These “moss balls” are popular pets in Japan, where they are known as “marimo” (“seaweed balls”). Despite their popular English name, marimo is not a moss at all. Instead, it is a slow ...

KUSHIRO, Hokkaido—“Marimo” moss balls, the fuzzy green spheres that ... Lake Akanko is now the only place in the world with a colony of giant marimo that are more than 20 cm in diameter.

TAKAYAMA, Gifu Prefecture--Officials are trying to give the struggling area here a boost through sales of a more durable “marimo” moss ball that forms in hot spring water used to cultivate ...