I came back to Waikiki by transferring to the fixed-route buses. I became used to the public bus service on Oahu island. I left my single lens reflex camera in my condominium and went out for a walk on the beach with my small digital camera. There were lots of tourists waiting for the start of the hula show around Waikiki beach. After seeing miserable pictures and records, those scenes touched the very core of my heart. I realized how wonderful peace was. I wondered if the distinctive terrain of Diamond Head was in the sight of the pilots and submariners who had attacked Pearl Harbor 77 years ago. The symbol of Waikiki was very beautiful, reflecting the evening sun.
The temperature went down to a comfortable level and I walked along Kalakaua Avenue, the main and most busy street in Waikiki. 50 or 60 people were waiting for their turn in line in front of a Udon noodle restaurant, which was a franchise of one of the most popular Udon noodle restaurants in Japan. A third of them seemed to be Japanese. I gave up eating American Udon noodle and dropped in at a restaurant street, called Yokocho, which means a group of small inexpensive shops in Japanese. A few artificial cherry trees were decorated there. It goes without saying that the cherry trees are one of the symbols of Japan. Would it be possible for 70 year-ago Japanese people to imagine such scenes that this island took on Japan's culture. I had a round trip of the island yesterday and received lectures from the taxi driver. Today I learned the history of the island from another aspect. Oahu island is a tiny and small island, but it has something profound.
路線バスを乗り継いでワイキキに戻り、一眼レフカメラをコンドミニアムに置き小さなデジカメだけをポケットに入れてビーチを散歩した。ビーチではもうすぐ始まるフラダンスショーを待つ人があふれていた。戦争の記録を見た後なのでこの幸せな風景が身にしみた。なんと有り難いことか。あのダイヤモンドヘッドを攻撃隊のパイロットたち、小型潜水艦で特攻攻撃をした潜水艦乗りたちも眺めただろうか。
ビーチを離れてカラカウア通りを歩いた。日本国内では名の知れたうどんのチェーン店である丸亀製麺には大勢の人が並んでいた。日本人は１／３くらいか。アメリカのうどんを諦めて横町と呼ばれる食堂街に入ったのだが、ここも大勢の人がいて諦めた。通りには日本を象徴する桜が置かれていた。この地がこれほど日本の色に染まるとは７７年前の日本人に想像できただろうか。昨日のオアフ島一周、タクシードライバーからのレクチャー、そして今日の真珠湾歴史地区の散策、、、小さな島なのに、奥が深い。
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