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July 12, 2025
 

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ONSEN

Local authorities in Tokyo are resorting to unconventional measures to raise voter turnout, including partnering with public bathhouses amid Japan’s ongoing sauna boom and collaborating with high school students to create promotional materials.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 16, 2025
Tokyo teams up with bathhouses to boost voter turnout for assembly election
The previous election in 2021 showed a much lower turnout rate among younger demographics.
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2025
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
Located deep within Kyushu’s Shimabara Peninsula, this hot spring town offers dramatic scenery worth the effort it takes to get there.
Local authorities on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three hotel staff members who went missing in the city of Fukushima on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2025
Three hotel staffers found dead after going missing in Fukushima mountains
The three men were found collapsed in the snow near the hot spring source at around noon on Tuesday.
Ginzan Onsen hot springs in Obanazawa, Yamagata Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2024
Picturesque Japan hot spring town limits day trippers
Authorities in Ginzan Onsen have become fed up with a rise in road problems, quarrels and other nuisances.
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 25, 2024
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
The modern sauna experience is more than just taking a seat in some steam — whisking, aufguss shows and spectacle all play a part.
Washing stations at a hot spring bath at Hoshinoya Tokyo, operated by Hoshino Resorts, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024
Luxury Japan hot springs brand to open first U.S. location in New York state
The president of Hoshino Resorts had made it his personal goal to bring Japanese hot spring resorts to North America.
A total of 65 stores in Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai offer various food and drinks, with many that incorporate fresh ingredients from the Toyosu market.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
New Edo-inspired venue near Toyosu market offers more than fish
Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai hosts restaurants and an onsen area that uses water sourced from popular hot spring towns in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023
Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths
It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2023
Struggling hot spring resorts get boost from Chinese investors
Many Chinese buyers of inns and hotels are willing to pay twice the market price to take them over, according to sellers and industry sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2023
A long and winding visit to 'secret' Ubayu Onsen
Secluded and remote hot springs are yet another example of Japan's deep bathing culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2023
Hot springs block Japan's geothermal potential
Geothermal is a renewable resource that harnesses heat from deep below the Earth's crust — a seemingly attractive option for energy resource-poor Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 16, 2023
'Yudo': A heartwarming ode to a good, old-fashioned soak
Masayuki Suzuki’s film pays tribute to the neighborhood public bath with a rush of nostalgia and feel-good laughs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2023
When a hot spring is no longer hot
Inns and resorts in Aomori Prefecture have seen their waters turn lukewarm, with the amount of hot water suitable for bathing decreasing significantly since late December.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jan 8, 2023
A love letter to hot springs at music festivals
Getting covered in grime, mud and sweat is an expected part of attending a multiday outdoor festival, but in Japan, hot springs provide a surprisingly liberating dimension to the weekend.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Dec 17, 2022
A Christmas gathering in one of Japan's hot springs
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 18, 2022
Warming up to onsen: The quirks and customs of public baths
Japan's hot spring baths are often on the to-do list of many tourists, just make sure you know the rules before heading inside.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 6, 2022
Sentō Samaritans: The fight to save urban bathhouses
Were public bathhouses to vanish from Tokyo, Osaka and other cities across Japan, much more than hot water would be lost.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2022
Mushi Charo: From hellish waters, heavenly flavors
With thousands of hot-spring sources in Beppu, it's no wonder the town's chefs have started putting geothermals to good use in the kitchen.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jan 17, 2022
Beneath the surface: Are Japan’s iconic hot-spring resources sustainable?
The public and private use of hot springs is leaving a significant imprint on the environment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 18, 2021
This Aomori farm’s strawberries are heating up tourism
Kanko Ichigo En is a year-round pick-your-own strawberry farm that grows its winter berries with 100% hot-spring heat.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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