Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

What I think about Myanmar's situation

　　Recently I often see Myanmar's anti-military government demonstrations on TV. In general, it's bad to take over the government by the military power. However, are you acceptable for the media's reports from the unilateral side? All demonstrations which I saw on TV were performed in the capital or big cities. I wanted to see how the rural areas are. I've heard that Suu Kyi and her party hasn't taken care of rural districts. I'd like to know the evaluation of the military coup in the rural country. Military personnel should have their families and friends. Their points of view should show up on the media's report. When all the media go in the same direction, I'd like to dare to hear their opponents and evaluate the situation carefully.

(Vocabulary)
coup (coup d'état とも) (武力などによる) クーデター

このところしばしばミャンマーの反軍事政権デモを見る。一般的に考えれば、民主政府を倒し、クーデターで政権を取ることはよくない。しかし、全てのメディアがデモを支持し、軍を否定するのはどうなのだろうかと思う。デモは都市部で行われているが、都市部以外での軍事クーデターに関する評価はどうなっているのか、知りたいと思う。軍人にも家族や友人がいるだろう。その人たちの意見も報道に出てきても良いと思うのだが。メディアが一方向を向く場合、僕は敢えて反対の立場の人の意見も聞き、冷静に状況を判断したいと思う。

Resignation of the Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Preparation Committee

　　The former Prime Minister, Mr. Mori, stepped down as the chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Preparation Committee, being criticized for his remarks, which allegedly looked down on women. I wondered what remarks on earth he had made. I searched for his full statement and was surprised to read it. There was no intention in his remarks to despise women. The media cut out a part of his comments and criticized him taking no notice of the full context. What could be happening? Are there some forces which want to interfere with the Tokyo Olympic Games?
　　What the hell are these malicious acts by the media for? I saw the same scene in the last U.S. presidential election. Unspeakably autocratic movement by the leftist media and IT giants is beyond description. People who don't deliberate by themselves are easily influenced or captured by the current of thought. I feel something dangerous in those people.
　　I remember a philosopher's words: Democracy works only when ordinary people are smart. I realized his words are right seeing the resignation of the chairman.

(Vocabulary)
despise …を軽べつする, 見下す, 嫌悪する
take notice (of sb/sth) （＜…＞に）耳を傾ける, 気を配る
take no notice (of sb/sth) （＜…＞に）見向きもしない, （＜…＞を）無視する
not take any/much notice (of sb/sth) （＜…＞を）まったく［あまり］気に留めない
current (ある集団内の) 思想, 意見, 風潮
a current of thought 支配的な思想［考え方］, 思潮

　女性蔑視発言の責任を取ってオリンピック会長が辞任した。一体どんな発言をしたのだろうかと発言記録を読んでみた。なんと驚くことに、彼の発言の文脈に女性蔑視などと言うものはない。前後を切り取り、ごく一部の発言を取り出して批判している。東京オリンピックを是が非でも中止させたい勢力が存在するのだろう。
　いったい、マスコミのこの悪意に満ちた行動はなんなんだ。先のアメリカ大統領選挙でも見てきたが、昨今の左翼メディア、大手ＩＴ業界の横暴は筆舌に尽くしがたい。また自分で考えることをせず、世の流れに、マスメディアに流されてしまう、考えない人たち。
　民主主義とは、民がまともであるときだけに機能するシステムだと誰か哲学者が言っていたがその通りだと実感している。

Silent Marriage

　　My second daughter got married today on National Foundation Day, on which the 1st Ten-noh, what you call Japan's Emperor, Jinmu, ascended to the throne 2681 years ago. It should be a happy and epoch-making event in my family, but as you know, we are told to refrain from having a big party including even wedding ceremonies. As a result, my second daughter left home silently. I resent the outbreak of the Wuhan virus.

(Vocabulary)
resent 〈不当な扱いなど〉 に憤慨する, 〈人〉 を恨む

 

Reliability of Existing Media

　　The number of Youtubers is increasing in Japan. It might be due to the dishonesty of the existing media. I don't completely trust the existing media. Their report is often unilateral or partial if they aren't wrong. I wanted to know what's going on in Texas now and the way to get information was to search for videos from the residents in Texas. I found many video clips on YouTube. I'm relieved to know the situation is getting better. What is right, or what is wrong, I keenly feel the importance of considering when taking in others' thoughts.

(Vocabulary)
dishonesty 　不正（行為）, いんちき



ＹｏｕＴｕｂｅで情報発信をする人が急激に増えてきた。おそらくは既存メディアの報道に嘘が多く含まれるためだろう。僕も既存メディアの報道をほとんど信じなくなった。彼らの報道は嘘でないとしても一面的で公正な報道とは言えない。何が本当で何が嘘なのか、慎重に見極めながら情報は受け取らねばならないと痛切に感じている。

Amazon Kindle

　　Reading is one of my favorite occupations. I've found that very often my eyes pass over the words without taking in the meaning, but even though, as many books as I read, I get as much knowledge as I can. Reading books is a big delight to me. However I sometimes feel the deterioration of my memory. When I have to specify the information source - for example when I'd like to explain something to others - it's not seldom that I can't recall where in which book the source was written. I frequently get irritated by that. Then I found out about Amazon's "KINDLE". I read several affirmative and negative opinions of the present Kindle users online and those comments sounded very handy to me, and I bought one at last year's Cyber Monday Sale on Amazon.
　　I have bought several Kindle version books online since then. A few minutes after I had ordered books from Amazon, I could read those books even after midnight. This system is really handy though it's a little sad that my bookshelves won't get occupied by good books. On the other hand, however, I won't be bothered to prepare the store space for flooding books.
　　To my utmost delight, I can carry lots of books all the time in my body bag and I can read books in my short free time. It's a little unhandy to take notes on pages of Kindle version books more than on paper-base books, but not impossible. Above all, you can use online search services like Google Search or online dictionaries anytime if your Kindle is connected to the internet. I don't need to even carry dictionaries!
　　The only question is how many books my Kindle can keep, but I'll worry about it when my Kindle reaches its maximum capacity.

(Vocabulary)
occupation [C] a way of spending your time; [=]pastime:
One of my childhood occupations was collecting stamps.
Then そんなとき

読書は趣味の一つ。時々、無意識になって十分な理解をせぬまま、眼だけが文字を追っているようなときがあるが、それでも読めば読んだだけ知識が増えるし、楽しい。ただ、記憶する能力が落ちてきたようで、後で書かれていた情報を確かめるときにどの本のどこに書かれていたのかわからずに困ることがよくある。そんなとき、アマゾンのキンドルを知った。使っている人からの言葉で便利そうに思い、またサイバーマンデーのセールで半額くらいになっていたので購入。昨年末の話だ。

その後、何冊も購入した。本棚に本が並ばないのがさみしいが、多くなると保管場所に困ることにもなる。嬉しいのは、持ち歩いているバッグの中に何冊もの本が入っていること。ちょっとした時間に本が読める。紙ベースと比べてメモを記入することに制限があるが、書き込みできないわけではないし、なにより検索が使えることが素晴らしい。またネットに繋がっていれば不明な単語、用語がすぐに調べられることも素晴らしい。消費電力がごく少なく、また目に優しい照明となっている。

問題はどれくらいの本を保存できるかと言うこと。まあそれは一杯になってしまったときに考えることにしよう。

Speaking Exercise

　　The progress of internet technology has produced a variety of new business in all kinds of sectors. My company started a program that encourages employees to learn English under a contact with an internet technology company the other day, which connects Philippine students, who live in their country, and Japanese who want to practice English conversation. I applied for this program and was accepted. The practice fee is supposed to be paid by my company for its 70% and my defrayal is only 30%. Additionally even such 30% of lesson fee is expected to be paid by the company if participants attain everyone's goal.
　　I've not so much difficulty in reading English books and papers. I feel a little hardships in writing English sentences, but not much. However, I'm not at all good at speaking English. As for listening, if you speak in clear pronunciation like trained announcers or stage actors, I can catch you, but in noisy circumstances like in the bar, railroad station or somewhere like that, my listening ability heavily deteriorates.
　　This endeavor by my company seemed to have started last year and the result was apparently ideal. That's why the company set the English-learning campaign. Taking advantage of this endeavor, I'm going to practice English conversation.

(Vocabulary)
defrayal 負担
endeavor
[C](フォーマル) 試み
in an endeavor to do something ＜…＞する試みとして
make every endeavor to do something ＜…＞するためにあらゆる試みをする
[U] 努力
scientific/creative/artistic/human endeavor 科学的［創造的，芸術的，人間の］努力

 

フィリピン人と会話練習

インターネットの発達はいろいろなビジネスを生んできたが、フィリピンの大学の学生を雇い、日本人と会話をさせることにより日本人の英語能力向上を目指す英語教育プログラムがある。学生はフィリピン在住で、オンラインでの会話練習だ。
勤務している会社がこの教育会社と契約して社員のうち希望者に英会話のレッスンを受けさせるという社内プログラムがある。去年は数十名が申し込んだらしい。案内が来たので早速申し込んだ。３月１日から開始して８月いっぱいまで。費用負担は本人が3割だが、Toeicのスコアが上がったらレッスン費用は全て会社持ちとのこと。
英語を読むことについてはあまり苦労は無くなったが、書くことには少し苦労があり、話すのは苦手である。聞くことについてはキャスターのような英語でゆっくり喋ってくれたら聞き取れるが、居酒屋で交わされる会話には入ってはいけない。これを奇貨として話すことにも力を入れていきたい。

Rusty Downtown

　　I drove my car downtown in the evening and saw its surprisingly deserted atmosphere. The municipality now regulates the bars and restaurants which serve alcoholic drinks to close their business at 20:00 hours in exchange for official benefits. The regulation will be in effect for two weeks, but if the prevalence of the virus continues to expand, the period would become longer. I have some familiar bars downtown and I hope they will survive this virus crisis.

(Vocabulary)
deserted
〈場所・通りなどが〉 人けのない, 閑散とした
The streets were deserted. 通りには人けがなかった．
〈建物・町などが〉 さびれた, 打ち捨てられた
a deserted mining town さびれた炭鉱の町



寂れたダウンタウン

夜、車でダウンタウンを走ってみた。その静かさに驚いた。現在、酒を出す店は２０時で店を閉めねばならない。また完全に休業したら政府から補助金が出るので、２０時で閉めるよりも休んだ方が有利だと考えて休業する店もある。対策強化期間は２週間の予定であるが、期間が延長されたら潰れる店も出てくるだろう。ダウンタウンにはなじみの店が何軒もある。何とか持ちこたえて欲しい。

Backup

　　Lots of countries are suffering from the prevalence of the Wuhan virus. Japan is one of those and medical personnel and other people concerned have been spending hectic days. I left the clinical field last summer and am working as an industrial physician now. That is to say, I don't take on the treatments of the patients of pneumonia any more, but today, I work in a hospital as a substitute of physicians who went out to the front line against the virus.
　　When can human beings overcome the outbreak of the Wuhan virus? I'd like to go out for trips and to have big parties with friends. I'll have my first grandchild next month, but now, my company requests employees not to move across the prefecture's border as much as you can. Only my wife is going to visit my daughter's house to help her for a couple of weeks after the delivery. I have to wait for a few months or so before meeting my grandchild.

 

My Job

　　More than five months have passed since I started my new job as an industrial physician. I'm spending every day with new findings. At present I'm learning a variety of rules concerning occupational health. The rules are called the Industrial Safety and Health Act and are difficult for me, but I have to understand them. I'm heaving a sigh again and again.

 

Japan's Obligation

　　I feel that I'm seeing the decline of the U.S. What should Japan do now? Japan has been trusting the U.S. notably in the field of national defence, but from now, should Japan defend by itself?
　　Japan is responsible for the birth of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP). Japan has saved this Frankenstein's monster at least three times. Japan fought Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Party, which lead to the preservation of the CCP. After the 2nd World War, Japan gave China a huge amount of money for its development. When the CCP was excluded from the world due to the Tainanmen massacre in 1989, Japan forgave the CCP for the first time in the world.
　　It's not an exaggeration if I say that Japan is at least more than half responsible for the difficulty and agony of the people in East Turkistan, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. If the Biden Fraud Regime adopts its conciliatory policy against the CCP, Japan has to take on the task to keep a sharp watch on the CCP.
　　Lots of people have concern about Biden's physical condition. Judging from some of his speeches, he might suffer from senile dementia. The vice-president has completely different ideas from him. If you listen to her speech which was delivered in the preliminary election of the Democrats, you'll know she has leftist thinking.
　　I recalled the combination of FDR and Harry S. Truman, who dropped the first-ever atomic bomb.


日本の責務

　アメリカの衰退が見えた今、日本は何をすべきか。支那大陸に中国共産党というフランケンシュタインの怪物を育てた責任の一端は日本にある。国民党と戦い、共産党を助けることに繋がった。戦後は莫大な経済援助をし、歴史的な大事件、天安門の大虐殺のあと、中国共産党が復活することを助けてしまった。近代で少なくとも３回、中国共産党を救っている。
　東トルキスタン（ウイグル）、チベット、モンゴルの人たち、いや世界中の人たちに塗炭の苦しみを与えることになった責任の半分くらいは日本にあると言っても言い過ぎには成るまい。日本はこれからアメリカに変わって中国共産党を監視する役目を負わねばならない。
　認知症が心配されるバイデン。極左のハリス副大統領。バイデンが退き、ハリスが大統領になる？晩年には意思の疎通が難しかったといわれるＦＤＲ＋Trumanの組合せと酷似している。日本に原爆を落とした連中だ。

Miscellaneous Thoughts over Trump's Defeat

　　Getting the cobwebs out of my eyes, I watched the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ceremony live last night. I wonder how many U.S. citizens are celebrating Biden's presidency. The U.S. public opinion survey shows that only 20 % of U.S. citizens think of them as the legal president and vice-president.
　　I was watching the progress of the Presidential Election for a couple of months. Mr. Trump is said to have gained record-high votes as the president in office, but surprisingly those of Biden surpassed Trump's votes. Is this true? Biden has no significant achievement that he can be proud of as a politician not only in these last four years, but in his vice-president term during the Obama presidency.
　　I knew lots of testimonies to accuse election fraud. I watched a video of the monitor camera set in a vote-counting room possibly in Michigan. After the closing of the room several people took a few suitcases out from under the table and started adding the ballots from the suitcases into a notorious Dominion's counting machine. I saw several people cover the windows of the room to hide their work from observers. Most mainstream media read the same manuscript at the same time one day. I thought that they were controlled under the totalitarianism.
　　The media told that the Trump side lost all the cases in every court, but to be accurate, their appeals were just rejected. The courts avoided a judgement. The Department of Justice didn't investigate the election frauds and Biden's alleged corruption, nor does the FBI. I feel that the U.S. is controlled by something enormous.
　　Trump built a big wall on the border to Mexico to prevent illegal people and drugs from coming into the U.S. He urged overseas U.S. companies to come back and offered jobs to jobless people especially in what you call the rust belt areas. Additionally he brought peace to the mid-east area. No war started newly in his presidency. He suppressed North Korea's naughtiness without military power. Just leave it alone, the rogue country will perish. As for the current most crafty and cruel nation of China, he rejected the normal relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. The stock prices, directly connected to the U.S. citizen's pension, continuously increased, except during the Wuhan virus outbreak times. He looked arrogant sometimes, but his achievement is great. He delivered on his public promise.
　　The U.S. lost its greatest president and its democracy was over at the same time.

(Vocabulary)
cobweb クモの巣
crafty 〈人が〉 悪賢い, 奸知(かんち)にたけた; (行為・言葉などが) 巧妙な, 悪賢い

 

トランプの負けに思う

　眠い目を擦りながらバイデンの異様な就任式を見た。アメリカの世論調査を見ると、バイデンが正当な大統領だと考えるのは２０％に過ぎない。いったいどれだけの人間がバイデンの就任を祝っているのだろうか。
　この選挙の成り行きを注視していた。トランプ大統領は過去最高の得票数だったという。しかし、バイデンはそれよりも多かった。バイデンはこれといった業績はない。こんなことが起こりえるだろうか？
　選挙不正を訴える大勢の証言を知った。ミシガン州だったと思うが、衆目の監視がなくなったあと、机の下から不法な票を取りだして集計する監視カメラの映像もあった。監視員が集計を監視できないよう、窓を覆うシーンも見た。大手メディアが揃ってトランプ米大統領を批判するまったく同じ原稿を読む日もあった。
　メディアの報道ではトランプ米大統領は各地の裁判で負けたというのだが、詳しく見ると、その前の段階で、つまり裁判所はトランプ米大統領の訴えそのものを門前払いしていて、裁判をするという自らの責務を放棄。司法省もＦＢＩも不正選挙の調査をしない、、、アメリカ全体がなにか大きな組織に支配されている。
　トランプは密入国や麻薬の密輸を防ぐために壁を作った。アメリカ企業の国内への還流を加速させ、ラストベルトと呼ばれた地域に雇用をもたらし、また中東を安定させた。彼の大統領時代に新たな戦争は起こしていない。軍事力を用いることなくアジアの厄介者、北朝鮮を黙らせた。何もせず放置するだけで北は崩壊に向かうだろう。そして、今なお周辺民族を虐待している諸悪の根源中国共産党を押さえつけた。アメリカ国民の年金に直結する株価は彼の時代にコロナの時期を除いて上がり続けている。彼には、時に横柄な発言があるが、公約を守った実績は見事というしかない。
　アメリカは偉大な大統領を失い、同時にアメリカの民主主義は終わった。

After COVID-19

　　After the present virus crisis, I have lots of plans. Being trapped in Japan and under strict movement restriction, I'm slightly irritated. One of my plans is a cruising tour by the Diamond Princess in July. I'd like to visit Aomori prefecture, the northernmost prefecture in Honshu, to watch the "Nebuta-matsuri" festival, which is listed as one of the biggest summer festivals in Japan. Then the ship will head for Vladivostok, which used to be an important military port and other than Russians were prohibited from visiting there before.
　　I checked the cruising route of the Diamond Princess and immediately applied for the tour with my wife. We picked the lowest priced room. Those rooms are reserved fairly early. That's why we reserved the room early. The cruise will start in the end of July. I can't wait to walk on the streets of Vladivostok.
　　By the way, Vladivostok used to be included in Chinese territory until 1860. It is acceptable if the Chinese Communist Party insist on their control over Vladivostok now, but they don't whereas they insist on groundless territorial sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. Is it because they are scared of Russia? Anyway, are there remains in Vladivostok showing Chinese sovereignty over the city until 1860.

 

ウイルスが消えたら

武漢ウイルス禍が終われば、、、と計画していることは多々有る。個人的には夏には終わるだろうと、そしてクルーズは比較的気楽に参加できるのではないかと期待している。実はもう７月のクルーズに申し込み済み。前々からみたかった青森県のねぶた祭、そしてロシアのウラジオストクまで回るクルーズ。ウラジオストクは少し前まで外国人は立ち入れなかった軍港の町。ルートを確認してすぐに一番安い部屋を申し込んだ。安い部屋から埋まっていくので。

ウラジオストクは本来なら支那が我が領土であると主張しても理解できる土地だが、ロシアが怖いのだろう、何も言わない。何の根拠もないのに我が国の尖閣諸島を自国の領土と言い張るのに。ウラジオストクにかつて支那の領土だったという痕跡はあるのだろうか。これからガイドブックを購入し勉強したいと思っている。

Inguinal Hernia

　　I suffered from a left inguinal hernia. It might be due to the recent muscle training. I was observing its progress, but I don't think I can get away without surgery.
　　I told my surgical colleagues about it and their reply was like this; "You really picked a fine time to suffer with smiling." In short words, medical personnel are busy now taking care of patients in the midst of the Wuhan virus outbreak. Inguinal hernia is not serious for surgeons and I was a kind of funny topic among them.
　　Anyway, if incarceration happens while waiting for surgery, the partial resection of my intestine might become required, so I don't want to put the surgery off for too long. I decided to undergo the surgery at my mother university though I might become a guinea pig for green doctors.
　　I've done lots of surgeries and anesthesia until now, but it's the first time for me to get surgery. I'm a little scared, but I've no choice but to do so. It takes some time to adjust my schedule and my surgery would be early March.

 

Tidy Up My Parents' House

　　My wife and I cleaned up my parents' house for this weekend. The house is too big to complete the work only in two days and we have yet to complete it. My parents are now in nursery facilities separately due to the difference of their care level. My father is almost bedridden, sometimes consciously. My mother can walk, but suffers from severe dementia. To my regret, my parents wouldn't be able to spend their last stage of life in their home. I've managed this house since they'd fallen ill. I mainly took care of the outside of the house because if not, it would spoil the fine view of the neighborhood.
　　However, the deterioration of the house was progressing. I wanted to air rooms out frequently, but I hadn't enough time. When I was wondering about the management of the house, my second daughter, who will marry next month, proposed that she and her husband should live in the house. It would save them paying the house rent and is good for the house itself. This is why we tidy up the house in haste.

 

Bocchi Camp

　　In a Japanese TV program, a professional entertainer stays for a night at a variety of campsites. He collects fallen trees from around about, then starts a fire in a primitive way and cooks something easy. In short, he enjoys inconvenience in the wild circumstances. That's all in the program, but this program's popularity is taking off and it triggered a solo-camp boom.
　　When I was young, I sometimes enjoyed a small bonfire myself or with my friends. Just gazing at the fire, I drove off daily annoyances from my mind and I didn't mind anything. It was a really relaxing time for me. This TV program reminded me of my fun time which I had forgotten. The title of the program is "Hiroshi's Bocchi Camp". "Hiroshi" is the entertainer's name and "Bocchi" comes from a Japanese word "Hitori Bocchi", which means "completely alone". I'm going to try it some day.
　　By the way, I liked this program's theme song "Guaranteed". The singer was Eddie Vedder, the vocalist of "Pearl Jam" based in Seattle. This song was used in the movie "Into The Wild". I wasn't able to catch all the lyrics and got them on the internet. I can imagine a rough image of the song, but it 's difficult to understand them fully and accurately. I have to ask someone from the U.S.

The 1st and 2nd lyrics are as follows:

"Guaranteed"

On bended knee is no way to be free
Lifting up an empty cup, I ask silently
All my destinations will accept the one that's me
So I can breathe

Circles they grow and they swallow people whole
Half their lives they say goodnight to wives they'll never know
A mind full of questions, and a teacher in my soul
And so it goes

(continued....)

　　The part 2 which starts from "Circles" is considerably hard to catch. What on earth is "Circle"? I looked for suitable Japanese words in the English-Japanese dictionary, but in vain. Additionally I bought the kindle version of the original of the movie "Into The Wild". I'm now reading it bit by bit.

ぼっちキャンプ

ある番組で芸人が一人でキャンプ場に泊まり、付近の倒木を集めて原始的な方法で火を起こし煮炊きして不便を楽しんでいる。ただそれだけのことなのだが、この番組がソロキャンプブームを巻き起こしている。

若い頃、自分もよくやっていた。たき火を見つめて、日常の一切を忘れて一人でのんびり過ごす時間は至福の時間だった。長い間忘れていた時間をこの番組が思い出させてくれた。まったく一人っきりという意味の日本語、『ひとりぼっち』から取り出した単語をくっつけて『ぼっちキャンプ』と呼ばれる。そのうち、やってみようと思っている。

さて、この番組の主題歌が『Guaranteed』。調べてみるとシアトルで誕生したロックバンド『パールジャム』のボーカル『エディーヴェダー』が歌っている。映画『Into the Wild』の中で流れた歌だそうだ。全てを聞き取れなかったのでネットで歌詞を調べてみた。大雑把な意味は想像できるのだが、やはり正確に意味を掴むのは難しい。知り合いのネイティブに尋ねてみよう。下に歌詞を書いておく。

Circlesから始まる２番の歌詞の意味はかなり難しい。そもそもCircleはどういう意味なのか、、、辞書を探しても適当な役が見つからない。ヘルプ！そして、映画の原作、『Into The Wild』キンドル版を購入した。毎日少しずつ読んでいくつもりだ。

Kindle

　　I knew about the Amazon's bargain sale, cyber Monday recently. I didn't know about it until recently but I checked the sale from curiosity and found that kindle was selling at 35% off the price. A moment later, I found I had already clicked the purchase button unconsciously.
　　The prices of the Kindle version of books are a little lower than those of the normal version. Moreover, I can always carry lots of books with me. It's very convenient and I admire the inventor of the Kindle system.

Ripstik Board

　　I knew about the ripstik board by accident. After a short thought, I bought one. It looked easy and fun when I had seen it for the first time.
　　If I master how to ride on it and can ride on the sidewalk, the board would be handy to move, but riding on the sidewalk is apparently prohibited. Before that, riding wasn't so easy. However, I'm going to acquire the riding technique. I'm over 60 and it's a big issue for me to keep fit. Riding on the board is good to strengthen the trunk. A veteran rider was talking in a Youtube video that the movement on the board was really alike a snowboard and surfing. I might be able to ride on both some day. First of all I'd like to boast riding to my upcoming grandchild.
　　
Conclusion: The ripstik board is not a thing that 60 - over seniors try to master, but it's a lot of fun. I'll try to get on it in the garage.

リップスティックボード

ひょんな事からリップスティックボードというものを知った。調べてみると面白そうなので早速購入。 練習して乗れるようになれば、いつも車に積んでおいて出先での移動に便利かと思ったが、歩道を走ってはいけないようだ。ただその前に乗りこなしが難しそう。日頃、意識して体調管理に努めなければならないと思っているのだが、歳を取るにつれ筋力の低下が進む。大腿四頭筋と体幹の筋肉の維持が極めて重要だと思っている。このおもちゃは体幹の強化に役立ちそうに思える。

結論：６０歳を過ぎたおっさんが始めるようなものではない。が、面白い。取りあえずは車を移動した後のガレージで練習だ。

Arita Porcelain Park

　　If you like ceramics, you'd know about Meissen chinaware. Arita town has a sister city treaty with Meissen city and there was a facility to show the friendly relationship between them. It's name is Arita Porcelain Park and we visited there. It's not so long ago when it had been built, but the park was half-closed, or at least I saw the park so. Was it due to the unfavorable economic conditions? The museum, which I was eager to visit, was closed. I've heard that the museum houses several national treasure class porcelains. I really wanted to see them.
　　Today's hotel was Arita huis (link), where you can enjoy Arita wares; i.e. all cuisine was served with Arita wares. The dinner was really delicious and BEAUTIFUL. I reevaluated the importance of ceramic tableware. I understood that tableware can make the dishes more beautiful and extravagant.

https://aritahuis.com/

陶磁器に興味のある方はマイセンについても知っているだろうと思う。有田はマイセン市と姉妹都市提携をしている。そのマイセンとの繋がりが良くわかる施設がある。それが有田ポーセリンパークだ。数年前にテレビで見て一度訪問したいと思っていた。。。が、往時の面影はなく、不景気のためだろうか、寂しい雰囲気になっていた。景気が回復すれば元に戻るのかな？

今日の宿は有田焼の食器を楽しむことの出来る宿、、、すなわち、有田焼の器に載った料理をいただける宿。本当に美味しく美しい料理だった。料理を盛るための器を再評価する旅となった。

Arita

　　We were overwhelmed by the beauty of lots of Imari wares. Then we moved to another porcelain town of Arita. We stopped by a Japanese-style restaurant in Arita and we were surprised by their porcelain wares rather than their cuisine. More than 100 porcelain wares shops were aligned along the main street. Its number made me wonder how they were able to exist together. We dropped in at two famous factories. My wife was interested in porcelain and she knew the name of the factories. Tableware which had been used in Japan's Imperial Household and that used as a present for participants to an Imperial happy event like a wedding ceremony or some other official banquets were exhibited. I wanted to take pictures of them, but it was prohibited. Some wares were made more than 100 years ago, and they'd like to avoid deterioration by flash.
　　We toured three representative porcelain sites in Japan today. I started to feel that beautiful porcelains make our daily life happy.

焼き物の美しさに圧倒され、有田に移動した。まずは腹ごしらえと和風レストランに寄った。出てきた器にまたビックリ。写真を撮らせてもらった。重い箱形の食器。料理よりも出てくる食器に感嘆した。続いて町を散策。恐らく１００軒以上はあるだろう焼き物の店が道路沿いに並んでいた。こんなに多くて商売になるのか？と心配になるくらいの数だった。そのうち、有名な二軒に立ち寄った。皇室で利用されている食器、皇室の慶事で使われる引き出物などの展示があった。撮影は禁止されていた。さらに数世紀前に作られた国宝級の伊万里焼の壺がいくつも並んでいた。価格は付かないのだろうと思う。
この日は、唐津焼、伊万里焼、有田焼と見て回った。美しい焼き物は生活を豊かにするような気がしはじめた。

Imari

　　I visited Imari city. Needless to say, Imari is the town of porcelain and I visited its epicenter the "Okawachiyama" area. Even the ornament and rail of a bridge and the information board of the area were made of porcelain there. I dropped in at some potteries and saw their artworks in wonder. How did they make those pieces? My wife liked one of them, a small censer, and bought it. We both tasted coffee and tea with Imari ware in a coffee shop. I didn't have preliminary knowledge on Imari ware and the story of the owner was new and I learned much from him.

(Vocabulary)
censer 香炉
censor 〈本・映画・手紙など〉 を検閲する

伊万里市を訪ねた。伊万里といえば焼き物の町。その中でも特に窯の集まっている大川内山に立ち寄った。橋の装飾、欄干、町の案内板まで伊万里焼、、、(^_^;)
数件の窯元を訪ね、展示室を訪ねてその美しさに息を呑んだ。どうやってこれほどのものを作り上げるのだろうか。訪れた記念に小さな香炉を買った。そして、伊万里焼のコーヒーカップで出されたコーヒーで一服。伊万里焼について、たいした予備知識は持っていなかった。コーヒーを飲みながらその歴史を学んだ。