More than 50 people were evacuated from Izu Oshima island in Tokyo ahead of Typhoon Francisco. A total of 32 elderly people requiring nursing care were taken by ferry to Tokyo along with their 19 attendants. Additionally, 3 other people were airlifted by military helicopter. The evacuations were occurring as Typhoon Francisco approached Japan and was expected to hit the island in the coming days.

1. News Update
Dozens flee Izu Oshima ahead of
new typhoon

2. TOKYO —
More than 50 people were evacuated from a storm-battered island Wednesday, where
mudslides left 45 dead or missing last week, ahead of another typhoon expected to
strike this weekend.
A total of 32 mostly elderly people in need of nursing care, attended by 19 others,
disembarked from a chartered high-speed ferry at Tokyo port after a two-hour ride from
Oshima, some 120 kilometers to the south, officials said.
A military helicopter evacuated three other people from the volcanic Pacific island on
the same day, said Masahiro Mukoyama, a senior official at the Oshima town office.
The town has chartered a ferry to get more people out on Thursday and later, the
official said, as Typhoon Francisco lurked in the northwestern Pacific on course to hit
Japan in a few days’ time.

3. CHUGOKU
中国地方 Chūgoku-chihō

4. Chugoku
● also known as the San'in-San'yō region
● westernmost region of Honshū
● consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima,
Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi
● As of 2010 it has a population of 7,563,428
● literally means “middle country”
● characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited
plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by
mountains running east and west through its center.

5. Chugoku
Home to three of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
■ Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and Its Cultural
Landscape (Oda) - Registered as a World Heritage
Site in 2007.
■ Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
(Hiroshima) - Registered as a World Heritage Site in
1996.
■ Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima) - Registered as a
World Heritage Site in 1996.

6. Hiroshima
● the largest city and "capital" of the Chūgoku region
● largest island in Japan
● best known as the first city in history to be targeted
by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army
Air Forces (USAAF) dropped an atomic bomb on it
at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, near the end of
World War II
● The city's name, 広島, means "Wide Island" in
Japanese.

7. Ini

8. Itsukushima Shrine

9. Peace Memorial Park

10. Senkoji Temple

11. Saijo Sakagura Street

12. Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route

13. Nagarekawa and Hacchobori

14. Okayama
● The region's easternmost prefecture features a bustling
capital in Okayama and a wealth of old, charming
merchant quarters.
● Site of Kōraku-en, known as one of the top three
traditional gardens in Japan, and the black Okayama
Castle, which is ranked among the best 100 Japanese
castles.
● The city is famous as the setting of the Japanese fable
"Momotarō
● important transportation hub, being the location where
the Sanyo Shinkansen meets with the only rail
connection to Shikoku.

15. Okayama Castle

16. Okayama Korakuen Garden

17. Kurashiki Bikan Area

18. Ohara Museum of Art

19. Fukiya Furusato Village

20. White Peaches and Grapes

21. Shimane
● The second least populous prefecture in
Japan
● The capital is Matsue
● Most of the cities are near the shoreline of
the Sea of Japan.

22. Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine

23. Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine

24. Matsue Castle

25. Samurai Family Residence

26. Tottori
● Known mainly for the enigmatic sand dunes of its capital
city, a popular climbing destination at Mt. Daisen, and a
long coastline.
● least populous prefecture in Japan.
● word "Tottori" in Japanese is formed from two kanji
characters. The first, 鳥, means "bird" and the second,
取 means "to get".
● Early residents in the area made their living catching the
region's plentiful waterfowl.

27. Tottori Sand Dunes

28. Uradome Coast

29. Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park

30. Daisenji Temple

31. Sanbutsuji Temple

32. Misasa Hot Spring

33. Kaike Hot Spring

34. Yamaguchi
● Gateway to Kyushu and exchange with South
Korea and China
● The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of
the prefecture
● The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.

35. Akiyoshidai and Akiyoshido Cave

36. Rurikoji Temple

37. Iwakuni Art Museum

38. Kaikyokan

39. Hagiyaki

40. Momotaro’s Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzTtEde8E_Q
« Momotarō-san no uta » 桃太郎さんの歌
Momotarō-san, Momotarō-san (Momotarō, Momotarō) 桃太郎さ
ん、桃太郎さん
Okoshi ni tsuketa kibidango (Those millet dumplings on your
waist) お腰につけたきびだんご
Hitotsu watashi ni kudasai na? (Won't you give me one?) 一つ私
に下さいな！
Agemashō, agemashō (I'll give you one, I'll give you one) あげま
しょう、あげましょう
Kore kara oni no seibatsu ni (From now, on a quest to conquer
the ogres) これから鬼の征伐に
Tsuite kuru nara agemashō (If you come with me, I'll give one to
you) ついてくるならあげましょう

41. References
● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABgoku_region
● http://www.chugoku.meti.go.jp/englishhp/whatchugoku/whatchu.htm
● http://wikitravel.org/en/Chugoku
● http://chugoku-navi.jp/english/outline/