A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.2 hit Chiba last week, with another measuring 5.1 hitting the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Saturday. Tokyo reportedly has the second highest number of millionaires in the world. In Gifu prefecture, villagers in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa village came together for the first time in five years to re-thatch one its well-known houses. And as the Daizafu-Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka undergoes renovation, a temporary hall at the shrine was unveiled, designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The 1,300 year-ago Kanda Myoujin Shrine in Tokyo sits just above the Kanda River. We catch several gold mikoshi being carried on the shoulders of volunteers through the streets of Kanda and Akihabara as they make their way towards Kanda Myoujin for the bi-annual Kanda festival or matsuri.

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