MORIOKA, Japan (Reuters) – Once viewed as a backward part of northeast Japan, so snowy it was known as “Japan’s Tibet,” the city of Morioka and surrounding Iwate prefecture came into their own 30 years ago, when the superfast Shinkansen train began running up north.

Just 2.5 hours from Tokyo, Morioka and its laid-back lifestyle, surrounded by mountains ideal for hiking in summer and skiing in winter, makes a good weekend getaway for anyone tired of the bustle of Tokyo.

MORIOKA, Japan (Reuters) – Once viewed as a backward part of northeast Japan, so snowy it was known as “Japan’s Tibet,” the city of Morioka and surrounding Iwate prefecture came into their own 30 years ago, when the superfast Shinkansen train began running up north.

Just 2.5 hours from Tokyo, Morioka and its laid-back lifestyle, surrounded by mountains ideal for hiking in summer and skiing in winter, makes a good weekend getaway for anyone tired of the bustle of Tokyo.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo is one of the world’s most crowded and bustling cities, but anyone who travels there around New Year’s will be able to see a far different face as workaholic Japan takes its longest holiday of the year.

Christmas, which is a normal work day, is mainly a retail event, with Japan devoting all its energy to “Oshogatsu,” the New Year period extending roughly from Dec 29 to Jan 3 – the first part in frantic preparation, the second in enjoyment.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo is one of the world’s most crowded and bustling cities, but anyone who travels there around New Year’s will be able to see a far different face as workaholic Japan takes its longest holiday of the year.

Christmas, which is a normal work day, is mainly a retail event, with Japan devoting all its energy to “Oshogatsu,” the New Year period extending roughly from Dec 29 to Jan 3 – the first part in frantic preparation, the second in enjoyment.

TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) – After a Greek bride is abandoned
at the altar and her prospective bridegroom is found blinded
from an acid attack, local villagers are baffled until Hermes
Diaktoras, a portly man in white tennis shoes, arrives to help.

So begins “The Doctor of Thessaly,” the third in a series of
detective stories by British-born author Anne Zouroudi that
feature Hermes, who even as he works to unravel the crime has
more than a hint of mystery about himself.

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Tokyo retained its tasty title as
the Michelin guide’s world gourmet capital on Wednesday,
although the number of three-star restaurants fell slightly.

This is the sixth consecutive year the capital of
food-obsessed Japan has been awarded top honours by the
publishers of a guide book regarded by many as a fine-dining
resource.

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Andrew, in a daring leap to
freedom from an overbearing mother, moves in with a friend whose
ramshackle house is the one blight on a gorgeous neighborhood -
and promptly is attracted to his next door neighbor, the
friendly Harlow.

Welcomed by a plate of homemade cookies and admiring of the
picture-perfect home where she lives with her husband, Red, it
is a while before Andrew starts to suspect there is something a
little off about this woman, who seems just too good to be true.

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Tokyo retained its tasty title as
the Michelin guide’s world gourmet capital on Wednesday,
although the number of three-star restaurants fell slightly.

This is the sixth consecutive year the capital of
food-obsessed Japan has been awarded top honours by the
publishers of a guide book regarded by many as a fine-dining
resource.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Marie-Louise is 18 years old in 1809, the cherished daughter of the Austrian king, when she is forced to make a horrible choice – leave her nation to become Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, or see France attack her country.

So begins “The Second Empress” by Michelle Moran, her fifth novel and the latest in a collection of tales about strong women throughout history, from ancient Egypt’s Nefertiti to Cleopatra and Madame Tussaud.

TOKYO (Reuters) – The suave and sensitive Edward Cullen of “Twilight” may be the norm for vampires these days, but fictional monsters such as Dracula originally sprang from the fear of inexplicable diseases and the mysteries of death in the natural world.

So argues science journalist Matt Kaplan in “Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite: The Science of Monsters,” an examination of monsters around the world and throughout history – the science behind their origins, and why they matter to us even now.