About my home town - HIgashi-ohmi city

I lived in Higashi-Ohmi city, which is in Kansai area in central Japan. It has a population of over 110,000 people, and it has the largest lake (Biwa-ko) in Japan.

Higashi-Ohmi is in the countryside. It has no famous buildings, museums, universities or statues, but it has a lot of rice farms and nature, so there are good camping areas along the riversides.

The weather in Higashi-Ohmi is hot and humid, so it is not cold with little snow. It snows about twice a year. June to July are very rainy. There are a few typhoons every autumn.

Higashi-Ohmi has a few famous temples "Egenji" and "Hyakusaiji", which have beautiful autumn leaves.

It is so convenient for Kyoto, about 40 minutes by train, and an hour to Osaka. It's a clean & quiet place.

Posted for Makiko

Temple I want to visit many times

I recommend visiting Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. As you may know, it is the one of famous temples in Japan. Since my university was in Kansai, I visited many tourist sites of Kyoto meanwhile, and I can call those memories back, others not. However, I have strong memories of Kiyomizu temple.

A narrow road goes through to the temples, and there are souvenir shops both side of the road over few hundred meters. Although it is a bustling road, if you get sidetracked, there are quiet paths where you can see traditional houses, typical for Kyoto. Since the temples are very famous, it is always crowed. However, there are also places you can be alone and spend a quiet hour as the temple has a large area. In addition, I went there when I had any troubles or felt gloomy. I don’t know reason, but the place made me feel good and calm down. Therefore, it is the wonder place that I want to visit not once or twice.

I think it is also fun to go into side streets as you can see traditional streetscapes or go on a food crawl, which it is hard to find from main streets.

The most idyllic island "Kohamajima"

Have you ever visited Kohamajima island in Okinawa prefecture?The Kohamajima is the most idyllic island I have ever visited.We can access there by a regular liner from Ishigakijima island, and it takes about 30 min.

Kohamajima island is small and has a small population, so the island is a quiet and peaceful place. It is best to go sightseeing spots by bicycle and we can go around the island in half a day. We rarely see cars and people and can stop where we want to see view. The ocean around Kohamajima is breathtaking clean and blue, and I loved to look into the clear ocean. The breathtaking scenery makes us forget the time. 

Accommodation in Kohamajima island is limited and a large part of tourists will leave there before sunset. However, if we want to relax completely, it will be one of the best choice to stay at a hotel “Resonare Kohamajma” operated by Hoshino resort. It is high on my list of things what I want to do.

Do you have an urge to visit the Kohamajima island?  I promise that you can refresh and relax in the Kohamajima island.

A famous musician who died tragically young: Linkin Park

I'm sure you've heard about Linkin Park’s song somewhere. A debut album was a worldwide commercial success, and this band is very famous around the world. 

One of my favorite bands is Linkin Park. Especially I like the vocalist’s voice. The lead vocalist was Chester Charles Bennington.

Bennington was born in 1976 in America. He was interested in music since he was child and dreamed to become a member of his famous band. He had experienced something hard in his childhood. An older male friend sexually abused him until he was thirteen. He couldn’t ask help for anyone because he didn’t want them to think he was gay or liar. When he was eleven, his parents were divorce. After the divorce, his farther had gained custody of him. He started to drink alcohol, using drug. Because of his lifestyle was changed, he was skinny and looked difference. To remake his life, he moved to his mother’s home. He worked at a hamburger’s shop until his musician career was started. 

He joined the predecessor band; Xero, the band’s s name was changed to Linkin Park after signed to a major label. They had phenomenal success in early 2000. Meanwhile, he was struggled health problems. 

On July 20, 2017, he killed by himself at the age of 41. He was found dead at his home.

Two months before he died, his best friend was suicided by hanging. Oddly, the day Bennington died was best friend’s birthday.

Social media and Elon Musk

Elon Musk was born in 1971 in South Africa. His father, Errol Musk, is an engineer, and his mother, Maye, is a model. He was interested in making something and likes reading books since he was a child. He studied programing by himself at age 10, and he got 500 USD by making and selling the self-made game software at 12.

Although he entered to Stanford Graduate School in USA, just after two days he left it. After that, he started online contents company and online payment company, and he got about 500 million USD by divesting the companies.

By getting a lot of money, he invested for space, car, and social media business. He acquired Twitter in 2022. Since he calls himself “free speech absolutist”, I think he hopes social medias become space for free expression. There was ethical AI team, which was internal watchdog group, to monitor Twitter for transparency of information, fairness, dignity, and human rights. However, many engineers were fired for cost reduction, and the team was disbanded when he acquired the company. I think Twitter is the space for free speech, but meanwhile, I’m afraid that it becomes the space lost ethical.

A World Wonder where I want everyone to visit

 The Atomic Bomb (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. It shows the estructive force created by humankind and it is a symbol to hope world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

I visited the Atomic Bomb and the Atomic Bomb museum two times and spent much time to see all exhibits. People who visit there might turn their eyes from the exhibits because the destructive damage was worse than they might think. I believe that most people who visit there may think that the use, for whatever seasons, of destructive force/weapons should be banned and we should reduce all nuclear weapons.

Recently, there are various wars/fights around the world. I really hope that all wars/fights are stopped immediately, but I sometimes stay on the sidelines because I do not want to see terrible situation in broadcast etc.I think that we should not get accustomed to the situation that various wars/fights are caused and should think that world peace is the most important.In order to express the hope for world peace, the Atomic Bomb (Genbaku Dome) and the Atomic Bomb museum are the most important World Wonders for me.