Shizuoka — The harvest of Amanogaki persimmons called “rare persimmons” as they seldom appear on the market please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent Amanogaki is the generic name for persimmons that have been grown in the Amano district of the city for about 100 years The most common varieties of Amanogaki are “fuyugaki” and “jirogaki.” A great deal of time and effort is put into pruning the persimmon trees and thinning the fruit which is not harvested until it is fully ripe they contain higher sugar levels than a melon and grow to about the size of an apple and most are sold to repeat customers who reserve them in advance In 34-year-old Masaki Kano’s field in Amano bright orange persimmons ripen on about 80 trees 23 for guests staying at the Izu Nagaoka Onsen hot spring resort Though the persimmons gained their color a week or two later than usual Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun ABB Bailey Japan won a contract from Ebara Environmental Plant Co (hereafter “Ebara”) to supply end-to-end solutions for excitation and synchronization systems for a new public waste-to-energy facility in Izu City Ebara has obtained a project called "Izu and Izunokuni City New Waste Treatment Facility Development and Operation Project" from the Izu and Izunokuni City Waste Treatment Facility Association organized by Izu City and Izunokuni City (where ABB Bailey Japan is headquartered) The facility is currently under construction the two cities have a total of four facilities all of which have been in operation for more than 25 years and are aging These four facilities will be consolidated under the four basic policies formulated by the Izu and Izunokuni City Waste Treatment Facility Association: "a facility that operates stably and safely over the long term," "a facility that gives unlimited consideration to environmental preservation," "a facility that is open to residents and contributes to the community," and "a facility with excellent economic performance In addition to processing 82 tons of waste per day the facility will effectively utilize the heat from incineration to generate electricity aiming to create a recycling-oriented society The new facility will begin operations in January 2023 ABB’s scope covers the complete automation electrical generator and generator control panel This modular design will enable higher performance and cost-efficiency The systems are built to the strictest manufacturing standards for reliable operation in different environments including the customer’s local requirements The fully engineered generator control panel and circuit breakers including the UNITROL 1000 excitation system will help the customer to achieve greater reliability in operations stability and full utilization of assets in line with plant efficiency targets UNITROL 1000 is designed to comply with the strictest grid codes and therefore will secure reliable and safe operations throughout major grid incidents “This is the first domestic public project where our excitation teams have worked with generator systems from our Shanghai factory adapting the engineering of the protection units to local requirements was key for us to execute this project These were novelties and our challenges,” said Tetsuo Miura this will be the first of many mutually beneficial projects in the region.” Generating electricity from household waste incineration is a key element of Japan’s energy system The country has 380 waste-to-energy plants accounting for over 30 percent of its refuse incineration facilities according to the Japanese Environment Ministry The number has risen by more than 20 percent in the past decade ABB's website uses cookies. By staying here you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more I agree Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Tokyo If climbing Mt Fuji sounds a bit too ambitious, you can still enjoy the icon of Japan from one of the best vantage points in the area. The Fujimi Terrace at Izunokuni Panorama Park in the scenic Izu Peninsula has reopened last summer The park is located just under two hours from Tokyo Station and it offers a blissful getaway from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo which will take you up to the summit of Katsuragi Mountain at 452 metres above sea level in seven minutes. A roundtrip on the ropeway is ¥2,400 (¥1,200 for children The terrace features spacious seating areas a premium lounge and a cosy sofa area. The latest additions also include three stunning mirror-like reflective pools of water. The three new water features reflect the gorgeous surroundings including Mt Fuji You’ll also find comfortable seating around the mirror pools giving you plenty of photo ops and a scenic place to relax.  a new Italian restaurant called Trattoria Izu Paradiso has opened at the base of the mountain headed by chef Hidekazu Suzuki, serves up dishes made with seasonal ingredients sourced from Shizuoka prefecture the terrace is open during the evenings for a limited time to catch the sunset and surrounding cherry blossoms. The evening viewing is from Friday April 1 to Sunday April 10 with the last downhill ropeway at 8pm.  For the fastest route to Izunokuni Panorama Park from Tokyo Station take the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Mishima Station hop on the Odoriko 13 Limited Express Shuzenji train and take a short 10-minute bus ride to the base of the park For more information on the terrace and park, see the website.  Two of Shibuya’s biggest clubs are closing this September Charities that accept donations in Japanese yen for Covid-19 and war relief There’s a secret parfait bar in Shibuya serving dessert and cocktail pairings These Tokyo train stations are getting a Harry Potter transformation Kanto's largest tulip festival has 550,000 blooms – and it’s near Tokyo Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan. facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramAbout us Please upgrade to a more modern version to fully experience JapanToday site and for security reasons Izunokuni Panorama Park is one of the best places to experience the scenery of Japan’s most famous mountain Izunokuni Panorama Park is situated at the northwestern most point of the Izu peninsula Being just a 2 hour and 15 minute train ride from Shinjuku station the park makes for a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo’s concrete city Visitors to the park can enjoy the rolling views of Mt Fuji and the bay at the Fujimi Terrace located at the end of a 1,800-meter ropeway with an altitude of 452 meters the ropeway takes seven minutes to climb up the mountain side with Mt Fuji and the nearby Izu Nagaoka hot springs coming into view as the cable car approaches the summit station Just below the Fujimi Terrace sits the Sky Garden which features the Fujimi no Ashiyu footbath Katsuragi Shrine and Hyakutai Jizosan (100 statues of Buddha) as well as an obstacle rope course and flowers that change with the season By far the most attractive part of the park the Fujimi Terrace offers a range of views of Mt Fuji and the bay from a variety of comfort seating areas and in addition to the wide observation deck also features a premium lounge This summer Izunokuni Panorama Park has announced that the Fujimi Terrace will be upgraded to include three new "reflective water basins." The addition of the water basins will create a new landscape from the top of the park bay and views of Mt Fuji all become one within the reflected water with views from the Fujimi Terrace still available there are some areas that cannot be accessed or used due to the construction work and is scheduled to be completed on the 21st In addition to the refurbishments going on at the Fujimi Terrace Italian restaurant Trattoria Izu Paradiso is opening its doors for the first time The restaurant is overseen by local chef Hidekazu Suzuki and utilizes fresh seasonal ingredients from Eastern Shizuoka to produce top-of-the-range pasta and pizza The lounge requires reservation in advance and an additional charge Summer Business Hours (Until Oct 15): 9 a.m Winter Business Hours (Oct 16 – Feb 15): 9 a.m Children (Elementary School kids): 1,000 yen Tickets for the park can be purchased here -- Japanese photog captures sunset silhouettes of electric wires, train tracks & other infrastructure -- “Pikachu used fly”! New Pokémon jet launches in Japan -- Developer Co.’s shipping container hotel business certified by Japan SDGs Association Join the leading Asian tourist attraction to assist our diverse range of customers Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts A mix of what's trending on our other sites Shizuoka — Strawberry picking season has begun in Izunokuni one of the biggest production sites of the berries in Shizuoka Prefecture In the city located at the door of the Izu Peninsula tourists can enjoy picking fresh strawberries as well as sweets using the fruit I visited the Ema Strawberry Picking Center the biggest strawberry picking facility in the Izu area Visitors are allowed to pick and eat an unlimited amount of the fruit for 30 minutes I thought 30 minutes is too short but found myself full with sweet and sour juice of the berries in no time The center has two varieties’ of strawberries — Benihoppe and Akihime — at its greenhouses head of the Ema strawberry picking cooperative Benihoppe is well known for its good balance of sweet and sourness while Akihime is a softer and sweeter variety When I was guided to a greenhouse of Benihoppe when immediately picked is much juicier and riper than what’s sold in Tokyo but became accustomed to ordinary strawberries sold at supermarkets in Tokyo Visitors’ cars are guided by the center to a designated greenhouse Visitors without a vehicle can be driven to a greenhouse by the center admission is ¥2,000 for 4th grade elementary schoolchildren and above ¥1,700 for children aged 3 and above up to 3rd grade elementary schoolers Each fee will lower by ¥400 beginning April 1 For details, visit official site (Japanese/Chinese/English/Korean) In a different sightseeing location in the Ema area many visitors are drawn to ichigo daifuku (mochi stuffed with sweet bean paste and strawberry) Ichigo Plaza is a rest stop that houses a confectionery shop I drop by Ichigo Plaza to buy ichigo daifuku whenever I visit the Ema area The combination of fresh strawberry picked in the morning and soft mochi is great although red bean is more common for daifuku “We made a special white bean paste to bring out the full flavor of fresh strawberries.” The Ichigo daifuku priced at ¥400 can also be bought at shops in JR Mishima Station and Numazu Port including the facility’s official online shop Daifuku ordered online gets delivered to customers the day after they are made Ichigo Plaza asks customer to follow its expiration date: by the end of the day of delivery “That’s why we named our product sold online as “Gozen reiji no ichigo daifuku” (ichigo daifuku at midnight), like Cinderella who turns back into an ordinary girl after midnight.” During winter and spring, they use local berries, while in summer and autumn fruit from Hokkaido and other places are used. For details, visit official site (Japanese only) Japanese version Japanese version Japanese version