TokyoNow: Spa's rare stones targeted by thievesKyodo / Wednesday January 14, 8:31 AM
A spa in northern Japan draws about 140,000 visitors a year but it also attracts people whose main purpose is to steal the spa's rare stones, which are believed effective in combating cancer and rheumatism.
The stones, designated a treasured natural product in 1952, are found in Tamagawa Onsen (spa) in the town of Tazawako in Akita Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan. The same kind of stones, called "Hokutoseki"...
