Final Presentation

明日、最後のPresentationがありますぅ！
今回のTopicは、mikaが旅行した日本国内の観光地をmika自身が撮影した写真と
共に紹介します。
っと言うのも、mikaは写真を撮るのが大好き♪
旅行するといつも大量の写真を撮っていて、それがスゴク気に入っている。
自己満足？！(*^m^*)
説明し易い観光地をいくつかピックアップして、書いてみた。

原稿ナシで喋れるようになるのは、いつになることやら…(￣- ￣ ) ンー

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to talk about the sightseeing spot in Japan which I have traveled.

To begin with, I'd like to tell you about my home town, Tsukuba city, Ibaraki prefecture. On the one hand, Ibaraki Prefecture is near Tokyo, generally speaking ‘countryside’. I really understand. Actually, when I introduce my home town, I also say ‘countryside’. On the other hand, Tsukuba is located in the southwest in Ibaraki Prefecture, is called as Tsukuba Science City. As well as there are many research and educational center, companies, and government organization. Tsukuba Science City leads scientific and technological research in Japan, and it is also a Garden City. In 1985, my town hosted The International Exposition, Tsukuba, Japan, 1985. Furthermore, the Tsukuba express which connects the Akihabara station in Tokyo and the Tsukuba station in Tsukuba city was opened for traffic, and access to Tokyo became easy last year. When I went to Tokyo, I drove a car for 30 minutes and parked at the parking in front of a station, and took a train for 1 hour or more. It was awfully inconvenient. Now, near station is located in 5 minutes by car from my house, so I can go to Tokyo in 45 minutes.

However, I like driving a car rather than using a public transportation facility. In fact, when I travel in a domestic, I always drive a car somewhere. Before I came here, the airplane was used when I went to Hokkaido and Okinawa. When I went to Aomori Prefecture, it took 6 hours by car, but I very enjoyed driving. Any way I’m talking about my travel.

Firstly, this is Mt. Fuji which is the highest mountain, 3,776 meters, in Japan. It is also a well-known symbol of Japan, a relatively young volcano. It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures just west of Tokyo, from where it can be seen on a clear day. It is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshu. I took many photos from four directions. And these photos are Mt. Fuji took on the same day. Mt. Fuji does indeed have different views, changing with the seasons and even as the time flows during a day. And this diversity may be the mountain's greatest attraction. Different views from viewpoints give different impressions. Around the Fuji Five Lakes area, Kawaguchiko, Yamanakako, Saiko, Motosuko, and Syoujiko, a popular highland resort on the north side of Mt. Fuji, there are many points from which you can see the whole of Mt. Fuji towering over a beautiful lake. Even from central Tokyo, the summit of Mt. Fuji can be seen on a clear day. This is a Kawaguchiko. I don’t have Motosuko’s photo, though, Mt. Fuji and Motosuko appears on the old Japanese 5,000 yen bill, released in 1984. We can see the lake where upside-down Fuji on the 5,000 yen.

Secondary, this is Naha city, Okinawa prefecture. This is Manzamo which is the feature that the rock of the form of an elephant's trunk is attached to the cliff of the seashore. The East China Sea is faced. Also, these are the seashore of the around of it. And these are Eisa which is traditional entertainments danced in Okinawa at the time of the Bon Festival. Although we can be seen throughout the islands, recently, it has the event which collected the Eisa of the every place region is held. To the lively accompaniment of tunes played on the sanshin, the prototype of the shamisen, a Japanese traditional three-string instrument, young men and women beat small drums, paranku, which are about the size of tambourines, and mid-sized drums that a person can just about get their arms around. This is Shiisa which is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often found in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog. Many people put a pair of Shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from various evils. When found in pairs, the shisa on the right traditionally has an open mouth, and the one on the left, a closed mouth. This is Shureimon which is a gate in the Shuri neighborhood of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the second of Shuri Castle's main gates. It was built in the 16th century. This gate appears on the Japanese 2,000 yen bill, released in 2000. However, since there is few circulation of substance, now, we can hardly see.

Thirdly, this is Lake Towada which is the largest caldera lake in the island of Honshu, Japan. Located in Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters above sea level, and is drained by the Oirase river. With a surface area of 62.2 km², Towada is Japan's 12th largest lake, its bright blue color due to its depth. I boarded the pleasure boat here and went to the opposite shore in about 30 minutes. The autumnal leaves which I could see from a pleasure boat were very beautiful. And this is Oirase Stream which is a mountain stream of about 14km Oirase River from Towada lakeside. I really like this Oirase Stream. I walked along the stream for 3 hours, and saw many waterfalls. As much as especially the time of fresh green and autumnal leaves is awfully beautiful, there are many tourists. When you come to Japan, you should certainly go here. I strongly recommend.

Finally, this is Sapporo city, Hokkaido. Although I went to there, I couldn’t see one of the largest winter events which the Sapporo Snow Festival is a famous yearly festival held in Sapporo over 7 days in February every year. Teams from outside Japan come to participate, and the festival is thought to be an opportunity for promoting international relations. About two million people come to see the enormous beautiful snow statues on display in Odori Park in central Sapporo, which is the main site of the festival. The Self Defense Forces stationed in Hokkaido participates in making large snow statues and as many as 150 citizens' groups display unique statues of different subjects. The subject of the statues vary and often feature an event or famous person from the past year. For example, in 2005 there were statues of Bae Yong Joon, the famous Korean actor. After I came back to Japan, I want to go one of the festival.

At the conclusion of my presentation, I am very appreciating to you. It was not easy this level for me. However, I was able to overcome the lesson in this class, thanks to your help. Most classmates will graduates today, I wish the best of luck! Thank you very much indeed.