Why DO the Japanese Have the Longest Lifespan? Part 2: Live the Lifestyle

Why do the Japanese have the longest lifespan? Last month you learned to eat the things Japanese people eat, and now you will learn how to live like they live. Fast, long, and lively best describes a usual day in Japan. The country is geared towards an active lifestyle, as the ‘couch potato’ concept is completely foreign. This lively lifestyle centers around three key aspects: work, socializing and recreation.

The workday begins early due to the commute by train that most people endure. This can range from 20 minutes to over two hours with the majority of people standing, as there are not enough seats. Walking is the focal point in the daily exercise regime. On average, people walk one to two kilometers to the train station in the morning. After arriving at the closest station to their office, people typically walk another one to two kilometers to their place of business. At the end of their long day, workers go through the same routine. All in all, the average Japanese individual will walk between three to five kilometers per day. Interestingly enough, these walks generally occur immediately or soon after meals, which helps with the digestive process.

Socializing is also different than that for western culture. As homes and apartments in Japan are considerably smaller, people opt to entertain outside of their home. This is one of the primary reasons clubs; hobbies and leisure activities play such an important role in the culture. In fact it is very uncommon to have dinner parties or get-togethers in Japanese homes. A popular alternative is to meet at public establishments for events and parties.

Automobiles do have some purpose, however they are viewed as a hobby or a luxury. Parking in Japan is costly and limited with simply not enough parking spaces for everyone to park. Cars are used for longer excursions to other cities or the countryside. The most common recreational activities are active ones. Trips to the mountains, lakes or open spaces are most popular.

Although the pace of life is fast in Japan, we can learn from certain aspects. Changing our eating habits is an important first step and combining low impact exercise after eating, such as walking, will have a greater impact. Involvement in clubs or activities that are active will also create an opportunity to engage in activity. Finally, being less reliant on our vehicles will require more effort for some daily physical activity.

So perhaps if you do what they do and eat what they eat you could be extending your lifespan. Your life is what you make it.

Here’s to your health!

Peter McGarry
info@magneticrevolution.com
For additional free information on health issues regarding fitness, nutrition, environment and financial well being please visit www.magneticrevolution.com. This site is a guide to improving your quality of life.

About The Author

Peter McGarry, BASc, is the Editor/Publisher for Magnetic Revolution's monthly newsletter.
info@magneticrevolution.com

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Japanese Garden of Monaco

Have you ever seen an authentic Japanese garden? Well, I had the chance of seeing the one in Monaco and was really impressed too. Wanna taste a little Japanese culture? Stepping on this ground is escaping from the real world into a fantasy land. You suddenly find yourself in a typical Japanese natural setting like the ones you see in marvelous paintings. The only thing that's missing is the fog. Instead, the Mediterranean sun reveals all minute details in a warm light.

With Japanese gardens, what you see is not all; the surface of things is the mere reflection of the psyche of an ancient culture. One really needs to be literally "cultured" in this direction to best appreciate the value of this art. (which I myself was not at the time of my visit! And it was a pitty as I did not know what to look for and what to analyse better!) One can speak of a philosophy of gardening coming from the ancient Japan. Japanese gardening is an art fetched beyond the arrangements of vegetation, water and stone but is full of symbols:

• Koko - the veneration of timeless age;
• Shizen - the avoidance of the artificial;
• Yugen, or darkness - imply the mysterious or subtle;
• Miegakure - the avoidance of full expression

The perception of nature is different in the Japanese culture from that of the European one. Instead of viewing nature only as something to be subjugated and transformed according to men-made ideal of beauty, Japanese developed a close connection to nature, considering it sacred, an ally in putting food on the table and an ideal of beauty in itself. That is why the Japanese gardens are the synthesis of nature in miniature instead of correction of nature as with European gardens.

Actually, the design of Japanese gardens come from the Chinese model. The history goes back in time, around year 100BC when the emperor of China, Wu Di of the Han Dynasty established a garden that contained three small islands, mimicking the Isles of the Immortals, who were the principle Taoist deities. An envoy of Japan saw it and took the idea to Japan, improving the existing Japanese practices.

The Japanese Garden of Monaco was designed at the request of Prince Rainier who thus fulfilled a desire Princesse Grace had expressed during her life-time. The garden was designed by the landscape-architect Yasuo Beppu, has 7,000 square meter, its construction took 3 years and it was inaugurated in 1994.

There are some specific elements:

• The wall (Heï) with an intermediary bamboo fencing (Takégaki) that stands for fragility and simplicity.
• The main gate (Shô-mon)
• The stone lanterns (Tôrô) - each having special different characteristics;
• The lake (Iké) with large swishing gold fish.
• The stone fountain (Fusen-Ishi)
• The covered terrace (Kyukeïjo)
• The islands (Shima) - represent two long-living animals - the tortoise and the crane, symbols of complementarity expressed
• The Tea house (Chatshitsu)- named the Garden of Grace (Ga-én)
• The dry landscape (Karésansui) - quintessence of Cosmos
• The Belvedere (Azumaya) - a house on a hill allowing view in all four corners
• The waterfall (Taki) - symbolizes the strength of Man and Nature, contrasting to the horizontality of the lake.
• The arched red bridge (Taïkobashi) - is red, the color of happiness and is narrow so as to make access to the divine island more difficult.

There are olive trees, cherry trees, conifers, azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, a varried, rich vegetation of Mediterranean, South American, Australia, African and Asian origin, pruned according to the Japanese tradition.

Walking in the crowded Monaco, with all its stone, steel and glass, you can find in the Japanese Garden a peaceful, green oasis where even the great number of tourists passes unnoticed, wandering on the winding paths, through the thicket of the garden.

About The Author

Laura Ciocan writes for http://www.ilovemontecarlo.com/ where you can find all you want to know about living in Monaco

Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:lauracio@gmail.com

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A Guide to Your Budget Holiday

The most important thing to consider when spending your holidays abroad is the budget. Even if you are tempted to spend endless amount of money, you just don’t want to end up bankrupt. So here are some great and effective tips on how you can keep your budget but still have a great time.

Cheap Holiday Packages the moment you plan for your holiday vacation, you can already save some money if you find a cheap holiday package. This has become a trend for the travelers today. One package for a whole holiday trip. This is cheaper because some hotels, airlines and travel operators team up to come up with a cheap package. This would not only save you from some expenses but also time and effort.

Avoid Excess Baggage to do this, sort out all the things you plan to bring from the most necessary to the least ones. Pack only the most necessary things that you will need in your vacation. The unnecessary expenditure could start from here.

Extra Luggage Space be sure to leave some extra space in your luggage because you will need it when you come back after shopping.

Bring Fewer Clothes this is just the best way to minimize your luggage. Take only the most sensible ones from shoes, jeans, to tee shirts. For example, if you’re going to the beach, you may no longer need to bring some shoes, just slippers or light shoes will do. To even minimize it more, doubling your clothes will be helpful use your swim shorts as sleep wear.

Make an Itinerary make your itinerary of the places you want to visit first and pack your maps and GPS into your luggage as well. Making an itinerary can help you save more from expenses because you’ll know where to go and you won’t have to mess up your schedule.

Plastic Bags this would be very useful because you can put your dirty laundry here and separate them with the clean ones in your luggage. Leaving some ready stock of clothes for you during your trip.

Wise Shopping some souvenir shops can be overpricing due to the number of tourists coming in the place. Before you buy the things you see that you really like, takesome walk into various shops first and you may see other things that you would need to buy. It would be advisable to buy first the ones that you really need and buy the extra ones later on. This would help you cut down the instinct of buying an item the moment you see it. Because there are times that we’ll see a more beautiful one or a cheaper one.

In this time of economic recession, more and more people take budget trips during the holiday. Some even decide not to travel anymore. But the thing is, anyone can always travel for holidays on a budget. Following these tips will surely help you save a lot from your expenses when you take your holiday vacation. Saving can help you enjoy your vacation and even do some extra activities out from the money you have saved.

About the Author: Know more tips on how to have great holidays while spending less at Cheap Holidays 24 (http://www.cheapholidays24.co.uk/). Visit the site and read on our latest article about Cheap Holidays: Travel Saving Tips (http://www.cheapholidays24.co.uk/travel-saving-tips.asp) to get more holiday ideas!

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Exciting Things to Do in Spain

Spain is the ninth largest country in the world in terms of economy. It also has the fifth largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world, and is a wonderful country that is rich in history and culture. It has been a popular holiday destination because of the many things that it can offer to make your holiday a great and exciting one. There are a lot of beautiful places to visit, magnificent historical buildings, glorious beaches, etc. Here is your guide to the kind of activity you want to do during your holiday vacation in Spain.

Sports Activities

There are a lot of fun sporting activities in Spain. You can play golf or watch a football game if you want to. If you want nature tripping, you can go hiking. You can also stay in the warm, sandy beaches in Spain and enjoy the sun. Then you can enjoy water sports as well like scuba diving in the Mediterranean sea or take a day trip to the famous Canary Islands, also a Spanish territory.

Historical Places

You can have a taste of Spain’s rich history. It has plenty to offer, from ancient castles to World Heritage cities. Spain has the most of these World Heritage cities among any single country in the world. There are historic buildings as well that you can explore and learn about the history of Spain.

Night Life

A siesta is part of the Spanish culture. With this practice, it gives them more extra energy for late night activities. So you can expect a lively night life in Spain that will keep you out of boredom when the sun starts to set.

For Family and Kids

The country of Spain is also suitable for your kids and your whole family. Spain has fascinating treasures to share with you. Your family will surely enjoy interesting museums, zoos, and safaris. You can all enjoy a walk to nature trails, explore Spain’s natural preserves, visit aquariums and watch the dolphins play.

There are also theme parks in Spain that your family can enjoy especially your kids if they enjoy adrenaline rides. They can have a great time with its fun, exciting, wild rides which all ensure your family’s safety.

With these various things to do and visit in Spain, you and your family will have a wonderful holiday vacation that will make you come back on the next holiday. Spain is such an extraordinary place to visit during the holidays.

If you are on a tight budget, you can look for cheap holiday packages to Spain. There are a lot of travel companies that offer cheap holidays to Spain. The internet is a great resource if you want to search for great travel deals. There are packages that doesn’t only include airfare and hotel accommodations but extra activities as well. You can choose for a package that includes the kind of activity you want to enjoy in Spain or the one that includes a trip to Spain’s beautiful and historical places.

About the Author: Learn how to travel big while paying less at Cheap Holidays 24 (http://www.cheapholidays24.co.uk/). Visit us and read on our latest holiday guides like 10 Tips for Booking Cheap Holidays (http://www.cheapholidays24.co.uk/10-tips-for-booking-cheap-holidays.aspx) for more great holiday ideas!

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A Different Approach to Instrument Flight Training

Any licensed private pilot who has tried to earn their instrument rating knows that traditional instrument flight training can be slow, frustrating and unnecessarily redundant. Medford, Oregon based Certified Flight Instructor Field Morey realized long ago that he needed to get his instrument students away from the distractions of day to day life so they could focus on the process of learning IFR mastery.

To separate life from flight training, Morey takes two students at a time on what he calls West Coast Adventure Flights spanning six days flying throughout the American West. He has used this technique to teach instrument flying for over 40 years, with over 600 pilots building hours towards their IFR rating while seeing the Western United States from inside Morey’s 2008 Cessna T182T Skylane aircraft.

Morey offers three different IFR adventure flights:

The Alaska Adventure is an incredible area to spend a week of flight training while enjoying the majestic scenery and grandeur of the great America wilderness. On this once in a lifetime trip, is as important as the six days of IFR flight training you’ll receive, much if it in the kind of real world IMC that is found in Alaska.

After departure from Medford, IFR flight students cross over into Canada and clear Canadian customs using CANPASS. The flight then travels north along the British Columbia coastline, and after clearing U.S. Customs at Ketchikan, the trip has planned stops at Anchorage, Sitka,Yakutat, Cordova, Juneau, and other points of interest. If weather allows, students may also see Mt. McKinley (Denali).

For pilots seeking to learn backcountry flying and operations, Morey offers the Wilderness Adventure Flight, a six day flight designed as an instrument refresher as well as a chance to learn the skills for operating in the Idaho backcountry.

The course begins in Medford with two flight students and Morey traveling north into Washington, Idaho and Montana to learn the ins and outs of operations from mountain strips as well as canyon techniques. On this adventure, pilots get time to hike, fish or just relax and enjoy the solitude of the Idaho Wilderness.

Pilot and flight student Blake Picquet of Fort Worth, TX was one of Morey’s students on this adventure a few years ago. Never will you find another opportunity to combine a legendary instructor with the panoramic views and intensity of the Idaho backcountry. The result is a trip that will put all your skills to the test...commercial, instrument, and of course, fly fishing, Picquet said.

Morey also offers the Rockies Adventure Flight, a six day training session that combines IFR mountain techniques with beautiful scenery from the Rockies and American Southwest. After stops in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona, the training continues in the busy Class Bravo airspace of the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions before arriving back in Medford, Oregon.

One aspect of Morey’s Adventure Flights is the a brand new Cessna 182 Skylane with glass cockpit. The turbocharged Skylane provides the additional performance needed in the mountainous areas along with additional power to climb above the icing conditions during the winter months. The aircraft has a full Garmin G1000 instrument panel and is soon to be equipped with Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology plus TAWS B Terrain and Obstruction Data, GDL 69 Datalink with XM Weather and Radio, and Garmin GFC700 Autopilot, Morey has even outfitted his Skylane with Bose noise canceling headsets to create a quiet training environment.

The training program has proven to be such a success, all trips during Morey’s 2008 training season easily sold out. He has launched a new website that is sure to continue making his West Coast Adventure Flights one of the most popular IFR training programs in the country.

About the Author: Author and private pilot Dan Pimentel owns a creative studio in Oregon and frequently writes about aviation topics (http://www.ifrwest.com) at his blog, World of Flying.

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Road Bikes Reviews: The Giro D’italia Is The Italy’s Answer To The Tour De France

The Giro d’Italia has a fine history behind it, like the Tour de France it was started to publicise a newspaper, just like the Tour de France the organisers made the leaders jersey the same colour as the paper, yellow in France from the L’Auto newspaper and pink in Italy from the La Gazzetta dello Sport. The first Giro was in 1909 and was 2448 kilometres long (the shortest), split into 8 stages and was won by the Italian rider Luigi Ganna, 127 riders started in Milan, but by the finish, also in Milan, there was only 49 left, this was not the worst edition, in 1914 only 8 out of the 81 starters managed the full distance.

The winners.

Just like the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, the Giro d’Italia always has a deserving winner, three riders have won it five times, Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi of Italy and the great Belgian, Eddy Merckx, Merckx of course also won the Tour de France five times and the Vuelta once. There have been many other “stars” who have won the Giro over the years, French heroes Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault and from Spain Miguel Indurain have all one 5 Tours de France and the Giro more than once. The home riders have obviously been the big winners, Felice Gimondi, Gino Bartoli, Ivan Gotti, Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli have all shown there winning ways, but the battles between Giuseppe Saronni and Francesco Moser in the 80’s are epic. The strangest rider to have taken part in the Giro d’Italia would be Alfonsina Morini Strada who is the only woman to have ridden the race, and finish!

The race itself.

The Giro has started outside of Italy on eight occasions, the furthest away being either Belgium, Greece or possibly the Dutch town of Groningen, which hosted the opening individual time trial in 2002. When the race is on Italian soil the main difficulties are usually the Alps, Dolomites and the Apennines, the Giro is in May so the big climbs can get dreadful weather, snow, rain and cold temperatures can shape the race and determine the winner.

The future of the Giro d’Italia.

The future of the Giro d’Italia looks good, since the UCI (cycling’s governing body) brought in the Pro-Tour all the top 20 teams have to ride the race, before they would only get all the Italian teams and a few foreign teams with sponsor interests in Italy, now the race is also shown free on television, where as before it could only be seen on a private station. The 2005 edition was one of the best for years, top teams, top riders and a hard course brought the race to life, for years the Giro had become a procession until the last hour, then the sprinters took over. The climbers had some good hard stages and the team leaders would do there work for the overall on the hills or the time trial, and that was it, now its one of the most exciting stage races there is from begging to end.

About The Author

Alastair Hamilton is a successful writer who offers a truly unique depth of experience in competitive cycling, he also contributes adding technical articles about http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/road-bikes.html to some cycling online magazines. Read further http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com

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Don't Miss These Sights When You Travel To Italy

Italy is a breathtakingly beautiful country that will always be one of the highlights for anyone's travel to Europe. It has everything from the impossibly blue Mediterranean Sea to the spectacular Alps, with fabulous food at every stop along the way. And while you are there, you can't help but trip over history with every step you take. Here are few things you cannot miss when you travel to Italy:

Venice. Think about it. How many movies have you seen that were set in this romantic city? Well there is a reason. If there is a city with more charm and magic than Venice, someone is keeping it a very tight secret. (Oh sure, I can just hear those Parisians objecting that their's is the most romantic city, but those folks are hardly objective. Besides, this is an article about Italy.) The "streets" are waterways and the city is gradually sinking into the Adriatic Sea. But don't worry, it will still be there by the time you get there to see it all.

The Roman Colosseum.Talk about the original home for extreme games. You can almost hear the ghosts of gladiators clashing their swords and signing multi-drachma contracts with their agents. The Colosseum is both a spectacular and grim place, considering the many senseless acts of violence that occurred here. Kind of like the beauty pageants are today.

Florence. If you aren't already an art lover, you will be after visiting Florence. Walk in the footsteps of Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Raphael and your life will be forever changed. One word of warning however, if you are already prone to feelings of penis envy or inadequacy, Michelangelo's 18-foot statue of David, may not be your cup of tea.

The Vatican. The art, architecture, history and sheer aura of this place will leave you speechless. (Well except for breathless comments like, "magnificent," "unbelievable," and "where's the bathroom.")

Wine country. The folks in France won't admit this either, but Italian wines are often every bit as good (sometimes even better) than their French counterparts. Take a tour and you will enjoy the tastings all the more after having seen the sheer craftsmanship and patience that goes into making fine wines. And need I remind you to purchase a few of your favorites so you can bring them home to impress your friends with your refinement and worldly sophistication.

The Italian Alps. OK, I will admit that I kept thinking, "these mountains cannot be real. I bet some Hollywood film company put together the ultimate background to impress the tourists." But in actual fact, they are real. And they are beautiful beyond anything you have ever imagined before in your life. What has always amazed me was that Hannibal surprised the Romans by bringing elephants through the Alps. Elephants were the ancient warfare equivalent of our modern tanks, so you can bet Hannibal had the Romans running for their adult Pampers as soon as they saw his army coming over those mountains.

I read somewhere that Italy is the home of more American ex patriots than any other country. So you should be warned in advance that if you stay too long in Italy, you might never want to come back. With that in mind, proceed with caution.

COPYRIGHT (c) 2006, C.H. Brown. All rights reserved.

About The Author

C.H. Brown is a former attorney who now spends his time indulging his passion for travel and shares the unique travel destinations and unbeatable travel bargains he uncovers on his blog, Guerrilla Traveler - Adventure on a Budget, www.guerrillatraveler.blogspot.com.

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