Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

In the beginning of this year, I went to Nozawa Onsen village in Nagano Prefecture.

The below is last year's footage, February 2012.

It is famous ski resort but it is also famous for natural hot spring town. The word, Onsen means natural hot spring in Japanese.

Interestingly enough, the town is not only famous for Japanese skiers but Australians, New Zealanders and other foreigners. A ski resort famous for foreigners I knew was Niseko in Hokkaido. I visited there two years ago. Then I learnt Australians there became more interested in Nozawa Onsen. That was why I visited Nozawa last year and this year.

The place was better than expected. Snow quality was great. The courses were varied. I saw many Australians and other foreigners skiing and snowboarding. Not as many as number I saw in Niseko but I could meet some Aussies every time I got on a lift. I even could meet them attending ski school which only provided Japanese intruction. They told me they learnt it by body language. Wow!!

I saw them outside the ski areas. That is public bath houses. There are 13 community bath houses in the village. It is open early in the morning until late at night. All of them were managed by localies and free of charge for anybody including tourists. The hot water comes from volcano line underneath the village. It smells sulfur and some of them were really hot. I could not imagine foreigners enjoying that. But I saw them quite frequently. 

I spoke with localies. They told me they actually made sales to Australians flying there. However, they never change their village to resort style. They keep the way they have been from the past. You can't find any big hotels and leisure facilities over there. Just small local hotels, bath houses, temples, shrines, small shops, restaurants and bars. No big places except ski slopes. Very much like Japanese traditional village.

Localies seems to be proud of keeping their originality and personality. When I bathed in a community bath, one local man scolded a young boy saying "wash your penis before you get into the bath tub."  That means keep the bath clean and respect the manners.

It is a very mystique place. Real winter wonderland!

It might sound Japanese English. It means Retroprospective automobile exhibition. Tens of the old generation cars lined up in one place, called Jingu Gaien on 1 of December 2012.

It was a great show. I could see a lot of kinds of cars in the old days.

Most notable ones I want to introduce, which I've taken photos of are as follows.

Rolls-Royce

Buick, the length of the body is 5 metre.

De Lorean, Car featured in the film "Back to the Future"

Countach, A car that a driver needs to get his head out of his car when driving back

Mercedes-Benz in 1970's, this was the model when the same titled song was popular.

"Oh, Lord. Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" Are you rich enough to afford those cars?

Joined demonstration march in Shibuya, most crowded shopping and entertaining district in Tokyo.

Estimated around 400 people participated. 12 ospreys were deployed in Okinawa, Southernmost island of Japan. Osprey is a hyprid helicoptor that cause strong noize and probability of accident is higher than conventional helicoptors. Propellers work as helicoptor on pad but when it goes high, the mode is changed to airplane that enables it fly further. 

But this mode change action can cause severe accident including crashes onto the ground without control.

It is said that US military deployed Ospreys in Okinawa because they were not allowed to maneuver flying in their homeland because of safety problems, that aggrevated Okinawans and Japanese nationals. US-Japan treaty is one between independent sovereign nations.

As other issues such as Nuclear aircraft carrier (CVN 73) in Yokosuka, safety may not be prioritized issue. Highest prioritized issue is why we have to carry burden of US military which does not actually defend us. Threat from China? China is no longer enemy for the U.S. China has become even more important economic ally than Japan for the U.S. Even US influential congressman said military stationed in Okinawa is nothing but ruin of the Cold War.

Recently even after deployment of the new helicoptors, Chinese ships has invaded Japanese sea near Okinawa very frequently. If deterrence works, why do Chinese do that?

We really wonder why US military is stationed in our country.

We should stop treating America as friendly nation although it is not our enemy.