Japan’s craze for Beaujolais nouveau has beaten the recession, with tourists taking a dip in a hot mountain spring coloured red with the fruity wine.

The Hakone Kowakien Yunessun spa resort celebrated the annual uncorking of the seasonal drop by having a sommelier pour a few bottles into an open-air hot spring bath as holiday-makers enjoyed soaking themselves.

It was the fourth annual bath using the produce of the French winery Laboure Roi at the spa, which also offers baths with green tea, coffee and sake.

Tokyo has overtaken Paris as the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants, cementing its status as the “world capital of gastronomy”.

The latest edition of the Michelin guide to the Japanese capital awarded 11 eateries the coveted three stars, against 10 in Paris.

Tokyo also kept its title as the world’s most-decorated city with 261 stars in total — 34 more than last year — awarded to 197 restaurants.

Japanese clothing designer Yohji Yamamoto’s fashion house has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Tokyo court.

The company said Friday its sales had been battered by sluggish demand amid the global economic slowdown with debts totaling six billion yen ($67 million).

Integral Corp., a Japanese investment company also announced today that it will be sponsoring the fashion company’s restructuring plan.

Bloomberg reports that Gianni Versace will shut down its stores in Japan as there is decline in the demand for luxury goods.

The fashion company has three stores in Japan, one in Osaka, one in Tokyo and one in Chiba according to the Versace website.

Versace, which entered Japan in 1981, isn’t the first brand to take this step. Last year Louis Vuitton scrapped its plans to open a store in Ginza, Tokyo.

Straight from Japan Kanto’s Syd 5 iPod Speaker packs in 80 watts of power, a bass reflex port, and a frequency response of 45hz to to 20Khz.

Audio is delivered through 5.25” low-range and and 3” high range drivers.

The SYD 5 weighs in at more than 20 pounds, and its four drivers are capable of surprisingly high volume.

Japanese Design house Felissimo is launching an inspirational new product called the 500 Colored Pencils, a subscription of 500 different colored pencils.

The way to get them is unique. If you order this product, you’ll get 25 color pencils each month. After 20 months, you will get all of them.

As the year progresses, your art will gain a new dimension, as 500 colors pretty much ensures you can capture almost any shade imaginable.