Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Tomonoura, An Historic District

　　Japan seems to have been held as an industrialized country, and this speculation isn't wrong, but what do you make of the following pictures? These pictures were shot in a small fishery port, which is 2 hours' drive away from my house. This district is rich in historical heritage. The arrangement is like a few hundred years ago, and lots of houses can't be accessed by car.
　　This district, which is located in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea, was a shelter port for lots of trading ships in the pre-modern era which didn't have engines and relied on winds for their moving power. When the wind wasn't ideal, those ships stayed in this district until a favorable change of the wind.

Due to its local property, visits of several celebrities including people from other countries are documented. I roved around the area with my electricity-assisted bicycle, viewing the same scene which our predecessors must have seen.

(Vocabulary)
heritage Uncountable

Renovation Under Way

　　At first, take a look at the following pictures. I wondered how to describe this condition. What happened was, renovation workers covered a part of the exterior to avoid damage from their painting work. I looked up in the Japanese-English dictionary a suitable word to depict this covering work, and found "cure". As a model sentence, "cure concrete" was raised, but I doubted that "cure" didn't match in my case.
　　A Japanese word of "youjou" has two meanings; preserving concrete until it gets enough rigidity and protecting the area around the working space from damage. How about in English? Does "cure" have both meanings?
　　Anyway, my house seems to be choked. The circulation of air was stopped and my wife complained that her cooking was limited not to discharge smoke.

(Vocabulary)
discharge [他] 〈気体・液体など〉 を排出する, 放出する
discharge sth into/in sth ＜…＞を＜…＞に排出する
Raw sewage was discharged into the ocean. 下水は未処理のまま，海に放出されていた．

Kan-onji City

　　I made a business trip to Kan-onji City. The city's appeal points are Kan-onji Temple, which gave its name to the city, and the historic sand sculpture whose motif is a coin used 400 years ago. Kan-onji Temple is listed as one of the temples of the "Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage" and has a long history. The sand sculpture has been restored every year since its birth to now. It is said to have been made in 1633 as a token of gratitude to the lord of the district from commoners.
　　I roamed around the city with my electricity-assisted bicycle without any positive purpose and I was able to visit wherever I wanted. I woke up to the fact that I stood in front of a monument for the departed devoted to Japan through the past wars. I paid a short silence for them. The present peaceful Japan stands on their shoulders, of which I am strongly convinced. I hope from the bottom of my heart that all the wars on the globe will disappear.

FYI:
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/09/ishite-ji-temple.html

Germany Day

　　Uchiko Town and Rothenburg in Germany have struck a sister city treaty for about 10 years. A variety of events concerning Germany take place in this town every year, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic has prevented them from planning those events for three years. After the pandemic, a German Fiesta took place today and I joined the event.
　　People from abroad centering on the German got joined and showed their traditional things to the public. The musical band performed several music of Germany and the EU, and I spent a very relaxing holiday. The kinds of German dishes and beers were the only downside of the event.
　　In my home town of Matsuyama City, the October Fest has taken place every year in recent years. I wonder if it would be held this autumn. I wish that society would return to its original situation as quickly as possible.

Short Drive

　　I'm purchasing camping gear bit by bit nowadays and I dropped in at a camping site to see how it was. The site was equipped with a communal outdoor kitchen and lavatory, but the scenery was terrible. The camping ground was surrounded by low bushes. I didn't like it. I continue to look for my best place to camp from now on.
　　On the way back, I came across a considerably old sake brewery which was full of atmosphere. I chatted with the owner for a short time. The sake brewing seemed to have been suspended due to the pandemic. People were strictly regulated not to get together for parties or events. The sales of the products of the brewery declined, but he kept lots of stocks of old sake in its storehouse and showed them to me. One of them was sitting there for 39 years. Even the owner didn't know its taste. I bought it from curiosity. What taste does it have? What's the best occasion to taste it?

(Vocabulary)
sake brewery 造り酒屋

A Tree House

　　A strange construction, which comes into sight on the way of the house visit, has been on my mind for a long time. It is located at a place which is hard to approach by car and I went to see it by my bicycle. It was a tree house which was reinforced with steel and looked nice. Anyone might be able to get in, but I didn't get permission and I observed it from outside. I wondered who built it and what vistas would be seen through the trees. I'd like to identify the owner and visit the house.

(Vocabulary)
reinforce 〈建造物・衣類など〉を補強する