Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan on Sunday began a three-day official visit to Ghana at the head of a 30-strong delegation. He was welcomed at Kotoka international airport by Vice President John Dramani Mahama to traditional Ashanti drumming and dance, an AFP reporter saw. The visit is at the invitation of Ghana and is aimed at boosting ties between the two countries, officials said.
The prince is expected to hold talks with President John Atta-Mills on Monday at the presidential palace, known as the Castle.
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So how about a look at Valentine’s Day in Japan?
Chocolate love and the art of giving here is a totally one-way street with men being the receivers, but it has it’s rewards one month later for the women on White Day.

Oni Out, Happiness In!
It’s almost that time of year again, another Setsubun will soon be upon us! So get your fuku mame ready for the throwing and practice your chanting – “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”
Click here for more about Setsubun.

Entering its 61st year, the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan will take place in the Hokkaido region of Japan from February 6 through February 11. Not only attracting local Japanese visitors, the Sapporo Snow Festival draws international interest as well and more than 2 million visitors are expected to converge in the downtown Sapporo area to see the stunning snow and ice sculptures, entertainment and sample the Japanese cuisine.

Japan’s population is expected to have declined further in with the number of Japanese babies born in the country in the year estimated to have decreased 22,000 from 2008 to 1,069,000, according to health ministry estimates released Thursday. The number of Japanese people who died in the country in the year is estimated to have increased for the ninth consecutive year to 1,144,000, up 2,000 from 2008 and the highest number since comparable data became available in 1947.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Friday received New Year’s greetings from other imperial family members and government leaders at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Among the well-wishers were Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, heads of the Diet’s two chambers and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Recalling the glorious Heian Period in Japan’s history from 794 to 1185 at once conjures up images of a world of courtiers, 12-layered kimono, elegant poetry competitions beside winding streams — and secret trysts in scented chambers.

At its heart, the immensely privileged Heian court cultivated an intensely self-preoccupied culture — one in which the clumsy composition of a single line of poetry could doom a promising romance.

The towering cliffs of Tojimbo, with their sheer drops into the raging, green Sea of Japan, are a top tourist destination, but Yukio Shige had no interest in the rugged scenery. Instead, he walked along the rocky crags searching for something else: a lone human figure, usually sitting hunched at the edge of the precipice.
That is one of the telltale signs in people drawn here by Tojimbo’s other, less glorious, distinction as one of the best known places to kill oneself in Japan, one of the world’s most suicide-prone …

Domestic whiskey is expected to see its first volume increase in 11 years, mostly due to the recent popularity of whiskey and soda, or highball, among younger generations attracted to the retro cocktail culture and because it is an affordable alternative to beer and other similarly priced tipples.

Domestic whiskey consumption has been stagnant for a long time, with shipping volume on a taxation basis either staying level or even going down since 1989–except for 1997 and 1998 when the tax on whiskey was reduced.

Here are a couple of videos to help explain all those wonderful candies or wagashi that you see when at the department stores or at other confectionery shops around Japan. Wagashi truly is an art and is generally made from natural ingredients. Wagashi is typically served as part of a Japanese tea ceremony, and is also a very seasonal gift. In fact, serving a proper seasonal wagashi shows one’s educational background.

During the Edo period, the production of sugarcane in Okinawa became highly productive, and low quality brown sugar …