世界には親心しかない in KOBE

I once posted about how easy it is to navigate the streets of Kobe, but Hyogo Ward is a different story. Today, I had some errands to run in Hyogo Ward. Up until the areas around Sannomiya and Motomachi, the roads were easy to understand, and I knew which direction I was heading. However, as I drove a bit further west, I started to lose my sense of direction. If I made a right-angle left turn, I could still tell which way I was going, but there are many roads that curve left diagonally or turn right diagonally backward, making it hard to keep track of directions. Later, when I checked Google Maps, I noticed a road cutting diagonally across the main roads. That was the Saigoku Kaido. It was because I was driving on this diagonal road that I lost my sense of direction. The Saigoku Kaido existed first, and the other main roads were built later. But why does the Saigoku Kaido wind so much in this area? I want to investigate this a bit more.

The Ministry of Finance dissolution demonstrations have not only been held in Tokyo but to regional areas. However, TV stations have chosen not to report on them. Normally, they would cover even small demonstrations extensively, but despite the nationwide scale of these protests, they remain silent. Some suggest that this silence is due to pressure from the Ministry of Finance. A few days ago, TV Tokyo reported on the Ministry of Finance dissolution demonstrations. TV Tokyo is always the first to cover interesting events. It will be interesting to see if other TV stations follow suit and report on this as well. Of course, I learned about this from social media. I've been observing the activities of TV stations on social media for a while now. Social media reports on the activities of TV stations. It seems that TV stations have transitioned from being the reporters to being the reported.

Kobe is serviced by the JR (Japan Railways) lines. I often use JR to get to Sannomiya or Osaka. One of the things that surprised me when I came to Kobe was the sight of freight trains running regularly. While waiting on the platform, long freight trains pass by. This is something I had never seen in the town where I grew up, so I found it very curious. It feels strange to encounter so many freight trains in my daily life as I commute to work by train.

On a day off, I took my child to Rokko-san Pasture. My child mentioned there was a “heart-shaped stone,” and when we looked, there indeed was a stone shaped like a heart. Here's the photo. I've never heard any rumors that finding a heart-shaped stone would ensure romantic success or anything like that, but it made me happy somehow. I debated whether to disclose the location, but considering the vast expanse of Rokko-san Pasture and that finding it solely based on this photo would be nearly impossible, I thought I might as well mention it. Unfortunately, I don't clearly remember the exact spot. I do remember that we went home shortly after taking this photo, so it was probably near the South Parking Lot.

 米国市場が荒れてきた。昨年は米国株式のパフォーマンスがとても良かったが、トランプさんが大統領になってから 米国の先行きがよくわからなくなってきた。こういう時には一旦リスクを減らしたポジションに戻すべきだろうか、 などと考えながら投資信託を見ていたら良いものを見つけた。 「SBI・V・先進国株式（除く米国）インデックス・ファンド」だ。 オルカンとS&P500は多くの人が認知してきたことで、運用会社も増え 信託報酬はとても低くなってきた。が、米国に資産が集中しすぎているというリスクがある。おかげで 昨年はとても良いパフォーマンスを得られたのだが、もしも 米国に何かあった時のことを考えると、 リスクが大きすぎるのではないかと常々心配をしていた。 この投資信託は、米国以外の先進国に分散投資をするのだから、米国に資産が集中しているポジションのリスク分散としては非常に効果的だと思う。日本の割合がやや大きいのは気にならないでもないが、まあ、この際細かいことはいいか。日本も除いてほしかったのだが、米国と日本を除く という インデックスが世界的に需要があるかといえばそんなことはないだろうから。 総経費率が0.23％とそこそこ安いのでとりあえず買ってみることにした。 最近、SBIアセットマネジメントの投資信託が充実しているように思う。なので、SBIホールディングスの株はしばらく持ち続けることにしよう。