Stand-alone photo: Japan snow
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Heavy snowfall hit the Hokuriku region late Thursday, causing power outages affecting tens of thousands of homes along the Sea of Japan coast.According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the snowfall is the result of a rapidly developing low-pressure system and a strong winter pressure system. The city of Takaoka in Toyama Prefecture logged a record 59 centimeters (about 23 inches) of snow in the 12-hour span through Friday morning, while Toyama City saw 48 centimeters.The 24-hour snowfall through 6 a.m. Saturday was forecast to be 120 centimeters for the Hokuriku region, 70 centimeters in the Tokai, Kinki and Chugoku regions and 60 centimeters in the Tohoku region. Heavy snowfall is expected to continue through Sunday in the Hokuriku region and other areas.Japan News-Yomiuri
Jan. 8
Scripted by Kaori Tanimoto, the film simplifies the history of the riots, airbrushing out male participation. It does, however, highlight the real bravery of the female protestors, who fought not only ingrained sexism, but also the deep poverty that put their families at risk of starvation.
The perky score and broad gags are familiar from the many TV and film
jidaigeki (period dramas) that try to brighten up an often-grim past, as are the teary developments that appear in the film’s latter, more serious scenes.
The film’s heroine is Ito Matsuura (Mao Inoue), a woman whose kindhearted fisherman husband (Takahiro Miura) leaves with other village men to work in the rich fishing grounds off Hokkaido and Sakhalin, then partially a Japanese colony. Left to fend for themselves, Ito and the other fishermen’s wives lug heavy bales of rice to the shore for transfer to waiting boats. Their daily wages are barely enough to buy rice. Then the price of this key staple starts risi
Rolling Through Lush Panoramas
The Kurobe Gorge in Toyama Prefecture is one of Japan’s top scenic spots. Visitors to the area can enjoy the surrounding beauty in the open-air trains of the Kurobe Gorge Railway. The line runs some 20 kilometers from Unazuki Station at the north end of the gorge to Keyakidaira Station at the south. The trip whisks riders along a route dotted with features like sheer rock faces, towering peaks, and railway bridges hovering tens of meters in the air. Every time the train emerges from a tunnel, an exciting new vista is revealed.
Unazuki Station is a five-minute walk from Unazuki Onsen Station on the Toyama Chihō Railway.