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Morioka

Self-screening urine test for depression and other mental illness developed in Japan

Urine for a mental health screening.

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2018 Tohoku Kizuna Festival aims to unite the people of northern Japan

This “Festival of Tohoku Bonds” continues to pay homage to six of northern Japan’s most important annual festivals all at one time and one place.

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Is any “fowl” play involved? Nope, Morioka Zoo’s animals just like to sleep in weird positions

Morioka Zoo in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture has a host of both fierce and cuddly animals on its premises. Among the zoo’s current highlights are opportunities to see a baby giraffe, make dinner for the elephants, and feed raw meat to a lion. Oh, and did we mention that the animals there seem to have a penchant for looking dead while simply taking a snooze? 

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Morioka Station’s sweet message to recent high school graduates causes passersby to tear up

As people in different parts of the world change their calendars to April at this very moment, the class of recently graduated Japanese high school students are getting ready to embark on their next journeys in life. For many of them, this time marks a major turning point as they move away from home and head to even bigger cities for college or careers.

The recent graduates in at least one Japanese city can take comfort in knowing that their community will be waiting patiently for their return home at vacation. The staff at Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture recently left a heartfelt message inside the station wishing their local high school graduates the best of luck as they set out in life, and it seems that more than one passerby has teared up at the sight of it. 

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