Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

At A Parking Lot

　　When I parked my car at a parking lot along the highway and dropped in at the toilet, a strident song of birds surprised me. The song was of three birds in their nest which is set inside the men's toilet. They seemed immature and looked unable to fly. Their parents were absent. They might be hunting for their children's food. It might be from the security issue that the nest was built in the toilet, not outside.
　　I noticed that a guard against a fall was set under the nest. It is considered to be auspicious in Japan that birds build their nest at the house, so the highway company might have set it. Or, just for the protection from droppings? Anyway, it seemed that I had to put up with the boisterous songs until they leave the nest.

(Vocabulary)
strident〈音・声が〉耳障りな, やかましい
a strident voice/tone 耳障りな声［音］
droppings (鳥獣の) 糞(ふん)

Mass Vaccination

　　The mass vaccination had already started in Japan. The health care workers, including me, were given a shot on a priority basis. Next, the elderly who wanted to get vaccinated and people with chronic diseases have been given the shot. Then ordinary people began to receive the vaccination.
　　However, there's a shortage of doctors, who perform the preliminary examination of applicants. I was asked to attend the vaccination meeting planned by the nearby municipality. Arriving at the designated place, there were about 10 doctors and 30 to 40 paramedical staff members along with clerical staff.
　　In addition, there must have been some more staff behind the scene who prepare the vaccines, which was frozen. The vaccine was from Pfizer and it was preserved frozen. It should be thawed before use and should be set in syringes. Paramedical staff members would be ready behind the partition wall. I'd like to join the vaccination projects when I have time.

(Vocabulary)
on a priority basis　優先的に
thaw [他] (thaw something ↔ out とも) 〈冷凍食品〉 を解凍する

Tokyo Olympics

　　The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has just started though it's in 2021. There were various controversies over the holding of the Games, but the Government decided to hold it overcoming huge difficulties. To tell the truth, I'm not so much interested in the Olympics, but there would be no country other than Japan that would be able to hold such a big international event at present. People who are involved in the Olympics still have a lot on the plate, but I hope that it ends in success.

 

Car Dealer Tour

　　My daughter's couple who got married last February are going to buy a brand new car. It's the first time for them to buy one and they asked me to accompany them to the dealers. They've already narrowed down the option to two cars, but they are wondering which of them to buy. They are thinking of an SUV whose price varies from $30000 to $40000. I know the cars manufactured by the Japanese companies are generally wonderful. Additionally, I admired the progress of the driving assistance system of each company.
　　The systems of both cars were superior to the Mercedes SLK200's, which I bought 5 years ago. The system was installed only in expensive cars those days, but the system is now provided to ordinary popular cars. Amazing! For instance, when another car approached my car from diagonally behind, my SLK200 alarmed me by the blinking of the light imbedded in the door mirror of the car-coming side. If I didn't notice the alarm and tried to change lanes toward its side, the car set off the alarming sound and added the resistance to the steering wheel to hinder my operation. When I knew these functions, I was astonished by its progressiveness. Naturally, those functions were expensive five years ago, but now such functions have become essential to most cars.

(July 22nd)

Plague 2020

　　I read a nonfiction book about the pandemic of the Wuhan virus which had been published just a year ago. I've read five or six nonfiction books by the same journalist before and I believe in his ability of collecting accurate information. The process from the sparse appearance of the virus in Wuhan to June in 2020 was documented precisely and I learned much from the book.
　　Turning back all the history from the bird's view, I noticed several points which I didn't understand in real time. When Wuhan was locked out, the Japanese Government didn't mind the issue. The prevalence of the virus was underestimated in Japan. What who said then is documented in the book. I learned that the Japanese health and labor ministry was unable to control the risk.

(Vocabulary)
sparse まばらな, 少ない, 〈髪が〉 薄い
precisely 正確に, ちょうど

Bed, Toilet, Comparison

　　Three weeks have passed since I began using my bed. I should have used it much earlier. My bed made by Nihon Bed is very comfortable and contributes to my health.
　　Japan's bedding is not bad, but the western bed is much better especially for older people. Comparing both, the bed will be declared the winner. By the way, how about toilets?
　　When I saw the western style toilet for the first time more than 50 years ago at my uncle's house, I was surprised at its curious shape, but now I prefer the western one. I can't detect any merit for the Japanese style toilet now. The western style can be the winner in terms of the toilet.
　　However, once the Japanese accepted the western style toilet, its progress has been remarkable. When you open the door of the compartment, the toilet senses your presence and opens its cover for you. After the business, it cleans around the anus and dries up. Any bad smell is automatically eliminated from the compartment. You might say that I'm lying, but it's true. If you come to Japan, I advise you to use the toilet just after arriving at the airport, I assure you that you'll be astonished by its function.

(Vocabulary)
be declared the winner 軍配が上がる

YouTube

　　I often watch YouTube recently. It's very handy to watch it even in my car. People of ability or of information sources post various motion pictures on the net. In terms of the location of the responsibility, these videos are more reliable than the information from the mainstream media.
　　It's also fun to watch videos about ordinary peoples' private lives or daily occurrences. One of my favorites is

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_e5CE026DKpkXEeXvo3cQ 

　　A middle aged person who operates a tanker in a Missouri-based transport company posts videos regularly. I wanted to live in the U.S. in my younger days, so his way of life is very attractive for me.

 

Huge Landslide in Atami

　　This year's rainy season is lasting longer than in usual years in Japan. My hometown has few natural disasters in its nature of the locality, but some areas in Japan get flooded almost yearly. Atami City near Tokyo got huge landslides the other day and several dozen people were killed or are still missing. Atami City is one of the famous tourist spots in Japan. People in the city have already got damages from the pandemic and furthermore they got this disaster.
　　There is a massive solar power plant near the trigger point of the landslides. People started to say the plant had something to do with the landslides. The solar panels are from China and would be produced by the slave labor of the Uighur. The governor of the prefecture to which Atami City belongs has long been questioned if he receives something from China. He approved the construction plan of the solar power plant and the landslides started from the side of the plant.
　　The landslides are said to be a "man-made" accident now. The mainstream media don't report the issue, but the examination into the cause of the landslides has just started. The mainstream media keeps quiet about this issue. They seem to have lost their values.

(Vocabulary)
nature of the locality 　土地柄

 

The Asahi Shimbun Company

　　The Asahi Shimbun Company is the most known newspaper company in Japan. The content of the paper used to be believed reliable, but its reputation is rapidly going down and the circulation is plunging. It's due to its long-lasting mendacious reports and their malicious activities were exposed to the public one after another on the internet. In general, paper-based information is slower than the online news. Every newspaper company is suffering from the decrease of its circulation, but Asahi's agony is far beyond other companies'. I'm expecting Asahi's bankruptcy.

(Vocabulary)
circulation 《[C]通例単数形で》 (新聞・雑誌・本の) 販売［発行］部数
The newspaper has a daily circulation of 55,000. その新聞は1日に5万5,000部を発行する．
a mass circulation newspaper/magazine 大量発行の新聞［雑誌］
mendacious [形](フォーマル) 虚偽の, 偽りの

 

A Week To Go

　　The start of the Tokyo Olympics is coming in less than a week. Lots of players and associated people are arriving in Tokyo. To confine the pandemic, the Japanese Government decided to hold the Olympic Games without spectators, which causes various controversies everywhere. I don't know if the decision is reasonable or not, but I hope that the Tokyo Olympics will become the starting point of the restoration from the pandemic.

 

My First Granddaughter

　　My eldest daughter gave birth to a baby girl in March and the baby turned 4 months in July. She will be 5 months old soon. My daughter sends me and my wife the images and motion pictures of the baby almost every day. Her face varies day by day and I feel happy to view her faces. If the pandemic hadn't happened, I would visit Tokyo frequently to see my granddaughter.
　　I sent a 5-month birthday present to my granddaughter the other day. What do you think I sent? My present was "Weaning Food" for 5 and over month babies.

https://youtu.be/oGxtvsGqOYo

 

Depression

　　It might be due to the confinement that I feel depressed these days. I stopped all the exercise including jogging and muscular workout last December when I suffered an inguinal hernia. After the surgery in March, I finally feel better and I think I can do exercises from now, but it's sad that I can't visit various unfamiliar places.
　　My daughter who is a postgraduate of Oxford University is now working as a resident in a hospital in Hokkaido, taking lectures through the remote system from Oxford. When the university decided to utilize the internet technology to avoid the negative effect of the pandemic last year, she came back to Japan to avoid rapid expansion of the infection and to make money for her study. She is an ordinary student in the U.K., but a physician in Japan.
　　She will stay in the U.K. for at least two years from October again. As she might not have time to come back home, my wife and I planned to visit her in Hokkaido in August. To my surprise, however, the flight which we had booked was cancelled due to few passengers. Originally, in this season of the year, lots of people make trips, and travel-related industries should be on season in August. We were able to get alternative transportation, but I felt compassion for ANA, All Nippon Airways.
　　Anyway, my daughter had already lived two years in Oxford, and I don't worry about her life in Oxford, but what will become of the pandemic in the U.K. I've no other way but to send her off with a smile.

(Vocabulary)
compassion 哀れみ, 思いやり, 同情

Netflix

　　I'm under contract with Netflix and I admire it. When I have time, I can enjoy movies anytime and anywhere. The newly produced ones aren't on the list, but it's a question of time when those films are put on the list. I'm planning a camping trip using my car. See this link:

https://electrek.co/2018/07/31/tesla-party-camper-mode/

　　My car generates no poisonous gas and no noisy sound in operation, so it can function as an air-conditioner, the movie theater and electricity supply in an isolated site. I can't wait for camping with my granddaughter, who is only 4 months old now, though.

 

No Spectators in the Olympics, Disappointed

　　The last Tokyo Olympic Games were held when I was only 6 years old. I don't remember much about the Games, but I can clearly recall two scenes, a man lighting the Olympic flame platform and a running black man from Ethiopia with bare feet. I didn't know where Ethiopia was. Even through the TV, it was the first time to see a black man. As I was in a small village, I'd never seen a single person from overseas, let alone a black man.
　　A half century has passed since then. The Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo again. I can't wait, but no spectators seem to be allowed in the stadium. It's so sad, but I'll watch them on TV.

 

Bridge Closed

　　The Japanese Government asks doctors to cooperate to accelerate the public vaccination as a national policy against the pandemic. The government wants to give it to as many people as possible before the Tokyo Olympics. The local medical association sounded my opinion the other day and I decided to join the vaccination meeting in Fukuyama city.
　　Fukuyama city is located at the opposite side of my hometown across the Seto Inland Sea. A scenic route called Shimanami Kaido connects both cities. Try to google "Shimanami Kaido", you can see beautiful pictures. Read the following paragraphs please, looking at the map to understand the rough picture.
　　I started out at 6:30a.m. When I reached Ikuchijima island, I knew that Innoshima Ohashi Bridge, which connects between Innoshima and Mukaishima islands, was closed due to torrential rain which hampered the sight. I was forced to get off the highway on the first interchange on Innoshima island. If only I could get to the next island of Mukaishima island, I was able to use a ferry boat to Onomichi City on Honshu. While I was waiting for the rain to become weak, another bridge, Ikuchijima Ohashi Bridge was also closed. It meant I was confined to Innoshima island. I'd already given up arriving at the designated site on time, but I became unable to come back home.
　　I heard about a tiny ferry boat for locals in the return direction, and headed for it. The boat was continuously working and I was safely able to come back home. The pictures were shot from the ferry boat. I took on a responsibility for joining the meeting next Thursday. I want to fulfill my task next time.

Wandering in My Memory

　　My wife and I took a drive to Misaki, which is located at the westernmost part of Shikoku. I spent 2 years there during my childhood. A regular liner connects this town and Saganoseki, which is the easternmost town of Kyushu. In other words, the liner operates between the shortest distance between Shikoku and Kyushu. I've often dropped in at this town on the way to Kyushu, but I've never got into the town itself. I just stayed at the pier for 20 minutes or so waiting for the ferry.
　　I sneaked into my beloved home today. Old narrow alleys and ruined houses whose active image I remembered evoked nostalgia. I came across the kindergarten which my youngest brother went to. I used to pick him up there. The kindergarten also had become one of the ruins. Faces of old friends came up to my mind. Faces which I remember were of 50 years ago. If I met them, I wouldn't recognize them. "How are they doing?" I uttered unconsciously.
　　We entered a famous restaurant, "Shirasu" Park. "Shirasu" is a kind of whitebait in English. I understood that the restaurant was usually so crowded, but today was a weekday and we were able to take seats outside. The "shirasu" bowl for my lunch was great.

(Vocabulary)
a regular liner 定期船
alley (alleyway とも) 路地, 裏通り