Olympics and Year of the Rat give starring role to capybaras at Japanese zoos
Sinking into steamy hot springs, the giant rodents of Izu Shaboten Koen flick their ears and close their eyes against the camera clicks of fascinated onlookers, drifting into a hazy midday nap. They might not know it, but the five capybaras are the star attraction ...
Surrendering to a hot-spring package tour in snowy Yunishigawa
Winter is a fine time to visit Yunishigawa. The months from December to the first week of March sees the enchanting Kamakura Festival, when hundreds of kamakura (snow huts) are constructed along the Yunishigawa river, in forest recesses and in the precincts of temples ...
More and more onsen (hot-spring baths) have been popping up in urban areas of Osaka Prefecture, reflecting their popularity among foreign visitors hoping to experience Japanese culture and residents looking for places to relax. Both new and existing facilities at hotels and spas are fighting ...
Fukushima hot spring resort opens to typhoon victims for free
The Dake Onsen resort in Fukushima Prefecture has opened its hot spring baths to people hit by Typhoon Hagibis free of charge. On Wednesday, Fukushima residents affected by the 19th typhoon of the year visited the facilities in Nihonmatsu from the morning. They included people ...
Top 10: A local's guide to the most unique hot springs in Kyushu
Panoramas, bubble baths and tingling testicles — The Japan Times' list of 10 of the most unique and rare onsen Kyushu has to offer.
With Rugby World Cup in full swing, Beppu hot spring resort still divided over tattooed visitors
Hotels and bathhouses at the famed Beppu Onsen hot-spring resort in Oita Prefecture continue to be divided over whether to accept tattooed visitors. Tattoos are widely accepted in many countries, but in Japan the practice is often associated with yakuza and other crime group members. About ...
England's Joe Marler calls out press for violating Japan's bathing protocol
England's Joe Marler put on a clinic in the art of international diplomacy at the Rugby World Cup on Monday, laying down the law on Japan's bathing etiquette. The Harlequins prop rebuked English journalists for "offending Japanese culture" by wearing trunks in an "onsen" — ...
Bain taking bids for Japanese hot spring operator Oedo Onsen Monogatari
Bain Capital is collecting bids for Oedo Onsen Monogatari, operator of about 40 hot spring inns and resorts across Japan, with first-round proposals submitted by investment funds and SoftBank Group Corp., sources have said. The U.S. investor is seeking to sell the Oedo Onsen Monogatari ...
Kinugawa Onsen: A dilapidated hot spring town in Tokyo's backyard
Kinugawa Onsen may have had its heyday in the 1980s, but this retro hot spring town still has plenty to offer Tokyoites looking for a weekend getaway close to home.
Hot-spring resorts debate allowing tattooed tourists ahead of Rugby World Cup
With Japan expecting approximately 400,000 overseas visitors for the 2019 Rugby World Cup set to begin in September, hot-spring resorts across the country are faced with the ever-present issue of how to handle customers who have tattoos. According to a 2015 Japan Tourism Agency survey, ...
Japanese director of hot-spring consultancy handed 15-year prison sentence in China for spying
A Japanese man convicted of spying by a Chinese court was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday, Sino-Japanese sources revealed the same day. The man, in his 50s, was also fined 100,000 yuan (about ¥1.6 million) by the court in Hainan Province for having ...
Onsen: A great way to get the kids to take a bath
To many Japan newbies, the thought of bathing with strangers at a hot spring public bath seems off-putting — especially with kids. Yet for millions of residents, it's an ideal way to warm up and spend time together on a winter afternoon. Here are ...
