Came to Nagano for work and passed by a very industrial-style building, which reminded me of the Pompidou Art Center.

On the way to Sendai, we passed through Aizuwakamatsu and visited the place where the Byakkotai committed suicide. Simply put, they were a group of samurai who fought for the old shogunate regime, many of whom were still teenagers. Although they represented a “backward” and “reactionary” force and were defeated, the Japanese still appreciate their loyalty and courage and choose to commemorate them. Later I went to Lake Inawashiro and took a boat tour on the lake.

This weekend, I rented a car and visited the Utsukushigahara Plateau. There is a highland art museum here that requires an admission ticket. Afterward, I also went to Matsumoto Castle and Lake Suwa.

Driving back from Toyama to Nagano, I passed through a mining town: Kamioka. I believe this place must have been very prosperous in the past, but eventually, it inevitably followed the fate of other mining towns, with a large population decline and deep aging. As someone else from a mining area, I always feel a connection to places like this.

Come to Yokohama to take the J.TEST exam and take the opportunity to look around here. I think Yokohama's scale is just right; Tokyo is too crowded, and Yokohama has far fewer people but is still prosperous enough. I also visited the Ando Momofuku Museum, which has many instant noodles.

Maeklong Railway Market is a famous tourist attraction in Thailand, where a train passes through a market and the shops on both sides pull back their goods when it comes. I was eating a big crab when the train came.

The Grand Palace of Thailand is located in the central area of Bangkok and is the current palace of the Chakri Dynasty; some areas are also open as tourist attractions. When we went there, it was very crowded. The buildings are also very exquisite.

In Taichung, I joined a small group to visit Sun Moon Lake. Departing from Qingjing Farm, it didn't take long to reach Sun Moon Lake. We took a boat ride, but when we arrived at Ita Thao, it started to rain heavily, so we had to wait in a drink shop. Sun Moon Lake is perhaps the most familiar natural attraction in Taiwan for Chinese people, as we learn about it in textbooks from a young age.

I didn't expect Taiwan to have a place like Qingjing Farm. The altitude here is relatively high, over a thousand meters, so once you arrive here, you can noticeably feel it's much cooler. It's indeed a great place to escape the summer heat. This place once accommodated the Yunnan-Burma guerrilla forces, so there are many Yunnan cuisine restaurants. Since it was a weekday, there was no sheep shearing performance. I watched an equestrian show, all performed by Mongolian actors, which is worth seeing.

Jiufen was once a gold mine, built on steep mountains. The buildings are constructed according to the terrain, offering views of the distant sea. "A City of Sadness" was filmed here, bringing popularity to the place. The mining industry has long since declined, making it a tourist attraction.

It is said that Shifen is the only place in Taiwan where Kongming lanterns can be legally released. Every day, many Kongming lanterns ascend from the railway here and randomly fall in the surrounding mountains and forests. But I am not interested in these. There is a waterfall nearby, which might be considered a nice scenery on the island of Taiwan.

I participated in a local one-day tour in Taiwan and arrived in Yehliu in the morning. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right, and it started to rain heavily shortly after we arrived, so we had to find a place to take shelter from the rain. Didn't take many photos.

School organized a trip to Matsumoto for sightseeing. The castle keep is one of the twelve remaining keeps in Japan. However, today is really too hot, and I don't have the energy to walk around. After coming down from the castle, I bought a cup of IPA at the beer market at the entrance.