Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Keelung

　　I awoke past 6. It was raining heavily and very windy. The ship should pitch. Last night, I brought some nibbles back from the restaurant to my room and drank wine which I brought from Yokohama. That helped me sleeping on the raging ocean. By the way, what do we do in this heavy rain? The Diamond Princess offered us a variety of bus tours, but I wanted to freely walk around Keelung, so I had asked a travel agency to exclusively prepare a tour guide and a driver. We were able to choose places where we would visit and I had some places.
　　I viewed around from the top of the ship after breakfast. The port of Keelung is the nearest port to Japan and is now known for its second largest trade volume in Taiwan. This port has been developed under the reign of Japan and now its appearance must have changed from those days. However, its mountainous terrain would still retain the general atmosphere of the old days. I recalled zhèng chénggōng. He must have taken a view of these mountains in the 17th century and I imagined the scene of 17th in which Spanish sailors were the first Europeans to see this beautiful island. French soldiers would have seen them in 19th century when they waged war against the Qing Dynasty. Those images always get me turned on. On the opposite side of the pier, several military vessels were moored.

(Vocabulary)
zhèng chénggōng 鄭成功
the Qing Dynasty　清王朝

基隆港

６時過ぎに目が覚めた。ひどい雨だ。風も強そうだ。揺れるはずだ。昨夜はレストランからつまみを部屋へ持込み、横浜で買ったワインを飲んで寝た。お陰で揺れには悩まされずに済んだ。さて、この雨の中、どうする。自由に行動したかったので団体行動は止めて個人的にガイドと運転手を頼んでいる。どこへ行こうか、、、見たいところはいくつかあったのだが、この天気では難しい。

朝食後、デッキに上がって周囲の風景を眺めた。基隆港は日本に一番近い港であり、台湾第二の規模を誇っている。日本統治時代から開発されてきたために雰囲気は変わっているだろうが、１７世紀にやって来たスペイン人や鄭成功、１９世紀に戦争をふっかけたフランス軍もこの山並みを見たかと思うと感慨ひとしお。対岸には海軍の施設があった。

Return to the Diamond Princess

　　We dropped in at a restaurant at first in the ship, as we didn't eat enough in the daytime. The restaurant was open except for very early 3,4 hours. It was so helpful, though it might be harmful for people on a diet. Going out on the deck, the tender boats were collecting. To my surprise, another cruise ship, Superstar Aquarius, was coming in the port, which had been coming into Naha port last evening. Apparently, this ship cruised in the daytime and stopped at a port at night. What were the passengers doing on the ship. Other passengers around us were also wondering, but we didn't reach a conclusion. We met this cruise ship also at Keelung later.
　　Until dinner time, I joined an event imitating Japan's famous quiz show, "Quiz Time Shock", which places people in a kind of tension and asks simple and easy questions. At that time, I came across my old friend from my high school days. So surprised! We exchanged mutual room numbers and decided to have a tea time on the way back to Yokohama.
　　After dinner, the ship started to pitch! I went up to the highest deck to look around, I'm prone to motion sickness, though. The pool was closed and the water in it was raging. Watch the following motion pictures. As my room was on the fifth floor, the extent of pitching would be milder in my room and I went back immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvrJqIsh-Hw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk2djeVxs6A

(Vocabulary)
tension [U] 不安, 緊張
be prone to ～するたちである、～の傾向がある

船へ戻ってまずは腹ごしらえ、昼間に十分食べていないので。いつでも食べ放題の船のレストランは本当にありがたい。デッキへ出てみるとテンダーボートを回収中だった。そしてSuperstar Aquariusがやってきた。昨日、那覇港にやって来ていた船。昼間航走して、夕方に入港するようで、一体何をしているのだろう。他の乗客もいぶかっていたが、結論は出なかった。この船には翌日夕方、基隆でも再会した。

クイズタイムショックという日本の有名なクイズ番組がある。それを真似たイベントがあり、参加した。そしたらなんと、高校時代からの友人がいて、驚いた。向こうも同様ではあったがここで出会うとは、約１０年ぶりの再会だった。部屋番号を交換し、帰りの２日間の終日航海の日にお茶することにした。そしてこれもまた楽しい時間となった。

そして夕食後、船が外洋に出ると揺れ始めた。嫌な予感がしてきた。揺れには滅法弱いのだ。それでも、最上階に行って見ると、、、プールの水が荒れていてプールは使用禁止に。写真では迫力が出ないので動画を撮った。ご覧あれ。

Tohri-ike Pond

　　Shimojijima Island is tiny and flat. The island has no high terrain and structures, so the island would be suitable for commercial pilots' landing and taking-off training. On the other hand, there are two Tohri-ike ponds for the general tourists. If you translate them into English literally, they would be "Through-pond". Two ponds, called Tohri-ike, connect with each other underwater and one of them with the sea. I saw similar holes on Kauai island (link). The process of the island formation in ancient times would be alike.
　　Distinguishing rocks were scattered around. I'm not familiar with rock science, but I hadn't seen such rocks in my hometown. I noticed two airport-related facilities far away and wanted to walk around to the end of the runway under the clear sky in the sea breeze, but I didn't have enough time for that, because I wanted to visit one more island, Ikemajima. After seeing Tohri-ike ponds, I left for Ikemajima island, but I couldn't help returning just in front of the bridge connecting Miyakojima and Ikemajima islands. Considering the time for returning the car and moving time from the car rental shop to the pier, I had to do a U-turn there.
　　The return shuttle to the Diamond Princess was not so crowded as the shuttle boat which we had ridden in the morning. I investigated some equipment in the tender boat. I was surprised and then understood a device for collecting rainwater in order to use it as drinking water. The boat seemed to be able to seal up to prevent seawater from coming in the cabin.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2019/06/spouting-horn-park.html

下地島は平坦で小さい島である。空港の周りには視界を遮るものは何も無いから離着陸の訓練には向いているのだろう。その空港の西側にこの島唯一と言っても良い観光スポットがある。地下でそれぞれが、そして海と繋がっている池があり、通り池という。文字通り英語に訳すなら『Through-Pond』とでも訳せようか。同じような構造の穴をカウアイ島でも見た。島の成り立ちが似ているのだろう。

このあたりには特徴的な岩がゴロゴロしている。岩石に詳しくはないが、少なくとも愛媛でこのような岩を見たことが無い。平らな土地の向こうに空港施設の一部が見える。天気は良いし、心地よい海風が吹いている。滑走路の方まで散策したかったのだが、時間が十分無い。もう一つ渡りたい島が残っているのだ。その島、池間島に向けて出発したのだが、レンタカーを返却し、港まで向かう時間を考えると、島へ渡ることは諦めざるを得なかった。池間大橋の手前でUターン。宮古島、また来ることもあるだろう。

帰りのテンダーボートは上陸時よりは空いていた。雨水を採取して飲み水にする装置など、遭難時の設備が珍しかった。いろいろなことを想定して設計されているのだろう。

Irabujima Island

　　We moved from Miyakojima Island to Irabujima island crossing Irabu bridge, which was built 4 years ago. At first, we visited Makiyama lookout, which is located at the highest point on the island. The following first picture shows the map of the island. The second one was shot on the bridge. I was able to see the whole view of the bridge and the Diamond Princess from the outlook. If you look at the third picture closely, you can see Kurimajima Island at the back of Irabu bridge.
　　Look at the map. You'll know two islands are on the map. The big one is Irabujima Island and the other is Shimojijima Island, on which a fairly large-scale airport is built. Its size seems to be wastefully big for this tiny island.To be honest, this airport was being used for training commercial pilots. I heard that lots of aviation fans had visited this tiny island to see the scene of touch-and-goes of big airplanes like the Boeing 747, what you call the Jumbo jet. I imagined its spectacular scene and detonating sound. FYI, the flight simulation device was developed and the trainees don't need to operate real planes now. So, this airport is used for public transport now.

宮古島から伊良部大橋を渡り伊良部島へ　まずは展望台へ向かう　１枚目は伊良部島の案内板。２枚目は橋の上で運転中に撮ったもの。展望台に上がると、伊良部大橋とその向こうに先ほどまでいた来間島が見える。また、ダイヤモンド・プリンセスも。

案内板をよくみると、これは一つの島ではなく、二つの島が載っている。大きい方が伊良部島で、小さい方は下地島Shimojijima。ここには立派な空港があり、かつては旅客機の操縦訓練に使われていた。今は操縦訓練はシミュレーション装置で出来るようになり実際に飛行機を飛ばさなくても訓練できるようになり、この空港は民間空港として利用されているが、有事の際には当然ながら軍事用にも使われるはず。ここではかつてはジャンボジェットのタッチ・アンド・ゴーなどを見ることができ、航空ファンを魅了したらしい。

Kurimajima Island

　　Miyakojima Island has three islands connected respectively by bridges. We were going to visit all of them, and we headed for one of them, Kurimajima Island at first. There were very few cars on the way, so I drove our car slowly to see around. The landscape around us was so beautiful. Cars run on the left side and traffic signs were the same as those of my hometown, but the natural scene was completely different from what we were used to seeing. Crossing Kurima bridge, I came across an elementary school. I imagined how the schoolkids' lives were there. Japan is a tiny country, but it has lots of climatic variations for its size.
　　We dropped in at a supermarket on the way to the next island, Irabujima Island, to see the local foods on the shelves. Two foods caught my eye there, one was raw bonito slices and the other was mimiga salad! I knew mimiga by its name, but had never eaten it. Firstly, raw bonito, we call sashimi, was great. This fish goes bad rapidly, so you must eat them on its landed day, if you like its raw state. Next, mimiga salad! It's okinawan original food and mimiga means pig's ear. It was my first time to eat it, but I liked it. If I didn't drive, I would get 'shochu', Japanese white distilled liquor to enjoy with mimiga salad. To be honest, I'd been reluctant to eat mimiga before then, but such reluctance disappeared.

　


宮古島には付属する島が３つある。それを全て見て回るつもりだった。東平安名崎を出て来間島に向かった。途中の景色が実に楽しい。日本だから左側通行だし、道路標識ももちろん松山市と何ら変わらないが、景色がエキゾチック。海がきれい、例えようもない。人口密集地を外れているので道はガラガラ。キョロキョロしながらの運転となった。来間大橋を渡って来間島へ。小さな小学校があった。この島での暮らしはどんなだろうか？小さな日本だけど、その割には変化に富んでいる。

来間島を出て伊良部島までの途中でスーパーマーケットに寄った。どんな食材が売られているのかと、、、そして、カツオの刺身とミミガーサラダを試してみた。どちらもうまかった。運転中でなければ地元の焼酎も飲んでいただろう。ミミガーはちょっと抵抗があったのだが、、、抵抗はなくなった。そして伊良部島へ渡る！

Higashihen'nazaki Cape

　　It was my Miyakojima Island debut. I had one thing that I wanted to fulfill. That was to stand at the cape, Higashihen'nazaki. My senior resident, who instructed me in my surgical resident days, was from this island and he told me that he had frequently stood at the tip of the cape in his childhood and dreamed to learn medicine in mainland Japan. He is now a famed shrewd plastic surgeon and does the volunteer work repeatedly in developing countries. I hoped to visit the cape at first after the landing.
　　As soon as we landed, we headed for a car-rental shop and rented a small car. The shop was crowded, but it didn't take so much time to rent out. It was fun to drive a car from the west side to the east of the island amidst subtropical scenery. 30 minutes later, we reached Higashihen'nazaki cape. The following pictures show the strange terrain around the cape. My travel guidebook says that the cape was formed from coral and is fragile. Lots of rocks around the cape might be the fragment of the cape of long ago.

(Vocabulary)
shrewd 凄腕の

　

宮古島へは初めて上陸する。どんな島なのか楽しみだ。一つこの島で果たしたいことがあった。研修医時代にお世話になった先輩がこの島の出身で、高校生の頃、いつも本土に一番近い岬に立ち、本土で勉強することを夢見ていたという。その先生は今、形成外科医となり、発展途上国へ赴き、ボランティアで医療活動を行っている。時々テレビでも紹介される凄腕の外科医だ。この岬へは上陸後、まず訪れたい。

テンダーボートから下りてすぐレンタカー屋へ向かい、軽自動車を借りた。混雑していたがスタッフは手際よくすぐに借りることが出来た。南国の景色を楽しみながらドライブ。高い山がなくぺったんこな島だ。島を西から東に横切って東平安名崎へ向かった。写真を見れば一目瞭然でこの岬はとても奇妙な地形である。珊瑚礁から出来ており、島の一番東に位置していて日本本土に一番近い。悲しい伝説も残っている。

Miyakojima Island

　　December 19th. We would land on Miyakojima Island today. We finished breakfast earlier and got a numbered ticket for the tender boat. I presumed that Miyakojima Island didn't have a pier big enough for a cruise ship like the Diamond Princess. It was the second time for us to get on a tender boat of the Diamond Princess. I hoped to take pictures of the inside.
　　Our room was located on the 5th floor, called Plaza Deck. We had stayed on the same floor in the last cruise, but our room was inside and had no windows then. This time, however, we took an outside room and the room had a square window. Look at the outer appearance of the Diamond Princess, you'll find square windows lying in a row on its white ship hull. There were management facilities below 5th like the clinic, rooms for crew members, food storage facilities, machinery rooms, and so on. Our room was at the lowest floor among the passenger rooms and we weren't able to breathe outside air and weren't able to see the clear view due to dirty window glass.However, I found one thing of our room which was better than the upper class rooms. I'll write about that point later.
　　There were a variety of public facilities on the Plaza Deck. The art gallery was in front of our room. Every time we went out, we were sure to go through the gallery and saw lots of pictures. I liked some of them, but the prices were out of reach. While observing them every day, the number of pictures labeled "sold" increased. I heard that passengers buy them as a memory of the cruise.

(Vocabulary)
numbered ticket 整理券
ship hull 船体








１２月１９日、今日は宮古島へ上陸する。早めの朝食をとり、上陸のためのテンダーボートの整理券を受け取った。ダイヤモンド・プリンセスが接岸できる港はないのだろう。テンダーボートに乗るのは前回のクルーズを含めて２回目。これはこれで楽しみ。混んでいなければテンダーボート内部の設備を写真に収めたい。

今回の部屋は５階プラザ・デッキにある。前回のクルーズでは窓のない部屋だったが、今回は外側の部屋で窓はある。外から見ると、白い船体の部分に四角い窓が見えるが、この階である。４階以下は医務室やクルーのための部屋、食品倉庫、機関室など運行のための設備がある。客室の中では一番低い位置にあり、景色は悪いし外の空気は吸えないものの利点が一つ。今日の記事の最後にこの利点について書く。

５階には共用施設がたくさんある。部屋を出るとギャラリーとなっていて、毎日ギャラリーを通ってメインホールやショッピング街、洗濯、レストランやプールに出かける。気に入った絵もたくさんあったが、なにせお値段が、、、(^_^;)　毎日見ていると、売約済みのシールが貼られていき、翌日には他の絵と入れ替わっている。クルーズの記念に買い求める乗客が多いそうだ。

Shuri Castle and Enkakuji Temple

　　Next, we came by Shuri Castle, which had been burnt down recently. As I saw via broadcasting, the scene was very catastrophic. It would take a long time to restore it. I'm not familiar with the history of Okinawa, but this monument is precious for native people without doubt. To my surprise, while wandering around the castle, I found the ruin of the Buddhist temple. The description says it was built in 1492, but was destroyed during the Great East Asian War. The temple was partially rebuilt and I felt it continues to make us aware of the misery of wars.

 


 

次に立ち寄ったのが首里城。焼け落ちていた。周辺をブラブラしていたときに、円覚寺跡を見つけた。那覇に仏教寺院があったことを今まで知らなかった。１４９２年に建てられたと言うが、先の大戦で焼失してしまっている。

Naha, Okinawa

　　The Diamond Princess got into Naha port in Okinawa. It seemed that it was berthed at an unusual pier. I found another cruise ship was moored at the original berth in the evening, so the Diamond Princess might have given it up to that ship. Anyway, the first daily routine of this ship was the radio gymnastic exercises, which was well known to Japanese, but would be unfamiliar to international tourists. The gymnastic exercises to the sound from the radio started after the last war as one of the measures to keep the Japanese physical strength up. I think all of the Japanese had experienced it, at least during compulsory education. This exercise is now adopted at lots of Japan's companies. Some passengers told me that they knew about this ritual in Japan after the boarding.
　　I had two places which I wanted to visit in Okinawa; Maeda Escarpment, which is called "Hacksaw Ridge" among the U.S. soldiers, and burnt-down Shuri Castle. We took a shuttle bus service to a station of Naha Monorail and got its one-day pass. We would see around along the Monorail line. I'll show you many pictures of Maeda Escarpment and some pictures have descriptions of the background of this place.
　　Maeda Escarpment was one of the hard-fought fields in the battle of Okinawa during the Great East Asian War. I walked around the Escarpment imagining the harsh fight. I took a picture of its description and you would understand how fierce the battle was. I just prayed for eternal peace in front of the monument. I found several caves called "Gama" in the Okinawan dialect. Okinawa island is formed on the accumulation of coral and is abundant in limestone caves. People seemed to have taken refuge in those caves during the war.
　　The above place and monuments are located in Urasoe City. I had only passed through this city in the last several visits to Okinawa and I didn't know anything about the city, so Urasoe Castle Ruin also surprised me. I didn't even know of its existence. In the next opportunity to visit Okinawa, I'd like to stay at least one week and walk around the island.
　　Next, we came by Shuri Castle, which had been burnt down recently. As I saw via broadcasting, the scene was very catastrophic. It would take a long time to restore it. I'm not familiar with the history of Okinawa, but this monument is precious for native people without doubt. To my surprise, while wandering around the castle, I found the ruin of the Buddhist temple. The description says it was built in 1492, but was destroyed during the Great East Asian War. The temple was partially rebuilt and I felt it continues to make us aware of the misery of wars.

 


 

今日は沖縄那覇に入港　いつもの場所ではなく少し離れたところに着くようだ。夕方見ると別のクルーズ船が着いていたのでその船に譲ったのかも知れない。この船ではラジオ体操から一日が始まる。朝の日課だ。この船で日本のこの伝統的なラジオ体操を知ったという人もいた。

那覇では訪れたい場所が２ヶ所あった。浦添市にある前田高地（アメリカ人の間ではハクソー・リッジ）と首里城である。桟橋からシャトルバスで県庁前へ移動し、モノレール１日券を買った。今日はこのモノレール沿線で動き回る予定。前田高地は沖縄戦の激戦地。散策しながら当時を想った。ここにもガマと呼ばれる洞穴があった。戦闘時には隠れることが出来たのだろうか？近くから見たかった為朝岩には崩落の危険有りとのことで近づけなかった。浦添城趾の石垣が復元されていたが、沖縄には十分な歴史資料がないという。戦争のためだろう。残念なことだ。

At Sea, Day 2

　　We were on the sea all day long on December 17th, too. Today's sea was rough and our ship rocked all day long. This cruise ship was so enormous and I assumed that it never rocked. To be honest, I'm a poor sailor and easily get seasick, but a variety of events made me feel free of seasickness. Some events were held in Japanese and others in English. I joined some English events for the purpose of testing my English listening ability. I manage to understand conversations concerning the medical field containing lots of technical terms, but sometimes have a hard time in common conversation, as it contains slang and phrasal verbs. I didn't know whom and what most American people know. This also stood in the way of my understanding. Anyway, events and concerts were enjoyable.
　　The Diamond Princess has a repeaters' club called the Captain's Circle. This cruise was the second time for us and we were invited to this meeting. We enjoyed short talks from the captain and other crew members, concerts, and then received presents from the cruise company.
　　Before going to bed, I climbed up to the highest deck wondering whether I could see outside, but I didn't see anything. I expected to see some lights from the land or other ships, but there was nothing around the ship. No stars and the water in the pool was billowing. I felt a little scared and returned to my room just like taking refuge.

(Vocabulary)
billow (風で) 膨らむ, はためく;〈煙などが〉 渦巻く, 巻き上がる
refuge
[C] 避難所, 保護施設
a refuge for battered wives 配偶者から虐待を受けた妻の保護施設
[C] (悪天候・危険などからの) 避難場所, 逃げ場, (野生生物などの) 保護区
a refuge from the rain 雨宿りの場所
[U] 避難, 安全
take/seek refuge 避難する
When the bombing started, we took refuge in the cellar. 爆撃が始まったとき地下室に避難した．

　終日航海２日目。この日は揺れた。この大きな船が。実は僕は船酔いにはとことん弱い。屋内プールを見ると、使用禁止になっていた。ただ、船内は賑やか。イベントが盛り沢山で、飽きることはない。英語版イベントも日本版もあり、英語版はリスニングの勉強も兼ねて参加。専門用語の多い医学の学術会議は聞き取れても、スラングの含まれた日常会話は難しい。
　ダイヤモンド・プリンセスにはキャプテンズサークルというリピータの集まりがあり、今回我々は２回目なのでリピーターとなりこの集まりに招かれた。船のいろいろな説明を聞いたり、音楽を楽しんだり、帰りにはちょっとしたプレゼント。
　寝る前に何か景色が見えるかと思い、最上階に上がってみた。周囲には何も見えず、星も見えず、プールの水は大きく波打ち、あふれていた。少し怖くなり逃げ込むように部屋へ戻った。(^_^;)

At Sea

　　The ship proceeded to the west all day long today. We had breakfast by the window of the Pacific Ocean side, while viewing the vast expanse of the ocean. The dishes were delicious, so I had a good appetite. To be honest, my wife wondered at my appetite, because we had a snack late at night in our room, taking a few dishes out from the restaurant after the magic show. One bottle of wine per person was permitted to bring into the ship, so we had two bottles. Holidays when I don't mind clocks are great! I was never called from my office. I was out of reach of the smart phone network in the first place.
　　The weather was clear and we took a walk to help digestion on the 7th deck where we were able to walk around the ship. The walking distance was about 600 meters per cycle. Then, I went swimming and my wife went window-shopping for some time. After that, we enjoyed several kinds of performances of various instruments, like a piano, violin, flute, and so on.
　　Getting back to the central hall, the champagne tower was already built and its pouring had started. I recalled our first cruising trip during which we tried to pour for the first time in our life. It was two years ago. The picture at that time was really nice and is placed now in the living room of my house. Then we watched a movie at the last time slot of the day under the sky full of stars wrapped up in a blanket. Adjacent bars offered soft drinks and pizzas for free, i.e., included in the cruise fee. The breeze on the ocean was a little bit cool, but comfortable.

終日航海の日　朝食は太平洋側の窓際で大海原を見ながらいただく。美味しいので食が進む。昨夜はあれほど食べたのに、よくまた食べられるものだと驚く。昨夜の記事には書いていないが、レストランから３品ほど持ち出して、自室で持ち込んだワインで２次会。カミさんが呆れていたことは書くまでもない。何時に起きても良い休日は最高。職場から呼び出されることもない。元より携帯電話は通じない。

食べ過ぎたので、７階のデッキを散歩。船の周りを一周するとやく６００メートル、そしてプールへ。さすがに泳いでいる人は少なかったが、食べてばかりでは太るので、、、。デッキに立っていると寒いけどプールの中やジャグジーは快適。他の乗客と話をするのも楽しい。ウインドウショッピングをしていたカミさんと合流していくつかのコンサートをハシゴ。中央のホールへ戻ってみるとシャンペンタワー！　２年半前にはこれに参加したなあとなつかしく思いだした。そのときの写真は良い記念になった。我が家のリビングに飾ってある。ショーの後は最上部のデッキで映画鑑賞。満天の星空の下、毛布にくるまって、無料の（クルーズ料金に含まれている）ピザと珈琲を楽しみながら。太平洋上の風が心地よい。少し寒かったけれど。

Embarkation

　　We finished all the procedures of embarkation and entered our room. Our luggage wasn't there. It would take time for us to get it. We checked tonight's event schedule and started out for the ship tour. While walking, I recalled every corner of the ship. It was two and half years since the last time. I realized that the best thing I had to do in this time slot was viewing the night view of Yokohama City from the sea. We climbed up to the deck to see the departure ceremony. It was my first time to see the scenery of the city from on the sea. It was so nice. Several people were swimming, but we headed for the restaurant for dinner. Another helping was free and I ordered two kinds of main dishes omitting the appetizer. Such a flexibility was really thankful to me as I'm a kind of chowhound. I scarfed them down not to be late for the magic show. I'm not LGBTQ+, but I was just curious about their meeting scheduled at 9:30 pm, but refrained from it.

(Vocabulary)
scarf down (inf)　〈食べ物〉を急いで食べる

　部屋に入ったがチェックイン時に預けた荷物はまだ届いておらず、今宵のイベント案内をチェックした後、船内探検に出発。歩いているうちにだんだんと地理を思い出した。この時間帯はやはり出港風景を見なくてはと思い、最上階へ。横浜の夜景を海から見るのは初めてだった。とても美しい夜景だった。すでに泳いでいる人もいたが、われわれはレストランへ。お代わり自由ということでメインディッシュをお代わり、、(^_^;)　そしてマジックショーを見て、、、LGBTQ+の集いに興味があったが、、、会場の前まで言ったが、、、立ち入る勇気は無かった。

Japan Coast Guard Archives

　　Next, we visited the Japan Coast Guard Archives to see the North Korea Spy Ship Exhibit. I felt indescribable anger at North Korea. Pictures inside were prohibited and I'll show you its outside view below. Being more than two hours left until our boarding time, we took a free shuttle bus which went round the principal places in the pier area to kill time. The scenes from the window were fun. Chinatown was murderously packed. As we were thinking of having lunch there at first, we were lucky to drop in at Hammer Head Park for lunch.

そして北朝鮮の工作船を展示してる資料館を見つけて入ってみた。彼らの悪辣さに改めて怒りを覚えた。ダイヤモンド・プリンセスの乗船時刻を待つ間、時間潰しに港の主な場所を廻る観光バスに乗ってみた。チャイナタウンの混みように驚いた。ここへ食事に行こうと考えていたのだが、ハンマーヘッドに変更して正解だった。

Former Yokohama Custom-House

　　The brilliant sea and comfortable sea breeze tempted us to walk around the pier and we found ourselves in front of the remains of the center office of the Customs House Annex. I had visited Yokohama before, but I didn't know about this remains. Japan, which had kept its trade-restriction policy for about 300 years, put an end to it during the Meiji Restoration and Yokohama was opened to overseas. Yokohama has still its nostalgic atmosphere as one of the oldest international trading ports. This building was destroyed by the huge earthquake and ensuing fire which occurred in 1923. FYI, the day of the earthquake, Sep. 1st is now designated as the disaster drill day. The basis of the building was left and buried at that time. Later, it was dug out and set to the center of the historic park.

(Vocabulary)
ensue (結果として) 生じる, 起こる;(ある出来事のあとに) 続いて起こる
ensue from sth ＜…＞の結果として生じる

で、フラフラと歩いていたら横浜税関跡にいた。横浜は何度か来ているが、このような史跡があったとは知らなかった。在りし日の風景を思い浮かべながら散歩。長く貿易制限を設けていた日本が広く海外に門戸を開いたとき、横浜は開港された。長い歴史がある。この建物は１９２３年９月１日の大地震とそれに続く火災により破壊され、復旧されないまま埋められていた。 因みに、９月１日は防災の日と定められ、避難訓練が行われている。

Yokohama

　　We were told to get together at the Diamond Princess's mother pier in Yokohama City at the designated time. The higher rooms you booked, the earlier you could get on board, just like passenger planes, but our room was the lowest class but one, so our checking time was late and set around 1600 hours. Being eager to see the ship as early as possible, however, we left my hometown in the early morning. When we got off the bus from Haneda Airport at the Yokohama pier stop, we found lots of tourists with suitcases walking from the direction of the pier. They would have been the passengers on the last cruise. The enormous ship came into my sight, as I was approaching the pier. I was excited, thinking of getting on board again. A big event, replicating the German-style Christmas, was being held in the nearby park. One single thing which I had to do this day was to get on board the Diamond Princess. I wouldn't drive, so I got sausages and a mug filled with German beer without a second thought.
　　Next, we headed for Hammer Head Park, which was still under construction. My wife wanted to drop in at a pizza house in the park. I didn't know its name, but the pizzas were delicious.

出港は横浜から。早い便で到着し、埠頭の周辺を観光した。埠頭へ向かうと、船から降りてくる人たちの一団に出会い、また巨大な船が見えてきた。また乗るのだと思うとワクワクする。近くの広場ではドイツのクリスマスマーケットを模したイベントが行われていた。今日の予定は船に乗り込むだけ。車の運転などない。ということで、ビールとソーセージ！
　
次に向かったのが、建設中のハンマーヘッド公園。ここにあるピザ屋に立ち寄りたいというカミさんの強い希望で。店の名前を画像で記録。とても美味しかった。

International Exchange

　　The number of people from other countries living in Ehime Prefecture seems to be soaring these days. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but if those people came to like Japan, I'd be happy. As an activity of my Lions Club, a day-tour for those people was planned. I joined it and had a short trip to Ohyamazumi Jinja Shrine on Ohmishima Island.
　　Two volunteer guides gave us guidance about the shrine. I knew part of their explanation, but it was hard to translate their words into English, as they had lots of technical terms. I felt keenly the lack of vocabulary of historical things. A few people who had lived in Ehime for a long time helped us and it was so helpful. Some people had lived in Ehime for a long time, and others hadn't. It was fun to see them eating local food in their original ways.

愛媛に住む外国人がこのところ急激に増えている。良いことなのかどうかわからないが、日本を好いてくれる人が増えるなら嬉しい。所属するライオンズクラブの活動の一環で地元に住む外国人たちの交流会を開いた。バスをチャーターして瀬戸内海に浮かぶ大三島までドライブ。島にある大山祇神社を訪ね、日本の歴史に触れていただく小旅行。

神社のガイドが説明をしてくれるし、既に知っていることもあったが、それを英語に訳すことが難しい。幸い、日本に長く暮らしている人もいて助かった。料理の食べ方一つ見ていても面白い。長く住んでいる人とそうでない人、食事も楽しんでくれたようで嬉しかった。

Seasonal Phenomenon

　　My office is located at the mouth of the Hijikawa River, which flows out of the Ozu Basin. Numerous clusters of mist which were formed on the basin flow on the surface of the river toward the mouth in the cold winter morning of the clear weather. This phenomenon is a kind of signal which tells us that winter is coming just around the corner. I'll upload two pictures, one of which was taken through the windshield and the other of which was shot on the opposite side of the office.
　　I'm going to go skiing this season. I haven't enjoyed skiing for 5 years after my mentor's death. He took me to Whistler in Canada for skiing, and moreover, he instructed not only me but my daughter's English and other various things required to build a good relationship with overseas people. I've been sorry that skiing always reminded me of my mentor, but I decided to restart skiing. He wouldn't be happy if I completely stopped skiing. I chose the 4-wheel drive type in the selection of my next car. The car will be delivered soon. I'll upload the pictures here.

At Yamaguchi City, Rurikouji Temple

　　We left Shimonoseki City and stopped by Yamaguchi City on the way to our hometown and I happened to find the Nakahara Chuya Museum there. Nakahara Chuya is one of my favorite poets and I often read his works in my teenager days. I wanted to see things related to him in the museum, but I didn't have enough time. I just got a Japanese sake bearing his name for my later pleasure. I thought I'd take his books out of my stacks tonight.
　　Then, we dropped in at Rurikouji Temple, which I actually viewed for the first time. It was built 570 years ago and was glorious. I recalled the scene of its construction by a spate of artisans. The cultural estate with a long history is wonderful for the fact that it has been preserved for generations.

　山口市に寄った。高校時代から好きだった詩人、中原中也の記念館があり、入ってみたかったが時間なし。彼の名前を冠した日本酒を買って帰った。高校時代に読んでいた本を久しぶりに取り出して、一杯やりながら読んでみようと思う。
　そして瑠璃光寺へ。名前だけは聞いていたが立ち寄ったのは初めて。５７０年前の塔である。しばし、室町時代を思い起こした。高速道路を利用し、あちこちで休憩しながら帰宅。充実した３日間だった。

The Next Day

　　Nov. 3rd is the birthday of Meiji Ten'noh and is designated as a national holiday. It fell on Sunday this year. When a national holiday falls on Sunday, it's to be compensated by the next Monday. Due to this rule of compensatory day-offs, some sets of Saturday, Sunday and Monday sometimes become three consecutive day-offs. By this rule, Nov. 4th became a holiday this year. I'm going to challenge this marathon next time when three day-offs are formed by this rule. The next day was also a holiday and I stayed in Shimonoseki last night.
　　I make it a rule to take a walk in the early morning when I visit places new or unfamiliar to me. I dropped in at a neighborhood shrine "Ootoshi Jinja", which looked to have a long history from the era of mythology and I folded my hands in front of the main building. Walking ahead, I found a monument on which "Pusan" was written in Chinese characters. Lots of Korean people would live in the city, though I didn't understand why this monument stood here.

１１月３日が明治天皇の誕生日で祝日だったが、４日月曜日はその振替で休みとなっている。このように休日を振り替えるという制度があるため１１月３日周辺は３連休となることが有り、数年先に３連休となるときに下関海峡マラソンを完走したい。というわけで、昨夜も下関に泊まり宴会！今日は観光をしながら帰ることにした。

旅行先での日課、朝の散歩に出かけた。ホテル近くの神社に立ち寄った。大歳神社という。由緒のある神社のようだった。今日一日の加護を祈った。そして更に歩いていると釜山門というモニュメントが。朝鮮系の人たちが多く住んでいるのだろう。どういう願いが込められているのかな？

Moji Port

　　I went across the Kan'mon channel to Moji Port, which is on the other side of Shimonoseki and also has a long history as a connecting port between Honshu and Kyushu. However, after the completion of Kan'monkyo bridge, which connects Honshu and Kyushu, Moji became a city just to pass by. Several historic buildings in the city implied the old prosperity. I dropped in at an ongoing restaurant at which Albert Einstein had dinner.
　　I happened to see a cutting-edge patrol ship of Japan's Coast Guard mooring at Shimonoseki on the way back to Shimonoseki from Moji Port. I heard that this type of patrol ship was designed to suppress Chinese overbearing and unreasonable behaviour in the East China Sea.
　　China is out of my thoughts and out of global common sense. This country would continue to cause a variety of turmoil globally. I get depressed to think of this country. Anyway, getting back to my hotel, I prepared for tomorrow's marathon.

(Nov. 2nd)

九州の最北端に位置している港で古い歴史がある。以前は下関と連絡船で結ばれ活気を呈していたが、今や、橋と海底トンネルで結ばれ連絡船は廃止されている。そのモニュメントがあった。港一帯は古い歴史を感じさせる建物が多く、アインシュタインが立ち寄り食事をしたというレストランも残っていた。門司と下関を結ぶ観光船から最新型の巡視艇を見た。シナの横暴に対応するため建造されたものの一隻。世界の常識からは考えられない国である。これからもいろいろなもめ事を起こすのだろうなあとこの国のことを考えると暗澹たる思いがする。 ホテルに戻り、明日の準備を整えて２１時は就寝　明日に備える。