Written in English for the purpose of brushing up my English skills. I'd like to make friends with someone who lives in Estonskaya, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Frivolous comments aren't welcome on this blog.
Hagi City is listed on the World Heritage Sites. It has several historic assets and one of them is the old streets in the Samurai era. The streets are well preserved and one of the tourist spots in the city. Our hotel was located in the midst of those streets. There are so many Ryokans, the traditional style of Japanese hotel, across Japan, but it's rare in the midst of a World Heritage Site. After check-in, we went out for a walk around the Ryokan. The first picture shows the main gate of the Ryokan, and I came across the sightseeing boat's boarding site. I decided to get on it the next day.
Hagi City is located on the Sea of Japan coast in Yamaguchi Prefecture. There has been a narrow and winding path from the side of the Seto Inland Sea to Hagi City across the mountainous area since long ago. The current road is built roughly along that old path. We dropped in at a rest area called "Hagioukan". Several heros of the Meiji Restoration welcomed us as you see in the following pictures. An exhibition was showing that many young promising samurais were studying and discussing about Japan's future. Then we had lunch, "Kawara-soba", which was a regional specialty. Soba noodles were stir-fried on a roof tile called "Kawara". People apparently used Kawara as a frying pan in the times that frying pans weren't widespread. It's definitely a token showing how poor lives people spent, but this simple stir-fried Soba has become a famous specialty now.
I utilized UberEats for the first time. It was really handy and it serves as an aid for students in need due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's no custom of tipping in Japan, but the UberEats application has the function of receiving tips. I tipped 10% of dishes to the delivery boy. The UberEats delivery boys get a message from UberEats whenever they do their businesses. If they can have time for delivery at that time, they take on the task and they can change their free time into real money. Dish delivery service is valuable also in terms of the protection from infection. People can avoid the crowd in restaurants and save their time for movement to the restaurant and waiting for dishes. I would utilize the UberEats often from now on. I admire the person who designed such a wonderful system.
The population of my prefecture is 1.3 million and the number of infected people topped 5000 the other day. The number was under 3000 until the 4th wave, so 2000 people got newly infected during the 5th wave of the pandemic. How long will this condition last? I wonder if the 6th wave will come up next winter or not. The restaurants and bars in downtown have to stop serving alcoholic drinks by 20:00 hours. Many municipal facilities are closed and to my perplexity, the nearest branch of the public library is also closed. I keep two books from the library and they are already overdue, but I'm not urged to return them. It's ok, but I can't borrow books newly. It's getting cooler day by day and various events are on schedule in autumn. I've enjoyed some of them every year, but all of them would be suspended or cancelled. I would just have to wait for the end of the pandemic.
My son in law sent me a nice sake. He seems to have a somewhat special route to the manufacturers and often gets me nice difficult to obtain sake. I've enjoyed many kinds of excellent alcohol drinks from the world and sake is equal to them. This sake is preserved a degree below zero for five years waiting for the sake to get mellow. This sake seems to have been produced by the frantic efforts of manufacturers. I'll drink it with respect to the manufacturers.
(Vocabulary) be equal to sth 1 ＜…＞に対応できる [同意] be up to sth I'm sure he's equal to the task. 彼はその仕事に対応できると確信している． 2 ＜…＞に比肩する The museum's collection is equal to any in Europe. その美術館の収蔵品はヨーロッパのどの美術館にもひけを取らない．
September 1st is the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake which occurred on Sept. 1st in 1923. Tokyo was devastated by the quake at that time, and the day of Sept. 1st was designated as the disaster drill day in the wake of the quake. Japan has been hit by many kinds of disasters so far and it recovered each time. Japan is on the volcanic belt and also on the usual route of typhoons. Japanese people are fated to make efforts to build a disaster-resistant land. I reckon with those disasters and the necessities of life for the period of three days are stored in my house. Even if the lifeline was destroyed, relief supplies would be delivered within two days anywhere in present Japan. Drinking water can be preserved for 10 years at room temperature. Several kinds of canned food, rice and a gas cartridge stove are also stored. Two flushing toilets in my house would be unusable, but I can dig a hole in my garden. Anyway, September in Japan will see some typhoons. I hope that Japan doesn't meet strong ones.
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
Matsuyama Century Lions Club, which I belong to, marked its 5th anniversary today, and its members, including me, got together and enjoyed dinner in a famous Chinese restaurant. Under the present situation of the pandemic, we didn't invite any guests but we spent a happy time, feeling that something is missing on the other hand. The restaurant was careful to strictly observe all the rules against the pandemic, and we had to put an end to the party in 2 hours. However, the Tokyo Olympics is just around the corner, and I feel that something good is coming up.
My wife flew into Tokyo this morning leaving me at home. If I can, I'd like to follow her, but I wasn't able to make my work schedule adjustments. Our first granddaughter was born in March, and she turned 100 days. There's a tradition to hold a weaning ceremony called "Okuizome" in Japanese at about 100 days after her birth. It celebrates the end of feeding milk and the start of eating the same food as adults, though actually milk feeding continues along with mushy pulpy food. Sea bream, prawns, rice boiled with red beans, ,,,those are foods which are believed to be auspicious. They are laid out just before the baby, and each of them are touched to her lips. It's just a ritual, but our granddaughter is stepping one after another on the way of growth. This is our sheer joy.
(Vocabulary) wean〈赤ん坊・動物の子〉 を離乳させる wean sb off/from sth ＜人＞に＜…＞を徐々にやめさせる She wanted to wean him off junk food. 彼女は彼がジャンクフードを食べるのを徐々にやめさせたかった． be weaned on sth 幼いころから＜…＞に慣れ親しむ the generation that was weaned on TV 幼いころからテレビに慣れ親しんだ世代 mushy どろどろした, (粥(かゆ)のように) 柔らかい pulpy 〈食べ物などが〉 軟らかな, どろどろの
My wife is out now attending the weaning ceremony of our first grandchild. It's the chance I was waiting for. For what? It's spicy Indian Curry day! I decided to have dinner in a nearby Indian restaurant. My wife doesn't like spicy foods, but I love those. We can't go along with this point, so today is my day.
The sales in the kitchen car is getting popular in Japan. Under the pandemic of coronavirus, getting together in the bad-ventilated space became strictly restricted. Consequently, taking food out became preferable. The following pictures show a kitchen car and a flame in it. It is of a famous grilled chicken chain. I'll take their food for today's lunch.
I've sometimes written about a wine importer based in Osaka. A sales person of the company, whose main purpose is to find a new market in my hometown, drops in at my house about twice a year while he is in my hometown to sell wines to me. I'm a good customer for him over recent years. However, he wasn't able to come to my house this spring due to the restriction from the pandemic. Consequently, my wine stock ran out. As you may agree with me, you can't know the taste of wines by its labels or prices. That's why I make it a rule to get wines from him after tasting. There's no other way and I got some bottles of wine at a nearby department store. The following picture shows one of them, which is produced in Kofu in Japan. It was not bad, but not the best for me. Finally I ordered the same wines online as I bought last time from my salesman.
Today was a day-off and I went out for a drive to a restaurant located in the mountainous area. It was about an hour drive from my house. My car has no engines and is driven by electricity, which means the inside is very quiet. You can even hear the birds' sound during driving. Additionally, the car-driving assisted by its autopilot function was unspeakably comfortable.
Just after my bath, I found a popular TV program on air. You are sure to wonder if the program is a fun one, but actually this program is popular in Japan. In the program, a poet just drinks and eats in small, friendly and neighborhood-based Japanese-style bars, chatting with other customers and employees. To tell the truth, my wife and I have come across him during a trip and I feel familiar with him since then. I came to want to drink with him and took out a Japanese sake bottle which was presented from my son-in-law.
One day in the golden week - Japan's consecutive holidays - while waiting for the prep of a bath, I took out a brandy from the rack. This brandy is a souvenir from Armenia. This country is not familiar to ordinary Japanese, but I'm interested in its history. When I was a high school student, I knew about Noah's ark. My high school was established by a Christian body. The place which the ark drifted to was said to be the hillside of Mt. Ararat. No matter if it's a fact or not, the Old Testament tells so, anyway. Mt. Ararat originally seems to have belonged to Armenia, but currently it's located in Turkish territory. I learned about the history associated with Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Let us assume that Mt. Fuji is occupied by some other country, and you'll realize the agony of Armenians. I wonder when the unrest of the Caucasian region will come to an end. I hope the area may become peaceful. Now, the bath got filled with hot water. Shall I get in?
I was asked to cover the Okayama Branch from my company since April and I worked in the Okayama Branch today. I visited there by car last time, but I used a JR train this time. The reason why I chose the train is just for relaxation. It takes more than two hours from Okayama to my home by train. What did I do in the train? On the return ride, I enjoyed a movie on Netflix with my small PC as you can see in the following pictures below. Time flied while I was in the movie world and the train arrived in Matsuyama City in a moment.
My parents are now in two nursery facilities respectively. Their return to their house is thought to be already hopeless. My wife, my daughter, her husband and I went to my parents' house for its cleaning. Opening the door, the air was damp and heavy, so first off, we opened all the windows and aired the house out. After a while working, we ordered pizzas from a nearby shop. We used my mother's favorite plates, which reminded me of my mother's healthy days. My mother turns 90 this year. I know no one can avoid aging, but I became a little sad.
I'm writing about a long-lasting tradition of Japan, "First Visit To a Shrine". "Newborn Baby's First Visit To a Shrine" is celebrated by his/her parents and grandparents on about the 30th day after birth. As you may know, sunlight is harmful for newborn babies, so about 30 days after their birth, babies can go out for the first time while avoiding the direct sunlight. The parents of the newborn baby take their baby to the shrine to wish his/her happiness on this day. My wife and I accompanied the visit. The baby's paternal grandparents were already in heaven, and five of us including the baby sat down on the tatami mat in front of the Shinto priests to receive purification from them. After the memorable visit, we got seated to a special dinner. We flew to Tokyo, where my daughter's family live, with intensive care against the coronavirus pandemic. Our granddaughter can't do anything now, but I'd like to keep an eye on her growth.
I heard about the recent trouble in Taiwan's agricultural industry. The destination of export of Taiwan's pineapples had been mainly China for a long time, but the Chinese government began to harass Taiwan. This news spread across Japan immediately. Taiwan reached their big helping hand to Japan 10 years ago when the enormous earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. Japanese people never forget a favor offered by others. Ordinary people in Japan moved to express their gratitude and started to buy pineapples produced in Taiwan. Some importers responded in concert with this movement and the amount of import of pineapples from Taiwan increased to 2.3 times compared with last year. Moreover it seems to expand. I looked for them at a few supermarkets near my neighborhood, but I didn't find any, so I bought the processed pineapples of pineapple cakes, which is shown below, via Amazon. I like this cake originally and bought several packages. I brought some of them to my office and my daughter. Hang in there, Taiwan!
(Vocabulary) spite [U] 悪意, 恨み= harassment 嫌がらせ out of spite (for spite とも) 悪意［恨み］から, 腹いせに
I arrived at a Japan-style inn. Judging from its location, obsolescence, and structure, the inn would be fairly old, but its location was great. Some inns around my inn were closed. It might be due to the suppression of tourism by the outbreak of the Wuhan virus. There was the bay of Yobuko just in front of the inn and I saw lots of squid-fishing boats. A decent ship in the picture was a packet boat connecting small islands off the coast of Yobuko. Looking at the map, there were lots of tiny islands near Yobuko and I didn't know anything about those islands at that time, but I knew a great real history on those islands on the next day. I'll write about it later. By the way, I have to write about the great dinner. Before that, I felt that the inn served a minimum of what they should offer in normal conditions with a minimum number of workers. The Wuhan virus also hit this inn and they seemed to manage to overcome this harsh reality. Additional orders were not accepted. They would buy in just necessary and sufficient food. Our room was tidy but simple. The time schedule of bathing was a little restricted. HOWEVER, the raw squid was really delicious. I've never seen a translucent squid. How fresh! That's all about why we were in Yobuko. Some squid were moving though their body was cut into small pieces. Those tastes made me feel like visiting Yobuko again.
(Vocabulary) buy in 買い付ける、仕入れる simple 〈デザイン・装飾などが〉 シンプルな, 簡素な
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