Mt. Takao, lovey place in Tokyo

I went to Mt. Takao yesterday. Mt. Takao is located in the City of Hachioji in Tokyo, 599m high and very popular hiking area, more than 2.5 million visitors a year.

I left my home after breakfast. I put a water bottle, chocolates, towels and a camera in my backpack. I also had a map. I rode on a train to get Mt. Takao Station. I took just 15 minutes. And I got start the trail.

Mt. Takao has 7 trails, the 1st to 6th and Inariyama trail. You can choose
from 3 of them to get the top. The 1st trail is the most crowded because it is the
easiest. The 6th trail go along a narrow mountain stream. Inariyama
trail goes on the ridge.

This time, I went on the 6th trail.  That was very narrow and tough as this picture.



They say you take one and half hour to get the top, but I walked quicker than others. So I got there only one hour. I took a rest, drank some water and ate some pieces of chocolate. From the top, you can see beautiful scenery, especially Mt. Fuji is extremely lovely and breath-taking. If the sky is clear enough, you can also see the city center of Tokyo far away to the east.

I went on the 1st trail on my way home. This trail was wide and easy to walk as you can see in  this picture.

Mt. Takao is one of the most lovely places in Tokyo. You can see beautiful views, easy to get there and take a good exercise. I want to go there at least once a month this year.

Speed reading for IT tech

I read Sydney Sheldon’s biography who is a famous best seller writer in America. When he was young, he was a digest writer for movie producer. The movie producers in Hollywood have to read a ton of books, novels and scripts of plays and others. But they are too busy to read them all. Then they hire digest writers to make them read easier. For example, digest writer sum up 500 pages novel in 5 pages.

This seems very important for IT tech. IT field is changing very quickly, and many new products and solutions are developed, announced and published almost every month. But we have no time to study or find out all of them. If you tried to do so, you couldn't have time with your family, increased stress, finally you could burn out.

You usually need general information, not detail information. The important thing is you learn them quickly. That mean you must have “speed reading” because you can not hire digest writer. And almost all new technologies are published in English at first, so you'd better read them in English.

In my case, I attend an IT conferences in America once a year. I usually buy a book I am interested in at a book corner there, and I try to read it all on the flight to Japan without dictionary. I pick up words very quick rather than read them. This is my way of speed reading.

I hear American college has a speed reading class. I believe Japan need it too.

God Doesn’t Think He’s Larry Ellison

San Francisco and San Jose are main cities in San Francisco Bay Area. You can take about one hour to get to one from another. Usually you ride on the busy and crowded freeway 101 to connect the both cities along the side of San Francisco Bay. There is another free way 208, a little bit more time you take, along the side of Pacific Ocean, is not so crowded.

I have visited a small city named Wood Side located in the middle between both cities at free way 208. Wood Side is knows as one of the most exclusive residential districts in California. Wood Side is very close to Silicon Valley, so many rich executives in high-tech companies live in there. Larry Ellison, CEO and founder of Oracle which is the worldwide biggest database Company, is one of them.

Larry Ellison is one of the most famous persons in Silicon Valley. They say that he is one of the richest men in the world, despot, arrogant, genius and cruel man. Probably all true. He tried to buy NFL and NBA teams, took part in Americans Cup the biggest yacht race in the world. He is, and then, as known out speaker and hates Bill Gate.

Bill Gate was born in a rich family in Seattle, Washington. But Larry Ellison was born in East Side of Manhattan, New York. His mother was unmarried and 19 yeas old. His father was a young punk of the neighbor. He was adopted into his aunt family lived in Chicago soon. Larry Ellison is now 62 years old but he have met his mother just one time and never met his father.

Bill Gate likes popular casual bland goods and clothes, loves his wife very much, as you know donate huge money. Larry Ellison love to wear expensive clothes, built up his body, divorced three times. He sued city of San Jose, that is why he landed his private jet on San Jose Airport at midnight without permission and San Jose tried to stop to do that.　He really hates Bill Gate because they were in the opposite circumstance when they were young but they both began their business after dropped off university and became very rich.

There is a book about Larry Ellison. The Japanese title is `Charisma` and the original title is `The Difference between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn’t Think He’s Larry Ellison`. This means Larry Ellison think he is God.　To begin with his companies name Oracle means `message from God` in Greek.

He said;
“I can buy and do everything. I can have a shit on carpet wherever and pay a guy to clean that.”
“I am very excited that someone insists my idea is bad, because that mean my idea is good. They oppose my idea loudly strongly that have me very happy.”
“I can fire, change and hire employees anytime. Whoever whenever they quit, there is no trouble with my great company Oracle.

Many people hate like Larry Ellison guy. But it is exactly true that Oracles stock holder love him because Oracle’s stock price has been increased 26,000 percents since 1990.

Wood Side, California