ISALC: ESL 382: Computer Applications - Spring 1998

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Culture Capsules: People, Places, and Processes Mubarak Al-Hajeri and Matsuzawa Kazumi

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Yaku-island:The Richest Natural Enviroment in Japan

Kazumi Matsuzawa

Now, I am living Portland Oregon where there are a lot of trees. At once, when I enter in a forest and see the mosses, I feel like that I have gone back to a primitive age. This feeling reminds me of an island, Yaku Island, where I went on a school trip in Japan. This island is located 60 km away from Kyusyu Island, the most northern island among the southern islands in Japan. The climate is sub-tropical and very moist. Average humidity is 75% and in the rainy season (which is June to July in Japan) is 80%. The area of Yaku-island has 2,000m mountains such as Mt. Nagata, Mt. Miyanoura, Mt.Kuromidake, Mt.Taichudake, and Mt. Mocchomu, the highest in southern Japan. That means, interestingly, you can see a mangrove at the sea level and alpine plants on the top of a mountain all in the same day on this small island. This geography supports various species of animals. Yaku-zaru(Yaku-monkey) and Yaku-sika (Yaku-deer) are endemic mammals to this island. Mountains remain covered with virgin forest. There are native trees like Yaku-sugi( Yaku-cedars). These cedars have been living more than 1,000 years. The cedars less than 1,000 years old are called Ko-sugi (child-ceders). About 96% of the island's land is government owned, and there are national parks there.

The people who live on Yaku-island (14,000) say that this is a land of Gods, especially Yaku-cedars are considered sacred trees. Each tree is named for a characteristic. Joumon-Cedar is the name of the oldest tree on the island. Joumon is an era of Japanese history occurring about 3,000 years ago. This tree is considered to have lived since Joumon-era. The tree's diameter is the same as eight adults extending their arms around the trunk. The most interesting tree is Meoto-Sugi. It used to be that these trees were each a separate tree standing side by side. Since ancient times, their trunks were rubbed by the wind and as time went by they stuck together. These trees began to coexist. The people named this tree as Meoto-Sugi (Married Couple-Cedar). Another interesting tree is Wilson Stump. It is a big whole stump that was found by explorer named Wilson. You can enter inside the stump. There is a small stream which passes through and people have made miniature shrine inside the stump. You can see these trees on the hiking paths.

When I went to Yaku-island, I saw a poet who used to lived in Tokyo. He moved a long time ago because he loves this spiritual island. He said that when he has a problem he goes under the Joumon-Cedar because it knows everything. He also said that he feels as if this tree is a grandfather.

Al -Ain is a very beautiful location in the UAE. It has so many wonderful places which the visitors will really enjoy, and these are some of them.

HAFIT mountain is the highest place in this country. It's an excellent tourist place, and there is a hotel being built which will have many parking spaces. On the other hand, HAFIT is the place for archaeological things which date back to the end of the fourth millennium B.C. HAFIT also has many caves around it. You will enjoy the hot springs in HAFIT, where you can take a hot and a healthy bath.

Ain Al-Faydhah is a resort . It is on the west of HAFIT. If you want to run away from the city and you want to take a rest in the nice place, all that you need to do is to go to Ain Al-Faydhah and you will see two swimming pools. If you like swimming, one is for men and the other is for women. There is a center for bowling and another center for snooker, pool and billiard. If you like to ride horses, you can do that in Ain Al-Faydhah. It's a wonderful place for families if they want to take a very nice vacation.

AL-Ain Zoo and Aquarium was opened in 1969. It has very many animals even rare animals. The largest area in this zoo is for Arabian antelope and deer. It has a large number of animals from Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. Al-Ain Zoo is open every day. The admission for Al-Ain Zoo is just 30 cents.

Al-Hili Fun City is the biggest and most popular amusement park in the Arabian Gulf. It is called the DISNEYLAND of the Middle East. One day isn't enough to enjoy all the fun that it offers. It has many interesting and scary games. For example, there is a roller coaster called Train of Death. The admission for Al-Hili fun city is just About 3 dollars, and all the games in side are almost free.

Al-Ain has many others places that I can't tell with some words, but I'm going to try to tell you some of them. One of them is Al-Ain Museum which was built over 80 years ago by Sheikh Zayed's father. Beda'a Bint Saud is famous place in the desert. Many visitors go to this place to camp, so if you like adventures, all that you need to do is to go to this place. Al-Ain has very many parks for families. Also, it has many parks just for ladies and children.

Al-Ain is really one of the best places in the world. You won't understand until you decide to visit it.

There are some similarities between Yaku-island and Al-Ain. Both places have a small area and population. Also, both places have mountains and hot springs. However, mainly these places are different. One is a natural preserve and one is a city.

The geography of the two places is completely different. Yaku-island is surrounded by the sea while Al-Ain is an oasis surrounded by the desert. The climate on the island is warm and there is a lot of rain. Al-Ain is hot and it has few rainy days in a year. From these geographical differences there must be different kinds of plants and animals living in these two places. For example, the main trees in Yaku-island are cedars, but in Al-Ain are Nakhlah which have fruit called dates.

Both places have different types of parks too. One is natural and one is artificial. In Yaku-island there is a National Park which remains a forest ecosystem. In Al-Ain there is a man-made amusement park like a Disneyland. One place makes people calm and one place makes people excited. In the National Park people enjoy seeing primitive nature and hiking. It relieves the stress of people who live in a busy, crowded material society. In Al-Ain people enjoy playing on the attractions and shopping. It carries people away to a fantasy world made by people's dreams.

Yaku-Island and Al-Ain each have famous attractions different than the other. The famous things in Yaku are trees and animals because that fits the geography of this place. But in Al-Ain the popular things are Hafit Mountain and Al-Hili Fun City .

Also each place has something interesting. In Yaku, the interesting things are the trees that called Joumon-cedar which have a funny look like an old man's face. The other is the monkeys' problems because they jump everywhere including in front of the cars, so you have to be very careful not to crash into some of them. In Al-Ain the interesting thing is that some of the parks are just for women and children, so no man can enter the park. It is because in Muslim culture sometimes women are not comfortable in front of the men. Also Al-Ain has the biggest Zoo in the Middle East.

Both places, Yaku-island and Al-Ain, attract people in different ways. One place, Al-Ain, has ways to have a lot of fun, and the other, Yaku-island, is for people who want to escape from the city.

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