KKSakura

Tourism to Japan has been booming since pandemic-era border restrictions were lifted, and the government has been working hard to boost visitor numbers.

As you might expect from a major railway hub for one of the country’s most visited cities, Kyoto Station is filled with souvenir stores. From sweets to miscellaneous goods, there’s such a wide selection on offer you’d think they have all the main products from Kyoto in stock, so when our reporter Udonko was planning a trip to the city, she did some online research beforehand to find out which souvenirs she should buy.

As she scrolled excitedly through all the recommendations online, a question suddenly popped into her head. Out of all the many souvenirs at Kyoto Station, which would be the cheapest one to buy?

Pivoting her search to find the answer to her question, she jotted down some ideas before making her way to Kyoto Station, located beneath the iconic Kyoto Tower.

Kyoto Station is directly connected to various complexes such as the Isetan department store building, Kyoto Theatre, and an underground shopping mall, but as this was way too much ground to cover, Udonko limited her search to the area inside Kyoto Station outside the Shinkansen ticket gates.

Since she was only looking for souvenirs, she decided to be strict with her search, passing on items that don’t show a connection to Kyoto, even if they might be cheaply priced.

Though she planned well before her visit, one thing she didn’t plan for were the crowds, because with this being fall foliage season, Kyoto Station was packed with tourists from all over the world.

Fighting her instinct to avoid the crowds and abort the mission, Udonko persevered, making her way to the Omiyage Kaido (“Souvenir Highway”).

Hunting for souvenirs was fun at first, but as she stopped by more and more souvenir hot spots to check the prices of their wares, she found herself becoming mentally and physically drained.

In the end, Udonko spent about two hours wandering around the area before finding what she believes to be the cheapest souvenir at Kyoto Station…

▼ …Miyako no Toryanse!

Eruptions from an undersea volcano have apparently created an islet in the Ogasawara island chain more than 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, officials said.

And if you’d rather have a 60,000-yen comb, this Asakusa shop has some of those too.

Step back in time at this old-school Japanese kissaten.

NAGOYA -- Officials in this central Japan city say they want to change people's habits and mindset through a recently established ordinance banning pe

Princess Kako attended a ceremony on Saturday marking 110 years of women attending universities in Japan.
Tohoku Imperial University, the predecessor of Tohoku University in Sendai, opened its doors to three women in 1913, who became the first female university students in Japan.

During the event held at Tohoku University's Kawauchi campus, the princess, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, said that the admission of the three women 110 years ago was an "important step" in women's education.

She voiced her hope for a society in which all people are offered a wide range of life choices.

Princess Kako returned to Tokyo on Friday after recovering from COVID-19. She tested positive during a visit to Tottori Prefecture that began on Sept. 23.

Some 8 out of 10 Japanese are in favor of a woman sitting on the Chrysanthemum Throne, according to opinion polls. Princess Aiko, who would be next in line in a system allowing both males and females to reign, enjoys overwhelming popularity, but political opposition remains strong. A recent event shed new light on the possibilities in this area.

Japanese weather officials are warning that moist air is making atmospheric conditions in northern Japan extremely unstable and triggering heavy rain there.