Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Miserable holidays

　　You have consecutive holidays, which is called "Golden Week", in Japan from the end of April to the first week of May, though the length varies every year due to the sequence of the day of the week. I had two three-consecutive holidays, I mean six holidays totally, this year. I was going to have a short trip, but I was suffering from herpes zoster. My chest hurt when I moved, and I was staying still in front of the TV all day as if I was watching that the TV set would not be stolen. Thanks to it, I knew how to use the remote of the TV in detail. I knew only a minimum of the functions of the remote until today.

(Vocabulary)
remote (テレビなどの) リモコン（装置）[同意] remote control

４月末から５月上旬にかけてゴールデンウィークと呼ばれる一連の休日がある。今回４／２９－５／１と５／３－５の３連休が２回ある。どちらも２泊３日の小旅行をする予定だった。それが、、帯状疱疹になってしまった。数日前から左胸部痛が有り、もしかしたらと思っていたが、皮疹が出て確定。動くと痛むのでじっと過ごしていた。テレビが盗まれないよう見張り番をするが如く、一日中テレビの前でじっとしていた。お陰でテレビのリモコンの使い方を憶えることが出来たが。

Erdbeben

　　Ein Erdbeben hat in Kyushu, Japans südlichste Hauptinsel, schwere Schäden angerichtet. Das Erdbeben war sehr groß und viele Menschen sind umgekommen. Beinahe einhunderttausend leben jetzt in Notunterkünften, weil ihre Häuser kaputt sind oder zu einzustürzen drohen. Die viele Gebiete sind abgeschnitten von der Versorgung mit Strom, Wasser, und Gas. Viele historische Kulturgüter, Straßen, und Eisenbahnen sind von dem Erdbeben schwer beschädigt worden. Der Wiederaufbau wird viel Zeit und Geld erfordern. Die Zeit von Ende April bis Anfang Mai ist in Japan die Reisesaison, aber die Stornierungen sollen sich in Kyushu vermehren. Ich wünsche Kyushu eine gute schnelle Besserung.

Japan's Original Submarine

　　I had an opportunity to get on board the cutting-edge submarine, Hakuryu, this time last year. After this experience, I got interested in submarines in some ways, i.e., its complicated mechanism, its strategies, and its developmental history. I learned about them and knew that Japan's submarine is crucially highly valued in the world. Even the U.S., which can build atomic powered submarines, can't build diesel ones. Though "Hakuryu" isn't an atomic powered one, it can apparently hide deep in the sea for three consecutive weeks. Both the commander and the vice-commander were by chance from the same prefecture, Ehime, my prefecture, and I remember their names and faces.
　　Today I found an article on the Australian News Media, ABC., saying that Hakuryu arrived in Australia. Japan is now making a strong pitch of submarines to Australia. I think that the more highly functional, the better, and Australia has no alternative, but there would be other elements to have to take into account.
　　It made me feel like writing this entry that the submarine which was taken as the topic by ABC was Hakuryu which I had gotten into last year. The noise which Hakuryu emits looks like it's extremely low and it's very difficult to detect this submarine in the sea. The submarine whose movement is totally veiled went to Australia all the way. The eating room was really small. How was the cruise?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/japan-maritime-vessel-arrives-in-sydney-harbour/7328970


昨年の今頃、日本の最新鋭潜水艦『はくりゅう』に乗る機会があった。乗組員に説明を受けた。その後、日本の潜水艦技術に興味が湧き、いろいろと調べてみると世界中から羨望のまなざしで見られるほどの技術らしい。原子力ではない通常型の潜水艦であるにもかかわらず３週間ほど潜ったままでいられるらしい。『はくりゅう』の艦長も副艦長も愛媛県出身の方で同県出身者の組合せになるのは珍しいと言う.

その潜水艦がオーストラリアに行ったという記事を見つけた。オーストラリアは今、支那に対抗するためにどうしても潜水艦が欲しいという。それで日本やドイツなどが売り込みをしている。どうせなら世界最高水準のものが良いだろうと思うが、他にもいろいろと考慮しなければならない事柄があるのだろう。

この記事を書く気になったのは自分が乗った潜水艦がオーストラリアのメディアに取り上げられていたから。静かな潜水艦で探知が難しいという。行動すべてが秘密のベールに覆われた潜水艦。はるばるオーストラリアまでどんな旅だったのだろう？狭い食堂だったけど、あそこで何日も過ごしたのだろうな～、、

Truth Comes Up

　　The conference of foreign ministers of the G-7 took place in Hiroshima City on April 10th and 11th. Hiroshima would remind lots of people of the first-ever use of an atomic bomb in 1945. There seven foreign ministers got together and had talks about several world-wide issues. After the meeting, they visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in which lots of records about the atomic bomb are displayed and it's next the symbolic ruin, Hiroshima Dome, destroyed by the bombing. The bombing slaughtered more than 100,000 in a moment and totally about 140,000 by the end of the year 1945. People who didn't die in a moment died a slow and painful death. Incidentally, I know who did it. Everyone in the world knows who did it.
　　I had a keen interest in the comment from the Secretary of State, John Kerry. His comment was so-so. It would be as good as it gets. Classified documents will become open one by one from now on. I think that the earlier the U.S. issues an apology the better. The U.S. will be sure to become bothered by guilt. What the hell did Japan do? Did Japan do anything bad? Who wanted to wage the war? What did the U.S. get in World War II? Maybe only the seeds of the Korean and Vietnam War. I have a document which I want you to read. (LINK)

(Vocabulary)
as good as it gets　（状況が）〔否定的な意味で使われる〕これが限界だ

Doppelte Grenzlinie

　　Ich sehe gern die Landkarte von Google Map auf dem Bildschirm und trinke Kaffee eine Weile bevor ich ins Bett gehe, nachdem ich alle Arbeit beendet. Ich habe viel Spaß am Internetsurfen als ob ich eine Weltreise mache.
　　Vor kurzem habe ich eine interessante Tatsache auf der Landkarte gefunden. Es ist die doppelte Grenzlinie zwischen Deutschland und Belgien. Belgien bricht ins Deutschland ein und eine Schiene liegt auf dem Land von Belgien in Deutschland.
　　Ich finde, dieses könnte vielleicht eine alte historische Ursache sein. Ich kann nicht mit dem Internetsurfen aufhören, seit ich diese Entdeckung gemacht habe.

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@50.6031238,6.2458572,11.79z

ドイツとベルギーの国境が2重になっている件

　一日の仕事を終えて寝る前の少しの時間、コーヒーを飲みながらグーグルマップを眺める。まるで世界旅行をしているようにあちこちの地形を見て楽しむ。
　先日テロのあったベルギーを眺めていて、おもしろい事実を見つけた。ドイツとの国境が妙である。ドイツの中にベルギー領が割り込み、そのベルギー領は線路が走るだけの狭い範囲なのだ。古い歴史的な原因があるのだろうが、実にややこしい。こんな発見があるから仮想旅行はやめられない。

I'm Home

　　I stayed in a hotel on the lakeside of Biwako Lake last night. I drove my car from Shizuoka Prefecture on the previous day, but I didn't feel any fatigue. That would be the true value of the car.
　　Now, I have to come back home today, but I wanted to see my almost 100-years-old aunt in Kyoto, who was infirm with old age and in bed. This time would be the last time to see her. Though she was not able to recognize me, I was happy to see her. In my childhood she took huge care of me and my brothers. I said, "Appreciate you" in my mind.
　　I took a picture of my car's instrument panel to record the distance of this trip. It shows 2912.5km. The trip was really fun and I'm thinking now about next summer's plan. How about making the circuit of Hokkaido?

(Vocabulary)
infirm 虚弱な, 老衰した
instrument 計器
the ship's instruments 航海計器

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月３日）

　昨夜は琵琶湖湖畔に宿を取った。どこにも寄らず、伊豆から琵琶湖まで走ってきたが、疲れは感じていない。これが車の価値なのだろう。さて、今日は、一気に家まで戻らねばならない。京都に住む100歳近い叔母を見舞い、ひたすら松山を目指した。写真は朝、ホテルから見た琵琶湖。そして帰着時のインパネ。松山を出発してから２９１２．５ｋｍの旅だった。

Izu Peninsula and Shin-Tomei Expressway

　　At five o'clock, bright and early, I woke up and immediately I made a beeline to the hot spring to refresh myself who had a little hangover. I thought carefully in the spa about the sightseeing spots in the Izu Peninsula and decided that I'd have to visit the same auberge, and start sightseeing the penisula. After bathing, I took a walk around the auberge, which, I found, stood in a really ideal comfortable area in the peninsula.
　　Today's plan was to drive to Biwako Lake in a breath on the Shin-Tomei Expressway, which was newly built as the bypass of Japan's oldest and busiest Tomei Expressway. That expressway was totally comfortable to drive my car. The rest area was also modernized and handy for tourists.
　　My car has the function of automatically keeping in lanes with a certain distance from the preceding car, which made it easier and safer to drive the car for long hours. I found that if I had three days' off, I could be sightseeing in the Izu Peninsula.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月２日）

　５時に目が覚めた。そしてすぐに温泉。朝風呂に入りながら考えた。また伊豆半島の観光に来なければいけないなと。そしてそのときはまたこの宿を起点にしようと、、、。食事までの時間、付近を散歩した。この宿はまことに気持ちの良い場所に建っている。
　今日の予定は琵琶湖まで一気に走る。新東名高速道路を走るのは初めてだがナビに任せてのんびりと行こうと思う。そして途中のサービスエリアの充実ぶりにおどろいた。
　車間を保って走る機能が付いており実に安全に、楽に長距離を走ることが出来る。３日連続休暇があれば、伊豆半島の観光が可能だ。

Petit Resort Hotel Alcyon

　　We left Mt. Fuji fed up with Chinese tourists. I got irritated, but calmed myself down by thinking of the dinner and the hot spring which tonight's hotel would offer.
　　When I planned this trip, I had lots of options about the route from Tokyo to my hometown. The first plan that came up was the route around the Izu Peninsula, because Hakone is easily accessible from Tokyo by trains and I can visit whenever I want. Hakone is located on the way between Tokyo and Osaka. However, the Izu Peninsula is far from the principal routes connecting Tokyo and Osaka. I thought that I should give priority to the Izu route.
　　Now, an auberge had been sticking in my mind since long ago, whose name is "Petit Resort Hotel Alcyon". The owner is a junior of my high school. He replotted his future course after college. It would have taken a lot of guts to go forward into new and uncharted territory. While talking over such good old stories, my wife and I enjoyed his dishes. They might be the best dinner that we had ever tasted. The bed of that day was upstairs, so I had only to keep the strength to climb upstairs. I polished off two bottles of red wine avoiding my wife's accusing look.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月１日）

　富士山から下りて次の楽しみは今宵の温泉とディナーだ。
　東京から松山までのルートを考えたとき、真っ先に浮かんだのは箱根観光ではなく東京から伊豆半島を一周して静岡辺りで一泊するコースだった。今回観光した箱根は東京から近くていつでも立ち寄れるが伊豆半島はそうはいかない。ましてや車で来ているのだ。伊豆半島を優先すべきだろうが、あるオーベルジュへ宿泊したくて伊豆半島の観光はやめた。箱根を観光して伊豆半島の付け根にあるこの宿に泊まることにした。
　ここは高校の後輩がやっている。彼は大学を卒業してから将来像を描き直し、この道を選んだ。未知の領域に入っていくのはさぞかし勇気が要ったろう。そんな話、中学高校時代の話をしながらディナーをいただいた。
　今宵のベッドは２階にある。歩いて２階に上がるだけの体力を残していればいいからワインが進む！生涯で一番美味しいフランス料理をいただいた気がした。カミさんの鋭い視線をかわしながら赤ワインを２本空けて熟睡。

Mt. Fuji

　　Reaching Hakone with my sports car and viewing Mt. Fuji, I wasn't able to resist the temptation to drive my car up to Mt. Fuji. You can climb up to the altitude of 2305 meters of Mt. Fuji by car, where a vast parking area is provided.
　　The road to the 2305 meters' altitude is called "Fuji Subaruline", the entrance of which is shown in the following picture. You can see a part of Mt. Fuji over its toll gate. I used a public toilet there, because I didn't want to use toilets up the mountain, when a sightseeing bus passed by me. An attendant spat out, "Almost all the passengers of buses are Chinese." I discovered his intense aversion. He told me additionally that the weather was not so good, and  visitors weren't allowed to climb up above the altitude of 2020 meters. However, I went up to the 2020 meters' Osawa Parking and Viewing Point.
　　The temperature was 7.5 degrees centigrade at the parking of the altitude of 2020 meters. I forgot to write about the attitude of Chinese tourists in the grounds of Hakone Shrine in the last entry, though. I was really angry at their arrogance toward the Japanese cultural assets. They were alike at Mt. Fuji. I just wanted them not to throw trash away around there. Seeing them, I engraved an old proverb in my mind - When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I'm planning to visit the Islamic country of Malaysia at the end of August and I've never been to a Muslim Nation. I'm going to learn how to respect to Malaysian culture.
　　Some Chinese took their own snapshots with one hand resting on my car's fender. If they shot themselves with my car a little apart, I wouldn't mind that, but I asked them not to touch my car. However, I got uneasy then, thinking that they might do something bad to my car after I left my car, and I stayed around my car and didn't stand on the observatory terrace. A dense fog obstructed the view then and it was a consolation. If the weather had been clear and I wasn't able to see the scenery, I would bear a severe grudge against them.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月１日）

　箱根まで来て、富士山を眺めて、乗ってきているのがこの車なら富士山へ登らずにおれようか。ということで、昴ライン入り口までやって来た。
　スバルライン入り口横で公衆トイレを使った。山の上でトイレを使わなくて済むように。そのとき、目の前を一台のバスが通り過ぎた。料金所のスタッフによるとバスで来る人はみな中国人だという。今日は天候が悪く５合目ではなく途中の大沢駐車場までしか行けない。今日は景色は見えないだろうということだったがここまで来たので登ってみた。
　大沢駐車場。気温は７．５℃。先の記事で書き忘れたのだが、神聖な箱根神社での支那人達の傍若無人な態度に酷く腹がたった。富士山でも同様で、日本にお金を落とすとは言うものの、支那人達に日本に来てもらいたくない。心底そう思った。この夏にマレーシア旅行を計画している。多民族国家、イスラム教の国。礼を失しないよう十分に心を配って観光しなければと肝に銘じた。
　この駐車場でも僕の車のフェンダーに手を突いて記念写真を撮る支那人がいた。少し離れて撮るならまあいいかとも思うが、一言注意させてもらった。しかし、その後、車に何かされるかもと心配になり、車から離れられないはめに、、、(^_^;)　まあ、景色は写真の通りで何も見えないから実害は無かったのだが、、。

Hakone

　　The hotel of this day was located at the base of the Izu Peninsula and the moving distance was only 150km. That meant that we were able to drop in at where we liked on the way. We had several options and I picked Hakone, Ashinoko Lake, and Mt. Fuji, over a red wine on the previous night.
　　I knew that it was prohibited now to access a part of Hakone, Owakudani, due to the volcanic activities which had started a few years ago and are still giving off poisonous gas. Curiosity, however, got the better of me and I headed for Owakudani, despite my wife's advice. As I expected, the road to Owakudani was closed, which is shown in the picture. For international subscribers, it's the link to Owakudani.
　　Visiting Hakone Shrine and walking along the lakeside of Ashinoko Lake and around the renovated Hakone Barrier, we spent a very relaxing morning. Hakone is one of the famous tourist spots and is also known as the finishing and starting point of Hakone Ekiden on the one hand, but it used to be a strategically important location between Edo, which we call Tokyo now, and western Japan on the other hand. We viewed and enjoyed the scenic Mt. Fuji and Ashinoko Lake, which hadn't changed since long ago. Then, we left for the next destination.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月１日）

　今日の宿は伊豆半島の付け根に予定している。そこまでは比較的近いので途中寄り道が出来る。選択種は数多くあったが、昨夜ワインを飲みながら地図を眺めて決めたのが、箱根、芦ノ湖、富士山である。

　今、箱根は火山活動が活発化して一部立ち入りを制限されている。怖い物見たさで近くまで行ってみたが、箱根の中心地とも呼べる大涌谷への道は閉鎖されていた。外国からアクセスしていただいている読者の皆さんのためにどのような場所なのか見てもらうためリンクを張っておく。

　そして、箱根神社参拝、芦ノ湖湖畔、箱根関所跡を散策。箱根は今は箱根駅伝で有名だが、ここには箱根関所があった。箱根はかつて西から当時江戸と呼ばれた今の東京へ入るときの軍事上の要衝で、江戸を守るための関所が置かれていたのである。当時から変わらぬ芦ノ湖や富士山の雄大な眺めを堪能して次の目的地へ向かった。