Meditation is central in both Indian and Japanese hermit traditions, serving as a means to transcend ordinary consciousness ...

When asked what it takes to “truly” belong in a country, many people globally say speaking the local language is key.

There are religions that put their believers' faith to the test with harsh trials. On a mountain in Japan, that test is not ...

Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at a Buddhist temple in downtown Tokyo, eagerly stretching their hands to catch the dried ...

In hotspots like Kyoto you sometimes have to queue for the queues, but escaping the country’s overtourism problem couldn’t be simpler ...

Tourism, climate goals, and animal rights concerns are sparking a plant-based renaissance in a country famous for sushi and ...

Large shares in many middle-income countries say following the historically predominant religion is key to "true" national ...

While Spain's headline trail now attracts up to half a million pilgrims a year, its twin is often uncrowded and offers a ...

The Supreme Court failed to address the core constitutional issue of the separation of church and state in its ruling on an enshrinement case involving the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

Hundreds of items used by “hidden” Christians in Nagasaki Prefecture to practice their religion when doing so meant certain ...

Followers of Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous religion, worship Kami – gods believed to inhabit the natural world – and the Kumano region is considered to be home to a particularly large number.

The onsen resort village in Matsuyama, Shikoku – the smallest of Japan’s four main islands – is touted as the country’s oldest hot springs. It is here that Japan’s wellness trend took off roughly 3000 ...