A Party

I went to a party tonight. The paricipants were parents and a teacher of a middle school table tennis team. It was a nice party and I was drunk a little.

Matsue Castle 2

Matsue Castle is the second largest, the third tallest (30m) and the six oldest among the remaining castles in Japan.

The castle is looked five stories from outside, but it has six stories inside. The base floor has a well and food storage for preparing battle. And you can see 360-degree view of Matsue city from the top of the tower, so the soldiers could find enemies easily. But the truth is that the castle never faced any battles. The castle was built after major civil war in Japan.

Matsue Castle 1

Matsue Castle is the symbol of the traditional castle town of Matsue. Matsue is the capital city of Shimane prefecture which is located in the west part of Japanese mainland.

The castle was built over a five year period, from 1607 to 1611, by Hirio Yoshiharu, the feudal lord of the Matsue-Han.

Matsue Castle is over 400 years old and is one of the very few remaining original castles, only twelve remaining, of Japan. Most of the hundreds of original castles were destroyed due to earthquakes, fires, wars and political reasons. You can see many Japanese castles here in Japan, but most of them are concrete or modern constructions. 

The castle was being sold at a price of 180 yen in 1875. The price was only as the same value as 6,000 kg of rice at the time. Local farmer Katsube Motoemon and others bought and saved the castle.

Metal Plates Stolen in Shimane

Many metal bridges' name plates have been stolen since April in the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. One hundred twenty six plates have been taken away in four cities and two towns. The amount of damage is estemated at nearly 3,000,000 yen. The police are searching for the criminal and said, the cases happened due to rising metal prices. These stolen happened in little traffic areas and these malal plates were stolen with its metal fittings.


島根県東部で４月以降、橋や川の名前の記された金属製橋名板の盗難被害が相次いで確認されている。これまでに４市２町で計１２６枚が持ち去られ、被害金額は３００万円近くに上る。県警は金属価格の上昇が背景にあるとみて、窃盗事件として捜査している。犯行現場は交通量の少ない地域で、欄干に固定していた金具ごとなくなるケースが多い。

Eiken

Eiken is a kind of English test. It used be the most popular English test in Japan. I decided to take the test in September. I checked their web site and learned that reading news article and writing blog would help to get good scores. I should do these things more. 

Fake Sphinx in Chine to be Broken Down

A full-sized fake Sphinx in Heinei, China will be broken down because Egyptian government complained about the statue. The fake Sphinx is made of iron frame and cement, and the size is 80m width and 30m height.

From sneakers to champagne, piracy is wide spread in China, you can even see the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore, Hallstatt of Swiss, and more in the country.


http://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3015901

TOEIC

I took TOEIC test today. TOEIC is an English test that has two sections, listening and reading. It has 200 problems and takes two hours long. The highest score is 990 but few people can take 990.  

Today, I did well at listening section, but not in reading section. I need more grammatical skill and vocabulary. I didn't study much about English grammar, but I think I should study that otherwise I cannot get over 900.