Although rafts are not used for transporting timber as a result of growth of roads and different trendy infrastructure, the apply has been preserved as a sightseeing attraction. Visitors can expertise a recreation of the historic journey, navigating the river’s swift currents throughout a roughly one-hour journey.

As the rafts plunge by rapids and weave alongside the scenic mountain river, vacationers may be heard screaming and laughing with pleasure.

The thrilling rafting expertise, which mixes journey with a glimpse into the area’s historical past and tradition, will proceed by the top of September.

Source: YOMIURI

When visited on May twenty ninth, Hikosaka was carefully watching the trail of Typhoon Jangmi (Typhoon No. 6), which threatened his corn fields forward of the harvest season that begins in mid-June.

“I’ve been piling soil around the base of the corn plants to make them less likely to fall over,” Hikosaka mentioned. “Some have already been knocked down by the wind, but all I can do is hope they develop stronger roots and withstand the typhoon.”

Despite these efforts, some corn vegetation had been toppled by the storm. Hikosaka mentioned it stays unclear how a lot of the harm will be reversed earlier than harvest.

His considerations prolong past the climate. Fertilizer costs, a vital price for farmers, are rising sharply. In May, JA Zen-Noh introduced fertilizer value will increase as a result of affect of instability within the Middle East. Imported urea fertilizer, particularly, will rise by 14.5% beginning in June.

“The price of a 20-kilogram bag will increase by about 300 yen from June 1st,” Hikosaka mentioned. “Urea is a standard fertilizer used by most crops because plants need chlorophyll for photosynthesis.”

The increased prices are anticipated to have an effect on fertilizer functions from summer time by means of autumn for wheat, horticultural crops, and fruit bushes, inserting further strain on farmers throughout the nation.

“Seed costs have gone up, cardboard boxes have gone up, and fungicides and insecticides used for crop protection have also become more expensive,” Hikosaka mentioned. “The only thing that hasn’t gone up is the selling price.”

Asked whether or not the troubles ever finish, Hikosaka replied with a weary smile.

“They don’t,” he mentioned. “I’d just like some peace of mind.”

Source: CBC

The prediction comes after Typhoon Jangmi (Typhoon No. 6) introduced vital impacts to Japan in early June. By this level within the yr, six typhoons have already shaped, in contrast with the everyday tempo of three to 4 storms by the start of June, indicating that exercise is working forward of common.

According to Weathernews, tropical cyclone improvement is anticipated to stay lively by the rest of the season, doubtlessly pushing the ultimate whole to round 28 storms by yr’s finish.

Meteorologists say a number of large-scale local weather patterns are contributing to the forecast. A growing La Niña sample is anticipated to emerge later this yr, whereas situations within the Indian Ocean are additionally more likely to favor enhanced storm formation. These patterns are anticipated to strengthen westerly winds close to the Philippines, the place they’ll work together with easterly commerce winds and promote vigorous thunderstorm exercise over waters east of the Philippines, one of many main breeding grounds for typhoons affecting East Asia.

Sea floor temperatures are additionally anticipated to stay above common by autumn. Warmer ocean waters present further moisture and power for tropical programs, growing the probability that storms will each kind and intensify.

Forecasters be aware that the projected storm tracks differ from these seen in 2025. Last yr, many typhoons moved westward towards the South China Sea and international locations akin to Vietnam after a robust westward extension of the Pacific high-pressure system blocked their northward motion.

This yr, nonetheless, the Pacific excessive is anticipated to increase extra strongly northward reasonably than westward. As a consequence, typhoons forming east of the Philippines could also be extra more likely to curve north towards Japan as an alternative of monitoring west into Southeast Asia.

The mixture of elevated storm formation and a larger tendency for programs to maneuver towards Japan may make this yr’s storm season extra disruptive than final yr’s, in line with Weathernews.

The interval from July by September is anticipated to convey the best danger. During midsummer, typhoons sometimes transfer across the fringe of the Pacific high-pressure system, typically monitoring by the Sea of Japan or close to the Japanese archipelago. Depending on the place and energy of the high-pressure system, some storms may take routes that convey them immediately into western Japan or throughout central Honshu.

While many early-season programs in June have a tendency to stay south of Japan alongside the seasonal rain entrance, meteorologists warn that the danger of shut approaches and landfalls is anticipated to extend as summer season progresses.

Weathernews is urging residents to carefully monitor tropical depressions in addition to named typhoons, evaluation emergency plans, and familiarize themselves with the most recent catastrophe prevention info earlier than the height season arrives.

Source: ウェザーニュース

The roughly one-meter-long bear attacked 4 women and men within the Sasakino district on June 2nd, transferring between enterprise premises and close by residential areas earlier than taking refuge inside a manufacturing facility.

City officers tried to seize the animal after it remained contained in the constructing, deploying tranquilizer darts and setting traps across the web site. However, the bear escaped by way of a manufacturing facility window at round 11 p.m. on June third and has not been seen since.

At a news convention held on June 4th, Fukushima City revealed that though a tranquilizer dart struck the bear, the anesthetic didn’t enter the animal’s physique, stopping it from being sedated.

Mayor Yuki Baba mentioned the bear remained extremely agitated all through the operation, making it extraordinarily tough for officers to reply safely whereas monitoring its situation. He added that the town would proceed working carefully with related businesses to make sure public security.

Authorities are persevering with their seek for the bear and have requested residents to train warning.

Bear assaults have turn into more and more widespread throughout Fukushima Prefecture in recent times, though incidents involving a number of victims in an city space resembling Fukushima City stay comparatively uncommon.

In the newest severe incident earlier than this week’s assaults, a person in his 50s was injured by a bear whereas gathering wild crops within the Sakuramoto space of Fukushima City on April twenty sixth, 2026. The roughly one-meter-long bear bit and injured each of his legs earlier than fleeing.

Fukushima Prefecture has additionally seen a pointy rise in bear sightings. One monitoring database recorded greater than 5,400 bear-related incidents throughout the prefecture, with dozens reported previously month alone.

The enhance is a part of a nationwide development. Japan recorded a document 13 bear-related deaths and greater than 230 assaults in 2025, the very best figures on document. Fukushima was among the many prefectures reporting important numbers of casualties, as bears more and more ventured into residential and industrial areas.

Experts attribute the rise in encounters to a rising bear inhabitants, meals shortages in mountain habitats, climate-related modifications affecting pure meals sources, and the getting older and declining populations of rural communities, which have lowered searching strain and human exercise in mountainous areas.

What makes the June 2nd Fukushima City incident uncommon is that the bear attacked 4 folks throughout each industrial and residential areas inside a brief interval earlier than taking refuge inside a manufacturing facility. Authorities described the case as one of the vital severe city bear incidents the town has confronted in recent times.

Source: FNN