The world is getting fatter, and Japan–though still enviably slim in comparison to other developed nations–is no exception. As the nation’s waistlines expand, so do health risks. According to the World Health Organisation, a startling 27 percent of Japanese men, and 19 percent of Japanese women, are overweight, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of…

To attempt to apply one adjective to Takarazuka would be nigh on impossible; to expect an individual who has never seen this form of Japanese theatre live to fully comprehend the power, beauty and overwhelming sense of passion on show is extremely difficult. Takarazuka first came into being in 1913 in a small town of…

Aaron Guiel of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows has had a career in baseball that has taken him on a journey around the world – and up and down in the rankings. Now 37, this Vancouver, British Columbia native is currently a pro-baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, having come a long way and several…

Many Japanese people are avid mountaineers, and mountain walking has always been seen as one of the nation’s favorite pastimes, perhaps starting with the Shinto priests performing traditional rituals on mountaintops of old. With about 75 percent of the Japanese archipelago consisting of mountains, it’s hardly surprising that there would be incredible rock faces, and…