Popular!! Recruiting participants for a bus tour [A journey to meet Sarurun Kamuy (God of the Marsh) and the red-crowned crane] At Grus, the Akan International Crane Center, the birthplace of artificial feeding, we will hold a day-trip bus tour to watch the cranes arrive, guided by Director Kawase ☺ This rare tour lets you see red-crowned cranes spread their great wings and take flight against the early morning sky ✨ Please join us! Operation dates: Sunday, February 8, 2026 and Sunday, February 15, 2026 Time: 7:00 AM–10:25 AM *Meet at 6:55 AM / KKS Convention Center (Kushiro City Tourism and International Exchange Center) Participation fee: JPY 5,500 (tax included) Capacity: 20 people per tour For details and to apply, please see the website. https://ja.kushiro-lakeakan.com/overview/19962/...

At a quiet temple in Kawagoe, piles of weathered Daruma rest in one place, their wishes fulfilled. Each New Year, people return their old Daruma here, a ritual of gratitude and release. In the frame, an elderly woman gently places hers atop the others, bowing slightly—an act she learned as a child. Once, her parents brought her; later, she brought her children. The Daruma come and go, but the tradition remains, passed patiently from old to young, year after year. Location: Kitain temple, Kawagoe, Saitama.

Get drunk on the delicious flavors of Shobara City in Hiroshima Prefecture! 😍 Savor smoked dishes and sake at Kaneki-ya in Hakushima-Kitamachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City 🥩🍶 Kaneki-ya in Hakushima-Kitamachi, Naka Ward is a popular stop for many people with ties to Shobara. Here you can enjoy snacks made with Hiba Beef and a range of smoked items from Smoked Hakoda. Kaneki-ya also offers sake from breweries in Shobara City! This time, we explored what makes Kaneki-ya so appealing. [Shobara Sightseeing Guide website "Editorial Report" has been updated!] Read the article here 🔽 https://www.shobara-info.com/report/5454...

From Kushiro, Happy New Year again for 2026! The long New Year holidays have ended. How has everyone been? In Kushiro City the red-crowned cranes have arrived for the season, and 100 to 200 birds are currently being observed at the feeding station 😊 Also, from Saturday, January 17, the SL Winter Marsh Train began operating, ushering in the best time to enjoy winter sightseeing! On cold mornings you might see lotus-leaf ice or ke-arashi (steam fog) over the Kushiro River⁈ Viewed from around Nusamai Bridge, the scene becomes even more magical. You can also enjoy winter canoeing on the Kushiro River as it flows through Kushiro Shitsugen! Thanks to the clear winter air, the sunset in Kushiro—hailed as one of the world’s three great sunsets—shines with even more vivid colors, and Kushiro offers many sights and experiences you can only encounter at this time of year. Please come visit us✨ The official Kushiro and Akan tourism site, super fantastic, is here https://ja.kushiro-lakeakan.com// Wishing everyone a great year again this year (^^)

Even after Lake Akanko begins to freeze, the ice remains very thin! It can be hard to see, but hot springs bubble up from the lakebed in places, making the ice dangerously thin. When people work on the ice, they do so only after taking safety precautions. Even with warning signs and ropes to keep people out, local residents sometimes report those who try to venture onto the ice. Going onto the ice at this time of year is a life-threatening risk. Do not go onto the ice under any circumstances.