My Hometown

Do you know Yatushiro city?? It is my hometown. I was born and I have lived there for

19 years.

Yatushiro is not an urban city, but it is not in the countryside. Yatushiro is the second

biggest city in Kumamoto, but few people know that. In August 2005, Yatsushiro shi,

Kagamimachi, Sencho, Touyouson, Sakamotomura, and Izumimura were united, so the

area became bigger.

Yatushiro faces the Yatushiro Sea, and was made by land reclamation during the Edo

Period, so the area of old-Yatushiro was almost plain, and people raise many crops like

igusa, banpeiyu, and salty-tomato. I studied about that when I was an elementary

school student. Igusa is raw material of tatami, and in Yatsushiro, the production was

the highest in Japan, but the production has been reduced in recent years. Banpeiyu is

a kind of citrus, and it is the biggest in the world, it is also recognized in the Guinness

book of world records, and its flavor is like a grapefruit, and it is so delicious.

Salty-tomatoes are raised near the Yatsushiro sea, which was under the sea before land

reclamation, so the tomato became salty, but the flavor is not salty but sweet, so I used

to eat them as a snack when I was a child. I want to recommend these specialties.

This city is a famous industrial area as well as being famous for agriculture. There are

industries such as a paper mill and a pulp mill and a sake brewery. When I was in

elementary school, I went on a field trip to the paper mill next to the elementary school.

I still remember that I was surprised at the size of the plant.

The big event of this city is the Yatushiro national fireworks Games, and firework

makers from all around Japan come to Yatushiro, and they compete to show their

technology. Over ten thousand high level fireworks are launched, and about thirty

thousand people come to watch them, so the roads become jammed with traffic. But I

can watch the fireworks from my house, I watch with my family and relatives while we

do barbeque on our terrace every year. That is so great!

In the fall, Yatushiro Myoukensai held, it is one of the three major historical festivals in

Kyushu. We gather at my grandparents’ house, the mothers make a feast with sekihan,

nimame, andkonoshiro-susi. At Myouken Shine, horses, games and shishimai run. We

can enjoy it.

In March 2004, Shin Yatsushiro Station was built along with the Kyushu Shinkansen

opening. In March 2011, the whole Kyushu Shinkansen line was opened. This was a big

event for this country city. I often use this Shinkansen when I return home. Please come

to Yatushiro some day!!

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