Shozo Street is ‘sacred ground’ for cafe lovers
The town of Kuroiso might seem an unlikely candidate for one of Japan’s top coffee destinations. But Shozo Kikuchi has kicked off 30 years of community revitalization, one cafe at a time.
Go on a ‘sake voyage’ right in Tokyo’s backyard
The Yottemikke Sake Tourism Association entices travelers to explore Utsunomiya’s gastronomic delights.
Tochigi governor lands fourth term, beats JCP-backed foe of nuke waste plan
Tomikazu Fukuda has been re-elected to a fourth term as governor of Tochigi Prefecture, defeating a newcomer supported by the Japanese Communist Party. Fukuda, 63, backed by Komeito and the local chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party, won Sunday's race with support from commerce and ...
Man gets life for Tochigi girl's murder despite lack of physical evidence
In a controversial decision, the Utsunomiya District Court sentences a man to life for killing a Tochigi girl after judging the case solely on confessions rather than physical evidence.
Tochigi court accepts murder confession as evidence despite coercion claims
The Utsunomiya District Court on Friday accepted as evidence interrogation records showing a man admitting to the murder of a 7-year-old girl in Tochigi Prefecture in 2005, despite the fact he made a not-guilty plea and said the confession was coerced. The credibility of the ...
The mountain village that tried to disappear
Our arrival at Yunishigawa-Onsen Station in Tochigi Prefecture is more than a little disconcerting. The two-carriage train, which until now has been chugging determinedly through an increasingly snowy landscape, pulls to a halt in the middle of a tunnel. The doors slide open to reveal ...
Body found in box by road identified as that of missing Saitama teen
A body found in a cardboard box on a roadside in Tochigi Prefecture was that of a 16-year-old girl from Saitama Prefecture who went missing nearly two years ago, police said Monday. The family of Kana Shiratsu filed a request with the Saitama Prefectural Police ...
Oya: The town that turned to stone
It's always good to know something about the ground under your feet when you visit a new destination. Geology, in a very real sense, is the foundation of the former renown and wealth of Oya-machi, a town with the dimensions of a village in Tochigi ...
As counterculture groups around the world celebrate annual April 20 marijuana festivals, we examine the country's historical and cultural links to the much-maligned weed.
Early joys, trials put potter on path to the simple life
Growing up with severe asthma, Australian Euan Craig was acutely aware of the fragility of life from an early age. His older sister inexplicably collapsed and was diagnosed with brain damage at the age of 12. "I was only 8 when she first got sick," explains ...
