Concierge.com reports on 12 lush and gorgeous gardens worth visiting around the world.
Stars and Stripes reporter David J. Carter reports on his hike up Japan's Mount Fuji.An old Japanese saying goes, "A wise man climbs Mount Fuji once, but only a fool does it twice."Read the full story: Mount Fuji climb is tough, but worth it
Looking up from the eighth station, I could see the summit clearly and knew the torment I’d put myself through in the hours preceding was going to pay off. Not that much further, I kept thinking. But as I’d come to realize throughout the day, looks on Mount Fuji can be deceiving.
Reuters reports on the growing popularity of electric bikes in Japan. Japan's motor-assisted bicycles use a small electric motor and battery pack mounted inconspicuously on the bicycle to propel the rider, constantly adjusting the motor's force to the speed and resistance of the pedaling.Read the full story: Electric bicycles ride "green" demand in Japan
That makes cycling up a hill or while carrying a heavy load a cinch, winning over a growing number of elderly and housewives in Japan. Sales of electric bicycles more than doubled from 2000 to 315,000 last year, as they became more affordable and practical.
The BBC reports that Japan has been approved to an import license, for whale meat, from Iceland and Norway.
As well as establishing the legality of the consignment, Japanese authorities have also been assessing the meat on health and safety grounds, and it is believed that this process has not quite finished.""The whale meat trade is banned under UN rules but the three countries involved hold opt-outs, making it legal.
Stars and Stripes reports on the not-so-hidden green spaces of Tokyo.Read the full story: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden a touch of peace in Tokyo"Nestled alongside Shinjuku’s soaring office buildings is a 144-acre park that used to be the private residence of local Lord Kiyonari Naito. Naito governed the area more than 400 years ago.
The estate served as the imperial family’s garden beginning in 1906. After World War II, it was turned into a national park."
Agence France-Presse reports that residents of Tokyo are least willing to sacrifice their consumer lifestyles to help save the environment:"More than four in 10 Tokyo residents -- 41.6 percent -- said they "don't want to sacrifice a convenient lifestyle to prevent global warming," according to the poll results published recently by Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo."Although this may seem bad, because the Japanese do love their elaborate packaging, they do tend to drive smaller and more fuel-efficient cars, take more public transportation and eat less beef than do Americans.
Environmental News Network reports on the environmentally-friendly wave-powered boat that will be sailed solo from Hawaii to Japan. Although 69-year-old Japanese sailor Ken-ichi Horie hopes to make a Guinness record with this first-ever wave-powered boat, his trip could also prove the viability of this innovative technology. Besides being powered by waves, the boat's electrical elements will be powered through solar energy. His trip is expected to take three months of the distance 4,350 miles.
