Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Obihiro City

　　We were supposed to get together with another motorcycle freak in Obihiro, which is 250km east of Yoichi today. The new member was to fly into Hokkaido in the same way as us. I found a variety of interesting goods in the gift shop of the distillery, but I didn't have time to examine and pick them up. I wished I could have stayed a night in Yoichi, and I would have visited another museum concerning space and astronomy. Anyway, we left for Obihiro in the rain. We passed through Otaru City, one of the historic cities in Hokkaido without our feet setting on soil.
　　We got on the expressway at Otaru City and headed for Obihiro City. To tell the truth, I don't like riding on the expressway, because motorcycle riding on it requires more attention than driving cars due to its high speed. However, there was no other way to save time. The weather became worse, and thick fog started to cloud the shield of my helmet. We had to take a rest at least once an hour.
　　No sooner had we arrived at the hotel than another friend came to us. He must have ridden faster than us. After taking our possessions to each room, we set out for dinner in the downtown of Obihiro City. The downtown was so boisterous and it made us cheerful even in the rain.

(Vocabulary from comments)
obnoxious
1 〈人・発言などが〉 ひどく不愉快な, 鼻持ちならない
2 〈においが〉 とても臭い

Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery

　　Yoichi town is a small town in the west of Otaru City, but it's famous for being the hometown of Mr. Mamoru Mouri, the first Japan-native astronaut, and also for the home of Nikka Whisky Co., Ltd. The company opens part of its distillery up to the public. I really wanted to see inside of the distillery.
　　The founder, Mr. Taketsuru, spent years in Scotland to learn how to make whisky. After mastering the art of producing distilled alcoholic beverages, he came back to Japan and started his career at the predecessor of Suntory Co., Ltd. Several years later, he established his own company in Yoichi at 40 years old, whose climate was just like that of Scotland and it was the reason why he had chosen Yoichi as the home of his factory.
　　I learned the procedure of making whisky walking along the tour route in the exhibition hall. I was able to try all kinds of their products, but I had to ride my motorcycle later. It was very regrettable not to be able to taste the fresh whiskies and/or brandies straight from the distillery.
　　By the way, another motorcycle freak would join us today in Obihiro City. We had to leave for the designated hotel right now. There was historic Otaru City near there, but we had just passed through the city.

(Vocabulary)
art 《常に単数形で》技術, 熟練
the art of (doing) sth ＜…＞（すること）の技術
Television is ruining the art of conversation. テレビのせいで会話が乱れている．
be quite an art  高度な技術を必要とする
Writing advertisements is quite an art. 広告を書くのは高度な技術を要する．
predecessor prédəsèsə(r) || prí-/  前任者; 前身, 前作, 旧型 [反意]  successor
sth's predecessor ＜…＞の旧型
The new model has a more powerful engine than its predecessor. 新型モデルには旧型より強力なエンジンが搭載されている．

http://www.nikka.com/eng/distilleries/

　余市にあるニッカウヰスキー余市蒸留酒製造所へ寄った。以前から一度は来て見たかった場所だ。創業者の竹鶴氏はスコットランドに学び、ここで蒸留酒造りを始めた。余市の気候がスコットランドに似ていたため、ここで創業したという。製造工程の説明、蒸留所の歴史、創始者にまつわる歴史、、、多くの知識を得た。試飲コーナーが充実していたが、運転があるため飲めず残念だった。

Toyohama Tunnel

　　We parked our motorcycles in the parking lot of the tip of the Shakotan Peninsula, which is called Shakotan Misaki. Though we would have had to walk for an hour to view the whole area of the beautiful and rugged coastline, we didn't. We saw only accessible places. When we went through the tunnel in the picture, we were amazed at the magnificent view of the coastline and the horizon. I was really sorry that we didn't have enough time to see around and had to leave there soon. We left for Yoichi town without having lunch.
　　We passed through the present, newly built Toyohama tunnel just before our arrival in Yoichi town. I thought I had to write about the collapse of the former Toyohama tunnel at that time, which had occurred in February in 1996. The tunnel had been drilled through the enormous secure rock and no one thought that the tunnel could collapse.
　　However, everything which has some form will be sure to collapse even though it might be once in ten thousand years or once in several million years. That designated time was on Feb. 10th in 1996. Twenty people were crushed to immediate death in the collapse. Now, the new securer tunnel was dug parallel with the old one. When I was riding in the tunnel, I prayed for victims in my mind. The picture of the monument to the dead was collected on the net.

　積丹岬でも同様に急いで観光して余市へ向かった。時間が無かったのである。そして余市へ着く直前にあの豊浜トンネルを通った。９６年に２０名の死者を出した崩落の起こったトンネルである。トンネルに入る直前、左側に慰霊碑が、出た直後に左後方を見ると、旧のトンネルへ続く道が見えた。時間が押し迫っており、ここも通り過ぎた。

Kamui Misaki Cape (神威岬)

　　We dropped in at Kamui Misaki Cape, one of the tourist attractions of Shakotan Peninsula. The lighthouse on its tip was lit in 1888 and has been working until now. It is the fifth oldest lighthouse in existence in Hokkaido. The whole of Kamui Misaki Cape is known by its spectacular terrain. It has long been said in a legend that women must not go to its tip, or something horrible would happen. However, the legend is the legend. Anyone can walk to the very tip of the land now. You might think that the gate in the picture looks like a torii, shrine gate and you are right. The entrance of the path to the lighthouse seemed to be designed with the legend in mind.
　　By the way, whatever you say, the specialty of Shakotan Peninsula is sea urchins. I was going to eat it there, but the popular and single restaurant at the cape was so crowded and I had to give up eating it there because today's schedule was extremely tight. There were other sightseeing spots and we had to ride more than 400km today. It was not difficult to appreciate how bad the situation had become due to the detour in the morning.
　　After coming back to the parking lot from the lighthouse, I immediately headed for Shakotan Misaki Cape.

(Vocabulary)
appreciate …を認識する, 理解する, (困難を)察知する
appreciate how/why  どれだけ［なぜ］…かを認識する
It is difficult to appreciate how bad the situation has become. 状況がどれだけ悪化したのかを認識するのは難しい．

　神威岬と呼ばれる岬はオホーツク側にもあるが、ここは積丹半島の神威岬、日本海側に突き出ている岬だ。道の駅オスコイかもえないを出て切り立った壁に沿う道路を走り到着した。最後の縦長の写真は岬の先端から陸地側を眺めたもので、良く見ると結構危険な場所に遊歩道が付けられている。岬の入り口には鳥居のような門がある。昔、この地は女人禁制だったという。楽しみにしていたウニはパスせざるを得なかった。朝の通行止めによる迂回で１時間以上時間のロスがあっただめだ。今日はなんとしても帯広までは行かなければならないため涙を呑んで食堂前を通り過ぎた。

Rest Area "Michinoeki Oskoi Kamoenai"

　　Look at the first picture. The Japanese words in red mean "You are here". We were round-riding in a clockwise direction along the coastline of the Shakotan Peninsula, which is located in the west of Sapporo. There are lots of (about 1000 or more) rest areas along the road in Japan, which are called "michinoeki", which are literally roadside stations. Each michinoeki has its own characteristics but one thing in common, the rest rooms which are open to the public 24/7. The red sign on the board points at a michinoeki, Oskoi Kamoenai.
　　You can see it in the second picture, and it looked rather exclusive compared with other michinoekis. According to its staff, it was destroyed by high waves of a typhoon in 2004 and had long been closed, but was rebuilt in 2010. Hearing that, I understood its exclusive design. The hill behind it also looked steep, though the wall was shored up.
　　Yesterday it was raining heavily almost all day. There were "no" riders other than us. I thought that the total number of riders in Hokkaido might have decreased recently, but it was not right. They were just staying inside and we were just abnormal. We met several riders since then today and met a couple riding a Honda Gold Wing here. Chatting with strangers in this way is also part of the fun of motorcycle riding. We continued on the journey.

(Vocabulary)
shore sth up
＜経済・価格など＞を支える = prop up
＜屋根・壁など＞を支える = prop up

Michinoeki:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/lay-by-michino-.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2014/08/muroran-city-and-toyako-lake.html

　地図で赤い文字で書いてあるところに着いた。この道の駅の造りに興味を持った。この周囲をシャットアウトする構造は異様である。聞けば２００４年に台風により破壊され、２０１０年に場所を変えて再開したらしい。後ろの擁壁をみると、この場所は海の上に作った場所に違いなく、厳しい自然環境が想像された。

From Niseko To Kamoenai

　　I was going down to the west coast of Hokkaido from the inn, but it meant that we gave up seeing Mt. Yotei. I wanted to see it and rode to the east for 10 minutes, and was finally able to see a part of Mt. Yotei appearing over a vast sunflower field. It's also called Ezo-Fuji, from its Mt. Fuji-like shape. "Ezo" is the old name of Hokkaido.
　　Then we went westward and dropped in at Nisekoyumoto Onsen Spa. The third picture is the source of the spa. At the parking lot, I knew that the road to the coast had been closed for fear of a landslide from the driver of a tour bus which was there. We had to take a detour, but the ZUMO550, Garmin's motorcycle navigation system, was great and it lead us properly. We comfortably went on riding on the signal-sparse and traffic-sparse road to Kamoenai village.
　　When I was working in a small town's municipal clinic, I built my office's website. It was 18 or 19 years ago and it was unusual for a small clinic to have its own website at that time. A primary school teacher, who was also struggling to build their website, sent me an e-mail, which encouraged me to complete the site. The primary school in which he or she was working was Kamoenai primary school. The sign, showing the route to the school, put along the road reminded me of those days.

　ニセコから西へ向かうと羊蹄山はもう見られない。１０分ほど東へ走って羊蹄山を見てから峠越えで岩内へ向かうも通行止め。岩内をパスして神恵内へ向かう。雨の中、地図を拡げにくい中で、ガーミンＺＵＭＯ５５０は確実に道を示してくれ本当に助かった。
　２０年ほど前に初めてウェブサイトを作った。当時勤務していた山村の診療所のサイト。そのとき、北海道からアクセスしてくれた教員が二人。どちらも小学校のサイトを作っていた。お名前を覚えておらず連絡のとりようがないのだが、ひとりはこの神恵内小学校の先生だった。

Morning Spa

　　The brightness of outside woke me on Aug. 6th. We were so battered from the rain on the previous day that even the pale light of early morning was a blessing without rain. The first two pictures were shot from our room. Our inn was located in the deep forest and its scenery was absolutely fantastic. It was the time when nocturnal fairies of the forest went back home.
　　The next picture was shot at the outdoor bath. You might feel it curious that I have a smartphone in my left hand in the picture, but it's for the remote control of the camera. I was able to use the functioin of self-timer, but I had to be back to the original position rapidly in 15 seconds, and if I did so the surface of the tub wouldn't become calm in such a short time. As you can see in the picture, it was a really relaxing time. As I'm a city kind of person, I'd taken to the time in such an inn in a big way.
　　Following the morning spa, the breakfast was served, which was prepared using local organic products and wild vegetables. Do you notice an egg on the plate? It's called Onsen-tamago, boiled in the source of the hot spring. It is often seen in Japanese hot spa resorts.
　　The weather wasn't perfect today, but it was good enough for the tourists who had been plagued all day yesterday by heavy rain.

(Vocabulary)
pale　〈光が〉薄暗い, ほのかな
the pale light of early morning 早朝の薄明
take to … ～が好きになる、～になじむ
wild vegetable 山菜

　柄にもなく、ちょっと詩的に書いた文章です。朝の光で目が覚めました。前日、大雨警報の中を走った身には飛び上がるほど嬉しい朝靄（もや）です。雨は降っていません。宿は森の中にあるので静かで、最初の２枚は窓からの風景です。起き抜けにすぐ温泉でのんびり。スマホを持っているのはリモート撮影のためです。スマホとデジカメが繋がるので便利です。セルフタイマーも使えますが、浴槽の縁にカメラを置いているので構図を決めがたく、スマホの画面にカメラの画面が表示されるのはとても便利です。１０秒ほどで浴槽の中を走って元の位置に戻ると水面が荒れてしまいますし、スマホの遠隔操作は便利でした。決してとなりの女風呂を撮影しようなどと考えているわけではありませんからね。朝食は地元の食材、山菜、温泉卵。朝食も運ばれてきました。宿泊料は８０００円くらいだったかな。布団を敷いてもらい、片付けてもらい、そして食事をわざわざ運んでもらい、申し訳ない感じです。さて、今日はツーリング行程中もっとも長く走る日です。４００ｋｍ以上走るので早々に出発です。

Koikawa Onsen Ryokan Inn （鯉川温泉旅館）

　　When we arrived at our inn, the rain ironically became gentle. Tonight's inn was established 115 years ago and is one of the oldest in the Niseko area . Niseko is endowed with nature and is now getting more and more tourists from all over the world, especially in winter.
　　The first thing we did in our inn was to bathe in the old and historic hot spring. We went straight to the spa after carrying our possessions to our room. Luckily, there was no one with us. I took two pictures of inside and outside of the spa and I'll show you below. The hot spring was really comfortable even in the rain.
　　Generally speaking, guests eat in their own rooms in the traditional style of a Japanese inn. At cheaper inns, however, instead of the traditional style of having meals brought to your room, guests eat in restaurants, such as a sushi bar and teppanyaki restaurant. We presumed that all the guests would be gathered in the eating room, because the lodging expense wasn't so high, but our dinner was served in our room. I was so surprised.
　　Wandering in the inn, I found that the inn was designed in the old fashioned style and it had no bigger room for meeting for dinner. It might be the reason of the unusual service in the guests rooms. Not to mention it, the dinner was great and we went to the spa again in the dark.

(Vocabulary)
endowed with sth ＜才能・美貌(びぼう)など＞に恵まれて
no one with us  我々以外には誰もいない

ついたら雨が小降りになった。なんと皮肉な。(^_^;) ここは鯉川温泉旅館という築後１１５年の古い温泉宿。旅装を解いてすぐに温泉へ直行。１１５年の歴史を物語るような温泉成分がこびりついた風呂。湯量はたっぷりで湧き出るがままの掛け流し。雨の中の露天風呂での写真をＵｐ！食事は部屋に運ばれてきた。高級な旅館ではないのだが、皆が集まって食事を摂るようなスペースがないからだろう。名前に惹かれて秘湯ビールを買ったが、秋田県産だった。秋田県は秘湯と呼ぶにふさわしい温泉がたくさんあるからまあ許そう。愛媛で作ったりしたらお笑いだが。

Makkarimura Village

　　I didn't want to ride in the rain, but I had a place I wanted to drop in at in case of rain at the foot of Mt. Yotei. It's called Spewing Water Park and a significant amount of subsoil water has always been spewed since ancient times. I've visited there before and wrote some entries (link). When I visited there for the first time, I heard a professional tour guide of a group tour say "Since it flows from an underground source, the water is surprisingly clear and doesn't get muddy even after it has rained." I was through the unusual heavy rain and it reminded me of her comment. However, my friend looked tired and the rain got heavier. I decided to cut corners to the inn.
　　We took a rest at the statue of a famous singer, Takashi Hosokawa, who is from this small village, Makkarimura. We were wearing helmets even on the walk due to heavy rain. There were no other people and we parked our motorcycles in front of a closed souvenir shop. I was grateful for the site. If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice the line and splashes of raindrops.
　　Before our arrival at the inn, we filled up at a gas station and I got a yellow flag there. The flag is a kind of symbol of riding in Hokkaido. I'll be sure to write about several flags comprehensively later.

(Vocabulary)
subsoil water/flow 伏流水

雨の中のツーリングは好きではないが、この近くにある京極噴き出し公園に噴きだしている羊蹄山の伏流水は大雨でも濁らないと聞いたことがある。本当にそうなのか見てみたいと思ったが、疲労もあるので、近道をしてニセコへ向かった。途中、細川たかし像で休憩。写真を良く見ると雨粒の線や地面の跳ね返りがわかる。ここでも休業中の店の軒先を無断で借りて休憩した。ニセコで黄色い旗を入手。旗については後ほど。

Muroran City and Toyako Lake

　　We rode motorcycles south to Chikyu-misaki Cape in Muroran City. The rain became gentle there and we took a short walk around the cape. It was that time of the day finally, only 30 minutes or so, that the rain stopped. After the cape, we crossed over the Shiratori Ohashi bridge in Muroran City. If the weather had been bright, we could have enjoyed the scenery of the port. We passed Mt. Showa-Shinzan which was formed 70 years ago by volcanic activity and Toyako Lake, one of the famous caldera lakes in Japan without setting our foot on soil. We just took a short rest at the Usu Volcano Geopark, one of the Global Network Of National Geoparks.
　　I've enjoyed riding motorcycles in Hokkaido several times and one of the most favorite roads was National Road 230. The ride from south to north viewing Mt. Yotei is really wonderful. I was going to run the road with my life-long friend, and wanted him to see the scenery, but couldn't. I hoped in vain that the rain would ease off a little bit.
　　As you can see in the last picture, we took a short rest at Michinoeki Toyako, a parking lot near Toyako Lake. The restaurant and the shops in the lot had almost no customers in this peak period. My friend is wearing his helmet even under the roof in the picture. It shows how hard the rain was.

(Vocabulary)
gentle 〈風・雨などが〉穏やかな, 軽い
a gentle breeze 穏やかなそよ風
geopark   geology（地質学）＋park（公園）からの造語
科学的・文化的に貴重な地質遺産を含む自然公園。地域の地史や地質現象を示す地質遺産を保全し、地球科学や環境問題の教育・普及活動を行うとともに、観光資源として地域の活性化に役立つものであり、地質災害に対する理解や防災への取組みにも貢献するものとして期待されている。2004年、ユネスコの支援により世界ジオパークネットワークが発足。日本でも平成20年（2008）に日本ジオパークネットワークが設立され、国内のジオパーク認定、および世界ジオパークへの加盟申請などを行っている。
日本ジオパークは国内のジオパークとして、アポイ岳・洞爺湖有珠山・糸魚川・南アルプス（中央構造線）・恐竜渓谷ふくい勝山・隠岐・山陰海岸・室戸・島原半島・天草御所浦・阿蘇などの地域を認定。平成24年（2012）12月現在、洞爺湖有珠山・糸魚川・島原半島・山陰海岸・室戸の5地域が世界ジオパークに認定されている。
I hope the rain eases off a little bit. 雨がもう少し小降りになればいいのに。

　登別から、山を越えるのをやめて海岸線を走り、室蘭市の南端、地球岬に寄りました。地球岬では少し小降りになり散歩できました。室蘭の白鳥大橋を渡り、昭和新山、洞爺湖は通過して、火山ジオパークは少し歩いきましたが、写真を撮れるような状況ではなかったです。そして国道２３０号線を羊蹄山方向へ向かいました。この国道は気に入っているルートですが、景色が全く見えず残念でした。羊蹄山も見えずじまい。最後の写真は道の駅洞爺湖で休憩中の写真。雨のため、ヘルメットを脱ぐこともできません。

Noboribetsu Hot Spring

　　We rode our motorcycles southwest from Tomakomai City, which meant approaching the center of the storm. I'd like to have avoided the southwest direction, but the arrangement of accommodation at an old inn was already done. No matter what route we chose, we had to reach the inn. The rain got harder, and we took a rest in front of a warehouse company, which you can see in the first picture.
　　I wondered if we could take a footbath in Noboribetsu Hot Spring, which is now well-known even out of Japan, but the rain was too heavy to do so. We could only ride around the town and headed for the south. We had planned to go over a hill from Noboribetsu and view Mt. Youtei and Lake Toyako from the top of the hill, but a landslide alarm was issued on the route. So, we changed the route and went south to Muroran City. I like caldera lakes. I wanted to have a rest at the lakeside of Kuttara Lake, but didn't do it due to the terrible rain.
　　The blue flag in the last picture was presented from ANA in commemoration of the tour. The color of blue is the color of the company. I assumed that ANA wanted to raise it on my motorcycle through the trip, but the horrible rain hampered it. There are generally so many riders in Hokkaido who put flags up on their motorcycles. I'll write about the custom of doing that later in another entry.

(Vocabulary)
footbath 足湯

Kuttara Lake 倶多楽湖
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/lake-kuttara.html


大雨の中を出発。登別温泉をまずは目指しました。雨はだんだん酷くなり、白老町あたりの潰れた？倉庫会社の軒下で雨装備を厳重にしています。登別温泉では足湯くらいは浸かりたかったのですが、そんな余裕なし。倶多楽湖畔で珈琲タイムとしゃれるつもりでしたがレストランも閉まっていました。どういうわけかカルデラ湖に興味があり、十和田湖とか、摩周湖とか、小ぶりではありますがこの倶多楽湖も好きな湖です。いつか長白山(支那側の呼称)、白頭山(朝鮮名：この麓で金正日が生まれたことになっている）のてっぺんの池(天池）にも立ち寄ってみたいと思っています。登別からは山を越えて、その峠から羊蹄山を眺める予定が、、崖崩れ危険情報があり、室蘭を回ることにコース変更しました。最後の写真の青い旗ですが、帰宅後に撮りました。ＡＮＡのカウンターでいただきました。本来はこれをバイクに付けて走って欲しいと言うことでしたが、この雨では傷んでしまうので出せませんでした。北海道ツーリングと旗の関係についてはまた後ほど。

Kitakamisou（北上荘）

　　This trip had been planned since May among three people on Facebook, in which the choice of the first hotel was my role. I wanted to stay at an unusual inn, not an all-too-common one. After deep deliberation, I chose "Kitakamisou". A wide variety of people were staying at the inn. According to its landlord, Tomakomai City, in which Kitakamisou is located, is an industrial city and lots of business persons were transferred there from out of Hokkaido. The inn's customers were mostly such engineers. The atmosphere of the inn was just like that of a college dormitory. The inn bill was considerably low, but the spa was great. The hot water from underground was directly brought into the big communal bathing area. Though it had a gorgeous spa, the inn's energy bill wouldn't be so high because of its natural resources. The meals were everyday home-style dishes and really reasonable. I liked this inn and I could stay there next time.
　　The bright morning sunshine woke me at 5 o'clock. I was so delighted, but the weather chart on my tablet told me that the weather would get terrible soon. The clouds on the map covered all over Hokkaido except the narrow area over Tomakomai City. We were just under an exceptional area. When we were in the mess hall, it started raining. As soon as we finished breakfast, we went out, but another motorcyclist group was still at a standstill.

(Vocabulary)
all-too-common 平々凡々
deliberation 熟考, 熟慮, 思案（careful thought）
industrial city 工業都市

　苫小牧の宿は北上荘という旅館？下宿屋？寮？　なんとも珍しいタイプの宿でした。風呂は間違いなく温泉で快適でした。同宿の人たちですが、若い人から年配までいろいろな年代の人がいて、立派な入れ墨の入った人も。洗い場で隣に座ったりしたものだから湯が散らないように気を遣いましたが、あまり面倒な感じの人ではなかったです。学生風の人、技術者風の人、我々のような旅をしているのではなく、下宿しているようでした。さて、朝、明るい光が差して目が覚めたのですが、天気予報では大雨、、、さてどうなりますか。ツーリングをしている別のグループは今日は動かないことにしたようです。　　

New Chitose Airport

　　I arrived at Shin-Chitose Airport, which is the main airport of Sapporo City, located about 50 km south-east of the city center. When you mention a Japanese airport in English, its Japanese name is replaced in Roman letters according to its pronunciation. Following that rule, this airport should be called Shin-Chitose Airport, but New Chitose Airport is apparently used internationally. So, I adopted the latter as the topic of this entry.
　　The cargo terminal of the airport was 1km away from the passenger terminal. I was going to walk to it, but it was raining hard. We took a cab to the terminal after getting tonight's nibbles. There were so much food for nibbles in the airport, and it took time to choose them. When we reached the cargo terminal, our motorcycles were already unpacked. In the first picture, my friend is connecting the battery terminal to the battery.
　　Do you remember that his motorcycle was short of gasoline and he couldn't start up its engine. He was going to push his motorcycle to the ANA-designated gas station, but it was raining. He asked the ANA staff to deliver the gasoline, and the last picture is just the moment the gasoline arrived. ANA supplied 5 liters of gasoline to each motorcycle for free at the nearest gas station and additionally we filled up the tank and headed for our inn in the heavy rain.

(Vocabulary)
nibble 〈人・動物が〉〔物を〕少しずつかじる, かじって食べる;［通例 a ～］〔物の〕ひとかじり, ひとかみ〔at, of, on〕；ひとかみの量, 少量（の食物）；［英略式］［通例 ～s］；間食としてまたは食前の軽食, 少量の食物《◆しばしば酒類とともに供する》

新千歳空港は英語でも　Shin-Chitose Airport と書くべきだろうと思うが、ブログを書くに当たって調べてみたら　New Chitose Airport　らしい。何か変！　ところでガソリン切れのＣＢ４００だが、近くのガソリンスタンドまで５００メートルはある。大雨の中、押して歩くのか？ＡＮＡ貨物のスタッフに相談するとガソリンスタンドから配達してくれた。これで指定スタンドまで走って、満タンとなった。苫小牧の宿まであとは一直線！

Cargo Terminal

　　After the check-in at ANA Cargo, I underwent the possessions security check. It's why my possessions were taken out of the storage space of my scooter in the first picture. A young official started to examine the presence or absence of explosive substances in my possessions with a small piece of paper-like device. It would be routine work for the air cargo personnel. I doubted, however, if it was necessary because I would fly with my scooter. The young inspector seemed to notice my doubt, and the inspection became so simple and ritual. My scooter wasn't air cargo, but baggage!
　　Next, I was told to separate the end terminal from the battery and wrap it with insulating tape to prevent spontaneous fire. Naturally, I did it strictly.
　　Lastly, a cargo member of staff looked over my scooter with me to detect the scratches one by one. If I found new scratches after the transportation compared with his report, I could demand their repairs to ANA.
　　My scooter was elaborately fixed on the special pallet and was taken to the plane. It will be under lock and key until stowage. Next time I see it, I'll be in Hokkaido. Hokkaido has got no end of wonderful scenery, cuisine and shops, not to mention excellent public hot spas. It has more than its share of things to do and see...

(Vocabulary)
end terminal 端子
insulating tape 絶縁テープ
insulate〈物〉に絶縁［防音，断熱］処置を施す, を絶縁体で覆う
insulate sb from sth ＜人＞を＜不快など＞から遠ざけて守る［隔離する］
pallet（フォークリフト用）パレット, 荷運び台
under lock and key 厳重に保管されて
stow (場所・容器などに) …をしまい込む, 詰め込む [同意] stow away
stow away (on sth) （＜船など＞に）こっそり乗り込む
stow sth ↔ away ＜…＞をしまい込む, 収納する
have got no end of … ～は枚挙にいとまがない、際限のない～
Oh, it has more than its share of things to do and see...それはもう、することや見るものに事欠かないところなんです

　航空貨物の受付カウンターでの写真です。担当者はルーチン検査なのでしょう。爆発物チェックなどを開始しました。しかし、これは航空貨物ではなく手荷物です。預けた者が一緒に登場するのでそこまで必要なのかなと口に出したとたん、検査は形式的な物になりました。(^_^;)　バッテリー端子を外して絶縁し、荷物を詰め込んで、スクーターはパレットに載せられて厳重に固定。運ばれていきました。次にスクーターを見るのは新千歳空港です。いよいよ北海道！　行きますよ！

Dump Station

　　I arrived at an ANA-designated gas station about 3 hours before my flight. It was required that my scooter had its gasoline removed from the tank by ANA, All Nippon Airways. The picture shows a guy sucking gasoline out of the tank. I was supposed to get together with one of the members of this trip and he reached the station a little later. His motorcycle was also treated in the same way. There was another rider who got on the same plane. We chatted over each other's plans.
　　We headed for the ANA Cargo Terminal, which was 4km away from the dump station. The terminal was a restricted area and we showed our ID and signed some papers, and received permission to get in. The second picture was our ID card in the area. I passed through the gate with no problem, but my friend couldn't. His motorcycle stopped at the gate due to the shortness of gasoline, though the gasoline for the move from the dump station to the airport and from the destination airport to its nearest gas station should have been left in the tank. His machine was equipped with an up-to-date EFI engine, which requires the application of pressure of the gasoline. It means that it needs a little gasoline in the tank. He had to push his motorcycle for about a hundred meters in the hot muggy high noon.

(Vocabulary)
apply pressure 圧力をかける

　いよいよ、ツーリングの始まりです。全日空から指定されたガソリンスタンドに到着しました。ここで残っているガソリンを捨てます。相方のホンダＣＢ４００からも抜き取り完了。４ｋｍ離れた貨物ターミナルへ急ぎました。ところがゲートでＣＢ４００がガス欠。ゲートから受付カウンターまで押して移動。暑い中、大変でした。もう少し余裕を持って残してくれていたら良かったのですが、ＥＦＩエンジンのためガス欠だそうです。

The Instant Ramen Museum

　　I made a side trip to the Instant Ramen Museum next. I presume that you've eaten instant noodles, which are called Ramen in Japan. It's hard to imagine that we could live without instant noodles now. In the case of huge disasters, instant noodles are unquestionably one of the most important emergency foods. Anyway, who invented instant noodles and where? This question came up to me when I found this museum on a map seeking for places to kill time before my flight. The first picture shows the appearance of the museum and the statue of the person who invented instant noodles. He was a Taiwan-native Japanese, Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.
　　In the museum, a small wooden hut was exhibited. It was the reconstruction of the instant noodles laboratory. I stepped into it and saw old cooking utensils, some of which reminded me of my childhood. On the other side of the wall, numerous packages of the company's-made noodles were presented as you see in the following pictures.
　　The entrance was swarming with kids, who were going to create their own cup noodles. It was one of the events for kids. They were able to design the package as they liked and choose the ingredients. More than 50 teams of parents and kids were trying to make their cup noodles from the flour. It might be a good lesson for kids and would make them feel the joy of invention.

(Vocabulary)
make a side trip 立ち寄る

インスタントラーメン発明記念館にて。インスタントラーメンを発明した日清食品創業者。台湾出身の日本人がインスタントラーメンを開発実験を繰り返した小屋の展示、オリジナルのカップヌードルを作るイベント、、、創業者が大切にしていた勲章、タイムに偉人として取り上げられた記事、などいろいろ展示されてもおり、楽しめた。親子連れでごった返していた。

The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

　　Manga account for more than 30% of the total sales of all publications in Japan. Manga, which tell stories through pictures and words, are loved by people of all ages. To create a sense of immediacy, sounds made by characters and sound effects are expressed in words as well. Manga use this technique in a highly sophisticated manner.
　　The origins of manga can be found in a set of picture scrolls drawn about 800 years ago. Entitled "Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans" (Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga Link1 Link2), the work depicts monkeys, rabbits, frogs, and other animals playing together. Here, a rabbit and a frog are grappling with each other just like human sumo wrestlers. Modern manga often include similar scenes, presenting unrealistic situations in a comical way. Developed for creating picture scrolls, the technique of telling a story through a series of pictures became the basis of modern manga.
　　Manga made great advances after World War II, and the artist who started the ball rolling was Osamu Tezuka.
　　I visited his museum in Takarazuka City near Osaka International Airport to kill time before departure, but the museum was not so good in comparison with his remarkable achievements. Though I dropped in at the museum to kill time, I felt ripped off. Next I headed for The Instant Ramen Museum.

(Vocabulary)
a sense of immediacy 臨場感
start/set the ball rolling 口火を切る、スタートする
I felt ripped off  損した気分
Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga　鳥獣人物戯画

スクーターのチェックインまでの半日を大阪観光に使うことにしました。大阪といっても正確には伊丹市周辺です。多分次の投稿で伊丹市周辺でないといけないわけがおわかりになると思います。まず立ち寄ったのが手塚治虫記念館。本当は和田岬砲台へ寄りたかったのですが、木曜日だけしか公開されていないそうで諦めました。手塚治虫の業績は認めますが、それに比べてミュージアムはつまらないものでした。わざわざ見に行く価値はないだろうと思います。がっかりしましたが、気を取り直してインスタントラーメン発明記念館へ向かいます。

Grave Visit

　　July 12th was the 4th anniversary of my boss's death. I worked under him for five years. He was a neurosurgeon, and he was so kind to his patients. One day, he gave me a suit of leathers (link) knowing about his upcoming death. The leathers always remind me of him. I visited his grave this morning.
　　The temple which manages this graveyard runs a kindergarten, too. Today, a briefing session was being held for those who will start kindergarten next spring. Look at the third picture, which shows several pickup vehicles for kids. Can you see the blue and red bus with the face of Thomas on the front. Thomas is the main character of the British TV series, "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends". My daughters were fond of the drama. I assumed that lots of kids would cheerfully get on the bus every morning and afternoon.

(Vocabulary)
leathers 《複数扱い》(革製の) ライダースーツ
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends  きかんしゃトーマスとなかまたち

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/11/leathers.html

Group Riding

　　I joined a one-day motorcycle riding tour, which was planned by a riding school. I rode my scooter to the west end of Shikoku, the fourth biggest island of Japan. This area was where I used to live and I knew it well. After coming back home, I felt like visiting places that are unfamiliar to me. And one more thing, I saw several new models of motorcycles. It was no surprise that every one was wonderful and now, I'm thinking of the replacement for my scooter.

 

Atago, DDG-177

　　One of the six destroyers equipped with the Aegis Combat System, Atago, came into Matsuyama harbor, my hometown. An acquaintance who works in the defense association, which cares for veterans, invited me to the private view of the destroyer prior to the public display. I asked several questions to the crew who guided us in the vessel and his answers were all interesting.
　　I've thought that it's the fundamental structure for every ship that the broadside around the ship is open to outside. I've seen on TV programs that cruise passengers jog or are lying on deckchairs on the broadside. In the case of the recent destroyers, however, the broadside is closed and I've assumed that it's for the prevention of the sea water from coming into the ship. I knew it was wrong today. When the situation reached combat, the outside of the destroyer seems to become like in a microwave oven due to the radar waves. It is harmful for human beings and the crew are supposed to stay in the cabins. The arms set outside are all remote-controlled from the CIC, the Combat Information Center. Searching and detecting the enemies by the naked eye seemingly has already become the past way of fighting.
　　I joined the welcoming party held in the evening. My seat was adjacent to the captain's. The other side was the chief engineer. I was fairly tense, but enjoyed talking with them.

(Vocabulary)
broadside (新聞などの) 痛烈な批判; (軍艦の) 一斉砲撃; 船べり
reach 〈特定の段階・年齢・状態など〉に達する
reach a point/level/stage  程度［水準，段階］に達する
chief engineer 機関長
tense 〈状況・雰囲気などが〉緊迫した, 張りつめた;〈人・表情などが〉緊張した, 張りつめた