World Beauty / Travel Blog

OLDER Singaporeans would remember the long-running Japanese television drama series Oshin, which was shown here in 1984. It told the story of a girl from a poor family in Japan who overcame the adversities and obstacles of her humble rural beginnings in the Yamagata prefecture, and went on to achieve success and fame. The NHK production, which has been shown in 59 countries, was shot on location in beautiful spots in Japan such as the Ginzan Onsen (Ginzan Hot Spring) area and the Oshin Museum in Yamagata. These, plus the many other natural attractions elsewhere in Japan, should be very refreshing and interesting for those who crave more than the bustle of cities and the lure of shopping malls - something which Singapore has a lot of. Yamagata, on the main island of Honshu, is Japan's largest producer of cherries and pears. It is the true fruit basket of the country as many other fruits such as watermelons, apples, grapes and persimmons also abound. August is summertime in Japan

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, the combined area of which has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third greatest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages; English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in En