During a wrestling match on the 13th of June, Pro Wrestling legend “Superstar” Misawa, died tragically of a cervical cord injury. He was 46. It happened as a result of hitting the ground headfirst during a dangerous back suplex. Akitoshi Saito performed the deadly act during a Pro Wrestling NOAH match. Misawa Mitsuharu was considered one of the best wrestlers of the 1990s.

In Japan, Ping Pong is more than just a sport. And Ping Pong has always been more than just a sport for the entire world. In fact, according to a PBS article, one of the first public hints of improved U.S.-China relations came on April 6, 1971, when the American Ping-Pong team, in Japan for the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, received a surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues for an all-expense paid visit to the People’s Republic. Time magazine called it “The ping heard round the world.”
On …

This is quite a feat. Hazama Kanpei is running and sailing around the world!

He has already started working his way across America and is in Arizona at the time of this post. The videos on his site are great inspiration and show how far and much human spirit and generosity abound.

As well as KANPEI EARTH Marathon being an enormous personal challenge, Kanpei-san is also the official ambassador for the Tokyo 2016 Olympic bid, and will run to reach Copenhagen on October 2, where it will be announced which …

Japan beat South Korea 5-3 Monday to win its second straight WBC title.

photo by kanegen

We sat down with Andrew Lea of SnowJapan.com for a little Q&A and to get his thoughts on the snow and slopes. Here’s what he had to say…

Why did you start SnowJapan?

Since I arrived in Japan I thought that with so many great ski areas, it was a real shame that there wasn’t any information available in English. So during my fourth year as an AET I put together a printed guide called “Ski Niigata”.

The booklet was a 64 page guide to the resorts in the Yuzawa …

Myoko Kogen has to be one of the nicest ski areas in Japan. We went for the onsen and snowboarding this New Years instead of the normal onsen or feasting till you pop party that we usually do. We ended up snowboarding at the Akakura Onsen Resort and it was a blast! No better way to ring in the New Year, than running down the slopes with your feet attached to a board. You must admit to starting the New Year with a few bruises and risking …