Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Kinuyama District

　　One of the high-ranked preparatory schools in western Japan was transferred from the city center of Matsuyama to the outskirts 47 years ago. At the same time, the railroad station was built nearby for students and an increasing number of folk houses were built around the station. This district was originally the place where many poor populations resided and there was an elementary and junior high combined school for North Korean kids which had been built by North Korea or the municipal nursing facility for government welfare-payment recipients. The area was very inconvenient for living, so the price of land was cheap. Though the area was such a place, the housing land development started taking this opportunity. When the school was transferred, I carried something with my teachers and friends. I remember it just like it only happened yesterday. One of my daughters and I graduated from this school. I recall the rural and deserted scenery of half a century ago. When I think of those days, I feel I'm living in a completely different age.
　　However, there is something which didn't change for half a century one way or the other. I dropped in at one of them, the ruins of Kinuyama executing grounds, which is currently maintained by Matsuyama prison. I'd like to write about this site.

４７年前、西日本有数の進学校が松山市中央部から郊外に移転した。それと同時に生徒の便を考え電車の駅が作られ、周辺には住宅が建ち並ぶようになった。 僕の母校であり、長女も通った学校だ。４７年前、移転時に荷物を運んだ覚えがある。また、発展する前のこの地域の様子もはっきりと覚えている。朝鮮学校、生活保護受給者のための介護施設などの施設があった貧しい地区で、元々人の住むような場所では無かったのだが、学校の移転により地域の開発が本格化したのだ。 隔世の感がする。
しかし、この半世紀に変わらなかったものもある。その一つ、衣山刑場跡地にジョギングの途中寄ってみた。なんら変わっていなかった。この場所のことは、いずれ書きたいと思っている。

Typhoon Hagibis Leaves More Than 70 Dead In Japan

　　The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 74 with 10 people missing and at least 200 injured. The search and rescue efforts are continuing in flood and landslide-hit areas now. As far as I remember, Hagibis was the worst typhoon. The 24 hour rainfall in Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, had set a highest amount record in recorded history in Japan. The area around my house was windy, but no rain. Some people raise money for devastated areas. I will donate some money to them. It will take a considerable period of time to fully restore things, but I believe that they shall get through.

(Vocabulary)
get through ＜つらい経験・時期など＞を乗り切る
It's going to be hard to get through the next couple of days. この数日間は試練となるだろう．

Ryoma-Dappan marathon (10km)

　　I ran the Ryoma-Dappan marathon (10km category) which might have been canceled due to the rain from the typhoon. Luckily for us however, the typhoon had sheered away eastbound, though it ended up in devastating some areas in eastern Japan a few days later. Anyway, this marathon was held in a mountainous region of Shikoku - one of four big islands of Japan - and its route ran through deep in the forest. As you imagine, its route had a few steep slopes. As I was climbing up a slope, I found a former Defense Minister walking up the slope. I wanted to speak to him, but he was puffing and panting like me. We were mutually not in the condition to talk to each other. I just bowed slightly and passed him. One thing, I admired him for challenging this 10km roadrace for his age. My friends and I were welcomed by local people and we were thankful for their kindness. If I could have time next year, I'll join this marathon.

Typhoon No.19, Hagibis

　　Typhoons are numbered in the occurrence order every year in Japan, so the current typhoon on the northern Pacific Ocean is called No. 19th Typhoon, but I'll call it Hagibis following the international manners in this entry. Hagibis was born near the equator last weekend. Its size and power rapidly got bigger and bigger in a few days, and it ended up reaching the strongest rank.
　　The weather forecast says Hagibis would land between Tokyo and Nagoya on the 12th. If the forecast proves right, it would veer off my house, but I'm afraid that Hagibis would devastate a considerable range of Japan. As personal countermeasures, I'll prepare drinking water and easy-to-ready food for two days, radio and batteries. On top of that, I have to move bicycles, flowerpots and other stuff on the garden into the house. I was to join the Ryoma-Dappan marathon on 13th in Kochi Prefecture, but it would be cancelled.

Ryoma-Dappan Marathon

　　I received the number card of the upcoming Ryoma-Dappan Marathon(10km) today. I applied for the Ehime Marathon in July, which will be held next February, but I lost my seat. However, I can join the Shimonoseki Kaikyo Marathon (full marathon) in November, so this Ryoma-Dappan Marathon will be good training as the route is designed deep in the forest and has several slopes. I'll show you beautiful pictures taken along the route.

Home Party

　　My wife made a funny suggestion that we had to hold a home party for a rescue team. Rescue team? I wasn't able to understand what she meant. She continued, "You are going to join a marathon in Shimonoseki, aren't you?", then "If you drop out of the race, who'll take you home?" I got her story finally at that time. "Rescue team" meant my marathon companions. She seemed to ask my friends to take care of me face to face. Anyway, as the pictures show, we had a wonderful time at my house.

Birthday Present?

　　Today is my birthday and Japan's official holiday also, but I'm staying in my office for inpatients. I have to remain inside just like a prisoner for a few more days. The following picture shows things sent in to me. The partner of my boss is Iranian and pistachio is from Iran. I like it a little roasted. Luckily, all the inpatients are in stable condition, so I'm going to read some books over beer.

Parting With my Mercedes SLK200

　　The odometer of my car, SLK200, showed 88000km the other day. It seems that European cars tend to go wrong in various parts when their total mileage goes over 100000km. In addition to that, my car will have to get through an official maintenance four months later, which requires much money. Moreover, two front tires got dangerously worn. I had an option to replace them with new ones and continue to use the car until the delivery of the next car, a TESLA. But, I don't want to buy new tires for my car which I would part with in a few months, so I decided to give up my car now due to the dangerous tires before the delivery of the TESLA.
　　I've been fully satisfied with my car and want to keep it, but it's too luxurious for me to keep two high quality cars at the same time. I'll sell my car to a used car dealer today though I have to put up with a cheap small car until the arrival of the next car.

Last Drive

　　I drove my car for fun in the central region of Shikoku. This mountainous area has the biggest dam in Shikoku, which sustains the population of Kagawa Prefecture. Japan is listed as one of the industrial countries, but Japan is rich also in such rural scenery. I'm going to part with my Mercedes SLK200 soon and this will be the last long drive with it. When driving, an unfamiliar sound from the air suddenly caught my ear. My car was open at that time. I pulled up my car and looked up and found 3 or 4 ospreys were flying from south to north. I've seen more than 10 ospreys parked in the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. I wish I could ride on them!

Replacement of Battery

　　I visited a car dealer of Daihatsu to replace the battery of my second car of BOON, which was originally owned by my youngest daughter who is now studying in Oxford. It's a little small and my wife usually uses it, but it's my obligation to keep it in good condition during the daughter's absence.
　　The following picture shows the waiting room of the car dealer. The customers spend some time waiting for the maintenance work to finish. Non-alcoholic beverages and Wi-Fi are offered here for free. I like the relaxing atmosphere around here in contrast to the waiting room of the Mercedes dealer, where I get restless with its luxurious feel.
　　

Imotaki, Taro Potato Party

　　Japan has four distinct seasons and every season has its own amusement. One of the autumnal events in Ehime prefecture is "Imotaki" party. "Imo" means potato and "taki" means boiling. My colleagues and I ate a huge pot of hot and sweet soup with all kinds of root vegetables, including taro potato and chicken.
　　To tell the truth, and originally the party should be so, I wanted to enjoy them outside viewing the moon, but it was cloudy and chilly, so the party was held indoors. The party was also an annual event of my hospital and all the fee was paid by the company. That means, all the meals and drinks were free. The following first picture was shot when I went to the pot to take another helping. Everyone is smiling!

(Vocabulary)
taro 里芋

J-CPAC, Japanese - Conservative Political Action Conference

　　An international convention, J-CPAC, which was established to encourage people to develop an understanding for conservatism and liberalism in the fields of economics, politics, securities, and other issues by means of the cooperation of leaders in various fields. Its purpose is to create peace and prosperity in the Asian Pacific region.
　　I attended the conference yesterday and today. First of all, I wanted to check my English listening skills. I was handed a radio for listening to the simultaneous interpretation, but I dared not to use the radio. My self-check of the skills would be marked 60/100. Sara A. Cater, and several Congressmen were on the stage and I think I was able to understand 60% of their speech. My skills were not there,,, I remembered the saying "Rome was not built in a day." Discussion was interesting. The topics about China and the Koreas were really enlightening.

Charging System Installation

　　I had the Tesla's charging system installed. The electricity line to my house is put together with that of cable TV, internet and security service into a single pole which is connected to the house via underground and is shown in the first picture. This pole is designed to make the appearance of the house better. I don't know its name in English, but I hope you'll understand my words from the picture.
　　The problem was how to connect between the pole and the wall of the garage on which the charging system was to be installed. The ground is concreted and digging up would be costly. The solution was to put up another pole near the garage and to make the electric line train in the air. You can see the electric line connecting two poles loosely in the 5th picture. This line doesn't come in sight when you stand in front of the house. It's nice that it doesn't affect the appearance of the house. The line was buried from the second pole and reached the wall. The installation work took two days and I'm fully satisfied with their work. I'm just waiting for the delivery of Tesla Model 3.

CNN

　　I'm using monthly publications of CNN as my English textbook. I can read considerably high level English papers, but I'm weak at listening, speaking and writing. I'm intensifying my English skills now especially in listening and expanding my vocabulary through the monthly magazine, CNN ENGLISH EXPRESS, which is shown below. I think that it is well designed as a measure of learning English, but I often wince at the distorted articles. The liberal media such as CNN and the New York Times and anti-Trump key persons were accusing President Trump of his alleged Russian gate issue some time before, but now he has turned out to be innocent.
　　Those who had criticised the President - I remember; James Comey, former Director of the FBI, Rod Rosenstein, former United States Deputy Attorney General, John Brennan, former Director of the CIA, Loretta Lynch, former Attorney General, and other anti-Trump VIPs and liberal media - are now mutually doing smear campaigns. It's like a drama whose cast are all wrongdoers. Take a look at the following picture. The Russian gate was on the table on this issue, Anderson Cooper is sharply criticising Trump on the basis of the report by Robert Mueller, but is it right? I'm interested in what's going on around Mueller. When the 9.11 terror attack happened, he was the Director of the FBI. I heard that he might be held responsible for the terror.
　　I'm intensively watching the relationship between the 9.11 terror attack and Robert Mueller.

(Vocabulary)
wince
1 (苦痛などから) 顔をゆがめる［しかめる］
wince with pain 痛みに顔をゆがめる
2 うんざりする, 気恥ずかしくなる
wince at the memory/thought/idea (of sth) （＜…＞を）思い出す［思う，考える］とうんざりする

Wall Connector

　　I have stayed in Honolulu for a week every year recently. While staying last year, I happened to see and enter the Tesla shop in the International Marketplace on Kalakaua Avenue without any special reason. Tesla Model S and X were exhibited. A salesman suggested I drive one. I had driven a left-side steering car about 20 years ago, but hadn't driven one since then. Though I had a little anxiety, he encouraged me to drive their car and test-drove a model X. The car was out of this world. It was my first time to drive an electric car. No engine meant no noise. Its power was beyond my expectation. The salesman was a nice guy and told me lots of interesting stories about Hawaii just like a tour conductor. The drive with him was fun. I wanted to have a Tesla car, but its price was also beyond my purchasing power.
　　By the way, this year. I visited Hawaii in June and dropped in at the shop. I found a model 3 which they had started to offer into Japan's market on June 1st. I test-drove it and was captivated by its overall function. On top of that, I was barely able to afford to do it, but I decided to buy a Tesla model 3. It became the most expensive souvenir to me in my life.
　　Today, I got its charging equipment, Wall Connector. I can't wait for the delivery of my model 3.

Numb

I was totally numb today:
　　An old university acquaintance, who was a few years senior to me, asked me to do some work in his hospital last week. He and I spent a few years together on the same campus, and he often helped me on various occasions. Currently, he runs a hospital in Hiroshima Prefecture and suffers from the shortage of surgeons. I decided to join his surgical team as a part-time surgeon at his request today. I headed for his hospital by car.
　　I dropped in at Kurushima Kaikyo Rest Area to take a short rest on the way to the destination. The following pictures were taken at that time. The bridges in the pictures connect Honshu and Shikoku. Anyway, I found several full body massage chairs set in the resting room, and anyone was allowed to freely use them within 15 minutes. I took one of them and got a massage. Its mechanical massage was really relaxing and before you know it, I fell asleep. I put my personal bag aside before the massage and when I stood up from the chair, I forgot to take it. After one hour's drive, I found that I had left my bag there. I was totally numb as several valuables were in the bag. I immediately called the information desk of the Area and knew that someone had already taken my bag to the desk. I didn't know his/her name, but I was really grateful.

(Vocabulary)
numb
〈手・足などが〉 感覚のなくなった, 麻痺(まひ)した, かじかんだ
(ショック・悲しみなどで) ぼう然とした, 頭が真っ白になった .

大学時代の先輩から手術の応援を依頼され、広島県へ向かう途中、四国から広島県へ渡る直前のサービスエリアで休憩を取った。写真はそのときに撮ったもの。ここに疲れたドライバー用に無料のマッサージ椅子があった。一人１５分まで使えたので利用することにした。そのとき、肩から掛けていたボディバッグを椅子の横へ置いて、そのまま忘れてサービスエリアを出てしまった。１時間後に気づいた。サービスエリアへ電話をしたら、誰かが届けてくれて保管されていた。助かった～～　中には現金、クレジットカードなど貴重品だらけ。現金は良いとして、免許証やらクレジットカードなどが盗られたら後の手続きがめんどい。どこの誰かはわからないが、発見者の善意に感謝！

An Old Friend

　　My old friend who lives in Tokyo came back after a long interval. I called up other friends and held a welcoming party for him.
　　He is still single and I'm sometimes envious of his independent, freewheeling life. He often visits unsafe areas where Japan's Foreign Ministry warns to take extreme care. This announcement is on the brink of issuing travel bans. His last trip's destinations were East European countries, but I remember he had stepped in Iraqi Kurdistan or Chernobyl on former trips.
　　He gave us souvenirs from his recent trip to East European countries. It's an armenian brandy, shown below. We opened each bottle at once and tasted it! That's why the amount is a little reduced. We talked forgetting the time.

(Vocabulary)
Iraqi Kurdistan イラク北部に設けられたクルド人自治区





東京に住む古い友人が帰省した。最近行った旅行のお土産ということでアルメニアの酒をもらった。彼は独り者で時々羨ましくなるが、少し危険と思われるところへ旅行する。外務省のウェブサイトを見ると渡航には注意をと指摘されているところにも平気で出かける。今回は東欧だったが、中東の普通の旅行者はあまり立ち入らない地域にも出かけていく。ＦＢでたくさんの記事を書いてくれるので出かけるたびに楽しみにしている。写真は古い仲間が集まった場所で配ってくれたお土産。少し減っているのはその場で皆で少しずつ呑んだから。時間を忘れて痛飲。再会を期して別れた。

Concert

　　I'm a Japanese traditional bamboo flute, shakuhachi, player. I started learning and playing it in my student days, so my career streches about 40 years. I take part in the joint concert with lots of people including school boys and girls once or twice a year these days. I'm writing about a mini-concert in my office in this entry.
　　My office has a daycare department and people who live in that facility wanted to listen to my performance. The following pictures show the concert held in the hospital. Three koto - Japanese harp - players in the picture were also professionals. I hope that people who don't have enough pleasure in their daily lives got some happy time even if it was a short time. Anyway, I also spent a wonderful time in the daytime.

POCKETALK™

　　I've been hearing of pocketalk™. In case you are wondering, it's a translator gadget. It seemed to be able to handle 74 languages, but I didn't have any interest in it at all.
　　However, I had to buy it the other day, because several Chinese came to often visit my office. They are from Dalian and are staying for two years near my office to work in some factories. They are ordinary people and can't speak in English or Japanese, naturally. They can ask for an official interpreter at every consultation, but it's costly. I'm learning Mandarin now for the next trip, but my Chinese skills are not enough to use in medical conversations. The pocketalk™ was an answer eventually.
　　This is surely helpful even in the consultation room, but I found that it's very handy also for learning languages. Chinese pronunciation is unique and difficult for non-natives, and learners don't know if their pronunciation is correct, or not. Yes, I'm using this for my learning. I speak to this in Chinese or other languages sometimes. If my pronunciation is correct, it answers back a correct translation in Japanese. I recommend this for foreign language learners.

Street Terrace

　　While wandering in the European streets, you often find street terraces, but I was afraid if it was too hot or too cool, or I hated them as an obstruction for pedestrians. Today, my family went out for dinner. The restaurant was already occupied, but outside seats were open. We preferred an air-conditioned room, but we seated at the outside terrace. My eyes often met other's who were walking by us, but it was not bad to eat on the busy street.