Latest news with #Shikoku
NHK
17-07-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Risk of rain-triggered disaster may increase in Shikoku in western Japan
Japan's weather officials say bands of heavy rainclouds may develop over Shikoku in the western part of the country on Thursday afternoon. People in the region should be alert for mudslides, flooding in low-lying areas and overflowing rivers. The Meteorological Agency says an inflow of warm, moist air around a high-pressure system has been making atmospheric conditions very unstable mainly on the Pacific side of eastern and western Japan. Changeable weather is expected to continue through late Thursday afternoon in eastern Japan and through Friday in western Japan, mainly on the Pacific side, with chances of heavy rain and localized thunderstorms. Bands of heavy rainclouds could develop over Kochi and Tokushima prefectures in Shikoku through late Thursday evening. Rainfall over the 24-hour period through Friday morning is expected to total 250 millimeters in Shikoku, 200 millimeters in Tokai, 180 millimeters in Kinki and 100 millimeters in Kanto-Koshin. In addition to rain-triggered disasters, weather officials are urging caution for lightning strikes, gusty winds and hail. Meanwhile, the extending high-pressure system will push temperatures up on Thursday, mainly on the Sea of Japan side of western Japan. Heatstroke alerts have been issued for eight prefectures in western Japan. People are advised to use air conditioners, take in plenty of water and salt and rest regularly if working outdoors.
Japan Times
16-07-2025
- Japan Times
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
In 'Things Become Other Things,' Craig Mod's memoir about walking across the Kii Peninsula in western Japan, he describes how pilgrimages once offered an easy way for common folk to get permission to travel the land. When communities didn't have enough money to bankroll everyone who fancied venturing to Ise Shrine or the 88 Temples of Shikoku, the wayfarers were chosen by lottery. As Mod writes, they were 'lucky schmucks, carrying the purse of their village warm in the loincloths around their navels, adopted by all.' For the past decade or so, Mod has been working in a similar spirit. The longtime Japan resident, originally from the United States, describes himself as a writer, photographer and walker — not a vocation that you hear very often these days. He's been on some monster journeys: In 2019, he spent several months walking solo along the historic Nakasendo and Tokaido highways between Tokyo and Kyoto. But one of the places to which he's returned most often is the Kii Peninsula, home to Ise Shrine and the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route. Things Become Other Things, by Craig Mod. 320 pages, RANDOM HOUSE, Nonfiction. His chronicles of these trips are a mix of tech-savvy and determinedly offline, funded through a membership program called Special Projects. He has sent daily dispatches to subscribers in the form of SMS messages, emails, photos and 4K videos with binaural audio. He has also turned his journeys into beautifully crafted fine art books, which he describes as 'looser, lighter, more on the side of poetry than classic narrative nonfiction.' Borne from that Nakasendo trip, his 2020 release 'Kissa by Kissa,' a hymn to old-school coffee shops and pizza toast, is now on its sixth edition. 'Things Become Other Things,' released by Random House in May, is Mod's first book for a wider audience. In keeping with the title, it's gone through several transitions, starting as a daily 'pop-up newsletter' that he sent while walking the Kii Peninsula in 2021. After each day on the trail, sometimes covering distances of over 40 kilometers, he'd sit in front of a laptop and spend hours editing photos and videos, and writing. Mod isn't being hyperbolic when he calls it an 'ascetic practice.' 'That's why being alone is critical,' he says. 'If I'm with someone, that doesn't happen. But if I'm alone, 90% of the day is solitude, and then when I get to the end, it's like, 'OK, let's go.'' A longtime resident of Japan, Craig Mod describes himself as a writer, photographer and walker. | Courtesy of Craig Mod At a time when many countries were only just emerging from COVID-19 lockdown and Japan was still closed to overseas tourists, Mod's emails offered a vicarious escape, written in a conversational tone that slipped easily between erudite and irreverent. He was the 'lucky schmuck' who could afford to spend weeks on end roaming the countryside, hanging out in coffee shops and bantering with locals amused at this peculiar stranger in their midst. Many of the places he visited were on their last legs, but he deliberately avoided what he calls the 'lamenting' tone of writers such as Alex Kerr, whose 'Lost Japan' (1996) and 'Dogs and Demons' (2002) were required reading around the time he first moved to Japan. 'It's way more fun to be delighted by — and sort of find the beauty of — what's left, even in these countryside towns that are very clearly going to be gone in 10 years,' he says. 'You can be very depressed about that, or you can kind of treat it like a graceful end to a certain life cycle.' Pondering the shrinking communities and advanced decay he saw during the trip (documented in photos of shuttered main streets and nature vigorously reclaiming the landscape), Mod thought back to his childhood home: a blue-collar American town where the factories had closed, replaced by poverty, drugs and violence. 'The inspiration I've always drawn from Japan is that the lowest you can fall is not that low,' he says. 'Whereas I grew up watching people fall really, really low — frequently, and kind of hopelessly.' During his long walks through Japan's countryside towns, Mod was reminded of his childhood home in the United States, seeing similarities (and stark differences) in the shrinking rural communities. | Craig Mod 'Things Become Other Things' started out as a daily 'pop-up newsletter' that Mod sent while walking the Kii Peninsula in 2021. After each day on the trail, he would spend hours editing photos and videos, and writing. | Craig Mod His explanation for why similar levels of economic decline produce such different outcomes hinges on the Japanese term yoyū, which conveys a sense of sufficiency: enough time, enough money, enough energy. As Mod puts it, yoyū is 'the space in your heart to accept another person... another situation, another context.' 'As the economy changes in those rural areas, I think you see a kind of grace because the foundations of support are still there, right?' he continues. 'They're not losing health care. They're not losing social infrastructure... And that gives them the yoyū to be able to accept the fact that their towns are disappearing, without degrading into substance abuse or violence or whatever. The contrast being in America, there's none of that sort of protection enabled, so you have none of that excess space.' Mod's newsletters — over 30,000 words in total — provided the raw material for the fine art edition of 'Things Become Other Things,' published by Special Projects in 2023. While working on the manuscript, he was encouraged by his editor to flesh out his remembrances of a close childhood friend, Bryan, who hadn't managed to escape the town's downward pull. The Random House edition of the book, which significantly ups the word count, is addressed as a letter to his absent friend. Framing it this way packs an emotional punch, but also gives Mod more freedom to insert context and humorous asides ('as opposed to just bloviating personal history or whatever,' he adds). 'Things Become Other Things' doesn't include details of how to get to the places Mod visits. 'I'm very deliberately picking places that are slightly difficult to get to,' he says. | Craig Mod One of the book's most striking innovations is the vernacular he uses for the residents of the Kii Peninsula. In his rendering, it's a place where people say 'ain't' and 'where ya from' and 'Mama woulda loved a handsome boy like you.' 'I was spending a lot of time in North Carolina when I started doing the peninsula walks, and I immediately just was like, 'Oh yeah, they're speaking kind of like North Carolinians,'' Mod says. 'You know, that kind of sing-song component to Japanese.' Neither edition of 'Things Become Other Things' includes details of how to get to the places Mod visits. This isn't conventional travel writing — though he does a bit of that, too. In 2023, he had a brush with celebrity after picking the northern city of Morioka for the New York Times' annual '52 Places to Go' feature. The list wasn't ranked, but many people assumed it was. Morioka's placement at No. 2 — second only to London — became a national news story. 'I'm very deliberately picking places that are slightly difficult to get to,' he says of his unorthodox choices. (He's since written about Yamaguchi and Toyama cities for the Times lists.) Mod's solution to the tourism boom that's been pushing Japanese hospitality to breaking point is to focus on the cohort of travelers who aren't just coming for the cheap yen and stuff they've seen on TikTok. 'I feel like overtourism is almost like a natural disaster,' he says. 'If you try to engage with it overly, you just drive yourself insane. It's like trying to stop an earthquake as it's happening. The more the tourism industry can focus on that 10% of hyper-curious, fully committed, deeply respecting-of-the-country people, I think there's a lot of great opportunity to be had.' 'But Omotesando is done,' he adds, referring to the heavily trafficked shopping district in central Tokyo. 'It's just done! You just have to pretend it doesn't exist anymore.'
BBC News
28-06-2025
- BBC News
How sleeping in old schools is reviving rural Japan
As Japan's dwindling population increasingly migrates to cities, 450 rural schools close each year. Now, some are being transformed into unique inns. The morning sun filters through tall windows, illuminating rows of wooden desks where students once recited kanji writing symbols. But instead of attracting boisterous children, this classroom now lures travellers in search of deep relaxation and a unique immersion in rural Japanese culture. This is Hare to Ke, a former elementary school-turned-guesthouse nestled in the mountains of Miyoshi on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands. Hare to Ke occupies the former Deai Elementary School, which closed in 2005 after student numbers fell to just five. According to a local newspaper, in its heyday in 1945, the school had more than 500 pupils, but like many rural schools across Japan, it gradually emptied out as families have increasingly migrated to cities. After eight years standing vacant, the school was officially decommissioned in 2013. Today, Miyoshi's population has declined from a peak of 77,779 in 1955 to around 20,000, and more than 40% of its residents are aged 65 or older. In the decades following Japan's postwar economic boom, the decline of local industries and a steady exodus of young people left Miyoshi with an aging population and abandoned infrastructure. By 2012, Miyoshi had 28 unused schools, and local officials began actively seeking proposals to repurpose them. But Tokyo-based designer Shuko Uemoto had an idea. Uemoto first visited Miyoshi in 2014 with her then-two-year-old son and was struck by the quiet beauty of the place. "The water and air here are completely different," Uemoto told the BBC. "When we stayed here for the first time, my son's asthma symptoms just disappeared. That moment really stayed with me." "I remember thinking, if my child grew up surrounded by this kind of nature, how would that shape him? I got really excited by the idea," she said. When she came across Miyoshi's call for revitalisation proposals, she returned to tour several of the area's other empty educational centres. The moment she stepped into Deai Elementary School's quiet courtyard, she knew she had found something special. "The sound of the river, the sunlight, the silence, it all felt full of potential," she said. Uemoto relocated from Tokyo, submitted a detailed three-year business plan and launched what would become Hare to Ke with support from local officials and residents. "The school had been a local landmark, but it stood in darkness, closed off from the community. Now, the lights are back on, and people have regained a sense of emotional belonging. The fact that outsiders are now drawn here and find it appealing has helped locals regain their confidence. That, I think, is the greatest achievement," said Yuko Oka, an official from Miyoshi's Regional Revitalisation Division. Today, 13 of Miyoshi's previously abandoned schools have been transformed into community cafes, satellite offices and guesthouses like Hare to Ke, which has become a model for how abandoned schools can breathe new life into Japan's many dwindling communities. But will it be enough to avert the quiet crisis unfolding across Japan's countryside? As the country continues to grapple with a rapidly aging population and one of the world's lowest birth rates, it is losing nearly 900,000 residents each year. According to one estimate, more than 40% of Japan's municipalities could one day cease to exist. As younger generations increasingly trade rural areas for cities, roughly 450 schools close every year, according to Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). In response, a growing number of these once-empty buildings are now being reimagined to revitalise Japan's depopulated regions. At Hare to Ke, guests aren't just staying in a repurposed classroom, they're reconnecting with nature and themselves through rest and relaxation. The hotel's name nods to a traditional Japanese concept of time, with hare referring to special celebrations or festivals and ke denoting mundane, everyday life. Historically, the two existed in balance, but following Japan's postwar economic growth, many believe that distinction has faded, with everyday life becoming dominated by "hare"-like stimulation and abundance. Hare to Ke invites guests to rediscover that ancient rhythm through simplicity and stillness. By embracing slowness and sensory awareness, it encourages guests to return to the depth of "ke". Visitors are welcomed by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, they can sip herbal tea, nap to the soundtrack of rustling trees and wake to crisp mountain air. Guest Chill Kouri, who discovered Hare to Ke by chance during a road trip through Shikoku with a friend, echoed this sense of unexpected restoration. "The drive into the mountains was winding and narrow, but when we arrived, I was amazed. The atmosphere was nostalgic but fresh, and everything from the old school building was thoughtfully preserved and run," Chill said. "It's not just a renovation; it's a place where the whole concept feels alive." Inspired by its bucolic setting, the hotel recently launched a specialised programme focused on deeper sleep improvement. Guests are asked about what typically disrupts their sleep, and based on their answers, they receive a custom-blended medicinal herbal tea. The experience incorporates aromatherapy, and soothing sounds and scents – engaging all five senses to guide visitors into ideal rest. The idea came after Umemoto relocated to Miyoshi and realised how deeply she slept. "I didn't expect to feel such a difference, but the air and the silence helped me rest more deeply than I had in years," she said. Recognising that many city dwellers rarely encounter true quiet or natural darkness, Uemoto saw an opportunity to create this "Sleep Trip" offering. "Many people struggle to sleep while travelling," Uemoto said. "But if you can sleep deeply, just for one night, it transforms the entire journey. I want guests to feel that. Surrounded by the mountain air, the cry of deer you can only hear if you stay overnight, the warmth from the sauna deep in your core, I hope people can truly relax here." For more than 400 years, residents in the surrounding Nishi-Awa region have cultivated terraced fields on gradients as steep as 40 degrees, preserving not only agricultural practices but also the landscape and culture of these mountain communities. Guests who purchase the Sleep Trip option are served dinners featuring grains harvested from this challenging terrain, along with seasonal vegetables and locally sourced game like this:• The Japanese island that was saved by art• The scarecrow master of Shikoku, Japan• The women saving Japan's vanishing cuisine The design of Hare to Ke preserves the warmth and charm of the school's past. Along the outdoor walkway leading to the entrance, graduation murals painted by former students remain. Classrooms feature playful nods to the past: eye charts, flasks and chalkboards evoke a nostalgic feel. Outside, locals who once attended the school as children now gather on the old sports ground to play gateball as guests look on. One of the former schoolhouse's highlights is the sauna, which has become a destination in itself. "You're wrapped in the aroma of herbs while gazing at the forest through the window," said guest Mari Azumi. "The sauna room is lined with warm cedar, and the mountain scenery unfolds quietly in front of you. After the heat, you plunge into a cold bath filled with spring water from the mountains – crisp, clean, and refreshing. "Then comes the outdoor rest. You lie beneath the trees, and in that stillness, you begin to feel yourself blending into the landscape. It's extraordinary, unfamiliar, yet deeply nostalgic. Like returning to something we've long forgotten. Like returning to nature." According to Koji Kamizasa from Miyoshi's tourism office, "Hare to Ke is part of a broader story – one where rural Japan is reclaiming its future not through flashy tourism, but by creating intimate, grounding and genuinely local experiences." For instance, the hotel offers seasonal cooking workshops where residents teach guests how to prepare food with locally grown ingredients. In addition, every second Sunday of the month, Miyoshi holds a night market where residents not only sell food, but also teach visitors about Awa Odori, Tokushima's iconic traditional dance. Guests interested in the region's storied past shouldn't miss the annual Mt Tsurugi Summer Festival (17 July), a sacred ritual believed to date back more than 900 years. Taking place at the 1,955m summit of the eponymous mountain, it features a dramatic procession in which white robe-clad residents carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) up the mountain's steep paths. Their rhythmic chants echo through the forest, accompanied by the sounds of flutes and drums. As Miyoshi continues to grapple with depopulation, events like these where travellers can participate not only help preserve cultural identity, but also introduce visitors to the region's enduring traditions. Nearby attractions like the Iya Valley and its iconic Kazura vine bridge also attract nature lovers. Many travellers combine these highlights with a night at Hare to Ke, making it a base for both reflection and adventure. For many in the community, Hare to Ke is more than a guesthouse – it's a space where old memories resurface and new ones are made. "One day, an elderly woman in her 80s came with her niece," recalled Uemoto. "She opened an old graduation album and pointed to her younger self, saying, 'That's me!' She was so happy. "Even the former principal has come back to visit," Uemoto added. "This school isn't just a building; it holds people's stories. That's why repurposing it wasn't a light responsibility. But I'm glad we've created a place they can return to." -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Japan Times
21-06-2025
- General
- Japan Times
The juicy tale of Saitama's prized yuzu
Here in the Takinoiri district of Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture, the sparsely marked Yuzu no Sanpomichi walkway threads into the forest, passing quiet yuzu groves. The ascending trail, which takes me past half-century-old yuzu trees that cling to treacherous slopes, leads to Katsuragi Kannon, a temple perched 300 meters above sea level. The area was named Katsuragi by Gyoki, a priest of the Nara Period (710-94), who believed the mountain resembled Mount Katsuragi in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture). The local citrus, known as Katsuragi yuzu, takes its name from this region. In the yuzu groves, aging farmers tend to the thorny trees by hand. Wearing thick gloves and boots to protect herself from the spikes, second-generation Katsuragi yuzu farmer Aiko Ikebe, 78, tells me it's important to thin out the branches properly. 'If you leave them, everything gets tangled and the wind can't pass through,' she says. 'Then the sunlight doesn't reach the inner branches and you start getting dead wood and black specks like you see on oranges.' New shoots appear quickly after each pruning and must be trimmed while they are still soft. Farmers like Ikebe repeat the process up to four times a year, through the scorching summer heat until early October. According to Ikebe, there are about 50 farmers left in Moroyama. Harvesting yuzu is no easy task as it involves dealing with thorny branches. | KIYOMIEN While yuzu is synonymous with Shikoku — the island's Kochi Prefecture accounts for more than half of Japan's overall yuzu production — Moroyama claims to have the country's oldest cultivated yuzu variety with Katsuragi. According to local lore, cultivation began here in the Nara Period, an era that predates the history of Mizuo, a village in Kyoto Prefecture that's traditionally known as the birthplace of yuzu. Such dueling historical claims between towns are nothing new in Japan. Documentary evidence, however, confirms that yuzu cultivation was present by the Edo Period (1603-1868) in Moroyama: An entry in the Shinpen Musashi Fudoki , a historical survey of Musashi Province (present-day Saitama Prefecture) published around 1820, identifies yuzu as a notable product of what is now Moroyama's Takinoiri district. Still, the citrus remained a peripheral crop until the early Showa Era (1926-89), when, as the local tale goes, influential local farmer Ichitaro Kushida gave up raising silkworms to dedicate the family fields to yuzu trees, banking on the fruit's aroma. Seeding ideas By the early 20th century, Moroyama growers were shipping crates of Katsuragi yuzu to Tokyo's Kanda Market. The boom continued until the opening of the Great Seto Bridge in 1988, which connected Japan's main island to Shikoku and allowed Kochi's neatly packaged fruit to be easily transported and distributed across the country. '(Before the bridges were completed), there wasn't any yuzu from Kochi or Tokushima Prefecture. Even if the crop's quality wasn't very high, we could sell our yuzu for a good price,' says Ikebe, whose daughter, Sachiko, 48, returned from Tokyo to join the family's yuzu farming business, Kiyomien, a few years ago. Aiko Ikebe (left) and her daughter Sachiko run Kiyomien, their family's yuzu farming business. | AAROHI NARAIN Yuzu cultivation is an investment that defies the economics of modern citrus farming — a yuzu tree propagated from seed won't bear fruit for nearly two decades. 'Most commercially grown citrus trees are grafted. Nurseries graft scions of desired varieties onto rootstocks, and farmers plant these saplings, which typically bear fruit in three to five years,' says Akari Hiroi, a citrus sommelier with the Ehime Prefecture-based Citrus Sommeliers Association . But yuzu, she says, follows a different rhythm. 'There's a tradition of growing yuzu directly from seeds in some places. That demands extraordinary patience.' Moroyama is one of those rare places. Most Katsuragi yuzu trees are still grown as mishō (plants raised from seed). But sticking to tradition has a downside. Faced with stiff competition from other yuzu-cultivating regions with more productive crops, prices of the whole fruit have slumped. To support aging, labor-starved farmers and keep their surplus fruit from turning into compost, Moroyama has introduced a yuzu ownership scheme : Participants enter into a seasonal contract with a local grower, effectively 'claiming' a tree as their own. In return, they're entitled to harvest the fruit. This arrangement, however, requires flexibility. Growers can't predict yields until late summer, and last year's poor harvest left farmers unable to offer new contracts. To generate more revenue, Ikebe and her daughter have turned to crowdfunding for small-batch projects such as yuzu chocolate and yuzu koshō (pepper), the latter enlisting the expertise of Saga-based condiment specialist Mifukuan . They also let local and international tourists take part in yuzu-picking at Kiyomien during the harvest season, an activity akin to the popular strawberry-picking sessions in places like Yamanashi Prefecture. An aromatic boost The allure of Katsuragi yuzu lies in its aroma, which locals tell me is four times more fragrant than other yuzu varieties. Research backs up their claim. A 2021 analysis by Josai University found that citrus paste from Saitama has nearly four times more limonene — a chemical compound found in the rinds of citrus fruits — than its Kochi-grown counterparts. Kazuki Asahara of Asahara Brewery makes a fragrant yuzu liqueur with Katsuragi yuzu juice and peels. | ASAHARA BREWERY But as ever, the proof is in the pudding. At Asahara Brewery in the town of Ogose, my sip of pure Katsuragi yuzu juice is rich and perfumed, offering aromatic notes and acidic touches. It tastes like an amplified version of other yuzu juices I've tried: deeper, rounder and inflected with spruce, clove and crushed jasmine blossoms. The brewery's tōji (master brewer), Kazuki Asahara, 35, makes 100% Katsuragi yuzushu (yuzu liqueur). He pounds the peel and incorporates it in the liqueur — using only the juice means discarding nearly 90% of the fruit. The beverage conjures up the flavors of bittersweet pith, radiant juice and fragrant skin. Traditionally, yuzushu is made with sake as a base spirit, but Asahara chose to use shōchū (traditional Japanese distilled spirit) instead, a move enabled by the brewery's broad range of production licenses that allow it to make sake, beer, liqueur and sparkling alcoholic beverages. 'Liqueurs are often stored at room temperature, so when using sake as a base, its off-smells can become more noticeable,' he says. Over at U.B.P Brewery , founder Kento Kobayashi, 43, was given a batch of yuzu by Moroyama growers last year. 'The farmers have struggled with marketing it, but it's an amazing product,' he says. The ale brewed with its juice sold out quickly. This summer, a second batch, using only the peels, is on the way. At U.B.P Brewery, visitors can try a refreshing ale brewed with Katsuragi yuzu juice. | AAROHI NARAIN At Tokigawa Brewery , a producer of over 200 yuzu-based soft drinks, owner Toshiro Kobori, 46, retains the citrus' essential oils in his beverages instead of removing them, as most soft drink manufacturers would, for visual appeal. He sells the fizzy drinks to local restaurants in Saitama. 'There's meaning in small producers (like us) crafting products with care,' he says. 'We hold hand-pressing workshops so the next generation can experience what it's like to use a traditional wooden press to make yuzu juice.' From tree to table Katsuragi yuzu isn't just being poured in Saitama, it's also being plated. At 6Hundred Cafe in the town of Tokigawa, five seed-grown trees planted decades ago thrive on the cafe grounds. 'The citrus' aroma is unmistakable — completely different from store-bought yuzu,' says owner Yoshimi Matsuo, 66. Noticing unharvested yuzu around the area, Matsuo began sourcing directly from neighbors. After rounds of experimentation, including simmering yuzu in chai spices and poaching it in wine, Matsuo and his team began incorporating the citrus into their menu, introducing items like French toast with Katsuragi yuzu compote, yuzu black tea, and Basque cheesecake with a subtle yuzu twist. Yoshimi Matsuo, owner of 6Hundred Cafe, shows off his French toast made with Katsuragi yuzu compote. | 6HUNDRED CAFE Meanwhile, for Kenmei Kunitake, 75, owner of Dante, a cheesecake shop in Urawa Ward, it wasn't novelty but nostalgia that drew him to Katsuragi yuzu. Raised in the mountains of Kumamoto, he remembers a towering yuzu tree in his family garden. 'Every year, the tree would be heavy with oversized fruit,' he says. Now his team uses whole Katsuragi yuzu — pulp, peel and all — for marmalade, pound cakes and his signature cheesecake. 'Supporting local agriculture is part of supporting the nation's stability,' he says. 'I want to honor nature's gifts and help slow the decline of rural Japan.'
NHK
14-06-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Heavy rains expected between western and eastern Japan
Heavy rains are expected in some areas between eastern and western Japan along the Pacific coast from Saturday night. The Meteorological Agency says warm and damp air flowing into a low pressure system accompanied by a rain front over the Sea of Japan intensified rain in wide areas between western and eastern Japan on Saturday. The inflow of warm and damp air is expected to continue, causing extremely heavy rains of more than 50 millimeters per hour with thunder till late Saturday night in the Shikoku region, and up to early Sunday morning in the Tokai region. Heavy rains of more than 30 millimeters per hour with thunder are expected in the Kinki and Hokuriku regions till early Sunday morning, and in the Kanto-Koshin region between late Saturday night and Sunday evening. In the 24 hours up to Sunday evening, 180 millimeters of rain is expected in the Tokai region, 150 millimeters in the Kanto-Koshin and Shikoku regions, and 120 millimeters in the Hokuriku and Kinki regions. Weather officials are calling on people to stay on alert for landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen rivers.
