
National | Regional voices: Chubu Jun 25, 2018
Aichi team develops self-driving robots to tackle labor shortage in farming
Amid a severe shortage of manpower, a team comprised of researchers from private companies and a university in Aichi Prefecture is working on developing a self-driving robot that uses cutting-edge technology to support flower-growing farmers. In fiscal 2019 the group hopes to start marketing automated, ...
National Jul 14, 2017
Japan's fondness for Christmas bush means blooming exports for Aussie florists
by Anna Watanabe
It took flower grower Paul Dalley almost seven years before he found the perfect Australian native for the Japanese flower market, but once he did he never looked back. "When we first sent it from here, they got really excited. They rang up the next ...
Travel Mar 31, 2017
Yoronto: A small island with unique culture where time and space expand
by Stephen Mansfield
The sea is only as blue as the sky permits. Even in the deep southern islands of the Nansei-Shoto, an overcast day can turn the sub-tropics into a mirror image of some of the more relentlessly dreary resort towns of my own country, England. ...
National / Science & Health Sep 18, 2015
Taxonomist catalogs Myanmar's flora for preservation, prosperity
by Yuzo Suwa
Kazumi Fujikawa is scouring a nature-rich mountain range in Myanmar. Her mission, to find, identify and classify its flora, is central to the nation's future economy and environment. The 45-year-old Kochi woman's plant taxonomy work in Natma Taung National Park is part of the process ...
Environment | WILD WATCH May 10, 2014
Rhododendrons, azaleas: blooming marvels of the plant world
by Mark Brazil
Nothing tops turning a corner on a trail and encountering a sudden splash of pink, red or gold amongst the greenery.