A history of quarrying, etched into the walls. ⛏️🪨 Oya's vast underground chambers in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, still bear quarry workers' pick marks. A collection of 203 tools and records, nationally registered in 2026, reveals the people behind the scenery. 📚

Choose our November header! 🍁 #PickAHeader 1️⃣ Mt. Fuji & autumn leaves, Lake Kawaguchi 2️⃣ Shichi-Go-San: kids in kimono (ages 3, 5 & 7) 3️⃣ Autumn colors at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto 4️⃣ A vermilion bridge under maples, Koyasan Comment 1–4 by Oct 29! Winner revealed Oct 30. 🍂

A towel starts in the forest.🌲💧In Imabari, the city and towel industry manage forests tied to towel making water. Professionals thin trees, clear undergrowth, while association members and locals plant. Beyond the factory, the industry cares for the resources behind its craft.

Hundreds of flowers from one chrysanthemum—and every year, the display starts again. 🌼 At Shinjuku Gyoen, Ozukuri takes over a year to shape one plant into a broad semicircle of blooms. The flowers fade, but the skill to recreate the landscape is passed on. ✨

To protect nature, sometimes you have to pull out plants. 🏜️🌬️ At the Tottori Sand Dunes, vegetation can stabilize the sand and reduce its movement. Conservation includes thinning plants where needed—helping keep a living dune shaped by sand, wind and plants. ✨

Japanese art is becoming easier to find, research—and use. 🖼️💻 NCAR’s Art Platform Japan supports research. A separate catalog offers 14,063 images of public-domain art from five national art museums, free to download under stated terms—for learning and creativity. 🌏