Kasey and Kim travel to Japan and talk to YOU from a grove of cherry trees.

The multitude of things to do in St. Louis offer a world of fun and excitement. The city’s fascinating attractions and amusing activities make it a prime vacation spot for families this summer.

The best way to start your St. Louis summer vacation is to stop by the city’s world-known landmark: the Gateway Arch. The 630-foot tall and 630-foot wide arch offers a unique tram ride that lets you have incredible views of the city and the vast expanse of the Mississippi River. The Gateway Arch is located inside the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial where you will find the Museum of Westward Expansion.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest garden in the United States. It is one of the top-rated botanical gardens around the world, with its showcase of twenty gardens set with different themes such as the Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden. You will also find the Children’s Garden that features different exhibits, including the Butterfly House. The Children’s Garden offers a wilderness wagon trip, a fishing excursion and other adventurous family-oriented summer activites. The garden also teaches children how to care for the environment by planting trees and more.

Note: The Missouri Botanical Garden will be having its annual Japanese Festival on August 30th to September 1st. The festival celebrates the Japanese culture with a tour around the Japanese Garden, art exhibits, traditional Japanese parades, musical and theatrical performances, and kimono and cooking demonstrations. Entrance fee is only $10, with discounts for senior citizens and children under 12 get in for free!

There are other things to do in St. Louis that are cost-free, making your summer vacation with the family even greater. St. Louis Zoo allows visitor to enter the premises free of charge, but various special zoo attractions have entrance fees. To make the most out of your day in St. Louis Zoo, buy the Safari Pass for only $10 and you get to delight in all the special zoo attractions. St. Louis Science Center is another freebie attraction where your kids can see full-size animated dinosaurs and hundreds of other interactive exhibits.

The City Museum is a fantastic place for both kids and parents. It has three floors of fascinating and educational rooms. The attraction features an indoor play area with imaginative caves, crawling tubes, slides, circus, art workshops and a gallery of oddities. Feel free to go around and marvel over the displays of the enchanted forest, architectural museum and the gigantic aquarium.

St. Louis’ Forest Park is more than just a park – it is a community! There are so many things to see and do in the park such as the St. Louis Zoo, Art Museum, the Science Center, the Missouri History Museum and other cultural institutions. The Muny, the world’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theater, is also located in Forest Park. The Muny currently stages two of the most successful musicals in recent history: The Producers and Disney’s High School Musical.

Accommodations and dining options are simple to locate in St. Louis. The Westin St. Louis is conveniently within walking distance to the Forest Park and is overlooking the Busch Stadiums, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Restaurants, on the other hand, are spread all throughout the city. Try the city’s best burgers at Blueberry Hill located in The Loop, Charlie Gitto’s On The HIll’s toasted ravioli, or Ted Drewes Frozen Custard’s treats that will certainly complete your list of summer things to do in St. Louis.

“twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Learn.” — Mark Twain

I don’t know when it happened but it did.  For some reason, someone, somewhere at sometime thought it was a fantastic thought to start pushing high school students to rush off to university or college immediately after graduating.

Are you telling kids NOT to go to university?

No, well nearly no.

I encourage students to go to university and college when they are ready for that type of experience.

There are a ton of high school students who are prepared for college and university right after finishing high school but there are also those who need some time.  Now, I am not talking about time to play more Xbox and watch more videos on YouTube.  I am talking about taking time to figure themselves out a small bit more.  To have some experiences that will lead them to becoming more self-aware and to show them of the vast amount of possibilities for them and their future.

One of my suggestions for students who aren’t too sure if university or college is right for them is to, GET LOST!

What I mean, is travel.

Travel pushes people outside of their comfort zones and usually shows them things they never knew about themselves.  The travel doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t even have to be outside of their home country but it does have to be away from their day-to-day lives and away from their day-to-day pressures and routines.

Through travel students can meet new people, make new experiences with relevance and context for their lives and it can also boost a young person’s confidence.

But Ryan, if all these students don’t go to university straight away what will happen to the future of our nation and it’s people?

Well, England and other European countries really push for students to take what they call a ‘Gap Year’.  This is a year students are to take for themselves to travel, to volunteer, to work abroad and to become more aware of themselves and their future.   After completing a Gap Year, students then enroll in university or college and then statistically speaking are more likely to end their program than their US counterpart.

England boasts an impressive 6.8% University dropout rate compared to the US where only 54% of College students were surveyed to have a degree 6 years after enrolling in their program.

So instead of pushing students to rush up and choose which schools to apply to, we should be encouraging them to choose which countries and cities to visit and to rush up and get lost!

Could it be that getting lost is really the best way for students to get found?

(For information on how you can travel to Japan with Ryan this summer, head to <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=http://www.ryanspeaks.com>www.ryanspeaks.com</a>)

Sources

BBC  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6906012.stm

MSNBC   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10053859/

Distance conversion is a serious issue for US citizens plotting to travel in Japan, because like nearly every other country on earth, Japan uses the metric system for weights and measures. While many places online publish a distance conversion chart or can sell you a distance conversion calculator with this function, it’s not a terrible thought to be somewhat familiar with the metric system. Knowing something about the metric system will make you a more savvy traveler and facilitate your ability to know distance conversion.

It’s Based on Multiples of Ten!

There’s nearly nothing simpler in mathematics than multiplying and dividing by ten – and that’s what the metric system is all about!

When it comes to conversion distance, when traveling in Japan the only measurements you’ll need to worry about are the meter and the kilometer. On occasion, you may need to know something about centimeters and millimeters, but typically only if you’re shopping for fabrics or cigarettes.

A meter is just a bit more than a yard, or three feet; a kilometer is equal to one thousand meters. It’s that simple!

Figuring the Distance

If you need to figure how far you’re going, the simplest thing to do is divide the mileage by 1.6. It won’t be 100% accurate, but this type of distance conversion is accurate enough for most travel purposes.

Therefore, if you are driving a rental car from Kyoto to Tokyo and the sign says 300 kilometers, you can use the above formula to determine the distance in miles, which is about 187.

For The Mathematically Challenged

If you’re like most mere mortals, math may not be your strong suit. If this is the case, you’ll be glad to know that there is an abundance of websites on the Internet that provide online software tools that will facilitate this type of distance conversion. Sometimes, it is as simple as printing out a distance conversion table, which you can keep folded in your pocket.

A conversion distance calculator is another option. Most of these look like regular calculators, and offer an entire range of metric conversion functions for weight, volume, area and temperature as well. Unlike a distance conversion chart or table which can be gotten for free, a distance conversion calculator will set you back about $50 or so – but for those of us who are mathematically challenged, it’s a small investment in a tool that can make your life immeasurable simpler when having to do a distance conversion.

Owning a car is a necessity today for taking your family out to a holiday trip or reaching the office in time or getting into an adventurous trip. With the cheap pricing of the used Japan cars, owning a car today is not a huge deal at all. But, several factors have to be considered before buying a used car. You will be well aware of the fact that not all cars will be suitable for all needs. For example, you cannot take an ordinary sedan to an off-road adventure. Hence choosing the type of used car that will satisfy all your needs will be challenging. Here are some tips to choose the used car for all your travel needs. Just keep reading on.

Sedans for professionals

If you want to travel in a professional style to the office, the sedans are made for you. Toyota Corolla and Camry are the two well loved sedans available today. You will be able to find many such used sedans for sale in Japan. The main advantage of buying these used Japan cars is that you won’t have to spend even a single penny for buying accessories to your car. All the expensive accessories will be bundled with the used Japan car. You should opt for sedans if you are plotting to use your car to mainly to go to the office. Though you can travel in any kind of car to the office, no other car can match the professional look of a sedan.

SUVs for Off-road enthusiasts and Huge family

The sedans are perfect for small families with 3-4 members. So if your family is large, your car should be larger than a sedan. It should combine the comfort of a sedan and the space of a station wagon. The SUVs (sports utility vehicles) are the ones to fulfill both the needs of comfort and space. When it comes to used Japanese SUVs, the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Outlander are the very well loved ones. These Japanese SUVs are perfect for both off road enthusiasts and huge families. Such kinds of used Japan cars will be of fantastic use if you like to go out for a holiday trip often. The SUVs will have enough room to accommodate all your stuff and will have the capability to cover long distances without any problems.

2-Door Coupes for Singles

Singles needn’t stay away from cars anymore. The 2-Door Coupes are designed for singles instead of using bikes. In the 2-Door Coupes, the trunk of the sedan will be made into a hatch back. These cars can also be used to transport large items to small distances.

Whatever the type of car you choose, it is always excellent to import used cars directly from Japan. You can save a fantastic deal of money in buying used Japan cars. You will be able to buy used Japan cars for nearly half the price than buying the same car in your country. You don’t have to worry about import tax, as there is no import tax applicable for importing Japan cars. So what are you waiting for, grab the keys of your dream car today.