In a rural town in Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture, older adults earn up to about $130,000 per year by collecting and polishing fallen maple leaves from their backyards as part of a local sustainability ...

When people picture Japan, Tokyo's neon avenues or Kyoto's temple paths usually dominate the imagination. Yet a quieter story is unfolding far away from the rush. More Americans are turning to rural ...

Hiking on the Nakasendo trail in the Gifu and Nagano Prefectures of central Japan, I encounter more Buddhist jizo statues, waterfalls with ancient lore, and family farms than people. Such is the ...