Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF)

     A friend of my junior and high school days lives here in Mutsu city. He has advanced to the rank of Colonel of the JSDF and lives in the official JSDF quarters away from his family. He has enough room to give us a night's stay. We spent a night at his residence. Though I know some of my high school alumni want to see his photos, I didn't have his permission to introduce his specialities and facial portrait here. I stored many pictures of us on another space so let me know your e-mail address and I'll send you an url and password.
     Getting back on the track, after taking a bath at Yatate Spa, we enjoyed his home cooking and talking far into the night. I really want to introduce his story here, but that has kinds of secrets. I have to keep it in my heart. Oh, I've almost forgotten to write about Yatate Spa. It was searing-hot water, but relaxing. I felt envious of the locals who can bathe here whenever they want. The recirculation and purification system isn't needed here. We simply bathe in the hot water, the gift of the earth, just after coming out of the earth. What a gorgeous way of bathing!
     He is kind enough to work out of his marine headquarters so that we can observe the inside of a trim destroyer in active service. My bike friend and I prepared some questions in advance.... This morning, when we were about to go out, we found ourselves clad in rags and with riding boots on. We don't have suits because we are just tourists with minimum packs. We had no choice about clothes, but we could rent sneakers from my friend.
     We got into the Marine Base with his car. We received a salute from a Sergeant-at-arms at the gate. I knew how high a rank he is judging from the kind of greeting. I got a few instructions from my friend as to how to get on the destroyer after getting out of the car. Though I thought I knew how to express the honor of going aboard a destroyer, my mind became a complete blank when getting on board. It's because the crew were waiting for us in a line with their white uniforms on. It was a real formal reception. In spite of our shabby clothes! I really tensed up! I almost fainted.
     Though it's 20 years since the destroyer was built, I felt it was well maintained. I couldn't find any accumulation of barnacles on the hull around the water line. Really good maintenance had been done. The destroyer was built by bringing together the outstanding technologies of the U.S. and Japan, and being kept punctiliously in the best condition all the time. The capabilities of the ship must be high.
     They allowed us to take many snapshots. The number of the crew is about 100. They don't have private rooms except for the captain. They have a small bed only for private use. It was like a chicken shelf in a poultry farm. There must be food, water, sewage system, showers, kitchen, laundry, medical room for 100 crew members and enough ammunition and fuel. I wondered where that is kept. I guessed their daily work is so hard in such conditions. I took off my hat to their guts. I felt they were dependable. I'd like to send hearty cheers to the JSDF.

(Vocabulary)
JSDF　自衛隊
colonel  １佐　大佐
quarters  《複数扱い》 (軍人・使用人などの) 部屋, 宿舎
searing-hot  焼けつくような　(痛みなどが)焼けるような
trim  船の出航可能状態〔バラスト・帆などの準備ができて〕
active service  現役、現役勤務、現役服務、常時勤務、戦地勤務
clad in rags  《be ～》ぼろを着ている
sergeant-at-arms  守衛官、警備局長
barnacles on the hull  船体に付いたフジツボ
hull  《海事》船こく、船殻、ハル、船体
punctiliously  きちょうめんに、細かいことにこだわって
poultry farm  養鶏場
dependable  信頼できる、頼りになる、頼もしい、信頼に足る、安心できる

Photo Album

See our shoes! We rented those.

On the deck of the destroyer.

(KW: むつ市 むつ矢立温泉 海上自衛隊 護衛艦 ゆうべつ)

Hotokegaura (Japanese Cappadocia?)

     First, take a look at the photos below. Though it's the first time for me to visit here, I felt it was the second time. I think it looks like the scenery of Cappadocia in Turkey which I saw in a picture somewhere. The name of this place is "Hotokegaura", which faces Tsugaru Strait and lies about halfway between Oomazaki and Mutsu City. Hotokegaura is one of the main sightseeing points of Shimokita Peninsula. If I had had enough time, I would have taken the sightseeing boat, but I couldn't. It took about half an hour to go down there from the National Highway on foot. I perspired a great deal when returning to my bike after 30 minutes' climbing.
     I started promptly for Mutsu City to cool my body. The wind against me on the bike was very comfortable. Finally, I got to Mutsu City. I have a longtime friend here. I'll write about him tomorrow.

(KW: 仏ヶ浦 下北半島)

The Northern End of the Mainland(Honshu)

     I made it all the way here! I'm at Cape Oomazaki, the northern end of Honshu now. This area is famous for delicious cuisine made of tuna. However I didn't have enough time to wait in the line. I left for Mutsu City with painful reluctance. I had to reach there by 7 in the evening because my old friend was waiting for us.

(KW: 大間崎 本州最北端)

Seaside Park

     I parked my bike in the seaside park. Some are taking a lunch, some are bathing in the sea water, some are drinking canned coffee,,,. I was relaxed. It's about 30 minutes left to Cape Oomazaki. Let's go up north.

 

Cape Shiriyazaki

     Cape Shiriyazaki is located at the north-east corner of Shimokita Peninsula and looking down Tsugaru Strait and the Pacific Ocean. There's no such scenery in my hometown. I'm busy taking some snapshots as shown in the 1st photo.
     A paved road extends to the tip of the Cape as the 2nd photo shows. Don't you think it is beautiful? If you are a bike freak like me, you are sure to want to ride around. Do you know the movie, "The Great Escape"? In this movie, Steve McQueen was driving a bike in a meadow. The scenery around here was just like the place in the movie as the 3rd photo shows. When I was about to drive my bike into the meadow, I found some bumps covered with grass on the ground. It was not long before I knew those were the result of horse feces that were put out to pasture around here. Of course I stopped. You can see the bump covered and not covered with grass in the 3rd photo.

     To tell the truth, all around the Cape was a horse ranch. We had to push the button to raise the bar at the border. The last photo was shot at the border of the ranch just before going out of the ranch.

(KW: 尻屋崎 寒立馬)

Taking A Rest

     After lunch, we decided to go east to the Pacific Coast and move towards the north along the east side of Shimokita Peninsula. There are no private residences around there and untouched nature remains. Though we, bike tourers, should be more careful than car drivers to avoid deer, foxes, and other wild animals, it's comfortable to ride on those clear highways. I wondered why Shimokita Peninsula is a windy place. As I saw a lot of wind power generators at Cape Tappizaki, I found them here too. It's only about 30 minutes to Cape Shiriyazaki, but I felt a little tired. We took a rest.
     After coming back home, my friend sent me this photo. I was shocked to see my head. It's getting bald!!!

Neputa

     What do you think this photo shows? It's called a "Neputa". This is used at local summer festivals. The frame is made of wires and bamboo. Papers cover the frame, and then the design is painted on the surface. Some neputa are 22 meters high, 6 meters wide, and weigh 17 tons. All neputa have lights on them and look so vigorous. If you look at the picture carefully, you'll find a looped slope along the wall around the neputa. I visited the neputa museum which was built in Goshogawara City recently. A couple of neputa were exhibited in the musium. I saw a neputa live for the first time. It was the structure of the museum that I was surprised to see. It was like a secret base of "Mobile Suit Gundam". When I saw the neputa for the first time in the museum, I wondered how they put them into the museum. You can see the building at http://www.tachineputa.jp/top.html (sorry, it's in Japanese).

     Lo and behold, one wall of the building moves and slides aside like a door. It's just like a secret base which you can see in an SF movie. The Neputa Festival in Aomori is very famous. There seems to be no power line on the road that the neputa would go on. I felt Aomorism.

(Vocabulary)
vigorous  〈活動などが〉活発な, 盛んな 〈人が〉元気な, たくましい, 〈植物が〉よく育つ
saw a neputa live 生で見る
Lo and behold　驚いたことに、驚くなかれ、これは驚いた、何ということか、そしてなんと、あれよという間に◆会話で相手の注意を引くために使われる
power line  電線   送電線
Aomorism  青森県民気質

(KW: 五所川原市　祭り　ねぷた)

Sudden Rainfall

     It's begun to rain. I parked my bike at a rest stop which we call "Michi no Eki". These rest stops are scattered across Japan and are very convenient. Anyone can use these facilities anytime. I put on my rainsuit.

 

Stepped National Route

     When I express something unusual in English I often feel frustrated. Can you imagine "Stepped National Route" exactly? I wonder what you would imagine from this expression. National Route means the secure road that is strictly managed by the Japanese Government. I think that National Routes must have enough width for at least a small car to go through. However, there is a National Route like a narrow path here. The photo shows Route 339. The blue road sign means that this road is a Japanese National Route. As you can see, this road is not a road but a path. Route 339 starts from Aomori city and goes to Cape Tappizaki (the tip of Tsugaru Peninsula) on its east side along the sea. But it doesn't go round to the westside of the Peninsula. Route 339 starts again from the hill over the tip of the Peninsula. A Stepped route connects both Route 339s by stairs.
     I've no idea why such a curious national road was born, but anyway now I'm sure this stepped path is one of many sightseeing points in Aomori Prefecture. You won't find any such road elsewhere in Japan.

(Vocabulary)
tip 先端

(KW: 階段国道)

Cape Tappizaki

     As we went up north on the Tsugaru Peninsula, it got sunny. When we got to Cape Tappizaki on a finger of the Tsugaru Peninsula, it was completely clear.
     The photos are of me and the radar facility of the Japan Self-Defence Force with the Tsugaru Straits behind. We saw Hokkaido in the hazy distance. There is an undersea railway tunnel under the Strait, which is called the Seikan tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the world. The technique that was used in the construction of this tunnel was used in the construction of the undersea tunnel under the Straits of Dover, I heard.

(Vocabulary)
on a finger of the peninsula  半島の突端に位置する
finger  「細長いもの」全般を指して用いる
chocolate fingers  チョコレートフィンガー
a narrow finger of land  細長い土地
hazy  かすみのかかった, かすんだ 〈思考・記憶などが〉 ぼんやりとした

(KW: 竜飛崎) 

Be Packed

     The photo shows the inside of the ferryboat between Muroran city and Aomori city (the top of Honshu). It takes 7 hours between those cities. I managed to secure my space for a good sleep. It was so packed. The person in the front of the photo is my friend. We made a toast to the happiness of being here. He is a top-class, registered programmar and runs an IT company. Both of us are so busy, and it's so hard to adjust to both schedules. This summer, we had to change the plan again and again. It was lucky we could finally get together here.

Cape Chikiu-Misaki

     This Cape is located at the southern part of Hokkaido, Muroran city and is famous for the beautiful sunset. To my regret, it's overcast weather. I couldn't see the sunset here, but could see the far horizon. I realized the earth is round.

 

Showashinzan: Newly Created Hill in Showa Era

     Just after I received my bike from the transport company at Shin-Chitose Airport near Sapporo city in Hokkaido, I headed westward to Lake Shikotsuko.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/summer-vacation.html    

     I ran along Lake Shikotsuko and reached Lake Toyako that is located by a famous volcano, Mt Usu, which erupted in 2000. This eruption caused massive disasters around the volcano. I visited the devastated area a few days later, so I'll report at that time. The photo shows the Showa-shinzan, which was newly created in Showa-Era. The bike on the far-right is mine. The altitude of Showa-Shinzan is about 400 meters. You might not believe it but this hill was made in about two years (1943-1945) and is emitting a great deal of steam now.

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showashinzan

Motorcycle

     As I wrote in the Interests of About field in the left column, riding a motorcycle is one of my hobbies. I have an offroad motorcycle as shown below. I use this for commuting, sometimes go on a day trip and take a long ride once every couple of years. I want to ride it all year long. However, it's freezing cold in winter to ride, though my hometown is located in a warm area in Japan. Anyway my motorcycle was sleeping in the garage in the winter and its battery was completely down. I charged the battery today, and my motorcycle was brought back to life. I enjoyed riding around my house for a while.

West coast of Hokkaido.  You can see Mt. Rishiri-fuji.

On the hill of Wakkanai in Hokkaido.

 You can see the radar facility of Japan Self Defense Force.

First Ski Day

     It's fine weather. I'm lucky. I went up Whistler mountain with my buddies, my daughters, and a video camera. I could take beautiful movies and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere to my heart's content. However, my jet lag is serious. I fell down twice on an easy course. Something is wrong with me.

     The photo was taken at the top of Whistler Mountain.

My Hospital

     The photo shows the view from the roof of my hospital. My hospital is located in the center of the city. I live in the outskirts of the town and commute by compact car. I sometimes go downtown after getting off work. At that time I leave my car in the parking lot overnight. This location is ideal for hitting the town.

 

Long Walk

      I got up late with a hangover. I had a fugu party with my network friends last night. Though fugu (balloon fish) is kind of poisonous in some parts of it's bowel, it is so delicious when cooked properly.
     I was off today. I went out for a long walk with my dog "Mocha". I live near my Alma Mater now but I don't know this area so much because I have been away for 15 years. Besides I usually use a car or a motorcycle when I go out. To my surprise I found a small shrine honoring a feudal lord. There is a hill near my house. They say there was a castle on top of the hill about 400 years ago and the lord and his son were killed through disembowelment. The history of the area was written on a brass plate. I wondered what scenery those people had been seeing. No buildings, no elevated roads, no trains, no planes,,,.