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More than 8.5 million abandoned homes in rural Japan are creating a "ghost town" problem. There are more than 8.5 million akiya , or abandoned homes, in rural Japan, according to the country's 2018 Housing and Land Survey, its most recent on record. The institute predicts akiya could exceed 30% of homes in Japan by 2033. As Richard Koo, the chief economist at NRI, told them at the time, the Japanese countryside has been hollowing out since the mid-'90s. Why aren't more Japanese people buying abandoned countryside homes?

Persons: —, who've, Richard Koo, There's, Chris McMorran, Koo, Douglas Southerland, McMorran, Natasha Durie, Durie, Eric McAskill, McAskill, Jaya Thursfield, Chihiro, Kurosawa, Joey Stockermans, akiya Organizations: Service, Survey, Nomura Research Institute, Business Insider's, NRI, National University of Singapore, of Anthropology, Ethnography, Oxford University, Canadian Real Estate Association Locations: Japan, Business Insider's Singapore, Gifu, Vancouver, Canada, Nagano Prefecture, England, Ibaraki Prefecture, London, North America, Kyushu, akiya

☆ People are buying cheap, abandoned homes in Japan and living their dreams free of financial burden
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Japan has more than 8 million abandoned homes, with no restrictions on foreign buyers. Homeownership in Japan isn't the same path to financial freedom as in other countries. AdvertisementTake Kurosawa spent summers in Japan as a kid, and always dreamed of owning property there. In January, Kurosawa and Stockermans launched Akiyamart , a website to help foreigners find and purchase abandoned homes in Japan. It's a money-maker that has worked in the US but isn't necessarily a surefire way to generate income in Japan.

Persons: —, Kurosawa, Joey Stockermans, Stockermans, It's, Eric McAskill, McAskill, Jaya Thursfield, Chihiro, Eric McAskill Anton Wormann, Bethany, Bitsii, Nakamura, homeownership, Bethany Nakamura, Jordan Pandy Organizations: Foreigners, Service, Survey, Business Locations: Japan, Homeownership, Beppu, Kyushu, Santa Cruz , California, Nova Scotia, Canada, Italy, Portugal, —, California, Bali, Nagano Prefecture, Jaya, Ibaraki Prefecture, London, America, jpandy@businessinsider.com

☆ Marie Laurencin, the 1920s painter who hid sapphic symbols in her portraits
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Fondation Foujita/Artists Rights Society, New York/ADAGP, Paris/Christie's/Bridgeman Images/Courtesy Barnes FoundationA portrait of Marie Laurencin by Man Ray, 1925. Fondation Foujita/Artists Rights Society, New York/ADAGP, Paris/Bridgeman Images/Courtesy Barnes Foundation"The Woman-Horse (La femme-cheval)," from 1918. Fondation Foujita/Artists Rights Society, New York/ADAGP, Paris/Courtesy Barnes FoundationBut as definitions of femininity have expanded in recent decades, so too has appreciation for Laurencin’s idyllic, women-only world. She often titled her portraits of women “Friends” or “Two Friends,” leaving the exact nature of their intimacy unclear. It’s almost like a radical utopia… a world of women, for women, by women,” Kang said.

Persons: peintre, modèle, Christie's, Marie Laurencin, Man Ray, CNN — Marie Laurencin’s, ”, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque —, Simonetta Fraquelli, ” Fraquelli, “, Laurencin, Cindy Kang, Barnes, Francisco Goya, Kang, don’t, ’, Académie Humbert, wasn’t, Rachel Silveri, Adrienne Monnier, airheads, Mademoiselle Chanel, — Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Paul Rosenberg —, Coco Chanel, Maud “ Emerald, Jacques Faujour, Dove ”, Nicole Groult, “ It’s, ” Kang, Natalie Clifford Barney, Gertrude Stein, Berenice Abbott, Otto von Waetjen, Guillaume Apollinaire, Suzanne Moreau, —, Musée de, Herve Lewandowski, — Laurencin, Marshal Philippe Pétain, Moreau, Masahiro Takano, Albert C, hasn’t, we’ve Organizations: Foujita, Artists Rights Society, CNN, grays, Barnes Foundation, Palais, Art, Fraquelli, Groult, Museum, Marie, Marie Laurencin Museum Locations: New York, ADAGP, Paris, Philadelphia, Sapphic Paris, Spain, Musée de l'Orangerie, Vichy France, Japan, Tateshina, Japan’s Nagano, Tokyo, “

☆ A new train pass is launching in Japan this winter — but travelers will have to act fast
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Jonathan Delise | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Prices for the JR Pass, as it's known, increased roughly 65%-75%, in October 2023. The East Japan Railway Company, better known as JR East, announced a new Kyun Pass in December. Kyun Pass pricesThe cost for the one-day, all-you-can-ride Kyun Pass is a flat 10,000 yen ($70). Here's a comparison of roundtrip bullet train tickets, with and without the Kyun Pass. What the Kyun Pass covers

Persons: Matsumoto, Kyun Organizations: The East Japan Railway Company, East, JR, Yokohama — Locations: Japan, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Aomori, Nagano, Kanto, Yokohama, Niigata

☆ My mom is American, and my dad is Japanese. I loved being raised interculturally in Japan, even when it was hard.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Megumi Koiwai | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rightfully so — I have an American accent, I'm fluent in English and Japanese, and I look racially ambiguous. My mom is American, and my dad is JapaneseI was born and raised in Tokyo to an American mom and a Japanese dad. I went to a Japanese school my entire education up until university. My mom speaks relatively fluent Japanese now, but growing up I felt a need to take care of her in terms of translation. AdvertisementBeing raised interculturally can be hardGrowing up as a hafu in Japan took a lot of effort.

Persons: I'm what's, —, Cupid, couldn't Organizations: Service Locations: Portland , Oregon, Nagano, Japan, Tokyo, American, Nagano prefecture, New York, America

☆ In Tokyo, a Fashion Designer Styles a Gift List
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Vivian Morelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Maiko Kurogouchi moved to Tokyo from Nagano Prefecture about 20 years ago, but her roots in the mountainous and snowy region west of Tokyo are still very present in her fashion designs. Those feminine, fluid pieces reflect her memories, travels and daily life — varied experiences that made her an intriguing person to ask for holiday gift suggestions. Ms. Kurogouchi, 38, credits much of her professional acumen, especially respect for artisans’ skills, to her time designing women’s wear collections at Issey Miyake after graduating from Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. In 2010 she introduced her own women’s ready-to-wear brand, called Mame (the Japanese word means “bean” or “small,” a nickname she acquired as a student at Bunka). Then, in 2018, she changed the brand name to its current form: Mame Kurogouchi.

Persons: Maiko Kurogouchi, ”, Kurogouchi, Issey Miyake, Mame, Mame Kurogouchi Organizations: Bunka Fashion College Locations: Tokyo, Nagano Prefecture

☆ A millennial dad of 2 bought an abandoned home in Japan for $23,600. He says restoring it is easier than expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Eric McAskill bought an abandoned house, or akiya, in the rural Japanese countryside for $23,600. Eric McAskill and his wife, together with their two children. Over the next decade, he would find himself visiting Japan again and again, each time visiting a different prefecture. McAskill bought his akiya through an akiya bank, which is a database maintained by the local municipalities for abandoned or vacant houses. "The first person to bid starts to enter into negotiations with the owner," McAskill said of the bidding process in Japan.

Persons: Eric McAskill, Eric McAskill's, —, McAskill, let's, Eric McAskill McAskill, Eric McAskill McAskill's, I'm, haven't, It's, I've, he's Organizations: Service, IKEA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Japan, Bali, Nagano Prefecture, Vancouver, Canada, Abashiri, Hokkaido, Yonaguni, Taiwan, Indonesian

☆ Watch planes take off in Japan — from an onsen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Emi Jozuka | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Opened last December, the Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier & Grand Haneda Airport has 1,717 rooms and is directly connected to Haneda International Airport Terminal 3. Tokyo has also announced plans to receive up to 60 million overseas visitors to the country by 2030. And as inbound tourism recovers, Haneda – which has been crowned the world’s most punctual mega-airport – hopes to ride that wave. Developers want to expand those routes to greater swathes of Japan as part of broader plans to help revitalize the country’s regions, according to Katsuyuki Tou, general manager of the Haneda Airport Garden. Tou explained that visitors to the multipurpose complex can already get a taste of what Japan offers.

CNN —The Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies stressed their solidarity against Russia’s assault on Ukraine, and called on China to “abstain from threats,” in a communique Tuesday following talks in Japan. The G7 foreign ministers said, however, that they “recognized the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China” and working together with Beijing on global challenges, according to the statement. He pointed to the language referring to “one China policies” or agreements by which governments have established diplomatic relations with Beijing and not Taipei. The communique was released as the foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks in the central Japanese town of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture. The minister also urged fighting parties in the recent outbreak of violence in Sudan to “end hostilities immediately,” and return to negotiations.

☆ Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Japan's 20-meter-deep snow corridor reopens for visitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A giant snow corridor near the otherworldly Mount Tateyama, one of Japan’s three sacred mountains, is reopening to travelers on April 15. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route offers stunning views of the Japanese alps. The opening of the Yuki no Otani walk also marks the resumption of traffic through the entire Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route at the end of winter. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine RouteTravelers can opt to stay in one of the mountain accommodations on offer. Travelers visiting the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route are advised to wear winter clothing and gear suitable for trekking or mountaineering.

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The popularity of Japan's crisp powder snow among foreign skiers, surging back into the country, is luring more to seek the thrill of pristine backcountry slopes - sometimes with deadly impact. Japan's snow, prized among skiers for dryness caused by local atmospheric conditions, is a big draw. The head of Japan's National Governors Association last week said a national system of safety measures is now essential. BACKCOUNTRY CULTUREThe reputation of Japanese snow took off after the Nagano Olympics. Japan wants to welcome foreign skiers, but they need to know the reality of the risks involved, said Kenji Kubota, a researcher with the Japan Rescue Organization.

☆ U.S. freestyle skier dies in avalanche in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A U.S. freestyle skier has died after being caught in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday, his family confirmed. Weather authorities had issued an avalanche warning for the area after days of heavy snowfall. Police officers board a gondola heading to the site of an avalanche in the village of Otari, Japan on Sunday. "Such a bright light lost," wrote Marielle Thompson, a Canadian Olympic freestyle skier. “Wish we had more time to ski these past few years,” Joss Christensen, a U.S. freestyle skier from Park City, Utah, wrote.

☆ U.S. professional skier named as one victim of Japan avalanche
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERSTOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - One of two foreign men swept up in an avalanche in Japan while back-country skiing in the central prefecture of Nagano and found without vital signs on Monday was U.S. professional skier Kyle Smaine, an outdoor magazine said. Police declined to confirm details about the men, whom media said were from Austria and the United States, but outdoor magazine "Mountain Gazette" said in its online edition that the U.S. skier was Kyle Smaine, 31. "It is with great sadness we report beloved South Lake Tahoe Professional Skier Kyle Smaine has died in an avalanche in Japan," the magazine wrote. Weather authorities had issued an avalanche warning for the area, following heavy snowfall in the past few days. Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Bradley Perrett, Clarence Fernandez and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Guide to Skiing in Japan: 5 Getaways for Powderheads of Every Stripe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Janet O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CHERRY-BLOSSOM season in Japan has its devotees, but, as countless ski snobs are bound to tell you, the country’s other prime time is the dead of winter. According to the website SnowJapan, the tiny, mountainous archipelago is packed with some 450 ski areas—almost the same number you’ll find throughout the U.S. The northern island of Hokkaido and the central Nagano prefecture—both former hosts of the Winter Olympics—harbor the majority of ski destinations, which range from small family-owned hills to splashy multi-mountain resorts. What many of these spots have in common is “Japow,” the nickname (abbreviated from “Japan Powder”) for the abundant, feather-light snow that rolls in from Siberia via storms over the Sea of Japan. But their off-slope offerings are also a big draw: soaking in a hot spring, downing a flight of sake, slurping up ramen or a shabu-shabu hot pot.

☆ Japanese Ski Getaways for Powderheads of Every Stripe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Janet O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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