A phenomenon called "God's Crossing" in Nagano Prefecture that has been recorded for centuries has gone from reliable to elusive in recent decades amid the warming of the climate. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2026/02/18/climate-change/lake-suwa-god-crossing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #climatechange #nagano #lakesuwa #climatechange #omiwatari
Ben
boosted
#SuryaBonaly's story at the 1998 #Nagano #WinterOlympics is a marvel
She committed an error and was out of medal contention. So she went "fuck it, if the judges don't appreciate me for my athletic gifts, I am going to win on my own terms" and was the first Olympic woman to do a #backflip in #figureskating *on one blade*
And sure enough, we talk about that today more than anything else from then
"Fuck the haters, I'll win on my terms, I'm going to live my life"
Be like Surya
While the American male skater is getting attention for performing the 1st legal backflip landing on one skate, let's acknowledge the 1st person to have done this: a Black French girl, Surya Bonaly. She, however, lost points for doing it.
"Regarding the criticism she received during her career, Bonaly said she was “born too early,” ...
“I broke ice for other skaters,”...“Now everything is different. People welcome anyone as long as they are good & that is what life is about.”
#SuryaBonaly's story at the 1998 #Nagano #WinterOlympics is a marvel
She committed an error and was out of medal contention. So she went "fuck it, if the judges don't appreciate me for my athletic gifts, I am going to win on my own terms" and was the first Olympic woman to do a #backflip in #figureskating *on one blade*
And sure enough, we talk about that today more than anything else from then
"Fuck the haters, I'll win on my terms, I'm going to live my life"
Be like Surya
Japan’s Winter Olympic team may compete under one flag, but it reflects a surprisingly wide mix of climates, regions and hometown cultures. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/olympics/2026/02/04/japan-olympic-athlete-regions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #olympics #2026milanocortinaolympics #teamjapan #hokkaido #niigata #nagano #aichi #miyagi
An Australian woman has died after her backpack got caught on a ski lift on a Japanese mountain, which left her suspended in midair after she attempted to disembark. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/australia-ski-lift-death/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #australia #japanesepolice #wintersports #nagano #hospitals
A farm in Nagano Prefecture is working to save a Japanese horse breed called the Kiso horse, with only about 140 such horses remaining in the country. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/16/japan/preserving-kiso-horse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #horses #animals #kiso #nagano
A ski resort in Japan said Friday it had received reports of bear sightings, while separately the nation picked the kanji character for a bear as its symbol for 2025. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/12/japan/society/bear-ski-resort-nagano/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #bears #animals #nagano
The nation's Ground Self-Defense Force is preparing to dispatch personnel to Akita Prefecture to assist with measures against wild bears following a series of attacks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/02/japan/sdf-bear-capture-participation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #gsdf #bears #wildlife #hokkaido #akita #iwate #miyagi #nagano
The Nagano District Court has sentenced Masanori Aoki, 34, to death for the 2023 killings of four people in the city of Nakano, Nagano Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/14/japan/crime-legal/japan-quadruple-murder-ruling-death-penalty/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #nagano #japanesecourts #deathpenalty
About 60 people mourned the victims of the eruption of Mount Ontake in central Japan 11 years ago in a memorial ceremony on Saturday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/28/japan/mount-ontake-eruption-11-years-on/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #mountontake #volcanoes #nagano
A man charged with the 2023 murder of four people in Nagano Prefecture has indicated his intention to keep silent during the first court hearing. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/04/japan/crime-legal/defendant-nagano-murder-silent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesepolice #nagano #japanesecourts
As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene toward cooler locations. But recent temperature spikes in mountainous areas show there may be no escape. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/08/24/climate-change/heat-waves-cooler-vacation-destinations/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #climatechange #heat #heatwaves #nagano #tochigi #hakuba #climatechange #tourism
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited the Ohinata settlement in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, during their summer break in the resort town. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/japan/emperor-emeritus-postwar-settlement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #emperorakihito #empressmichiko#imperialfamily #karuizawa #nagano #wwii
Facing the growing threat of defeat, the military planned to move its headquarters from Tokyo to an area that is now a part of the city of Nagano. Construction continued until the day of Japan's surrender in the war. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/19/japan/society/nagano-hq-replacement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #nagano #tokyo #wwii
The resort town of Karuizawa has long been associated with summer retreats, and serves as a muse of sorts to writers such as Minae Mizumura who sees it as being uniquely situated between Japanese and Western culture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/08/books/minae-mizumura-karuizawa-literature/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #books #books #minaemizumura #literature #karuizawa #nagano