Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Summer Vacation

　　My vacation is starting from Aug. 25th and the destination is Shizuoka Prefecture. I'm writing about my trip from now on for some time. Tracking my position on the map, several non-Japanese friends enjoy my trip memos, who know big cities like Tokyo, Osaka, etc. but don't know small cities and villages in Japan.
　　As soon as I got back home on 24th, I loaded my car with luggage and set out for Toyo Port. Then I moved to Osaka by night ferry. It took only 4 hours from Osaka to Gotenba City located at the southeastern foot of Mt. Fuji. The highway which I drove on was the newly-built "New Tomei Express Highway" and my car was partially automatic. The driving was really comfortable and labor-saving.
　　I dropped in at the Surugawan-Numazu Service Station, which was on the highway offering space for a rest, restrooms, restaurants and a food court, shops and so on. I found a motorcycle with three wheels there. It was rare and I took a snap for later examination. It was made in Italy and its price was fairly high, but It seemed that it was more stable than an ordinary two-wheel motorcycle. I uttered unconsciously "It's great", and promptly my wife replied, "No!" I didn't say "I will buy one", but my wife presumably guessed that I was interested in it. Anyway, we were to arrive at the destination three hours earlier than we had scheduled and had to decide what to do for those three hours.

２５日から夏休み。今年は静岡県！またしばらく旅行について書いていきます。地図を見ながらこの旅行記を読むのを楽しみにしている外国人が何人もいるので書かずにはおれないのです。２４日、帰宅するやいなや、用意していた荷物を積み込み東予港へ。オレンジフェリーで大阪南港へ早朝到着。南港から御殿場市まで４時間足らず。便利になったものです。道路は走りやすくなり、車は半自動運転。これは楽です。

駿河湾沼津SAで前輪が２輪のスクーターを発見、後で調べるために撮影。イタリア製で高価なバイクだが、老いていく自分には次はこんなのが良いなあと眺めていると、カミさんのチェックが入った。バイクは危険だという認識しかないので困るなあ。このサービスエリアで御殿場の情報収集。なにせ予定よりも３時間以上早く着くのでどこか観光しようというわけです。で、まず立ち寄った先は、、、次の記事で。

 

Disintegration of My PCs

　　My old desktop computer, which was replaced 7, 8 years ago, and another two mobile pcs have been sitting in my study for a long time. In my office, moreover, my broken pc was left in a corner of my room for a few months. I made my mind up to throw them away to make space both in my study and in my office. However, each memory device might still have classified data on patients and I had to delete them fully and completely.
　　It was not difficult to remove the hard disk drives from those pcs, but one mobile pc was equipped with the SSD as a memory device. I've never seen this kind of device and took time to take that out of the pc. I'll show you some pictures taken during disintegration. This procedure was narrowly done because I didn't need to restore it. If I had to, I'd never carry it out.
　　I asked Matsuyama Medical Association to delete data on the disks. They have a disk crusher for members, which destroys hard disk drives by an extremely strong magnet. During the process of deletion, I chatted with a life-long friend since my junior high school days. He was now the top of the administrative officers of the association. The alumni meeting is scheduled this weekend, but I can't attend it due to my job. I asked him to say hello to my other dear friends at the party. By the way, one of the four devices in the last picture is an SSD. I'm going to heat and distort this so that no one can reuse it.

７～８年前に入れ替えた古いデスクトップパソコン、更に２台のノートパソコン、そして先日職場で使っているパソコンが壊れてこれらは放置されていたが、スペースを取るため一気に処分することにした。しかし、どれも職務上のデータが残っている可能性が有り、完全にデータを消すために地元医師会の所有するハードディスククラッシャーを使わせてもらうことにした。処分後は元のPCに収めて廃棄業者に依頼する予定。

今、医師会の事務方トップが中高の同級生。医師会館でハードディスクを処分するしばらくの間、楽しい雑談。今週末には同窓会があるのだが、仕事のため出席できない。残念だ。写真のうち、一つはハードディスクではなくＳＳＤ。これは熱を加えて変形させた上で破壊して処分するつもり。

Replacement of my PC

　　My PC which I use in my office died abruptly in the morning about 10 days ago. I tried some remedies, but in vain. I was able to consult an expert in a PC shop for advice on the matter, but considering the time and effort and that Windows 7, which I use now, is getting old, I decided to buy new one. I chose the cheapest one at DELL's online shop, because my PC in my office didn't need high performance, being enough if I could surf on the net and read and write e-mails. As for data, I utilize the cloud system. It was one consolation that I didn't lose any data in this accident. Until the new one was delivered to me, I had to use my mobile PC, but its screen was small and the work efficiency was not so good, as I usually use two screens at the same time.
　　After its delivery, it took a day to install several applications. The next step was to restore the data. It was not troublesome, but took time to download the data from the net. Though I had already felt the handiness of using the same data from my office, my house, and even outdoors, I surely understood the security of keeping data on the cloud system this time. I've just started my new PC from yesterday.

(Vocabulary)
consolation 慰め
He had the consolation of knowing that he had done his best. 自分では最善を尽くしたという自覚が彼の慰めだった．

Kure Military Port Festa

　　You might not believe my words, but ordinary Japanese people were educated to hate military forces and military personnel. It seemed like the ghost of Douglas MacArthur, who wanted Japan to be unarmed forever, had possessed Japan. At present, however, people know that China has already stolen several Vietnamese and Philippine islands and is trying to snatch islands from even Japan. South Korea continues to stay illegally on the Japanese island of Takeshima as well as Russia on the northern territory of Japan.
　　Ordinary people in Japan have been indifferent to national security, but thanks to rogue states around Japan, they became open-eyed to national security. I think it's desirable.
　　I am one of those Japanese. Today I visited Kure Military Port Festa. The air-raid shelter of the headquarters, which was built in the port in the last stage of the Great East Asian War, became open to the public for the first time in 72 years and I was interested in that. Seeing the shelter, I couldn't help appreciate those who worked there during the war.
　　Eventually, I joined the Military Port Tour held by the veterans association. A maritime veteran gave the visitors a detailed description about its history, naval vessels and submarines moored there. I felt pride as a veteran in his guidance and thought that Japan's Navy, what you call the Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force, was trustworthy at the same time. The biggest-ever battleship, Yamato, was built there and the dock of Yamato is still preserved and even works even now.

信じてもらえないだろうが、日本人は軍隊や軍人を忌み嫌うように教育されてきた。日本を再軍備させないとした連合軍の亡霊が今でも日本に取り憑いているようだ。しかし、シナが武力でフィリピンやベトナムの島を奪い、次に尖閣諸島を狙っている。南朝鮮は竹島を占拠しており、ロシアは北方領土を侵略中だ。

多くの日本人はこれまでアメリカの庇護の下、安保についてほとんど考えることがなかったように思うが、今は違う。シナの行動を見て、また北朝鮮の日本人拉致や核開発、、、これらのことが原因だと思われるが日本を守るための軍事に興味を持つ日本人が増えてきた。良いことだと思う。

僕もまさにそのような日本人の一人。今日は、呉軍港へ行ってきた。大東亜戦争末期に作られた防空壕が初めて一般公開されることになり見学した。当時の軍人たちが日本の滅亡を必死で防いでくれたことに感謝しないわけにはいかなかった。

その後、軍港ツアーがあったので参加した。退役軍人が案内をしてくれたのだが、彼の言葉の中に日本の軍人としての誇りを感じることが出来、海軍を頼もしく思った。史上最大の戦艦大和はこの軍港で建造され、そのドックが今でも残っていた。

 

A Barbecue Party

　　I belong to the Matsuyama Century Lions Club, which was established on the 100th anniversary year since the first Lions Club was founded in Chicago. We have regular meetings twice a month in a meeting room of a hotel, but today, a special meeting was held inviting our family members at a marina run by a member of the club. I joined it with my second daughter. All the preparation was done within the members and we enjoyed a gorgeous barbecue party after the meeting on the beach side. I didn't get permission to upload pictures and added a mosaic effect to some pictures.

松山センチュリーライオンズクラブに所属している。月に２回の例会を行っているが、今日は家族を招いてのバーベキュー。メンバーの一人が経営するマリーナで行われた。僕は次女を誘い出席。準備は全て会員の手作りでとても楽しい会になった。写真を何枚か載せる。了解を取っていないので一部モザイクを掛けます。

New Camera

　　I wrote about my cruise tour in March in this blog, but I forgot to tell you about a few things in those trip memos. Most people who were taking pictures on the deck had their single lens reflex cameras, and actually my small digital camera was not good enough for the magnificent views. Coming back to Japan, I bought one, consulting my camera-freak friends about suitable ones for beginners like me. It's a Canon Eos X9i in the following picture.
　　My wife makes fun of me with smiles, saying that it's an expensive toy for me, seeing me playing with it. Now that I have one, I'm ready to learn how to handle my single lens reflex camera. I tried various setting of the diaphragm and shutter speed, and I found their effects. I had always used cameras before with automatic settings, leaving detailed setting to the camera. From now on, I'm going to study shooting skills.

(Vocabulary)
diaphragm 横隔膜；(避妊用の) ペッサリー；(専門) (電話機・スピーカーなどの) 振動板；(専門) (カメラの) 絞り

Huge Disaster in Kyushu

　　A huge disaster broke out in Kyushu, which is one of the main islands in Japan. It was due to a heavy torrential rain for the record books. 34 people were killed and 7 missing at present. As you know, Japan is a small country, but different places only 100km away from each other sometimes have different climates. The devastated area is only 200km from my hometown, but my hometown is suffering from a water shortage. Judging from the broadcasted pictures, it will take such a long period for damaged areas to recover. I sent a small amount of donation and am going to divert part of my residential tax to the areas worst affected using the new tax-paying system, about which I wrote here(link).

Destroyer Inazuma

　　The destroyer Inazuma was open to the public today. I visited the container yard of my hometown where it was moored to see its inside. Naturally, though, the area I was able to enter was limited. There were lots of kids on the deck. I don't remember that such events were held when I was a little kid, but the kids born in the 50s, 60s, and 70s like me would have less opportunities than today's kids have.
　　Japan's Self Defense Force(JSDF) formerly seemed to be disliked from people's war-weariness. It's ideal, for sure, for all the weapons to disappear on the globe, but it would be impossible at present. So, the JSDF is the Guardian God of Japan and should be looked up to. They are devoting their life to the protection of our country. The navy servicemen and servicewomen were shining on the elaborately polished military vessel.

護衛艦いなづまの一般公開を見てきた。小さな子供もたくさんいたが、僕が小さい頃、このようなイベントは数多くやっていたのだろうか。自衛隊はどちらかというと好かれていない存在だったような気がする。世界中から武器が一斉に消えてしまうのが理想だがそのようなことはあり得ない以上、自衛隊は日本の守り神であり、頼もしい存在だ。自分の生命を賭けて国を守る軍人という仕事、もっと尊敬されて良い。きれいに磨かれた船の上で軍人たちの笑顔が光っていた。

Rainy Season

　　Japan's Meteorological Agency announced that the west part of Japan, in which I live, entered the rainy season. My town will have many rainy days for about a month from today. A dry summer will increase the strain on water resources. I hope that it rains enough in this time of the year for saving water in reservoirs as well as growing rice plants. Looking out of my room in my office, a cherry tree stands. It is indescribably picturesque in its heyday of one week in spring, but I like the tree also in this season. The color of its leaves are brightly green whether in the sunlight or on rainy days.

梅雨入り

僕の住む日本西部が今日、梅雨に入ったと気象庁が発表した。これから約１ヶ月、雨の頻度が高くなる。夏になると雨が少なくなり、水不足になりがちなのでこの時期には十分に降ってもらい、ダムに水を貯め、また稲の順調な成長を望みたい。職場の自室から見下ろすと一本の立派な桜があるが、この時期の桜は、青々とした葉に包まれ、春の桜に劣らずまた美しい。

Bonito Festival

　　There is a small fishery town of Kure on the Pacific coast side of Shikoku, which is one of the four main islands of Japan. My wife and I visited the town today, in which the Bonito festival for the revitalization of the area was held. A variety of bonito dishes were served in the event. Especially, the bonito-fishing experience and the bonito-fishing boat experience were very popular.
　　This town used to be an unknown town, but a cartoonist created a manga about a boy from this town, which triggered the explosion of interest in this small town. Honoring him, the local people built his statue on the coast. Even a Japanese sake derived from the hero's name is produced there.
　　On the way back, we didn't come straight back home and drove our car in the dairy area. Today was a really refreshing day.

(Vocabulary)
cartoonist 漫画家, 風刺［時事］漫画家, アニメ作家

四国の太平洋側に久礼というカツオ漁で有名な町がある。そこで行われた地域興しイベントに行ってきた。各種カツオ料理が振る舞われ、カツオを釣る体験や、カツオ漁船乗船体験などで盛り上がっていた。この町はかつては無名の漁村だったがある漫画をきっかけにして有名になった。町民の感謝の気持ちからだろう、その漫画家の銅像が建っていた。漫画の主人公の名前に因んだ酒も造られている。帰りは少し道草をしながら、愛媛県南部の酪農地帯を走った。リフレッシュできた一日だった。

The Last Day

　　The taxi driver which I took at the condominium was a Japanese. I got various information on local lives from him and it was so good and useful. I'm going to ask him to be our transport on the next visit. I got his business card. On the next visit, I'd like to visit some memorials concerning the war, to circle Oahu island, and to join the Honolulu Half Marathon held in April.
　　Hawaii was new to me and my family members. This trip was really great. Hawaii became one of my favorite places. The pictures show my condominium, though it's a bit out of focus due to the darkness.

最後の日の朝、コンドミニアムから空港までのタクシーの運転手は日本人。ハワイでの生活をいろいろと尋ねることが出来た。ハワイは好きな土地の一つになった。次回は今回いけなかった戦跡めぐり、オアフ島一周、ホノルルハーフマラソンなどを考えている。そのときはまたこのドライバーに頼もう。写真は最終日前日の夕方に撮ったコンドミニアムとそこから２００メートルほどにあるビーチ。

Dolphins

　　After climbing down from the summit of Diamond Head, we went downtown and wandered around. There were so many cheerful people and being there made us happy. It was understandable that lots of Japanese celebrities gather in Hawaii in the Christmas and New Year Holiday season. We talked about what to do on the next day after dinner. I'd like to visit some historic places associated with the Greater East Asian War like the Battleship Missouri Memorial or the USS Arizona Memorial, but my daughter insisted on watching wild dolphins. Finally, I gave in.
　　Waiting at the designated site and time, a bus of the tour company "Dolphins and You" came. Driving through the city center, picking up other guests on the way, and proceeding along the coastline for about an hour, we arrived at a small fishing port which the company was based at. We rented wet suits and boarded a fishing motorboat. Until the boat arrived at the dolphins' gathering spot in about 30 minutes, the passengers chanted a local traditional sutra after a staff member, or learned a local dance, or some sweets were delivered. I was thankful for them to care about us not to get bored.
　　While I was floating on the surface, swarms of dolphins and a sea turtle abruptly appeared beneath me. A female photographer was shooting our pictures putting dolphins in from the bottom. As I didn't wear my glasses I was surprised to take her as an unknown creature at a glance. It would be wonderful if I could do some diving.
　　Hot hamburgers were served on the way back. It must have been for warming our bodies. I wanted to join the tour again. When I was swimming, a radar facility on the cliff in front of us caught my eye. The land I saw from the sea had no road on the coastline and looked isolated. A staff member told me that it was the Army base. His words reminded me of the war. Lots of Japanese military planes might have flown in the air I was viewing on Dec. 7th in 1941.

(Vocabulary)
Battleship Missouri Memorial　戦艦ミズーリ記念館
USS Arizona Memorial　アリゾナ記念館

Dolphins and You (in Japanese)
https://www.dolphinsandyou.com/ja/schedule/

昨日は、ダイヤモンドヘッドで拾ったタクシーでダウンタウンへ行き、ぶらぶら。年末年始に芸能人が集まる理由が少し理解できた。治安が良いし、楽しい。また何度も来そうな気がする。帰宅後、5月5日の予定を相談した。僕は大東亜戦争の戦跡（戦艦ミズーリ記念館、アリゾナ記念館）を訪問したいと主張したが、娘が野生のイルカを見に行きたいと主張。結局負けてイルカを見に行くことにした。
　
指定された時刻に指定されたバス停で待っていると、ツアー会社"Dolphins and You"のバスがやって来た。市街地を抜けゴルフ場で客を拾い、海岸を走ること約１時間。車窓からハワイの風景を楽しむうちに港に着いた。港ではウェットスーツなどをレンタルし、船に乗り込む。この港からイルカの集まる場所まで約３０分。安全を祈る地元の祈りをしたり、ダンスを習ったり、お菓子が配られたり、飽きないようにする心配りが有り難かった。
　
ガイドについてシュノーケリングをしながらぷかぷか浮かんでいると、イルカの大群、ウミガメがやってきた。女性カメラマンが海底からイルカと一緒に我々の写真を撮ってくれていたが、眼鏡をかけていなかったので、海底にいる彼女が得体の知れない生き物に見えてぎょっとした。あんなに自由に潜れたら楽しいだろうな～。
　
帰りの船では船上で焼いたソーセージを挟んだハンバーガー。少しでも身体を温める工夫だろう。また参加したいなと思う。泳いでいるときに目の前の崖の上にレーダーサイトが見えた。このあたり、海岸には道路がなく、隔離された場所だと思っていたが、どうやら陸軍基地だったようだ。１９４１年１２月７日午後１時、日本の多数の軍用機がこの今見ている空を飛んだのかも知れないなあと空を眺めた。

Summit of Diamond Head

　　Following the words of the attendants of the ticket booth, I dropped in at the toilet. On the way, I took a quick look inside the information booth, and it seemed to be nice to learn about Diamond Head, but I left soon because I wanted to reach the summit of Diamond Head as soon as possible. The slope was gentle for the first 10 minutes as if I could run up, but it got steeper bit by bit. However, the faces of people who were climbing down were really cheerful, and I was able to go up to the summit in a refreshing mood.
　　I found something halfway to the summit. The trail wasn't just another hiking route. Stairs were set in the wrinkled-like places of the surface of the mountain so that the route was concealed. That's why I was not able to view the whole climbing route from the starting point of the route. Then the route went under the ground, and climbed up the winding stars as if you were going up in a lighthouse. The place I reached was inside of a pillbox built on the summit. I was so surprised. It was the ruin of a stronghold. I had to go out through a small loophole. I recalled that I had seen a signboard showing the detour for obese people before the stairs.
　　After coming back to our condo, I read some leaflets given from the information center. The ruin of the fortress built in the early 20th century is now utilized as the climbing route and the observation points. A part of a cannon was still left near the summit. The scenery from the summit was really wonderful. When I stood on the summit, the sky was clear and the breeze was comfortable. It was a nice workout. In Ala Moana Center, there were so many people, and I wasn't able to take pictures keeping them out, no matter which direction I chose. Some people would hate to be shot by a strange man. I'd like to avoid such problems. However, on the summit of Diamond Head, one of the tourist spots, I didn't mind such a thing. Some people asked me to take pictures of them and my daughter and I asked them to take ours.
　　Let me explain the pictures: The 1st picture was shot facing the direction of Hanauma Bay, and shows the tunnel through which I came inside the rim of Diamond Head. The second shows each peak of the rim with its pillbox. The third shows the whole view of the inside of Diamond Head. You would understand that it used to be a volcano, just as I felt. The next one shows the houses just beneath the summit. The 5th wouldn't need any explanation. The next two pictures are the neighboring pillboxes. The last one shows me and my daughter, who left her sunglasses in the condo and suffered a slight pain in her eyes.

(Vocabulary)
winding stairs らせん階段
pillbox トーチカ (鉄筋コンクリートで固め，機関銃などを備えた防御陣地)
detour 迂回(うかい), 遠回り, 回り道

 

まずはトイレへ。途中でちらっと覗いた山の案内所が充実していたが、時間がないのでゆっくりできず残念。登山ルートへ向かった。最初の１０分ほどはジョギングできそうなほど緩やかな坂だったが途中からきつくなってきた。しかし、出会う人たち皆が笑顔で気持ちよく登ることが出来た。

半分くらいまで登ってきたところで普通の登山道で無いことに気がついた。山肌がしわのようにへこんでいるところを選んで隠すように階段が設置されている。どうりで下から登山道の全景が見えなかったわけだ。そして登山道はなんと地下に入る。そして垂直のらせん階段を上る。まるで燈台に登るが如く。出たところはなんとトーチカの中。最後は幅の狭い銃眼部分をくぐって出る。肥満だと出られない。そういえば下に肥えた人用の迂回路があった。

後で調べると２０世紀初頭に作られた要塞跡が、登山ルート兼展望台となっている。砲台の一部が残されていた。景色は言うまでもなく素晴らしく、風と強い日差しのため娘が顔をしかめているが、気持ちの良い汗をかいた。アラモアナセンターでは人が多くてどちらの方へカメラを向けても人が映り込み問題になりそうだったので撮影できなかったがここではみな思い思いに撮影していた。なので、こちらも自由に、、、撮影

写真の説明をすると、１枚目は通ってきたトンネルとハナウマ湾方向、２枚目には各々ピークにトーチカ、３枚目は火口の全景、４枚目は頂上直下の家並み、５枚目はホノルル市街、６枚目はとなりのトーチカ、７枚目のトーチカにはDanger, Keep Outと書いてありますが、、、、

To Diamond Head

　　After lunch, we headed for Diamond Head by bus. The lively scene I saw on Waikiki Beach made me happy. I saw the same scene yesterday, but I hadn't fully enjoyed it due to my jet lag. The trolleybus passed Waikiki Beach and climbed up a slight gradient around Diamond Head in a counterclockwise direction. Finally the bus went into a tunnel, named Kahala Tunnel, through the mountain forming the rim of Diamond Head. The bus reached a flat area. I understood that Diamond Head surely used to be a volcano far back in the past and we were in the center of the fire pit. My wife felt a little drowsy, and stayed in the information booth, but my daughter and I tried to climb up to the summit of Diamond Head.

(Vocabulary)
far back in the past / a long time ago ずっと以前

昼食後は3人でダイヤモンドヘッドへ。トロリーバスで向かった。途中のワイキキビーチの賑わいは見ているだけで楽しくなった。昨日は眠くて十分に見られなかった景色だが、今日は存分に楽しめた。やがてバスはトンネルを通りダイヤモンドヘッドの内側へ。ここまでは昨日も来たが今日は頂上まで登ってみようと思う。カミさんはバス停近くにあるネイチャーセンターの冷房の中で過ごすという。まあまだ眠いのだろう。

 

Mar. 4th

　　I awoke to a beautiful sunny day before the alarm rang. My wife and daughter were still asleep. It seemed that they hadn't been able to sleep enough on the previous night after their long sleep in the daytime. I had a simple breakfast alone and went out for swimming and walking along the beach. When I got back, both had just finished breakfast.
　　We dropped in at the Hilton's office, situated in another building in the village around 10 o'clock, because they would give us points for staying at Hilton Hotels, if we only listened to their commercial talk. Lots of the Hilton related facilities were shown to us and some of them looked very attractive to us. The pictures shown below are taken from their office viewing westward, the city center of Honolulu.
　　Then, we enjoyed walking in downtown, and took lunch at Sydney Bills Waikiki, following my daughter's suggestion. The restaurant's name was new to me, but it sounded famous. The dishes on the menu were also almost new to me. The dish I ordered is shown in the 4th picture, and I didn't like it. I had to leave a third of it. I ordered what I didn't know and hadn't even heard about out of curiosity. I just got what I asked for.

早朝に目が覚め、まずはプールへ。そしてビーチを散歩。実に快適な朝を迎えたのだが、二人は起きない。完全に時差ぼけになっている。それでも、10時くらいからまだ眠そうな二人を連れて、ビレッジ内の別のビルにあるヒルトンの事務所へ。話を聞いてくれたらヒルトンの宿泊に使えるポイントをくれるというので寄ってみた。他の国にあるヒルトン系列のコンドミニアムをいろいろと紹介され、あちこち行ってみたくなった。写真はそのビルからの写真。ホノルルの中心部方面がよく見える。

それからダウンタウン観光。昼食は娘の提案でシドニービルズ。初めて聞いた名前で、味わった料理も見たことのないものばかり。僕は４枚目の写真の料理を食べたがこれは不味かった。物珍しさから知らないものを頼んだわけで、結局は自業自得と言うことか。(^_^;)

Dinner

　　While I was drifting around the downtown and shopping for food in Walmart, it got dark. When I got back, my wife and daughter were sleeping. I gave up going out for dinner with them and bought some meal boxes in the Hilton Village. They were unexpectedly delicious. After dinner, my daughter and I took a walk in the village. There were lots of cheerful people even around 9 o'clock. I thought that the village was perfectly one of the best resorts in the world. Then, we dropped in at the information center for visitors, and talked about the sightseeing plan on the next day. As soon as I got back, I fell deeply asleep, though my wife and daughter seemed to watch TV till late at night.

 

公園や港をうろうろしていたのち、ウォルマートで買い物をしていたらすっかり遅くなってしまった。帰宅したが、カミさんも娘も寝ている。どこかへ食事に出かけることは諦めてヒルトンビレッジ内の店でテイクアウト。これがなかなかいけるので驚いた。食べた後、娘とビレッジ内を散策。賑やかなところだ。

Offering

　　Did you notice a small item like a stone on the monument in the first picture in the previous article? It was "Oban", one of the principal cakes in the victims' hometown, Uwajima City. They must have eaten it at least several times. I bought a box with 10 or 12 pieces at Matsuyama Airport just before departure from my hometown. I placed one in front of their monument and offered a short silence to them, recalling their grudge.
　　Now, I walked to the coast through the perfectly manicured lawns for about 100 meters and found a public toilet. Though I got a negative vibe from a rusty bicycle on its wall, I entered and passed it. You might think that "pass" isn't proper here, but the toilet had no doors and I walked through the toilet at a quick pace straight from one entrace to another. Even every private cell didn't have its door. It might be due to security. A person lived inside and another person was on the throne.
　　A few minutes later, I noticed that I had a box of "Oban", about which I wrote in the previous entry, in the daypack on my back, and went back to the toilet and placed it on the floor in front of them, saying that this is a box of cakes from the home port of the Ehime Maru. Then, I don't know what would become of that. The envelopes of some of the Obans were cut for offering, and I know it's very impolite to give those items, but they wouldn't mind that.
　　When you offer something to eat or drink to the dead in front of their tombs or monuments, you have to cut the envelopes or open the bottles. It is said that the dead enjoy the smell of their offerings in Japan. These offerings will become trash if you left them, so you have to bring them back. I was going to eat Oban myself later, but if the homeless people enjoyed it, I'm happy.

(Vocabulary)
vibe [C] (人・場所から受ける) 雰囲気, 感じ
The place has a good vibe. いい雰囲気の場所だ．

５月のハワイ旅行記：　えひめ丸の慰霊碑に供えた大番の行方

前の記事の写真で、慰霊碑の前に置かれている小さな石のようなものに気がついただろうか？慰霊碑の前に置いているのは宇和島市の銘菓『大番』で、松山空港で１０個か１２個入りを買ってきた。犠牲者の全員が一度は食べたことのあるはずのお菓子だ。これを供えて犠牲者の無念を想い、手を合わせた。

さて、見渡すとあたりは芝の植えられた美しい風景なので、海岸へ行ってみようかと、小さな丘を越えて百メートルほど先に公衆トイレを見つけた。横に置かれている錆びた自転車の残骸を見て良からぬ雰囲気を感じてはいたのだが、トイレに入ってみると、治安のためかドアはない。中には浮浪者が住んでいた。一人はドアのない個室で排便中。危険を感じて急いで立ち去ったのだが、背中のデイパックに入っている『大番』を思い出し、とって返して彼らに見えるようにそっと床へ大番の箱を置いて立ち去った。いくつかは封を切ってあるのだが、問題は無いだろう。残した言葉は『えひめ丸の母港、宇和島市からのプレゼントです。』その後、どうなったのかは知らない。後で良く見れば、慰霊碑の写真の向こうにいくつもテントが写っている。彼らが住んでいるのだろう。

ここで話変わって日本の仏教におけるお供えのルールを説明する。墓前に食べ物を置くとき、死者はその香りを楽しむという。なので、酒の類いは栓を開け、袋に入っているものはその袋を開ける。そのまま放置して帰ると鳥などが散らかすために必ず持って帰ることになっている。なので供えた大番は取りあえず包んでデイパックにしまったが、これも彼らに差し上げた。封を切っているものを渡すのは失礼だとは思ったが、彼らなら許してくれるだろう。

Ehime Maru, the fishery training boat

　　My daughter reached her limit of putting up with keeping her eyes open due to jet lag. After our village tour, she fell asleep and I went out for a walk alone. I had a place which I was eager to visit since a long time ago. I got on the bus for 5 minutes and out in front of a big park. Then a 15 minute walk took me to the spot, the Ehime Maru Memorial.
　　The home port of the Ehime Maru is Uwajima City, in which I lived in my childhood. Especially on Hiburijima island off the coast of Uwajima City, I spent numerous unforgettable days, and I wrote about the island several times in this blog. (Link 1, 2, 3, 4)
　　The Ehime Maru was the fishery training boat for high school students and collided with a surfacing U.S. submarine off the coast of Honolulu in 2001. There was no fault at all on the Ehime Maru's side. Omitting details, reaching out for the victims and their bereaved families and building their monument by the U.S. government deepened the connection between Ehime Prefecture, in which Uwajima City belongs, and the State of Hawaii. Consequently, both government tied a friendship relation in 2003, followed by between Uwajima City and Honolulu City in 2004. I hoped that the spirits of the nine departed by the accident will be consoled a little with this.

(FYI)
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/hiburijima-island-my-spiritual-home.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/hiburijima-island.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/ehime-maru.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/03/on-the-way-to-okinawa-1.html

 娘の眠気がここでついに限界らしく、僕は一人で散歩に出た。行きたかった場所がある。えひめ丸乗組員の慰霊である。ダウンタウンへ向かうトロリーバスに乗って５分、広い公園の前で降りた。そこから歩くこと１５分、慰霊碑の前に着いた。

えひめ丸の母港は宇和島市。僕は子供の頃住んでいたことがある。宇和島市沖に浮かぶ日振島は忘れられない想い出がたくさんある心のふるさとだ。このブログでもこの小さな島について何度か書いた。（LINK 1,2,3,4)

えひめ丸は２００１年浮上してきたアメリカ海軍潜水艦と衝突し沈没した。えひめ丸側に過失は全くなかった。詳しい経過は省くが、事故後の被害者支援や慰霊碑建立などで関係が深まった愛媛県とハワイ州は２００３年、ホノルル市と宇和島市は２００４年にそれぞれ姉妹提携。犠牲者はこれにより少しは浮かばれるのではなかろうか。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/hiburijima-island-my-spiritual-home.html
楽しい懐かしい想い出の詰まった精神的故郷、日振島の風景

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/hiburijima-island.html
写真は日振島とは関係ありません。当時如何に不便な島だったかということを実例を挙げて説明。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/07/ehime-maru.html
えひめ丸の現在の姿

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2015/03/on-the-way-to-okinawa-1.html
沖縄へ向かったときに撮影した日振島全景

Short Bus Tour and Hilton Hawaiian Village

　　The tropical scenery of Honolulu was great fun. The trolleybus was proceeding to Diamond Head through downtown and then along Waikiki Beach. When the bus started to climb the slope up, the conversation among passengers behind us came to our ears. Some of them seemed to have jogged up that slope a month before. They said, "the slope looks not so steep, but it was really hard work to run up this slope."
　　My daughter had an interest in the story and asked them about what they were talking. They were from Canada and were staying in Honolulu since a month before and joined the Honolulu Half Marathon in early April. They seemed to enjoy not only the race itself but the communication with local people. My daughter suggested to me next year's visit to Honolulu timed to the half marathon.
　　We got out of the bus at the busy street to get some food for my wife, who was sleeping in the condo, then took about 20 minutes' walk to the condo. After handing the food to my wife, we walked around the Hilton Hawaiian Village, in which my condo is located, for some time. There are lots of shops, restaurants, small pools, a lagoon, a beach, a food court,,,we didn't need to buy anything outside of the village. It was a really gorgeous place. We didn't know our way in the strange places.

 

ちょこっとだけダイヤモンドヘッドへ：
　
ダウンタウンを抜けてワイキキビーチに沿って走るトロリーバスの中から南国らしい風景を楽しんだ。バスはダイヤモンドヘッドを反時計回りに周り登っていく。ここで隣の席の人が話している言葉が耳に入った。先月から滞在しているカナダ人でどうやらこの坂を最近走ったらしい。健康のためのジョギングかと思って聞いていたのだが、ハーフマラソンがあったとのこと。娘が詳しく話を聞いていた。娘から来年参加しようよと誘われる、、、
　
部屋で寝ているカミさんに食べ物を買って一旦帰宅。コンドミニアムのあるヒルトンハワイアンビレッジ内をしばらく娘と散歩。レストランがいくつもあるし、ショッピングストリートも、フードコートも、プールも、ラグーンもビーチも、、、外で何か買ってくることはなかった。何せ初めてなので勝手がわからない、、、

Ala Moana Center

　　The Ala Moana Center was big, for sure, and I heard it was the biggest shopping mall in Hawaii, but it might not be so big from the American point of view. We strolled about the mall to kill drowsiness, but nothing attracted us. I got some swimming pants there. We didn't eat anything after arrival in Hawaii, and entered the mall's food court. The prices of dishes were generally high, and I ate a cool ramen, which was not good, but as it was the first meal in Hawaii, I took a picture of that memorable dish of the ramen. My daughter ate a hamburger, and told me that it was just the same as one in Japan other than its price. If you stay for longer days, like a week or more, you'd better get ingredients in the market and cook your meals yourself for saving money. Then we took a trolleybus on its longest route, which was operated from downtown to Diamond Head.

アラモアナセンター：
　
確かに広いショッピングモールだったが、アメリカ的な感覚からはそうでもないような気がした。眠気を紛らすために歩き回ったけれど、あまり目新しいものはなかった。ハワイらしいものはこういった街中には無いのかも知れない。腹が減ったので何か食べようと思ったがどれも高い。観光地価格か？長期滞在なら材料を買って帰ってコンドミニアムで料理するのが得策だと思えた。冷麺を注文したが、どこか味が変だった。一応ハワイで食べた初めての料理ということで記念写真。娘はハンバーガーを食べていたが、味は日本と同じという。気を取り直してトロリーバスの一番長い路線に乗ってみることにした。これはダイヤモンドヘッドを一周する。