I spent a leisurely lunch break today. I didn't have any urgent task after lunch. I took a walk around my hospital and dropped in at a bookstore. I flicked through the latest magazines about PCs.
The photo shows a tram. There are two types of tram; modern and traditional. This is the modern style tram. These trams come every ten minutes in the daytime. There are some lines. One is a ring line around Matsuyama Castle. I like this line. This line is through both the busiest area of this city and the tranquil area. Most tourists can enjoy the link between two kinds of area. Another line takes us to the hot spa area. The hot spa of Matsuyama city is called "Dogo Onsen". It's famous as the oldest hot spa in Japan. The US Air force didn't bomb this area in the Greater East Asian War because they wanted to enjoy bathing here under their occupation. During the Japanese-Russo War, there was a big prison camp here. Though many war prisoners were transferred here, their treatment was very good. They were allowed to take a walk in the city and to bathe in the hot spa too. Japanese hospitality in Matsuyama was well-known to the Russians. When the Russian soldiers surrendered, they seemed to shout "Matsuyama" with their hands up. The graveyard of the soldiers who died in Matsuyama is kept up by the people in the neighborhood association and the junior high school students.
(Vocabulary)
leisurely くつろいだ、のんびりした、急がない
flick through 〈話〉〔本・書類などに〕ザッと目を通す
the Greater East Asian War 大東亜戦争
Japanese-Russo War 日露戦争
prison camp （戦争）捕虜収容所
keep up 管理する、手入れをする、整備する
Comments