Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Bicycle Pump

　　A week has passed since I ordered my bicycle, "Jamis Aurora," online. The shop personnel told me that it would take a few weeks to deliver it because they were so busy having received many orders. If their work is as previously scheduled, my bicycle will arrive next week. I'm going to enjoy cycling on a regular basis to keep fit. I'm not sure now, but I'm thinking of joining the 100 km cycling event that will be held this autumn, though I'm a beginner now.
　　I visited a sports goods shop to examine some cycling gear today. As I don't know much about cycling gears, I asked my friends to come with me and they gave me some useful advice. I examined some goods directly with both hands and compared both the prices in the shop and on the net. Consequently I bought a bicycle pump, a light, a chain lock and bicycle clips which are used for fixing the bottom of the pants at about the same or at a lower price as on the net and after getting back home I ordered online several gears from the UK to be delivered to my house at a lower price on the net than in the shop. It's amazingly convenient.
　　The picture shows the bicycle pump that I bought today. It should be stored at the entrance or out of the house, but I put it in my room and often look at it with a smile. The number of the entries classified into the category "Sports" will increase.

(Vocabulary)
bicycle pump　自転車の空気入れ
as (previously) arranged / scheduled 予定通り
keep fit 健康を維持する
bicycle clip （自転車の乗る人の）ズボンの裾留め

Soccer Asian Cup

　　Japan finally climbed up to the summit of the Asian countries in the Asian Cup of Soccer. Japan won over Australia by 1-0, winning an unprecedented fourth victory. The Japanese team became stronger bit by bit with every match it played. I'm very proud of them. Soccer analysts point out various reasons for their achievement, but the most significant point, I think, was their never-say-die spirit. They played 6 matches and in half of them they lost the opening goal. However, they nevr gave up and fought back.
　　The final match was broadcast at midnight in Japan. It is said that the viewing rate was nearly 40% and it was unbelievably high. I can't wait for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

(Vocabulary)
with every match it played  一試合ごとに
never-say-die spirit  不屈の精神
opening goal 先取点、先制ゴール
winning goal 決勝点
viewing rate 視聴率

Prep Against Winter

　　It's getting awfully cold these past couple of days. My hometown is located in the southern part of Japan and has a mild climate. I mean, it's not so hot in summer and not so cold in winter. In this winter, however, that's not the case. Though the snow didn't accummulate, it was snowing heavily in the afternoon. Snowfall in December is extremely rare. A TV news report said that the mountainous region, 30 kilometers from here, had had considerable snow. I hurried to an auto-supply shop to swap tires for winter ones. I store four winter tires with wheels in my house and before it starts to snow, I exchange them every winter.
　　To no one's surprise, more than 20 cars were waiting to exchange tires at the shop even in December. The owners must have been surprised to see the snowfall just like me. I had to wait for two hours, but could replace my present tires with winter tires. I felt relieved and now I can go skiing at any time.
　　When it comes to skiing, my youngest daughter is in Niigata prefecture now, which is well known as the heavy snowfall area in Japan. It faces the Sea of Japan and the northerly freezing wind brings cold waves from Siberia. I hope she'll enjoy skiing with her friends.

(Vocabulary)
accumulate [自] たまる, 積もる
Huge snowdrifts had accumulated on the airport's runways. 大きな雪の吹きだまりが空港の滑走路にできていた．
winter tire スタッドレスタイヤ 〔英米ではstudless tireという言い方はしない。〕
an auto-supply shop / an automotive supply house 自動車用品店
swap  [他] …を交換する, 取り替える
Do you want to swap umbrellas? 傘を取り替えっこする？
swap sth for sth  ＜…＞を＜…＞と交換する
replace (タイヤ・電池など)を交換する
replace sth with sth  ＜…＞を＜…＞に切り替える
Most washing machines need to be replaced after about ten years. 大半の洗濯機は10年ほどで買い替えが必要になる．
at any time いつでも
heavy snowfall area 豪雪地帯
northerly  北の, 北への; (風が) 北からの
cold wave 寒波

Potter, Putter

　　I heard a new Japanese-made English word, "pottering", or "puttering". It indicates riding bicycles without purpose. They never pedal hard like in a race and don't have a destination like on a cycling tour. They just spend time wandering around.
　　I often take a walk with my dog, and find something new even around my house. If I had a bicycle and could extend my wandering area, it would be great fun. I looked for several magazines dealing with bicycles on the internet, and ordered some of them. The picture shows them. I'll devote myself to reading them for the coming several days. By the way, how do you call this purpose-less slow cycling in English?

(Vocabulary)
potter(英) putter（米） のんびりする
deal with sth〈本・映画などが〉 ＜…＞を扱う

Bicycle

　　I'm getting interested in bicycles day by day. When I visited Germany last year, I was surprised to see the bicycle paths which were designed widely along the road. The trains could accommodate bicycles. People could move easily with their own bicycles. I thought that it was a smart system. Lots of people ride bicycles in Japan too, but the infrastructure for cyclists isn't enough now.
　　However, bicycles are absolutely good for the health and never emit greenhouse gas into the air. Besides some of my friends who used to be crazy about motorcycles, began riding bicycles recently. Events for cyclists became common. The picture was taken when they were about to start for a short ride. Their bicycles are designed for a long ride, and they were going to visit a park 20 km away at that time. It must be nice for keeping fit. I'm planning to buy one before too long. The second picture was shot last year near Boden Lake which is located on the border of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It indicates a sign post for cyclists.
　　As for Germany, today's CNN says that a high-speed train will connect Frankfurt and London in about five hours. I've been to Frankfurt, but not London. When I visit England some day, this train will be one of the options to reach London.

(Vocabulary)
before too long  近いうちに

 

Teppen Rally

　　My annual event took place last weekend. It was a rally that my team held in the highest area of Shikoku, one of the four big islands of Japan. Teppen means the highest spot in Japanese. I'm a member of DCR, one of the JAF(Japan Automobile Federation) authorized rally teams, and attended the event as a marshal. I'm also a doctor, so I was placed in the most dangerous section. The picture taken in the forest shows the scene as we were preparing our checkpoint.
　　If you know a little about the rally, you'd understand that I was not always busy there. The rally cars passed our checkpoint three times, but I was free other than when the cars passed. I really enjoyed the sunshine through the leaves and trees deep in the forest.
　　By the way, the rally cars are categorised into three classes according to the displacement of the engines by Japanese domestic regulations. Most rally cars are designed not to waste power and to transmit all the engine power to the drivetrain. For that purpose, most cars, especially small cars, weren't equipped with an air-conditioner. Moreover, by the regulations, the crews had to wear helmets and close the windows in the special stages even under the blistering sunbeams. I was afraid that I'd have to treat lots of heat stroke cases, but fortunately the only patient was a woman who was a navigator.

• (Vocabulary)
• take place 〈催し物などが〉行われる, 開かれる,〈事件などが〉起こる
• The next meeting will take place on Thursday. 次回の会議は木曜日に開きます．
• displacement （自動車のエンジンの）排気量
• regulation 《[C]通例複数形で》規則, 法規, 規定
• drivetrain（車などの）駆動系
• sunbeam [C] 太陽光線

 
向こうに見えるテントがＳＳの受けで我々は次のＳＳのスタートを受け持つ
The tent that you can see in the distance was the goal of a special stage, and our check point was the starting point of the next special stage.

 
車検待ちの車が並んでいる。
They are waiting for the inspection of the cars.

Unbelievable

　　Japan beat the Cameroons in the soccer world cup. It's incredible. Japan had been in a losing streak recently. Lots of Japanese people wouldn't have expected a victory against the Cameroons. Anyway, it's a joy for me, but it'll lead me to lack sleep for weeks.

• (Vocabulary)
• a winning/losing streak  連勝/連敗

Stagnation and Motor Sports

　　I attended the Japan Rally Championship that was held near my hometown as a member of the rescue team. I was asked to be ready in case of accidents, but fortunately no injuries occurred, though more than 30% of the entrants couldn't reach the goal due to the terrible weather. I simply enjoyed the rally as one of the spectators.
　　When I was addicted to car driving a quarter-century ago, the rally drivers who were allowed to join the country-level competition were envied by lots of young people, including me. It was not easy to be qualified to drive a car in this highest level of the competition. The rally was competed by 60 cars and it was difficult to get into this 60 car field. However, to my extreme surprise, the number of entrants was only 35 this year. The competition rate used to be more than two, but now it was only about 0.6.
　　I suspected that the influence of the recent stagnation cast a shadow also in the field of motor sports. The organizer was struggling to attract spectators. They invited an actively working professional WRC driver and held an autograph-signing session, but it was not so effective as they expected because of the horrible rain. I hope that the world economy will recover soon.

• (Vocabulary)
• human / personal suffering 人的被害
• field
• 《常に単数形で》 競合者［会社，製品］, ライバル
• a strong field of candidates for the job その職を志望する強力なライバルたち
• lead the field 〈企業・製品などが〉 群を抜く, トップに立つ
• 《常に単数形で》 (人・動物などの) 全競技者
• He's racing against a very strong field this afternoon. 今日の午後，彼は非常に強力なライバルたちと競走する．
• lead the field (レースで) 先頭に立つ
• cast / make a shadow 影を落とす
• actively working 現役の
• WRC World Rally Championship 世界ラリー選手権
• autograph-signing session サイン会

 

 

Unveiling of National Soccer Team

　　The member list of the Japanese national soccer team that will join the 2010 World Cup was unveiled today. My most favorite player wasn't selected, but it's ok. I just hope that they will play fair. I don't want to see the ugly plays like those of the South Korean team in 2002. As one enthusiastic supporter of soccer, I hope that the World Cup will finish without any trouble like terrorism. I heard that the security of South Africa was extremely bad. I'm really afraid of that.

ILANAAQ

     The Vancouver Olympic Games is really coming soon. Japanese representatives are flying into Vancouver one after another. At the same time, the history and streets of Vancouver are introduced by many media. A sushi restaurant near the Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver, where I had eaten dinner was also on air. Lots of Japanese people don't know how popular sushi is in Canada, so they would be surprised. I was really sorry not to visit Vancouver during this season.

     By the way, in the same program I saw the emblem of the Vancouver Olympics, ILANAAQ, which seems to mean "friend or friendship" in Inuit, and it must have been derived from INUKSHUK. I saw it at the top of Whistler Mountain in 2006, and the meaning of the statue didn't matter to me then. However, I noticed that the emblem was from INUKSHUK, and I searched for information about it on the internet. I'm enjoying their pictures now.

     My daughters, Eri, A, my friend and I are in the picture below which was taken at the top of Whistler Mountain in 2006.

(Vocabulary)

ILANAAQ  イラナーク　INUKSHUK（イヌクシュク）という、カナダ先住民のイヌイット族が、石を人の形に積み重ねて作ったオブジェ。これを５色でカラフルに彩ったものが、この大会のマスコットとなり、ILANAAQ（イラナーク）と名付けられました。これは、イヌイット語で「友愛・友だち」を意味するそうです。

 

2010 Winter Olympic Games

     The Vancouver Olympic Games will begin soon. I've been to Vancouver five or more times. Skiing is my family sport and we were going to visit Vancouver this season, but various factors didn't allow us to enjoy the Olympic Games in Vancouver. We really wish that we could stay in Vancouver for a week. Just after coming back home from the last visit to Canada, I wrote this entry.

     The other day, the new outfit of the Japanese Olympic Team was unveiled. It consists of gold and black, and I didn't feel it was nice, but it sounds like having high potential in keeping body temperature and preventing wind resistance. While I was making outspoken remarks in front of my wife, she said to me, "If the authorities gave you the uniform of the national ski team, you would fly out of your skin and wear it, even if you were making such remarks now. Oh, one thing, remember that the uniform clings to your body and shows your middle-aged body to the public...." "Oh, no!"

     Anyway, it's wonderful to be able to see the scenery of Whistler and other skiing places around Vancouver. I'm not sure, but lots of TV reporters will visit and show us tourist attractions and nice shops and restaurants in Vancouver. For now, I have to content myself with these TV programs.

(Vocabulary)

various factors / various reasons  諸般の事情

wind resistance  風の抵抗

cling to sth  ＜…＞にくっつく

My wet shirt clung to my body.  ぬれたシャツが体にぴったりくっついた．

cling-wear  体の線がはっきり見える衣服

outspoken 〈人・意見などが〉率直な,〈批評などが〉歯に衣(きぬ)を着せない

fly out of one's skin（驚いて・うれしくて）飛び上がる

content (フォーマル) 〈人〉 を満足させる

content oneself with sth   ＜…＞で満足する, に甘んじる

Joint Party of Motor Sports-related Groups

     As I wrote several times before, I belong to an auto racing team. I'll report on the year-end party of my team this time because it was unusual.

     After the relatively big motor sports event was held in autumn by the concerted effort of several teams, these teams got together and had a year-end party. The picture was shot just before the party. Some attendants are preparing and checking all the dishes. They would serve some more dishes later. My hometown is noted for the oldest hot spring, Dogo Onsen. Most guests were in the hot spring at that time, and I got out of it a little earlier to take this picture.

     While I took pictures, I hit on a nice and informative idea that I would take every dish and add an explanation to it. It would be interesting to foreigners.

(Vocabulary)

concerted／combined effort  協力

informative  役立つ情報［知識］を与える, 有益な

(Jan. 9th 2010)

 

 

"Teppen" Rally

     Driving rally cars is one of my hobbies. I used to join the competition as a driver in my younger days, but recently I just watch it or support the staff members as one of the rescue members. Today I'd been in the forest all day, where the "Teppen" rally was held. "Teppen" in the title stands for the highest place. The main course of the rally was in the highest area in Shikoku, so the rally was named like this. Shikoku is the small island containing Ehime prefecture.
     The rally went on as scheduled and there was no accident causing injury or death. This was a relief off my mind. However, the weather was terrible. Matsuyama Local Meteorological Observatory issued a heavy rain warning on the previous night and I brought my rainsuit. This rainsuit was new. As I posted an incident a few weeks ago, my heavy-duty one was torn and replaced in a nearby sports goods shop. Looking for it in the shop, I thought that if I intended to climb up a difficult mountain again, I should buy a heavy-duty one that I could rely on in the torrential rain. However, I had no plan of climbing then, and I decided to skimp the money and not to buy the high-quality one. Consequently, I had a tough time today because the normal one that I got was no use. The picture is when the leading vehicle had just arrived at my check point.
See also; http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/07/a-dog-vandalize.html

(Vocabulary)　
accident causing injury or death  人身事故
That will be a relief off my mind, thanks.  「ホッとしたよ」というニュアンスがこめられた言い方
issue a heavy rain warning　大雨警報を出す
meteorological observatory　気象台
Matsuyama Local Meteorological Observatory  松山地方気象台
skimp  (金・時間などを) けちる
skimp on sth ＜金など＞をけちる, ＜…＞の手を抜く

(KW: ＤＣＲラリー　四国のてっぺんラリー)

Mari Tanigawa Marathon Relay Race (Ekiden)

     Do you know Ekiden? It's one of the sports that originated from Japan. At first let me explain the word "Ekiden". "Eki" means "station" in English and "den" is "inform". Long ago, when you had to send some information to places far away, the letters and parcels were sent to the next stopping point one after another by horses. That is to say, a long distance was divided into small parts and stuff was transported section by section. The name of "Ekiden" was born from this system of transportation.
     Now, today, my daughter sent me a picture with a certificate that showed the record of her group. I'll show you below. It seemed like she joined the ekiden with her friends. It looked like a charity race. One of the famous marathon runners, Mari Tanigawa ran 20km by herself and other people competed with her by making up a team that consisted of four people. My daughter sounded like she enjoyed the race. The number of the participants seemed to be more than 1000 teams, I mean, more than 4000 people. Wonderful!

 

Japan Surgical Society

     I was in Fukuoka City to attend the meeting of the Japan Surgical Society on Apr. 3rd. I have joined this meeting every several years. The purpose of attendance was naturally the absorption of the up-to-date techniques and knowledge, but I had another goal this time. It was a kind of a reunion.
     I'm a general surgeon and spent several years as the resident at a few hospitals. The staff members or fellow residents of these hospitals became separated now. Our occupation and/or our age are so busy that we can hardly take long enough days off at a preferable time. If we wanted to get together somewhere, it's almost impossible that a dozen people can arrange their schedules. Actually, a few people just met each other for the first time in the last 20 years.
     By the way, though our schedules are usually tight, it's easier to take days off in order to join the annual meeting of the congress. A friend noticed it and planned the reunion in Fukuoka City, where the surgical congress would be held. The date was set on Apr. 3rd, and the place was determined to be at Yahoo Dome Stadium, where the opening game of professional baseball would be played. You can see where we were seated at the game.
     The result is, the franchise team, Soft Bank Hawks won the massive victory. We and people around us got carried away. I'm not a fan of the Hawks, but I couldn't help being an instant fan of the Hawks.

Germany

     It was in my university days when I felt close to Germany for the first time. Japanese medical science was installed from Germany in the Meiji era in an effort to catch up with powerful countries and there still remains an influence of Germany in Japanese medicine today. A lot of medical jargon originates from German. When I was a medical student, I was strictly required to learn German. I studied it very hard and was able to graduate from my medical school. After school, I didn't have any chance to use German in my daily life and my skill got rusty.
     One day I watched a movie, "Pianist". This is the extraordinary story of one man's survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945. Official website is http://www.szpilman.net/
     In one scene a warm-hearted German commander said to the protagonist, "Kommen Sie bitte." It means "Come over here, please." However, the Japanese translation was "来い！" which is "Come on!" in English. The conversation between the German commander and the poor pianist in this scene is a high point of the story. In this scene, the highly-educated German commander starts showing respect to the pianist who looks like a beggar or something. The translation was helplessly mistaken here. If I hadn't have learned German, I wouldn't have been able to catch the change in attitudes of both of the characters.
     That's why I restarted learning German. Besides, my second daughter is majoring in German now. It might not be in the so distant future that I'll enjoy skiing in German-speaking countries with my family.

（Vocabulary)
jargon   (けなして) 専門［業界］用語
high point of a play   劇の見せ場

My second daughter and my dog, "Mocha"

Driving School

     I've reported about this driving school before, when my daughters were learning to drive here. Now I'm learning here how to handle a big motorcycle. I've no idea about how to get the motorcycle riding license in other countries and I hope some of you readers send me e-mails or comments about it. http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/12/the-first-lesso.html
     Motorcycle instruction is divided into two courses. One is to ride by the book on the road. I am strictly required to follow the traffic laws one hundred percent. The other is to control the motorcycle in any situation.
     One picture shows the straight narrow course, 15 meters length, 30 cm width and 5 cm height. I have to complete the course without running off, falling down or allowing the engine to stall. If the conditions are only these, it is very easy, but actually one more condition lies before me. I have to ride through in more than 10 seconds. That is to say, I have to ride at an extremely low speed on a 250 kilogram motorcycle. It's no picnic.
     The next picture is the slalom course. Pylons are arranged every 4.5 meters in the 27 meters of the straight course. It's fun to go through this course lightly, but there's severe assignments as you can imagine. I have to finish it within 7 seconds and never touch any pylon. If I touch one of those pylons in the end-of-course exam, the exam will be over and I will have to take an extra class.
     The next is the wave-like course, which is assumed to be a rough road. I have to pass it in more than 7 seconds. It means that I am required to ride as slow as I can. I have to keep the balance standing up on the step.
     There are some narrow courses around here. We call them for example like this, S-course, Crank-course from the shape of the courses.
     The license I'm trying to get is the highest level of riding license and if I get it, I can ride any motorcycle I like. I'll never say die.

(Vocabulary)
pylon  交通規制用のコーン(円錐形の標識)
lightly  軽快に

http://www.shikoku.ne.jp/josei/

(KW: 城西自動車学校　大型２輪　大型二輪)

Drivers Club Rookie (DCR)

     DCR is a circle of like-minded people who are interested in automobiles. I have belonged to this club for about 20 years. The year-end party of DCR was held on the 22nd and I'm writing about this party this time.
     We chatted about lots of things that had happened this year and the main topic was Rally Japan 2008 that six of us had joined last month. Several goods from the rally were on the table, which was going to be prizes for some quiz. A few sponsors also offered prizes to the party and our party was gorgeous. Pictures are of a bicycle from Lamborghini, a radio control car which I won, a mask for a party which was the lowest prize and the scene of the selection meeting.

Honda, Suzuki and Subaru

     I heard some shocking news today. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (Subaru) came to an agonizing decision of their withdrawal from the WRC. Subaru had joined the WRC for about 20 years and got lots of titles. The other day, Suzuki Motor Corporation (Suzuki) announced their retreat from the WRC. Likewise, Honda also determined to stop participating in the F1 Grand Prix. As you can imagine, these firm's policies were due to the economic recession. The downturn in the auto industry casts a shadow over the whole motor sports world.
     Now that you mentioned about the auto industry, what will become of Ford (Ford Motor Co., Ltd.)? I got a nice jacket at the Ford booth in Rally Japan 2008 last month. It was printed with the logo of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Rally Team and I wear it almost every day while commuting. My jacket might be kind of out date.

(Vocabulary)
cast a shadow   影を落とす
out date   時代遅れで

SUBARU

SUZUKI

BP FORD ABU DHABI

BP FORD ABU DHABI JACKET

Rally Was Over

     The Japan Rally was over. More properly, our duty was over. The rally cars were on the way to their goal, but we were released from all the duties of the rally. Our faces were full of content. The person who is on the right in the first picture was from Tomakomai City and took us between our hotel and the Dome every day. He was kind and took us to the car rental agency after we were dismissed.
     We found a few people washing their damaged car on the way to our parking. I hoped that they could complete the next rally.
     By the way, I wondered if the weather in Sapporo was always like this. It was fine in the early morning, heavily raining until noon and now it is clear again.