A deer believed to have come from Nara Park has remained in a park in central Osaka, prompting city officials to urge residents to keep their distance as they monitor the situation. (News On Japan)

A long-held perception that overnight highway buses are inexpensive but exhausting is being challenged, as a regional bus operator in Japan moves to redefine long-distance travel with the country’s first fully flat sleeper seats. (News On Japan)

The Imperial Palace’s Inui Street opened to the public for its annual spring viewing on March 21st, drawing around 18,000 visitors under clear skies as cherry blossoms began to bloom across Tokyo. (News On Japan)

Cherry blossoms bloomed in Tokyo on March 19th, arriving five days earlier than the seasonal average and marking the start of the spring season in the capital. (News On Japan)

Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture, long regarded as a mecca for skiing and snowboarding and crowded with inbound tourists during winter, has faced a persistent challenge in attracting visitors during the quieter summer months. (News On Japan)

A donkey pulls a handcart while a man walks quietly beside it, as former newspaper reporter Kotaro Takada, 36, and his partner, an 8-year-old male donkey named Kusatsune, make their way along the Sea of Japan coast on a 900-kilometer journey from Yakumo in southern Hokkaido to Chiba, selling handmade "donkey salt" produced using deep-sea water from the Sea of Japan. (News On Japan)

Authorities in Matsumae Town in southern Hokkaido conducted a brown bear response drill on March 18th, simulating a scenario in which a bear wanders into a residential area, as police, firefighters and local hunters worked together to confirm coordination procedures and response steps. (News On Japan)

Deer, one of Nara’s most enduring symbols and animals that have been protected for more than 1,300 years as sacred messengers of the gods, are now beginning to move beyond Nara Park and even beyond Nara Prefecture, raising new questions about what is driving the unusual migration. (News On Japan)

JR East unveiled Japan’s first dedicated freight Shinkansen in Tokyo on March 17th, marking a new step in the use of high-speed rail for logistics. (News On Japan)

Cherry blossom season has begun, with flowering officially announced in Kochi and Gifu, and past records suggest that even people with hay fever may still be able to enjoy the blossoms at their peak. (News On Japan)

As Japan enters the peak spring relocation season from March to April, the transport ministry has released this year’s moving reservation outlook, warning that many people may struggle to secure their preferred moving dates. (News On Japan)

JR East raised fares across all of its service areas on March 14th, marking the first fare hike since the company’s privatization and the first major increase in about 40 years, excluding adjustments tied to consumption tax increases. (News On Japan)

Kyoto Prefecture recorded more than 30 million overnight visitors last year, reinforcing its status as one of Japan’s most popular travel destinations. (News On Japan)

A fierce debate has erupted in western Japan over plans to extend the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka, as competing route proposals, political rivalries, and local opposition have thrown the decades-long project back into uncertainty. (News On Japan)

The Japanese government approved a bill on March 10th to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act to establish an electronic travel authorization system called JESTA that would screen foreign visitors before they arrive in Japan. (News On Japan)

Customs authorities in Osaka strengthened border controls on March 9th in response to a continued influx of counterfeit goods entering Japan, including fake merchandise linked to popular characters and events. (News On Japan)

Two men fell while climbing Mount Fuji shortly before 3 p.m. on March 9th near the New Seventh Station, as authorities launched a rescue operation on the mountain where summit routes remain closed for the winter season. (News On Japan)

Nara Prefecture’s Asuka Village, with a history spanning 1,400 years, preserves numerous historic sites that tell the story of Japan’s ancient capitals, including the vividly colored wall paintings of the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus depicting the famed “Asuka Beauties,” while the surrounding satoyama countryside continues to evoke what many consider the original landscape of Japan. (News On Japan)

A day after a woman in her 70s was injured when a cherry tree collapsed at the same park, another tree was found toppled in Kinuta Park in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on March 8th. (News On Japan)

Once known as a “3K” job—dangerous, demanding and poorly paid—the taxi industry in Japan has long struggled with labor shortages, but drivers’ incomes have improved significantly in recent years, rising by roughly 40 percent compared with 2020 during the COVID-19 downturn. (News On Japan)