In the small town of Kutchan, near the internationally renowned Niseko ski slopes in Japan, a barren field once planted with potatoes has become a flash point for a national conflict over labor, tourism and immigration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/04/japan/society/japan-foreign-workers-ski-resort/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #hokkaido #tourism #immigration #jobs
Old World prestige, New World terroir: Domaine de Montille’s vineyard in Hokkaido could redefine Japanese wine. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/10/03/food-drink/domaine-de-montille-burgundy-hokkaido-wine/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #fooddrink #drinking #wine #alcohol #hokkaido #hakodate
Almost six years after Hokkaido’s governor scrapped plans for a casino resort, the prefecture is looking at the possibility of hosting one to boost tourism despite societal and environmental concerns. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/29/japan/hokkaido-casino/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #casinos #gambling
Fossils unearthed in Hokkaido more than a decade ago have recently been identified as belonging to a new right whale species. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/22/japan/japan-new-whale-species/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #whales #hokkaido #sapporo
A surge in the number of heatstroke patients in Japan this summer was most notable in regions such as Hokkaido and Tohoku, which are typically cooler than the rest of the nation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/08/japan/heatstroke-cases-rising-in-hokkaido-and-tohoku/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #heatwaves #hokkaido #tohoku #heatstroke
A memorial service was held Saturday for the victims of an earthquake that killed 44 people in Hokkaido seven years ago. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/06/japan/hokkaido-2018-quake-memorial/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #earthquakes
Large sauries are making a return this season after years of poor, smaller catches of the fish, a delicacy enjoyed in Japan during summer and autumn. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/04/japan/japan-large-saury-catch/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #fish #saury #hokkaido #toyosu
A Japanese octogenarian was swindled out of about ¥1 million after falling in love online with a self-described astronaut who sought her help to avert a spaceship crisis. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/03/japan/crime-legal/fake-astronaut-scam-japan-elderly/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #fraud #socialmedia #elderly #japanesepolice #hokkaido
The Soviet Union sinking of three Japanese ships near Hokkaido a week after World War II ended was a brutal final act made all the more significant because of one of history's greatest "what if" questions surrounding it. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/01/japan/hokkaido-invasion-soviet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #sovietunion #wwii#rumoi #us
Can baseball revitalize rural Japan? Five new recruits from the U.S., France and Australia are drumming up excitement and bringing fresh energy to the dairy town of Betsukai, Hokkaido. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2025/09/01/issues/hokkaido-betsukai-pilot-spirits-baseball/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #community #issues #baseball #hokkaido #betsukai #hokkaidofrontierleague #betsukaipilotspirits #mitsuruhonma
The transport ministry will investigate what it describes as a 'serious incident' after a passenger plane operated by Japan's All Nippon Airways landed on a runway in Hokkaido where a work vehicle was operating. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/japan/ana-serious-incident/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #mlit #hokkaido #ana #airlines
Firefly Aerospace is exploring an option to launch its Alpha rocket from Japan as the U.S. rocket maker expands its satellite launch services globally. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/18/companies/firefly-aerospace-japan-rocket-launch/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #fireflyaerospace #rockets #space #hokkaido
A man in his 20s went missing on Thursday after he was attacked by a bear while hiking with a friend on a mountain in eastern Hokkaido. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/15/japan/hokkaido-world-heritage-bear-attack/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bears #hokkaido #shiretoko #mountrausu #worldheritage
There was a time when the notion of a Japanese player making it to the NHL was absurd enough that it became the butt of a legendary hockey joke. Jordan Spence may be changing that view. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/08/03/more-sports/jordan-spence-hockey-hokkaido/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #moresports #jordanspence #hokkaido #ottawasenators #osaka
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido meets Japan's safety standards. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/hokkaido-nuclear-reactor-passes-safety-screening/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #tomari #nuclearenergy #earthquakes #tsunami
Japan saw 10,804 heatstroke sufferers taken to hospital by ambulance in the week through Sunday, a new weekly record this year, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/society/record-heatstroke-sufferers-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #heatstroke #heatwaves #tokyo #saitama #hokkaido
Japan is experiencing another scorching summer, and even Hokkaido, which is known for its cool and comfortable summer, is not being spared by heat waves. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/25/japan/northern-japan-heat-waves/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #heatwaves #hokkaido #tohoku #meteorologicalagency
Former residents of islands off the coast of Hokkaido, driven off by a Soviet invasion at the end of World War II, want the government to convince Russia to allow them to visit their ancestral grave sites on the islands. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/22/japan/northern-territories-grave/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #russia #russiajapanrelations #sovietunion #wwii #kunashiri #etorofu #shikotan #habomai #northernterritories
Former residents of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan have held a memorial service at sea for their ancestors for the fourth straight year because they remain unable to land on the northwestern Pacific islands. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/21/japan/northern-territories-ex-residents-memorial/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #northernterritories #disputedislands #russiajapanrelations #russia #hokkaido
While many candidates in Sunday's Upper House election are heading to major cities for speeches and turning to social media, one candidate from Hokkaido is giving politics one last go-through a grassroots campaign. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/16/japan/politics/muneo-suzuki-election-hokkaido/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #muneosuzuki #hokkaido #ldp #nipponishinnokai #2025upperhouseelection #okinawa #russia