Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Yobuko Morning Market

　　The first three pictures were taken from the window of our ryokan. Two sight-seeing boats were going out of the bay. This peaceful area looked like Onomichi City located at the coast of the Seto Inland Sea.
　　There was a famous sight-seeing spot called Nanatsugama, which consisted of seven caves at the point of 20 minutes' navigation from our place. Those caves were formed by the erosion of the basaltic cliff. I heard that you could enter the biggest cave by boat and I asked how to apply for the tour at the front desk, but the wave was too high to hold the tour.
　　After breakfast we went out to see the morning market, which was well-known for its nostalgic atmosphere with a long tradition. It was a bit early and the street wasn't busy. We walked along in a relaxed mood. I got a coffee cup of Karatsu ware at the shop in the following picture. I'm going to use it in my office.

(Vocabulary)
navigation 　航海［飛行］術; 航行［飛行］させること; 航海, 飛行
hold the tour 　ツアーを開催する
basalt 　玄武岩






最初の３枚の写真は旅館の窓からの風景。早朝２隻の観光船が呼子湾から外海へ向けて進んでいる。瀬戸内の尾道市に似たのんびりとしたたたずまいの土地だ。

すぐ近くに七ツ釜と呼ばれる７つの洞窟がある。黒い玄武岩の断崖が波に浸食されて出来たもので、最大サイズの洞窟は遊覧船で観光できると聞いていたので、七ツ釜観光についてフロントで尋ねたが、外海は荒れていて今日は観光船は運休だと伝えられた。

朝食後、朝市見物に出発。時間が早すぎたみたいで、観光客は少なかったが、写真の店で唐津焼のコーヒーカップを入手。オフィスで使うことにする。良い想い出になった。

Yobuko

　　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

宿に到着

名護屋城や有名な武将の陣地跡などを見て、呼子の宿に入った。古い部類の宿である。近くの宿の中には休業中の宿もあった。武漢ウイルスの影響だろうか？部屋で少し仲居さんの説明を聞いた後、散歩に出た。写真は宿の前の海である。イカ釣り漁船が並んでいた。写真に写っている客船は近くの島へ向かう定期船。地図を見ると一部は橋で繋がれているが、小さな離島がいくつもある。ちっぽけな島々、このときは知らなかったが、翌日にその驚くべき歴史を知ることになる。

さて、夕食である。最低限のスタッフで最低限のサービスに徹している感じがした。武漢ウイルスの影響がここにも出ていて、何とかこの時期を乗り切ろうという覚悟が見えた。料理は追加注文は不可。その日に必要な分だけを仕入れているのだろうと思う。入浴時間帯の制限もあった。部屋はきれいに片付いていたが質素な部屋だった。しかし、この地の名物、いか料理は絶品だった。イカは透明で、食べやすいサイズに刻まれていてもまだ足を動かしていた。白くなったイカしか知らなかったのでとてもその透明さに驚き、その味にも驚いた。地元の冷酒はまた格別だった。またイカを食べるために訪れたい、そう思わせる味だった。

 

 

Hado Cape and the Japan-Korea Tunnel

　　I was able to view the small islands and the Genkai-nada Sea in the distance from the Nagoya Castle Remains, but I went to the seacoast, Hado Cape additionally. Did Hideyoshi come there, the very end of Kyushu, and look toward the continent? It was only an undersea observatory that was man made in the scene from the tip of the cape. I was happy to know that I saw the same scene as in the era of Hideyoshi. How did Hideyoshi imagine the world over the sea?
　　The next visiting site was the controversial exploratory drilling spot for the Japan-Korea Tunnel. When I heard of the plan of tunnel-drilling between Japan and Korea for the first time, maybe 4-5 years ago, I assumed it to be fake news, but it actually existed near the Nagoya Castle Remains. Moreover the drilling site was in the midst of the positions of military commanders serving under Hideyoshi. I wonder who of the commanders imagined that the tunnel from there to the Korean Peninsula would be planned 400 years after their fight? Roughly overlooking the history of Japan, it was the times of restricted trade with China and Korea when Japan had spent really happy times. And so, I think that this tunnel is unnecessary and even inauspicious. To my delight, simply, this project seemed to be stranded.

波戸岬と日韓トンネル

名護屋城跡から遠くの島々を見渡せたのだが、地域の最北端に寄ってみた。波戸岬だ。秀吉もここから大陸の方角を眺めただろうか。周りに人工物は一つだけ。海中の様子を眺めることのできる海中塔だけだ。秀吉の時代と同じ景色を見ているのだと思うと嬉しくなった。海の向こうの様子を秀吉はどのように想像しただろうか。

次に訪れたのが日韓トンネルの調査が行われている場所。初めて聞いたときフェイクニュースだと思ったが、実際に存在していた。この場所は名護屋城跡のすぐそば、周りは秀吉配下の武将たちの陣地が密集していた場所。この武将たちの中で誰が、４００年後にこの地から朝鮮半島へ向けてトンネルが掘られるような計画が持ち上がるなどと想像したろうか。歴史を見れば、日本が平和だった時代は例外なく、大陸との交易に制限を掛けていた時代。なので、このようなトンネルは無用だと思う。ただ、嬉しいことにこの調査、活発に進んでいるような様子はなかった。

Nagoya Castle Remains

　　I visited Nagoya Castle Remains without due preliminary knowledge on it and its magnitude amazed me. You might wonder, but this huge castle's remains aren't so well-known even among Japanese.
　　Most modern history textbook are edited by the anti-Japan schools and they tell us that the 16th century's leader of Japan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, was an evil and ugly man. However, as far as I had learned by myself, he was a great man. I was taught that he planned to invade Korea and Nagoya Castle was the advanced base for it, but his action was natural if you see from the point of Japan's national security. More than 100 positions were built around the castle and you can still see some of their ruins. Seeing how enormous this ruin was, I assumed that Hidehoshi might have a plan to newly build a big city at this northernmost area of Kyushu.
　　I dropped in at a museum established as an annex and was surprised again at its exhibition including false information distorted by the anti-Japan perspective of history. I'd like to know who supervised this exhibition and asked about that at the front desk, but no one knew. I can point out more than 10 false items. For example, they say, rice cultivation was brought to Japan "from Korea". To tell the truth, this has been completely denied by recent archaeology. The panel on the wall read Kaboto(河姆渡) ruin near Shanghai and Itazuke ruin in Kyushu, which had perfectly destroyed old theories. Didn't the supervisor know about these important ruins? I'll show you some pictures shot at the Nagoya Castle Remains.

(Vocabulary)
position [C] (軍隊の) 陣地

名護屋城

ほとんど予備知識を持たず訪れた。そしてその規模に驚いた。これほどの城跡、もっと世に知らしめねばならないだろう。

１６世紀末の日本の指導者、秀吉を悪と教える現在の教科書。自分で調べて勉強した結果、よくぞこの時代にいてくれたものだと感謝しかない。偉人である。この城は朝鮮半島経由で明と戦うための前線基地。秀吉の邪心からの朝鮮侵略だと教えられるが、あれは日本の安全保障を考えれば当然の対応である。城跡の周囲には各地の大名の陣地が作られていた。その数、ざっと１００以上。大変な規模である。そのうち、大きな陣地の跡は今でも残っている。秀吉はここに巨大な都市を造ろうとしたのではないか。そんな気さえしてくるほどの規模の城跡だった。

併設されている歴史ミュージアムへ入ってみた。なんと、反日史観のオンパレードだった。半島系の学者が作ったのだろう。誰が監修しているのか知りたかったが、スタッフに尋ねてもわからなかった。例えば稲作は朝鮮半島から日本に伝わったなどと寝言が書かれていた。壁に掛かるパネルには河姆渡遺跡や板付遺跡が記入されているのにである。名護屋城跡周辺で撮った写真を何枚かＵＰする。

Trip to Saga

　　As I've been feeling confined these days due to the outbreak of the Wuhan virus, I decided to make a trip to Saga prefecture, whose level of the virus's prevalence was about the same as my prefecture. The local government issues an alarm to avoid moving into pandemic areas like Tokyo, Hokkaido, and so on. Saga was out of the alarm areas. My purpose was to visit the Nagoya Castle Remains. FYI, this castle is located in Kyushu and is different from the famous Nagoya Castle in Aichi prefecture in central Japan. The place of the remains is called Yobuko, which is well-known for its famous specialty of squid, which is my wife's favorite.
　　There was some routes for Saga prefecture and I chose the ferry boat between Misaki, the westernmost town of Shikoku and Saganoseki, the almost easternmost town of Kyushu. I spent the last two years of elementary school days at Misaki town, so I felt nostalgic to see and find the change of the streets and other scenes. The picture of the chimney below was shot just before the arrival in Saganoseki. Its of a very famous copper refinery and you can see it from Misaki town. The chimney was towering just the same as 50 years ago. Another picture shows the site of evacuation. I learned that such places were called muster stations during my cruise trip. Is this expression "Emergency assembly point" right?

佐賀旅行

武漢ウイルスによる生活の制限のためなんとも息苦しい。気分転換に感染者数が愛媛県と同レベルの佐賀県へ観光に行くことにした。行き先は名護屋城跡。すぐそばの呼子はカミさんの好物のイカで有名な町。

ルートは愛媛県の西の端から九州に渡るフェリーを利用。この土地は小学校時代に２年間過ごした土地。実に懐かしい。下の煙突の写真は目的地の佐賀関港に到着直前に撮影した。天気が良いと四国側からも見える煙突だ。そして最後の写真は緊急時の集合場所を示した看板。英語の表現に引っかかった。マスターステーションという単語は知っているが、この表現も正しいのかな？

Inspection by Housing Company

　　My house will turn 17 years from its construction next March. The housing company which had built my house advised us to get the house inspected about the outer wall and the roof. I wrote about the inspection of my house in the 10th year here (link). As I wrote, the observation of the roof was done with a camera attached on the top of a rod. You can see pictures of those days in my entry. 7 years has passed since then, and the method of inspection was changed this time.
　　A drone was used to observe the roof and the outer wall this time. I felt that the observation became finer and closer. The use of drones wasn't prevalent 7 years ago, but now it has become popular. It would be also one of the good examples of conversion of technology from military-use to commercial-use. No matter how it was developed, the technique was thankful. I was looking at how the inspection was done. In general, there were no signs requiring urgent repair, but the detailed report is supposed to come to us.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/12/ten-years-inspection.html

自宅点検

我が家は新築からもうすぐ１７年を迎える。先日、建築会社から案内があり、今日、屋根と外壁の検査担当者が来て、検査を受けた。１０年目の検査の時はこの記事のように竿の先にカメラを付けて屋根の点検を行った。外壁は目視だけ。

どんな検査だったかというと、ドローンを使った詳細な検査だった。７年前にはまだ一般的ではなかったドローンの利用が今や誰でもが使えるようになった。これも軍事技術が民生用になった一例だろう。経緯はどうあれ、有り難い。検査の様子をずっと眺めていた。概ね問題ないようだったが、検査結果は後日動画を詳細に検討してから届けられるとのこと。

Crane Climbing

　　My workplace is located on the waterfront facing the Seto Inland Sea and two huge jib crane towers are there. I was wondering if I could climb up to the level of the operation booth to see how it works and if the operator climbs down every single time he/she does business, or if the crane itself is equipped with a restroom. When I asked a veteran worker about the question, he advised me to go up to the operation booth by myself some day.
　　This morning he came to my office and told me that one of the two cranes is out of work today and he can show me the crane right away. It's a really peaceful day without a strong wind. I was happy and followed him, but it was only a third of the height of the operation booth that I could reach. As you imagine, I was scared. It was clear and brilliant with a mild breeze. The view was great but the stairs were wild and exposed. I would need to become habituated to the height. I was resolved to climb up to the operation booth next time and went down with extreme care.
　　The following picture was shot on the highest point I got to today. My company is a company complex and I'll show you the website of this company, Material Handling Systems, below.

https://www.shi.co.jp/shi-mh/english/product/jibcrane.html

勤務している工場群は瀬戸内に面した海岸にある。そこにクレーンが二基そびえている。前々から登ってみたいと思っていた。このクレーンを操作する人はトイレのたびに降りてくるのだろうか。上り下りが大変だろうと思っていた。それとも、上にトイレがあるのだろうか、、、、

ベテラン作業員が健康相談室へやって来た。今日は一基が稼働せず、また風邪の無い日だったので案内するという、、、。早速同行したが登れたのは約１／３の高さまでだった。怖くなって途中で断念。微風ではあったが、外へむき出しの階段はスリルがあった。てっぺんまで上がるのには慣れが必要だろう。次回こそはと心に決めて退散した。

Space Park, Rocket Square, Cape Kadokura again, then Airport

　　We visited Space Park and Rocket Square where there stood a monument to commemorate the Tennoh's visit to the island. Then, we headed for Cape Kadokura again. I wanted to view the ocean from the hill.
　　We flew to Kagoshima City. We were supposed to fly to our hometown, Matsuyama City, from Kagoshima on the same day, but the flight was cancelled. We had to stay in Kagoshima for a night and get on a bullet train, Kyushu Shinkansen, to Fukuoka City on the next day. We'd never gotten on that and it was fun. Moreover, the train fare and the hotel fee were paid by JAL. It was also a kind of trip, but there were little other tourists in the train and Fukuoka airport, so the trip was a little lonely.

宇宙が丘公園、ロケット広場、そしてもう一度門倉岬、空港

鹿児島から松山への直行便があるのだが、キャンセルとなり、一泊して新幹線で福岡へ行き、そこから飛行機で帰った。宿泊代も、新幹線料金もＪＡＬがみてくれたのでちょっとした旅行であったが、乗客はまばら、福岡空港も閑散としており、寂しい旅だった。

Scar of The War and Engee Chicken

　　On the way back to the town, we found several scars of the war which we didn't notice on the way. Some were the caves for cannons, or ammunition dumps. I understood that this island has been very important as a hub of traffic and military actions.
　　We picked up the local food of Engee chicken, for lunch. We dropped in at a restaurant which put up several banners of Engee Chicken, but there was no customer other than us. A waiter said to us, "There are so many customers here in a usual year." This restaurant was also under the influence of the Wuhan virus.

戦争の痕跡

行きに気がつかなかった戦争の痕跡が注意していると次々に見つかった。砲台跡だったり、弾薬庫だったり。この島は古来より確かに交通の要衝、軍事的にも重要な場所だったのだと実感した。
この日のお昼はインギー鶏を食べることにした。大々的に幟の出ている店に入ったが、閑散としていた。本来は人で賑わっているのだが、、、と店主。ここにも武漢ウイルスの影響が出ていた。

Former Japanese Navy Air Station and Masuda Tracking and Communication Station

　　We drove our car under the guide of the car navigation to Masuda Tracking and Communication Station and found a monument showing us that we were already in the area of the former air station. Viewing around, I knew the terrain was almost flat. The construction of the air station was apparently stopped by the defeat of the war, but the creation of land seemed to be completed. The area was covered with a vast grassy plain and if we didn't read the description, we'd not notice that we were in the area of the former air station. I wanted to visit some other places on the map, but we had other plans and went back to the town. The calligraphy on the monument was produced by Mr. Minoru Genda, who was a famous fighter pilot and also a member of the House of Representatives after the war.
　　The Masuda Tracking and Communication Station has an exhibition space for visitors, but it was closed to avoid three conditions that facilitate the transmission of infectious diseases; closed spaces, crowds, and close contact. We were really infuriated against the Wuhan virus.

(Vocabulary)
creation of land 　造成工事

九州海軍航空隊種子島基地史跡と増田宇宙通信所

ナビに従い増田宇宙通信所を目指して進むと基地跡を示す碑があった。なんのことはない、通信所自体が旧種子島基地にあった。周りを見た渡すと確かに平らになっている。滑走路建設は敗戦により中断したとのことだが、平らな土地の造成までは出来ていたようだ。一面草原になっており、説明がなければ滑走路だったとは気がつきにくい。看板にある説明を読んで、他の基地跡にもあちこち巡ってみたかったが、後の予定があるためここから引き返した。碑文の揮毫はあの源田實氏だった。

通信所は本来はその機能を説明した展示室があるのだが、武漢ウイルスのため休館中。本当に忌々しいウイルスだ。

Monument of Settlement

　　The construction of the air station started in 1942 and the inhabitants around the area were forcibly evacuated. Their houses, farms, vital wells and other important infrastructures were flattened. After the war, however, the former villagers came back to their original place and rebuilt their villages. This monument was built to praise their comebacks. I felt the hardships of people of 80 years ago.

入植記念碑

昭和17年に軍事基地の建設が決まり、古くから住んでいた住民は全て強制的に移住させられた。戦後、再び入植を開始し、今に至る歴史が看板に書かれていた。80年前の人々がどれほど辛い思いをして自らの郷土を維持してきたか、身にしみてわかった。

Brick Chimney

　　An old brick chimney abruptly emerged in front of us. I pulled over my car beside its signboard which read that this place was the dormitory and cooking place for the workers for the construction of the runway. The detailed structure of the dormitory didn't hand down to date, but even an amateur could detect the old-fashioned oven and the bathtub. The scar of the Bomber-29's attack apparently remained in the upper part of the chimney. After the war, a company from out of the island built a blast furnace there and produced cooking pans and other kitchen utensils from the wrecks (duralumin) of the military planes. I became eager to seek for the former air station and its runway, for there was no flat area around.

レンガの煙突

煙突と廃墟が残っていた。戦争中、急遽種子島基地が作られた。この場所は集められ基地で働く人々のための宿舎、調理場の跡だという。詳しい構造は伝えられていないが、素人目にも風呂とかまどは確認できる。煙突上部にはＢ29による爆撃の跡が残っているらしい。戦後、米軍により建物は破壊されたとある。戦後は島外からやって来た業者により、溶鉱炉が設置され、飛行機の残骸(ジュラルミン)などを材料として鍋やしゃもじが作られていたらしい。案内板を読み、どこに基地があったのか、今でも確認できるのか、探したい気持ちになった。

War-related Site Tour

　　I assumed that the Tanegashima Space Center was the only space-related facility on the island before visiting the island, but that was not the case. Tanegashima Island has several facilities for space exploration. The rocket launch is very eye-catching, but it is supported by other departments handling its design, assembly, fuel and supply, the control of the rocket in and after the launch, and so on. Mainly in the south of the island looking at various signposts, I knew that those facilities were dotted around southern Tanegashima Island.
　　A number of facilities are usually open to the public but all of them were closed during the prevalence of the Wuhan virus. However, I was going to visit the Masuda Space Communications Center, because it was located between our hotel and the airport, though I knew its exhibition room and guided tour was closed. Guess what, I came across sites or ruins related to the last war one after another on the way to the center. I wondered why those sites didn't appear on the map.
　　A signpost caught my eye, which read War Room ruin. There seemed to have existed the Tanegashima Air Station of the Japanese Imperial Navy about 80 years ago. I understood the historical fact seeing a string of historic sites which came up one after another. The first one was the former War Room, whose pictures are below. I've seen another war room in the former Uzurano Air Station (link). As far as I can judge from the pictures, both war rooms were alike.

(Vocabulary)
dot 《通例受け身形で》 …に点在する
Small farms dot the landscape. その風景には小さな農家が点在している．
be dotted with something ＜…＞が点在している
The hills are dotted with trees. 丘には木々が点在している．
be dotted around/about something ＜場所＞のあちこちに散らばっている

鶉野飛行場 
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2016/11/uzurano-air-station.html

戦跡巡り

種子島には何カ所も宇宙開発関連の施設がある。種子島宇宙センターだけだと考えていたが、打ち上げだけの話ではなく、設計開発、製造、燃料管理、打ち上げ時、打ち上げ後の管理などいろいろな役割分担がある。実は旅行前にはそんなことさえ知らなかった。

今回の旅では宇宙関連のそれら施設見学は全て閉鎖。武漢ウイルスのためである。しかし宿から空港までの途中にある増田宇宙通信所へは寄ってみようと思った。展示室が閉鎖されていることはわかっていたが、その周辺を見るだけでも良いかなと。ところが途中、とんでもない場所を次々と見つけた。少しずつ紹介しようと思う。これらの施設のほとんどが地図に載っていないことが不思議だ。

通信所への途中、道路脇にあった案内板が目に留まった。種子島に海軍航空隊種子島基地があったようだ。次々と現れる戦跡をみてわかったことだが、来島前にはまったく知らなかった。最初に見つけたのが作戦室。同じような構造の作戦室を鶉野飛行場でも見つけた。このときは施設の関係者がたまたまやって来て中に入ることが出来たのだが、写真で見る限り種子島の作戦室も同じような感じだ。

An Old Folk House

　　I came across a signboard of an old historic folk house on the way to our hotel. It was getting dark, but I traced the signboards on the narrow path and got to the house. There was no one, even a caretaker. He/she might not think that someone would come in such a time slot. The house was open to the public. Looking at various folk arts that were actually used for living, I recalled the lives of those days. Their lives would have been inconvenient, though inconvenient lives are not always unhappy.
　　I read a few records about the relationship and communication between the locals and those who were saved from wrecked ships in 16th and 18th centuries. I can perfectly declare that the locals were absolutely kind and I thought that such a characteristic of the locals would never be produced by unhappy lives.
　　We were going to visit some other places tomorrow which we didn't visit yet. Then we were supposed to return our car at the airport and leave the island. The hotel served us local dishes on the last night on the island. Everything was new to us.
　　To tell the truth, I thought that we had already visited all the popular spots at that time, but I happened to find very important sites on the next day. This trip memo will still continue for some time.

(Vocabulary)
caretaker (家・土地などの) 管理人

古市家住宅という看板を見つけたので立ち寄った。種子島の伝統的な家屋できれいに保存されていた。夕方だったためか、観光客など来ないと思ったか、管理人はいなかった。今から100年も前のこの島での生活を想った。さぞかし不便だったろうなあと。宿では最後の夕食。島の名物をいろいろと出してもらった。

Large Spiny Tree Fern (Cyatea spinulosa) Woods

　　I found these woods in the pamphlet which I took from the information counter in the airport. As soon as I saw pictures of the woods, I decided to visit the woods. It looked like it was outside Japan like a scene of a rain forest in a tropical region. This island is a tiny island, but it has various attractive features.

(Vocabulary)
fern シダ (シダ目の植物の総称)
spiny〈動植物が〉 とげのある［多い］, 針のある

ヘゴ自生群落

空港でもらったパンフレットの中にこのシダ類の群生地区の写真があった。熱帯地方のジャングルのような写真を見て絶対に立ち寄りたいと思っていた。写真ではなかなか伝わりにくいが、日本だとは思えない区域だった。小さな島なのに本当にいろいろな景色があることに驚いた。

Waterfall!

　　Tanegashima Island has no highlands, different from the neighboring island of Yakushima Island, so I was surprised to find a waterfall on the map. The waterfall was in the thick woods as if it wanted to hide itself from the outer world. The guide map reads that its water never dries up even in the dry season.

高地のない島なので滝が存在することに驚いた。立ち寄ると、うっそうとした森の中に隠れるように存在していた。渇水期でも水が涸れることはないらしい。

Rocket Base against the Rising Sun

　　The picture shows the Tanegashima Space Center in the brilliant light. It was shot from Eminoe Prospect which I visited again because of the fine weather. How beautiful the scenery was! I want to view a rocket rising and being absorbed into the sky at any price.

早朝、朝日に映えるロケット発射場を眺めるために再び恵美之江展望公園へやってきた。実に美しい風景だった。なんとしても、ここからロケット発射を眺めてみたいものだ。

"Chikura no Iwaya" Again

　　We visited "Chikura no Iwaya" again. When we visited there the day before yesterday, the tide was just starting to rise. We had to flee the cave before it would sink under the sea, but today, we checked the ebb time out and got to the cave. I was surprised by the magnitude of the cave. My wife said to me, "If we took our daughters here when they were very young, they would play hide-and-seek." In this trip, I forgot to bring my single-lens reflex camera, a wide-angle lens and tripod, and so on. Though I packed them in a bag, I left the bag in my room,,,. The wide-angle was necessary to take pictures of this cave.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2020/09/caves-at-seashore-chikura-no-iwaya.html

一昨日、訪れた千座の岩屋をもう一度訪ねた。一昨日は潮が満ちてきて急いで、逃げるようにその場を離れたのだが、この日は時間を計算し、一番潮の引いた時間帯を狙って行った。岩の中を歩き、その規模に驚いた。広角レンズ、ストロボ、三脚など、すべて忘れてきたことが悔やまれた。是非とも写真をご覧ください。

Kumanoura Beach

　　Kumanoura Beach was the nearest beach from our hotel. We walked along the beach. The beach was very nice. The sand was fine and the waves were calm. What a beautiful beach it was! However, there was no one other than us. Incredible! It must have been crowded without the effect of the Wuhan virus. It was really regrettable.

熊野浦海岸
宿から一番近いビーチに寄ってみた。砂も景色も波も最高に素晴らしい。これほどのビーチなのに人がいない。コロナウイルスの影響だろうと思う。本来なら大勢の観光客で賑わっているだろうに。残念なことだ。

The Colony of Mangroves

　　People who are used to seeing the colony of mangroves would make nothing of them, but we were moved to see their colony for the first time. We felt that we were surely near a subtropical region. The comfortable walkway was set in the midst of the colony and we were able to see even the details, such as flowers of the mangroves, and small creatures living in/on the mud below the colony.

(Vocabulary)
colony (動植物の) コロニー 群生, (細菌の) 集落, コロニー

マングローブ群生地

見慣れた人には何でもない風景だと思うが、これだけ広くマングローブが育っているのを初めて見た。宿のすぐ近くにあった。泥に足を取られないよう地上１メートルほどの高さに遊歩道が設けられており、快適にマングローブ群生地を散歩できた。日本国内ではあるが、かなり南にいることを実感できた。