This month, we present a special talk-show series called Japanophiles, featuring lively interviews with foreigners living in Japan. River sports have recently become much more popular in Japan, and one such sport is called "canyoning". In it, partici... (more)pants plummet down steep river gorges without a boat. Behind Japan's canyoning boom is Mike Harris, originally from New Zealand. Now Harris hopes to use canyoning and other outdoor sports to boost the local economy of the town he is based in.