Japan has re-submitted an application for the mining complex on Sado Island to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In Tokyo, tour operator Hato Bus is re-starting its Chinese language bus tours throughout the city just in time for the lunar New Year. In Tsukuba city, Japanese researchers have developed a 99.98% light-proof black pigment that can absorb almost any visible light that hits its surface, while Takasaki Masaharu's 1995 building, the 'Kihoku Teikyukan' observatory and telescope based in Kagoshima, Kyushu, looks skyward as it awaits to hear whether it wins this year's JIA 25 Year Award for a building that has contributed to both the community and environment for the past 25 years. — Get in touch: notebook.podcast@gmail.com Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook Instagram: @notebook_pod Twitter: @notebook_pod —