Homeland

I was raised in Ito city, Shizuoka located 120 km from Tokyo, Japan. It's a small city with about 68,000 population but it's famous for hot spring resorts!

There is not much to do there, but surrounded by mountains and nature, with a mild climate and hot springs, and fresh local fish from the Pacific Ocean, - what more can you ask for if you want to get away from your busy life?

There are some nice spots to see around, such as the volcano mountain Omuro. Especially during springtime, you can have a toast under the cherry blossoms at the bottom of Omuro, we call it OHANAMI.

OHANAMI means “looking at flowers” but they make it much more than that with traditional Japanese picnic boxes and some alcohol, gathering with family and friends, so it's a great deal for the Japanese in springtime!

There are a few more things to see but l highly recommend dropping by Jogasaki Coast's jagged cliff to see the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

One of my childhood memories is that my dad and l went to the Jogasaki alone. Usually, we went there as a family but somehow there were only two of us, and l was excited to go out with my dad. I planned to make some potato pancakes with frozen mixed vegetables and rice balls for my dad. We walked on the 48-meter-long suspension bridge, looking down at the rough waves splashing off the edges of the cliff and making loud sounds. l was so thrilled to pass the bridge because it's 23 meters above the ocean!

It was only a couple of hours of outing with my dad but a nice memorable time and l hope l can visit with him again!