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    • Spring
      • video

        Finding the Flow from Kansai to Kochi

        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.

        Solace and Giant Salamanders in Akiota

        Just beyond Hiroshima City is a tranquil outdoor destination home to some of Japan's last remaining oosanshouo, the elusive giant salamander.
        Kyoto Oni Trail Outdoor Japanvideo

        The Oni Trail: Hiking Coastal Kyoto

        The mystical oni is prevalent in Japanese children’s stories, usually as a way to scare kids straight. Adventure Travel Kyoto is shedding a new light on this folklore and developing a new hiking route in the countryside of Kyoto.

        Spring Skiing in Japan 2022

        It may be spring in Japan but you can still ski in select ski resorts open all the way to Golden Week.
    • Summer
    • Autumn
      • Pow Bar Founder Megumi Scott

        Beyond the Brand: Pow Bar

        An interview with Megumi Scott, the founder of Niseko brand Pow Bar.
        Churamura Okinawa Sea Turtle Marine Conservation

        Churamura: Footprints in the Sand

        Churamura, an NPO in Okinawa, work to conserve marine life and protect endangered sea turtles in Japan's southernmost prefecture.
        Kawazu

        Fall in Love with Kawazu

        Enjoy waterfall hikes and hot springs, beautiful beaches and delicious seafood in Kawazu on the western coast of Izu Peninsula.
    • Winter
    • Near Tokyo
    • Near Kyoto
      • video

        Finding the Flow from Kansai to Kochi

        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.
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Eco Corner: Choices for Sustainable Lifestyles

Eco Technology
Green Gig watts

Computers are getting a shade greener this year. Sustainable materials are replacing plastic, and low energy technologies are making it easier to keep those gig watts humming. The new Dell Studio Hybrid is a super compact, energy-saving desktop PC. The unit is 80 perecent smaller than a typical desktop (saving materials) and uses 70 percent less energy (Energy Star® 4.0). The case is available in bamboo. Iameco of Ireland builds beautiful wood-finished computers, keyboards, monitors and wide screen TVs. These superbly hand-crafted products are made from ash, beech, maple and ebony trees and will lend your home or office a natural feel. The SlimStar 820 Solargizer wireless keyboard from Genius has a built-in solar panel to power itself, eliminating the need for those toxic disposable batteries. The wireless laser mouse uses ultra power-saving technology for a continuous operation of up to 15 months. 

WEBLINKS
Dell: www.dell.com
Iameco: www.iameco.com
Genius: www.geniusnet.com

Eco Energy
Palm Oil and Orangutans

Palm oil (not-so-eco) touted as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based oil, is used in everything from soaps to lipstick to margarine and fuel oil. The oil is now in such demand that palm oil plantations are displacing and destroying rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia on a catastrophic scale. Family-run sustainable plantations could be an option, but the current huge commercial operations create human rights abuses and are threatening the extinction of orangutans and many other species in Borneo and Sumatra. According to “Oil for Ape Scandal,” published by Friends of the Earth, the orangutan may be gone from the wild in 12 years. Contact FOE or the Orangutan Foundation to find out how you can help. The Orangutan Foundation offers conservation tours to Borneo to see the great apes in person and lend a friend a hand.

WEBLINKS
Friends of the Earth: www.foe.co.uk
Orangutan Foundation: www.orangutan.org.uk

Eco Banking
Sony Bank goes Carbon Neutral

Sony Bank has become Japan’s first carbon-neutral bank. By purchasing 1.1 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy from the Japan Natural Energy Company (JNEC), they cover their annual power consumption, save the equivalent of 400 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions and support much needed investment in wind and solar energy in Japan.

WEBLINKS
Sony Bank: www.sonybank.net
JNEC: www.natural-e.co.jp

Eco Tour
Hokkaido Drift Ice Festival

The drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk that floats by the Shiretoko Cape in northern Hokkaido each year may soon be a thing of the past. And so will the annual Drift Ice Festivals in Abashiri and Mombetsu. According to National Geographic, Arctic sea ice is disappearing much faster than initially predicted. In 2004, Abashiri had just 54 days of drift ice, down from the previous average of 87 days. Thousands of people visit the festivals in February to see illuminated ice sculptures beautifully contrasted against the night sky. You had better get there while you can.

WEBLINK
www.okhotsk.org

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