Nature & Environment
Pick Up Stories
Explore the NEO Park [Nature & Environment Park]
What can you say? Kids love animals, and visiting a zoo is a great way to spend time with the family. The Okinawa Zoo (Kodomo-no-Kuni) is a ...Read More
Reef Currents, Beware! [Nature & Environment]
During summertime, marine activities ramp up around the island making it one of the most enjoyable activities here on Okinawa. However, that...Read More
Yohena’s Ajisai-en, The Hydrangea Garden… [Nature & Environment]
As spring moves toward summer, the floral landscape of northern Okinawa is taking on new colors as hydrangea flowers, or ajisai’s in Japanes...Read More
Mongoose eradication project completed around Cape Hedo [Nature & Environment]
Okinawa Prefecture and the Ministry of Environment have announced that mongoose eradication has been completed in the area from Benoki to Sosu in Kunigami Village and north. The ar...
Invasive crustacean has Ishigaki officials worried [Nature & Environment]
Red swamp crayfish, designated as a subject for emergency measures against invasive alien species, were caught Friday in a pond at Shinsui Park near Nagura Dam in Tonoshiro, Ishiga...
2016.08.22
Sound frequencies in music heal our bodies and minds [Nature & Environment]
By David Higgins Our bodies and minds are extremely sensitive to a wide range of frequencies in music and sounds in our environment. Test this out by putting on a music selection t...
2016.08.10
Mountain Day is Japan’s newest national holiday [Nature & Environment]
August 11th is a Japanese national holiday called ‘Yama-no Hi’ or ‘Mountain Day.’ The day was named as a national holiday in 2014, and 2016 is the first year it is observed. The Ja...
2016.07.10
Dinosaurs lurk at Okashigoten nature park [Nature & Environment]
By Jun Ikemura A nature park northwest of Nago City is a place to visit for anyone who’s excited about dinosaurs and a fan of ‘Jurassic Park’ movies. Okashi Goten Co., which is bes...
2016.06.30
Uruma Shimin-no Mori presents hiking and adventure for all [Nature & Environment]
By David Higgins Just off the Okinawa Expressway exit 6, there is a precious hidden gem for those who are seeking a hiking adventure over a weekend. After an inebriated friend at a...
2016.06.22
Sagaribana flowers bloom for only one sweet night [Nature & Environment]
Sagaribana (Barringtonia racemosa) is a tree that grows in tropical and subtropical coastal areas from African east coast to the Ryukyu Archipelago and Polynesia. In South Africa i...
Box jellyfish warning issued [Nature & Environment]
Okinawa Department of Public Health and Medical Care issued a warning for box jellyfish (Chironex yamaguchii), known locally as ‘habu kurage,’ on Jun. 1st. The warning advises peop...
2016.05.28
Ajisai’s hydrangea flowers mark beginning of summer [Nature & Environment]
Thousands of the brilliantly colored hydrangea flowers are blooming every year marking the start of the summer on a 9,900-square-meter farm in Izumi, Motobu that once produced tang...
2016.05.16
Nature Miraikan is studying facility from kids through seniors [Nature & Environment]
Nature Miraikan is a camping facility located in Kin Town, where visitors can pitch their own tents on the premises or stay in one of the facility’s rental cottages. Its tent campi...
2016.04.09
Documentary attempts to set facts straight on Japan whaling controversy [Nature & Environment]
One of the most controversial and most talked about documentaries in Japan in the last few years has without doubt been the 2010 Academy Award winning film titled ‘The Cove,’ that ...
2016.03.17
Mabuni Sunflower Maze reminds visitors of Tohoku disaster [Nature & Environment]
It has been five years since the disaster of the Great Northeast Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and its following Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster took place. Okuma Town is one...
2016.03.13
TNR is humane way to control stray populations [Nature & Environment]
By David Higgins If you have strolled along the Sunabe seawall, undoubtedly you’ve noticed a stray cat or more accurately, at least ten, roaming in and around the seawall tetra pod...
All of Iriomote Island to become national park [Nature & Environment]
Japan’s Ministry of Environment decided Tuesday to expand the area of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park at the southern edge of the prefecture to cover whole Iriomote Island. Accordi...
2016.01.28
Time for new start for sustainable future [Nature & Environment]
By Eduard Heinrich-Sanchez After a short sabbatical, I am back with the new year. The Lunar New Year will ring in on Feb. 9, 2016, ushering in the “Year of the Monkey”....
2016.01.18
OIST hosts nature photo exhibition [Nature & Environment]
A photo exhibition titled “Nature Therapy” featuring pictures of underwater creatures and hermit crabs living in their adopted homes of beach trash. The exhibition will be held at ...
2016.01.02
Humpback whales are back in their annual playground [Nature & Environment]
As surely as winter follows fall, humpback whales make their annual migration to waters off Okinawa and Kerama Islands creating an excellent chance for people to watch the giant ma...
2015.12.28
Okinawa to welcome first sunrise of 2016 at 7:17 a.m. [Nature & Environment]
Hatsumode on the New Year is a very popular custom with strong ties to Japan’s Buddhist and Shinto traditions, but since ancient times, the first sunrise of the year has had a spec...
2015.11.24
Ginoza Strawberry Farm offers strawberry potting experience [Nature & Environment]
Ginoza Strawberry Farm is known for its strawberry picking event that takes place from March through early May, but now the farm has started offering a novelty variation of the ser...
Rare beetle from Yambaru added to endangered list [Nature & Environment]
IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, announced Nov. 19th the new ‘Red List’ of threatened species. The Yanbaru long-armed scarab beetle (...
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