Golf: Japan Women's Open

Golf: Japan Women's Open

Erika Hara of Japan celebrates with the trophy after her victory at the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship on Oct. 1, 2023, at Awara Golf Club in Awara, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

Golf: Japan Women's Open

Golf: Japan Women's Open

Erika Hara jumps up to see ahead before hitting the second shot on the fifth hole during the second round of Japan Women's Open Golf Championship on Sept. 29, 2023, at Awara Golf Club in Awara, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

Fire burns Japanese inn

Fire burns Japanese inn

FUKUI, Japan, May 7 Kyodo - Photo taken May 7, 2018, shows the remains of the Japanese-style inn Beniya, a national tangible cultural property in the Awara hot spring resort in Fukui Prefecture, destroyed by a fire that broke out two days earlier.

5 elderly bee hunters contributing to field over 5 decades

5 elderly bee hunters contributing to field over 5 decades

FUKUI, Japan - (From L) Chizuko Nozaka, Tadao Murota and Hideyoshi Kurokawa gather near Lake Kitagata in Awara, northern Fukui Prefecture, on April 5, 2013, to collect bees as part of their research into the insect's habitat. Including the three, five people now in their 70s to 90s have been chasing and collecting bees for more than half a century since the 1950s.

Vacationers enjoying lessons from geisha

Vacationers enjoying lessons from geisha

FUKUI, Japan - A tourist (R) learns how to beat a taiko drum from a geisha in the hot-spring resort city of Awara, Fukui Prefecture on Jan. 30, 2010.

Golf: Taiwan's Tu Ai-yu+

Golf: Taiwan's Tu Ai-yu+

TOKYO, Japan, Nov. 17 Kyodo - Photo taken on July 17, 1983, shows Taiwan's Tu Ai-yu holding the victor's cup after winning the Japan Women's Open golf tournament at Awara Golf Club in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

Heavy snow in central Japan??

Video taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows vehicles stranded in the snow on the Hokuriku Expressway in Awara in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, as heavy snowfall continued to hit the region.

Hokuriku tourism campaign ceremony held at JR Fukui Station

Hokuriku tourism campaign ceremony held at JR Fukui Station

Female general managers of traditional Japanese inns called "ryokan" from the Awara hot spring resort pose for photos at the opening ceremony of a campaign to promote tourism in the Hokuriku region on the Sea of Japan side of central Japan. They said they want to welcome tourists to the onsen resort with big smiles and a spirit of hospitality. The event was held at JR Fukui Station in Fukui on Oct. 1, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Vacationers enjoying lessons from geisha

Vacationers enjoying lessons from geisha

FUKUI, Japan - A tourist (R) learns how to beat a taiko drum from a geisha in the hot-spring resort city of Awara, Fukui Prefecture on Jan. 30, 2010. (Kyodo)

Heavy snow in central Japan

Heavy snow in central Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows vehicles stranded in the snow on the Hokuriku Expressway in Awara in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, as heavy snowfall continued to hit the region.

Heavy snow in central Japan

Heavy snow in central Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows vehicles stranded in the snow on the Hokuriku Expressway in Awara in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, as heavy snowfall continued to hit the region.

Heavy snow in central Japan

Heavy snow in central Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows vehicles stranded in the snow on the Hokuriku Expressway in Awara in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, as heavy snowfall continued to hit the region.

Fire burns Japanese inn

Fire burns Japanese inn

Photo taken May 7, 2018, shows the remains of the Japanese-style inn Beniya, a national tangible cultural property in the Awara hot spring resort in Fukui Prefecture, destroyed by a fire that broke out two days earlier. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo