Japan will host a meeting next year of leaders from Pacific island countries and territories in the coastal city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, to discuss cooperation on mitigating risks from natural disasters. The government has hosted the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting every three years since ...
Young female divers help keep tradition alive
As Japan's ama (female divers) numbers dwindle, younger divers strive to find ways to pass down the culture.
A power spot, tucked away on the Shima Peninsula
Four or five years ago, standing alone in front of the clear, gently bubbling waters of Kiyomasa no Ido, a natural spring secreted in woodland at the far end of the Meiji Shrine's iris garden, I strained to detect any sound, but even the ...
The Shima Peninsula, where life is built on oysters and seafood
Shima Peninsula may be most famous for pearls, but the true treasure is its bountiful natural environment and a plateful of fresh oysters.
Home of the cultured pearl, Toba in Ise-Shima has both history and living tradition
"To Bond," Ian Fleming wrote in his 1964 novel, "You Only Live Twice," "they all seemed beautiful in the soft evening light ... the gleaming, muscled buttocks, cleft by the black cord, the powerful thong round the waist with its string of oval lead ...
While the city of Shima in Mie Prefecture is famous for its tradition of female ama divers, men have similarly been hunting the depths without the assistance of breathing devices.
Ise-Shima's traditional seafood foragers come up for air
When I arrive at the entrance of Hachiman-kamado, a women divers' hut in the village of Osatsu along the jagged coastline of the Ise-Shima region in Mie Prefecture, matriarch Reiko Nomura and three of her junior female free divers welcome me with beaming smiles. The ...
G-7 summit may put Japan's depopulation woes in limelight
In a town just a stone throw from the site of the Group of Seven summit taking center stage next week in Shima, Mie Prefecture, a crisis is afoot: the depopulation of a once vibrant community. The elderly who live in Daiochofunakoshi, a 20-minute drive ...
Shima pet sector jumps on summit bandwagon with pet-related services
The pet industry is the latest sector to take advantage of growing interest in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, ahead of next month's Group of Seven summit. In response to increasing demand for pets nationwide, a facility run by the Shima City Council for ...
Classic hotel takes center stage at Ise-Shima Summit
The opening to the novel "Karei naru Ichizoku" (The Glorious Family) by the late Japanese author Toyoko Yamasaki describes the splendid twilight descending upon Ago Bay in the Shima Peninsula, when the sun begins to tilt and the tide is full. And in a brief ...
Just take a snap and let Aichi smartphone app explain what's seen, and where
An Aichi-based electronic parts manufacturer has developed a free smartphone app that allows people to obtain information on tourist spots simply by taking photos of them. Sono Electronics Co. teamed up with the tourism divisions of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, and the Ise-Shima region in Mie ...
Mie pearl farmer looks to Vietnam for new opportunities, fresh workforce
Ago Bay in Shima, Mie Prefecture, is one of the leading places in Japan where pearls can be cultured. The number of pearl farmers has declined in recent years, however, and they are an aging workforce. Shima has been in the spotlight recently, as it ...
