NEWSWORTHY
Wakayama's governor all-in on casino resort bet
After the Diet finally approves legislation setting the rules on integrated casino resort complexes, the race to win one of the first three casinos will quickly heat up. And nowhere is the competition becoming more intense than in Kansai. Osaka is a heavy favorite to ...
Open Susami: Small Wakayama town's 'poorest aquarium in Japan' crab-walks to recovery
A small town attraction in southern Wakayama Prefecture has seen its financial fortunes turned around by crustacean enthusiasts eager to keep the self-proclaimed "poorest aquarium in Japan" afloat — and the local community is reaping the benefits. The Aquarium of Crab and Shrimp located in ...
Monk sues temple at Mount Koya World Heritage site over heavy workload
A monk working at the World Heritage site of Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture has filed a lawsuit against the organization that operates the temple for damages and unpaid wages, claiming he developed depression and was forced to take a leave of absence because ...
Osaka man held in alleged drowning of wife for insurance money
An Osaka man was arrested on suspicion of drowning his wife last summer while snorkeling in Wakayama Prefecture and disguising it as an accident so he could collect the insurance payout, police said Friday. Takashi Noda, a 29-year-old driver, allegedly drowned his restaurant manager wife, ...
Defying criticism, Taiji pushes forward with bold plans based on continued dolphin hunts
A few years back, the normally sleepy town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture was filled with activists furious with its traditional dolphin hunt, which was featured in "The Cove," a 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary. But as the fury ebbs, the town is now betting its ...
Kumanozakura recognized as first new species of cherry tree variety in around 100 years
A variety of wild cherry tree found growing in the southern part of the Kii Peninsula is the first new species of the genus Prunus cerasus to be discovered in the country in some 100 years, two forestry groups said this week. The two bodies ...
Two millennia of heritage along Wakayama's Kumano Kodo trail
The Kii Peninsula is a land of ancient spiritual paths and holy mountains. Part of Wakayama Prefecture, the area is famous for onsen, temperate rainforests, mountains and a beautiful coastline. The prefecture is known as a place of rich cultural heritage, in part because ...
Minakata: Japan's pioneer of ecology
In an old black-and-white photograph on show at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Minakata Kumagusu — with a shaved head and dressed only in a waistcloth — stands by a huge tree, arms crossed in seeming defiance. He could easily be ...
The Wakayama Prefecture town of Taiji, known for its whaling and dolphin hunts, said Wednesday it has established a sister city relationship with a town in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic that conducts similar harvesting. Taiji Mayor Kazutaka Sangen told a news conference ...
Following in the footsteps of Wakayama's beautiful mind
Naturalist Minakata Kumagusu's home prefecture offers much more than a scenic retreat.
Taking a spiritual journey into the mystic on hallowed Mount Koya
Even with its convenience stores, souvenir outlets, tour buses and boutique coffee shops, Mount Koya might be modestly alluded to as a Japanese Lhasa. There is no living being, of course, who embodies the doctrines of a religious order such as the Dalai Lama, ...
Two dead after powerful typhoon brings heavy wind and rain to Honshu
Typhoon Lan edged closer to the main island of Honshu on Sunday, leaving at least two people dead, with the tropical cyclone likely to make landfall in central or eastern Japan after midnight. The large typhoon had weakened slightly with an atmospheric pressure of 945 ...
