Ako City

　　I got two day-offs after a long interval and decided to visit a place which I had longed to visit since long ago. Before the visit, I dropped in at Ako City on the way. The name of this city reminds ordinary Japanese people of a historical incident, in which the lord of this region in the early 18th century was excused by his opponent, and his men retaliated by killing him two years later. It's a long story and has tugged at Japanese peoples' hearts. You'll easily get hold of the information on the net. There remains only the stone wall of the castle at present, but several things from those days talked much. Visitors to the city will be exposed to a different side of Japanese culture. I went to Ako Cape next, which I had often visited by my motorcycle in my student days. My lodging was two hours from Ako city. Anyway, several hotels were closed and the prosperity of the cape's tourism had disappeared, and I was really sorry to feel that a certain time had already passed.

(Vocabulary)
tug at sb's heart/heartstrings ＜人＞の心をとらえる, 心の琴線に触れる

赤穂城趾と赤穂御崎

久しぶりに丸２日の休みが取れた。前々から行ってみたかった飛行場跡を訪問することにした。今日はまずは赤穂市へ。日本人の多くが知っている有名な歴史的事件の舞台となった街。これを読む外国の方々も知っておくと良いかも知れない。この城の殿様が江戸に於いて処刑され、その原因となった人物に家来たちが数年掛けて復習するという物語だが、家来たちの行動は当時も今も日本人の心をわしづかみにする。詳しくは書ききれないので興味があれば調べてみてください。
そして夕刻、赤穂御崎にも寄ってみた。学生時代にここまでオートバイで来たことがあるが、その寂れように驚いた。