Higashine city is one of the cities of Yamagata prefecture in Japan. It is on the border of Yamagata prefecture and Miyagi prefecture and it is basin. In February 2020, 47,910 people lived there. The size is 206,94 square kilometer. Higashine is especially famous for many kinds of fruits.
Sightseeing
There is an airport called ‘Oishi Yamagata airport’ built in 1964. There were charter flights from Taiwan until 2019 and many Taiwanese visited Higashine city by boarding them.
There is a big old tree called ‘Okeyaki’ at Higashine elementary school. The age of it is said to be more than 1500 years and it has been designated as a national nature treasure.
Higashine onsen is famous for relaxing. There is also a foot bath in the onsen street. Their hotels are also used for many kinds of gatherings like after the coming of age ceremony.
Marathon competition called ‘Sakuranbo Marathon’ is held every June. It started in 2002. Anyone can join it , so many people from all over Japan, about 9000 people ran in the race in 2019. Runners can choose to run from 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km, so it is easy to join even from children to a wide range of ages.
Fruits
Higashine city is famous for some kinds of fruits and is called ‘kingdom of fruits’. Its early summer cherries are very popular. Higashine grows the most cherries in Japan and one of the breed, ‘Satonishiki’ was born here. Satonishiki was born in 1928. And now ‘Higashine Sakuranbo’ was classified as GI (geographical indication) in 2017 and it is found as a gift. There are reasons this city is suitable for growing cherries. There has not been so much rain and sunlight time in June. Also the drainage is good and the temperature is suitable. That is why the environment is the best to culture cherries.
La France is another famous fruit. It is fruit that you can enjoy in fall seasons. 80% of the La France production in Japan is in Yamagata prefecture. The image character of Higashine city, ‘Tanto-kun’ is a La France motif.
Education
Higashine is the only city where the population is increasing in Yamagata. It is because they put effort into making the environment for raising children.
‘Asobia-land’ is a kind of park where children can enjoy exercise built in 2013. Many little children gather there and enjoy playing outside.
‘Tantokuru center’ is a community center and place where children can exercise inside. Children to elderly visit as a place to interact with civilians. In 2015, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress visited there .
Touohgakkan junior & senior high school is next to the city hall. It was built in 2016.
Tamagotchi
Tamagotchi is a handheld video game. It was released in 1996. It was created in 1996 by Aki Maita and sold by Bandai. It is a strategy game. The main characters are also called Tamagotchi. The Tamagotchi are electronic pets, and the player takes care of them as part of the game. A new version of "Tamagotchi" was released in 2020.
The player uses the handheld device to take care of the fictional pet. The player can feed it or let it go hungry, train it or abuse it. The tamagotchi will grow up strong, weak or run away depending on how the player acts.
In 2009, Tamagotchi got it’s own anime.
The first "Tamagotchi" was released in 1996 as a mobile digital pet. This game became popular in Japan. From 1997 to 1998 other types of Tamagotchi game were released. About 40 million games sold around the world. In 2004, "Tamagotchi"' became popular again. The 2004 version of the game had infrared communication. The 2006 version could connect with mobile phones and personal computers. In 2006, a "Tamagotchi"-themed school game was released. In this game, the player could make a class using a communication function. In 2007, Tamagotchi started to live with its family in the device. In 2008, the game was released with a colored screen and download items and mini games. In 2012, the communication function was made more complicated.
The "Tamagotchi" has stayed popular in Japan, but in the West it is sometimes popular and sometimes not. Bandai America sells "Tamagotchi" in a larger package in the United States because they want the buyer to believe it is worth the price, US$59.99.
There are also "Tamagotchi" arcade games, animations, movies, comic books, books, and apps.
29th century
The 29th century will begin on January 1, 2801 and will end on December 31, 2900.
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (), which is Costco for short, is an American operator of discount stores known as warehouse clubs or wholesale clubs. Abundance of products are sold with deeply discounted prices to club members who need to pay annual membership fees. Costco is based in Issaquah, Washington and one of the largest retailers in the world.
Costco has a history of over 40 years. Date back to 1976, Sol Price, a pioneer in warehouse club retailing, opened the first Price Club which an airline hangar was remodeled in San Diego, California. In 1983 Jeffrey H. Brotman and James D. Sinegal opened the first Costco in Seattle, Washington. Ten years later, The Price Company and Costco merged into Price/Costco. They changed it into Costco Wholesale Corporation on October 30, 1999. Costco spread and was constructed  in several countries, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Far East, and Australia.
In warehouses, there are gas stations, pharmacies, hearing aid centers, optometrists, eye and sunglass centers, photo processors, and tire garages. In some countries, there are liquor stores.
There is a mechanism for Costco. When you enter the warehouse, employees check a membership card. Shopping carts that are used in warehouses are large in size and the paths inside stores are wide so that shopping carts pass easily. Conveyor belts are utilized at checkouts. They enable cashiers to check out mass products smoothly. They don't provide plastic bags, so their own bags or cardboards are needed. After that, employees check recipes to prevent shoplifting and mistakes at the cash before exiting the store.
A variety of products are sold on Costco. For example, groceries, appliances, automotive supplies, sporting goods, jewelry, housewares, health and beauty aids, garments, furniture, office supplies. Their features are all large-sized and huge quantities. In addition, there are seasonal products and high quality national and regional brands, and inventory is updated constantly. Besides, it sells Kirkland Signature products such as juice, cookies, coffee, housewares, luggage, garments, and detergent which are Costco's brand. Kirkland Signature means quality and value so that they are inexpensive and high quality to maintain member's satisfaction and Costco's reputation.
Online shopping is available in the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.
Non Costco's members can use this service by means of creating an account. However, certain promotions and steeply discounted items are for just members. If you buy a product online and find that it becomes cheaper than you purchased within 30 days, you can request a Price Adjustment. If you buy a product at a store, you can adjust it in the store or on costco.com. The return policy is applied too.
There is a food court indoor or outdoor depending on the stores. Each store has a different menu. Hot dogs with drinks, which is one of the most popular items, pizza, frozen yogurt, Pepsi beverages, baked items (such as the chicken bake), and sandwiches are common menu items. A seasonal menu is sometimes sold.
There are 782 locations worldwide.
KANA-BOON
KANA-BOON is a Japanese rock band. They are from Osaka and now they live and work in Tokyo. They made their debut in 2013 and released a lot of mini CDs and albums until now. And there are many of their fans not only in Japan but also in foreign countries.
KANA-BOON was formed by four members at first. They have the role of rhythm guitar and vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums. But it is now a three-piece band after some members left the band.