Naka Bokunen is an Okinawan artist famous for his brightly coloured Okinawan landscape painting, particularly of his birthplace Izena island in the north of Okinawa. He is an expert of woodblock printing, a form of fine art with carvings in a piece of wood.
Category: Wandering
Sleepless In Seattle
Beside Starbucks, Seattle has been famous because of the film “Sleepless in Seattle”. The 1993 romantic comedy-drama film starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and was co-written and directed by the late Nora Ephron. It’s obvious that it’s a must for me to visit some of the spots that the movie was taken.
The Ryukyu Kingdom Of Okinawa
Due to the 500 years of Ryukuan history represented by the castles and monuments in Okinawa, these places have been assigned as World Heritage Sites in 2000 under the title “Gusuku sites and related properties of the Ryukyu Kingdom”
Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower
Standing at a towering height of 468 meters, the Oriental Pearl Tower proudly holds the distinction of being the world’s sixth tallest and China’s second tallest television and radio tower. However, its allure extends far beyond its impressive stature, as it boasts a distinctive architectural design that renders it one of the most captivating destinations worldwide. The tower’s foundation is upheld by three slanting stanchions, each measuring seven meters in width. Encircling the eleven steel spheres, which are vertically arranged at its core, are three columns with a width of nine meters each.
Nagasaki Trip: The Confucius Shrine
In 1893, the Chinese residents of Nagasaki built the Confucius Shrine or Koshi-byo with the financial support from the Qing Dynasty government in China. It is said to be the only Confucius shrine outside China built by Chinese labor.
Nagasaki Trip: Battleship Island
The abandoned Gunkanjima sits about 9 miles away from Nagasaki. It functioned as a coal mining facility from 1887 to 1974, a former symbol of Japan’s rapid industrialization. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began to extract coal from undersea mines. Japan’s first large concrete 9-storey building and a block of apartments were built in the island to accomodate the workers. However, Hashima mines were closed in 1974 when petroleum replaced coal in Japan.
Nagasaki Trip: Memoirs of the Atomic Bombing
World War II has been the most destructive conflict in the history of mankind. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain to be the first and only uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict, killing between 129,000 and 226,000 people. In Nagasaki, the bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. Nagasaki was chosen because it was a shipbuilding center at that time. On August 15, the Imperial Japan surrendered, finally ending the Pacific War that lasted for 3 years and 8 months.
Nagasaki Trip: Hub of Catholicism In The Far East
Called then as the Ecclesiastical Nagasaki, the Jesuits aimed the city to be the main site of Catholicism in the Far East. However, the Shogunate became wary of colonialism and started to persecute the Christians. Nagasaki then became one of the historical sites of persecution for Catholics. The first time I went to Nagasaki, I took the opportunity to visit the important Catholic sites in the city.
Momijigari At Hoheikyo Dam
Traveling for more than 3 hours by car from Obihiro, we arrived at the Hoheikyo Dam area of the Jozankei part of Sapporo. It was the peak time of the autumn leaves, so there are a lot of people enjoying the amazing view of the park.
The Ebola Station At Universitätspital Basel
The Ebola epidemic in 2014 is the largest in history affecting the West Africa. Different countries in the world get ready by having well-equipped facilities to handle ebola cases. For Switzerland, the government requires each canton to have one ebola station. This means that there are 26 Ebola stations all throughout Switzerland. For the canton of Basel-Stadt, it is located at the Universitätspital Basel (University of Basel Hospital). It was therefore a privilege for me to visit this ebola station.
The Underrated New Chitose Airport
Unlike the more famous Narita and Haneda Airport, New Chitose Airport is the most underrated airport in Japan. As Tokyo is more touristy than Hokkaido, less non-Japanese people are appreciating the nice things that New Chitose Airport is offering. This is actually my most favorite airport in Japan as it can actually be a tourist destination on its own. One can generally spend a whole day in this airport without getting bored. Even those who are not having a flight will have fun in New Chitose Airport.
Going Around Switzerland by Schweizerische Bundesbahnen
Switzerland has proven to be one of the countries with the easiest and most proficient way of moving around the country through their network of trains. Their national railway company is called Swiss Federal Railways which is usually referred to by the initials of its German, French and Italian names SBB (German: Schweizerische Bundesbahnen), CFF (French: Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses) and FFS (Italian: Ferrovie federali svizzere).
Amoj In Wanderland 