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Tochigi Prefecture

The most beautiful train station in Japan? Award-winning design by Kengo Kuma wows travellers

Sometimes the best designs are the ones that surprise you from the inside out.

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Japan’s new Spacia X train is like travelling in a luxury aircraft

And no, this doesn’t have anything to do with Elon Musk.

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“Hey, Japanese taxi driver, take us to the best Sano ramen in Sano!”

We discover an unforgettable dish in the city that boasts the highest number of ramen joints per 100,000 people in Japan.

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Japanese vending machine sells just one thing at this station

Find out why this machine has been turning heads.

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Japanese first grader wins math contest by quantifying “which hiragana are the hardest to write”

The search for the objectively hardest hiragana.

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Historical Edo Wonderland celebrates 35th anniversary with fireworks and festivals

This beloved Nikko tourist attraction plans to let off 1,000 fireworks “in the hope the pandemic will end soon.”

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Terrific Tochigi! Japanese prefecture proves its beauty with scenery showcase【Video】

This jaw-dropping video will make you wonder how Tochigi Prefecture came in last in the prefectural popularity poll.

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Bizarre pyramid hot spring in Japan combines Egyptian aesthetics with onsen relaxation

You’ve never experienced the power of the pyramid while soaking at the hot springs? Head to Tochigi to rectify that.

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Weird Japanese vending machine art installation has us sweaty, disturbed

Stay out too long in the direct heat, and this is what might happen to you.

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Gundam portable shrine appears at local Japanese festival【Photos】

Another festival season and summer is coming to an end. The dragonflies are out and the days are getting shorter, which means fall will soon be upon us.

But before the fireworks fizzle away and the festival food stalls have packed up for good this year, one area in Japan decided to go out with a bang and surprise festival-goers with superb portable shrine, or mikoshi, recreations of some of Japan’s most popular characters, including one famous red mobile suit from the anime classic Gundam.

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Burning Man getting too crowded? Head to Burning Japan instead!

Burning Man hardly needs an introduction—the annual festival has become so thoroughly ingrained in mass culture that even your boring elderly relatives are complaining about Jack Ü performing. Still, we’d stop short of calling it “mainstream,” even if there were around 70,000 participants this year.

But maybe 70,000 people is too much for you, or maybe you were stuck in boring old Japan while everyone else was having a blast with Skrillex “on the Playa.” If so, we have good news: There’s still time to plan your trip to Japan’s version of Burning Man, Burning Japan!

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Giant disembodied head of middle-aged man spotted floating over Tochigi Prefecture

Residents of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture were baffled last weekend by the appearance of an Unidentified Floating Object drifting serenely across the blue skies of their fair city. Initial reports spoke of a “gigantic head” with “the face of a middle-aged man.” So, what’s the story here? Is this a case of mass hysteria? Did a really ugly UFO really appear over Tochigi prefecture? Or is there a rational explanation for this baffling apparition? Join us after the jump for close-up pictures of the floating monstrosity, as well as the real reason why it took to the skies to frighten residents on a sunny Saturday afternoon!

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We try the tomato, milk and lemon drink that Japan dared to produce

While doing a little shopping at her local Lawson Store 100 (a convenience store where everything is priced at around 100 yen), reporter Yumeno over at our sister site Pouch stumbled across a rather unusual drink from Tochigi Prefecture that we doubt many would be willing to drink without steeling their nerves first: “Tomato, milk and lemon blend.”

Seriously? Tomato, milk and lemon all mixed up together!? For the sake of science and because we love to laugh, our brave reporter grabbed a couple of cartons and brought them back to the office for a taste test.

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