Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Honolulu Half-Marathon 2 (Policemen)

　　While approaching the starting point, which was arranged on Waikiki beach, several police motorcycles caught my eye. In such a case in Japan, motorcycle policemen tend to be tense, but what had happened to them, who looked relaxed. As I spoke to one of them, saying "Good morning, officer!", he sent me a finger sign, in which you extend the thumb and the little finger from your fist. I often saw this finger sign in Hawaii. I'll write about this sign later.

ワイキキビーチに近づくと白バイが数台止まっているのが見えてきた。しかし緊張感は全くない。日本のマラソンだと先導する白バイ隊員はかなり緊張していると思うが、この警察官たちには微塵も感じられない。話しかけてみると親指と小指を突き出す独特のハンドサインを示した。このハンドサインについては後に書く。

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。

 

Matsushima

　　We took a hotel in Hiraizumi City last night and had my regulation breakfast of rice and miso soup bright and early. We wanted to see the scenery of Matsushima, one of three famous Japanese scenic spots and then move to Tokyo, in which we were planning to have dinner out with our eldest daughter. Visiting Matsushima was the second time for me.
　　I had taken a rather long motorcycle ride to Matsushima 35 years ago from Okayama City where I had been at that time. The first picture was shot before the bridge leading to Godaido, and the 2nd was shot 35 years ago on the left side at the front in the 1st picture. I should take a picture on the same angle this time, but I didn't hit on the idea of doing so. It's regrettable. The person on the right with a yellow jacket is me and person on the left is now working as a veteran anaesthesiologist.

(Vocabulary)
regulation《[名]の前でのみ》規定の, 正規の（regulationに形容詞があったことを初めて知った）
bright and early [成句] 朝早々と

Godaido (Google Pictures)
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E4%BA%94%E5%A4%A7%E5%A0%82&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1kNq-orXNAhVBGJQKHZ5DAKAQsAQINA&biw=1920&bih=983

（北海道・東北旅行記／３月３１日）

　 昨夜は平泉市内へ泊まり、朝一番で日本三景のひとつ松島を観光した。３５年くらい前に当時住んでいた岡山からバイクを飛ばしてきたことがある。１枚目の写 真は五大堂Godaidoへ繋がる橋の手前で撮ったものだが、この写真の左手前で３５年前に撮影した写真が２枚目である。２０代前半のころの写真。同じア ングルで撮影すれば良かったと後でちょっと後悔。右側の黄色いジャケットが僕である。赤いジャケットの友人は今は広島県で麻酔科医として活躍している。

Streets in Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

　　I often got on our tour guide's case about his proficiency in Japanese. When he found something to point out from the bus, he started to talk about it. While he was choosing his words, it passed out of sight. I wasn't able to take pictures of them. Finally, I didn't know what almost all the pictures taken through the bus window were for. In the era of Japanese territory, Karafuto was inhabited by not only Japanese but also Korean people, because the Korean Peninsula, which was not what you call a colony, was a part of Japan at that time. Korean people were treated just like original Japanese in those days. Now, South Korea trades on the hostile relationship between Japan and Russia. There were national flags of Russia and South Korea on the construction site of something. There was also a monument for Korean people who wanted to go back to Korea in vain on the hill looking down on the town of Oodomari.
　　I was eager to see how Karafuto would be on this trip, but I had another purpose, which was to see what the motorcycle culture was like. When I visited South Korea in 2009, Korean people didn't have a mind to enjoy riding itself. Motorcycles for them were merely a means of transportation. Karafuto was just like South Korea in that way. I saw only one motorcycle on the street but there was no motorcycle shop as far as I saw. I might have to give up the thought of riding on Karafuto.

(Vocabulary)
北緯５０度以南の樺太は日本領、したがってこのブログでは日本名を使う
Karafuto (樺太)　Sakhalin サハリン
Toyohara (豊原)　Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ユジノサハリンスク
Oodomari(大泊)　Korsakov　コルサコフ

Kamuimisaki Cape

　　To tell the truth, I made a short stop at the cape last year when I had the trip with my motorcycle friend. I wanted to visit other places, but my wife had never seen the cape and so we visited here. This kind of view is never seen in my home, Ehime Prefecture.
　　Take a look at the third picture. According to the information panel aside, it seemed to be the ruin of the base of a radiodetector which was built in 1942. People who lived in Hokkaido have felt fear for Russian troops since long ago. Several incidents are recorded in connection with the Russian navy. The panel also says that the radio facility at the cape found the Russian fleet of Vladivostok off the coast of the cape and it triggered a serious panic on May 6th in 1904. I understood how serious people feared for Russia in those days.
　　Additionally, the coastline around the cape is known as fierce winter weather conditions and difficult terrain. On the way back to Yoichi, I held a short silence to the victims of the tunnel collapse at their memorial monument which had happened on a freezing cold day nearly 20 years ago.

(Vocabulary)
radiodetector  電波探知機

Helmet

　　I threw away two helmets today. One is for off-road motorcycles and the other is for on-road ones. I had worn the former from 1996 to 2006, and the latter from 2006 to 2014. Naturally, I know about their useful lives of three years, but they were expensive to replace in such a short period. These helmets meet the most strict standard of SNELL, but everything has its lifespan. I had to replace them in a certain span. These helmets were sitting after the end of their role in my storage room and I won't wear these helmets any more, but I feel an attachment to them. That's why I wasn't able to discard them.
　　The other day, I bought a Mercedes-Benz SLK200 and had to squeeze the things associated with the car into the small storage space, which was, however, too small to place all of them. I decided to throw away some of my old motorcycles related gear which I would never use in the future.

Urlaub in Hokkaido

　　Ich habe Urlaub in Hokkaido gemacht. Ich habe mein Motorrad nach Hokkaido mit dem Flugzeug transportieren lassen. Ich bin zu Osaka Flughafen mit dem Motorrad gefahren und habe dort mein Motorrad abgegeben.
　　Mein Plan war, Hokkaido zu überqueren. Ich bin zum Ende von der Schiretoko Halbinsel, die in Osten Hokkaidos liegt, gereist. Der Eintritt im Ende von Schiretoko Halbinsel ist zum Schutz der Natur und den vielen Braunbären verboten, also habe ich ein Rundfahrtsschiff benutzt. In der Nähe habe Ich Kunaschiri Insel, die durch Russland besetzt wurde, gesehen. Das ist schade.
　　Es gibt viele heiße Quellen und Speisen in Hokkaido und das Motorradfahren in dieser Jahreszeit ist sehr angenehm, aber in diesem Sommer hat es viel geregnet. Das war auch schade.
　　Ich will einige Jahren später wurde eine Motorradreise in Hokkaido planen.

Commuting? Touring?

　　In Hokkaido, I used my navigation device, ZUMO550, every day and now even in my hometown I have begun to set my ZUMO550 on my scooter every day. It might become my routine work before riding. Today, I attached the ZUMO550 to my scooter as usual before commuting. Seeing that, my wife wondered if I needed the device for commuting. She must have thought that I would never lose my way on the way to my office. Naturally, I remember the commuting route.
　　I do it just for fun. Putting my ZUMO550 on the meter panel of my scooter makes me high, just like before long riding in an unknown area. My commute route is listed as one of the advisable routes for riding on almost all of the roadmaps. The commuting time is 50 minutes or so and I can run through without any rest, but I always take a rest and drink a canned coffee. I'll show you pictures of my scooter at my favorite place below.

Helmet

　　Do you know the service life of a helmet? The answer is only three years. Of course I knew, but the age of my helmet was 7! It far exceeded the durable years. After coming back from Hokkaido, I replaced it with the same model. The size of my head is bigger than average and it's not easy to find one to fit my head. Thus I chose  one of the same size, and the same model of the same company. Less enjoyable, so I changed its color from white to wine-red.
　　Having a quick look at it, you wouldn't find any difference between the new and old one, but there was surely 7 years' struggle of technologists: the decrease of wind noise, the circulation of the air, the defogging system, the adequate spaces for the plate speakers, and so on. I really like it.

(Vocabulary)
wind noise 風切音

To My Hometown

　　After I arrived at Osaka International Airport, I had to ride to my hometown for about 6 hours, but I had another plan to visit my friends in Kobe, with whom I had visited Canada in 2012 for skiing. I'd like to visit Whistler again next March after 3 years' interval. It was the meeting for that. The plan isn't yet fixed, but if my friends will go, I'm going to join them.
　　I arrived at my home at 21:00 hours. I was thankful to get back home without any accidents. I got e-mails from two friends with whom I went, saying that they also were back.
　　I'll show you two flags and some comical certificates in the pictures. When I visited Hokkaido in 2001 and stopped by a Hokuren filling station, their flags were out of stock. It's the flag in the first picture that an attendant gave me at that time, saying that if I didn't mind, it was one of the last year's. So, I added "+1" to the year number, 2000. The small slip of paper reads "It certifies that you filled your tank in the NORTHERNMOST service station." Take a look at the second picture next. The flag in the picture was given in 2006 and the small slip certifies that I ate SEA LION meat in the small island of Rebun.
　　By the way, I'm vaguely thinking of the next plan. How about Karafuto, Sakhalin in English. I heard the paths in Sakhalin are mostly bad and have bumps all over. Should I replace my scooter with an off-road type motorcycle? Or shall I rent one somewhere? At present, I'll visit Sakhalin in 3 years. I was going to visit South Korea several years ago, and I learned the Korean language. Now I can understand basic conversation required in usual sightseeing, like greetings, for shopping, for the transportation system, and so on. However, Russian appears to be fairly difficult. What shall I do?

　飛行機は伊丹に着いた。大阪からは６時間かけて愛媛に戻るが、神戸に寄り道。来春のカナダツアーについてスキー仲間と相談する。もし彼らが行くなら一緒に行こうと思う。３年前に成田に降りることができず、エアカナダからのプレゼントのソウルツアーをした仲間だ。そして２１時頃自宅に着いた。事故もなく楽しい旅だった。

　以下に写真を呈示する。２００１年のツーリングでホクレンの旗が在庫切れでその前の旗をもらった。なので＋１と追加記入している。小さな紙切れは日本最北端の給油所で給油したという証明書。土地柄か、このような証明書があちこちで配布される。今回も知床の先端を見たという証明書をもらった。２枚目は２００６年の旗。礼文島でトド肉を食べたという証明書を付けている。
　さて、次の計画である。今のところ、３年先くらいの樺太ツーリングを考えている。道が悪いらしいのでオフ車で行かなければならない。買い換えるか、レンタルするか、さらに挨拶程度のロシア語を勉強していくか。

　これでツーリング記はおわりです。長い間お付きあいくださりありがとうございました。

The Last Day

　　On Aug. 11th, the last day of my trip, it became clear, arguably the best weather during my trip. Somehow every time I visited Hokkaido with my motorcycle, it was the last day that the best weather came. I ate breakfast relaxed in my hotel and packed my bag and my scooter's underseat storage pace. I had enough time before my flight, but I wanted to spend some time in the airport and left my hotel.
　　In the reverse sequence of coming, I stopped by the gas station, which I dropped in at a week before just after picking my scooter up at the cargo terminal and filled the tank up. A gas station staff member threw the gasoline away from my scooter and issued a discard certification of the gasoline. This certification was an essential paper for embarkation of my scooter.
　　Pictures show the procedure of the embarkation of motorcycles. Motorcycles were fixed on a special pallet and taken into the cargo area of the plane.

(Vocabulary)
somehow どういうわけか
Somehow I knew she would say that. 彼女がそう言うだろうとなぜか私にはわかっていた．

　今回も晴れたのは最終日だった。どうしてこうなるのか。朝食はホテルでゆっくりと摂ったが空港でゆっくりしたいためすぐに出発。来たときとは逆の順で手続きをする。スタンドによってガソリンを廃棄して、ANA貨物ターミナルへ。写真はバイクをパレットに固定しているところ。また来たいな～と思いつつ搭乗。

Simukappu Village

　　After lunch in Rokugounomori, I entered Shimukappu Village, and the sky got darker. I believed that I would be sure to be caught in the heavy rain sooner rather than later. I parked my scooter at a rest place, "Michinoeki Shizen Taikan Shimukappu". There were about 20 riders other than us, who were changing their jackets into rain jackets and wrapping their possessions in nylon bags. I also did so and restarted. Crossing the Hidakatouge Pass, the torrential rain started and I wasn't able to take pictures until my hotel this day. I arrived at today's hotel in Chitose City wet to the skin.

　空の色が暗くなってきた。占冠村の道の駅では雨準備にとりかかるライダー数名を見た。覚悟して２３７号線を下るようだ。日高峠を越えてからの雨は尋常では無かった。実は、この後の写真がないのだ。いかに酷い雨だったか想像できよう。びしょ濡れで最後のホテル、新千歳クラウンプラザホテルに到着。この夜は我々のためだけに店を開けてくれた日本料理店で豪華な夕食だったが、写真写りが悪いので一枚だけ酒の写真をＵｐ。

To Furano Town

　　What do you think is the most interesting thing concerning Hokkaido for motorcycle riders? Beautiful scenery? Yes, of course, but the straight and sparse traffic roads are also the magnet for them. Both straight and sparse traffic are the conditions which you don't get in Japan other than Hokkaido. The pictures show my friends riding, which were shot randomly from my motorcycle, not being focused at them with my left hand, because I also was riding. They are two of about 30 pictures which I took in such a way.
　　Do you see grey clouds ahead in the distance? This morning, the weather forecast of my today's destination said that it would rain heavily!! I felt gloomy to hear that. The clouds ahead implied the correctness of the forecast. I braced myself for it, but before that I turned left for "Rokugounomori", a kind of theme park associated with a famous TV drama, which had been shot in Furano Town intermittently for 19 years (1983-2002). The yellow flag in the picture was given from the park, praying for safe riding.

(Vocabulary)
brace [他]〈人〉に心の準備をさせる
be braced for sth ＜…＞に対する心の準備ができている
brace yourself  心の準備をする, 気をしっかり持つ

　ライダーにとって北海道の魅力は何だろう。美しい景色はもちろんだが、すいている道路、そして直線路ではないだろうか。写真は富良野の田園地帯を走っている仲間二人を後ろから撮ったもの。走りながらなので構図はピントは考慮できず、たくさん撮った中の２枚をＵｐする。前方に見える山に暗雲がかかっているのが見えるだろうか。実は天気予報では太平洋側は大雨となっていた。これからその大雨のエリアに突入することになるが、まずは麓郷の森へと左へ折れた。
　富良野町は日本の人気ドラマの舞台となったところで、そのセットが麓郷の森に移築展示されている。観光客はとても多かった。入り口のスタッフが我々の姿を見て、まず渡してくれたのが写真に示す黄色い旗。交通安全の旗だった。

Hokuren Flags

　　I got the 4th Hokuren flag before entering Furano Town, completing the full set of flags. The whole of Hokkaido was divided into 4 areas and each area had its color. The center part was red. Hokuren is the name of a comprehensive company in Hokkaido. The gas business is one of its wide variety of enterprises. The flag was sold at 110 yen at every Hokuren gas station. On my last visit to Hokkaido, the flags were free and it surprised me, but there was a reason.
　　The second picture shows a special sales promotion. Take pictures which contain the flags in riding scenes in Hokkaido wherever you like, and send them to the company. If they are acknowledged to be nice pictures, you could be awarded something nice. I'd like to try it, but the weather was terrible all the way. The price of the flags would be the source of the prizes. I admired the promotion.
　　The flags used to be freely distributed as I wrote above. The more flags you had, it meant the longer your stay in Hokkaido and the more kinds of flags you had meant you had been in a wider area. Anyway, it was a kind of decoration for riders.

(Vocabulary)
decoration [C] 勲章 [＋decoration for]

　富良野に入る手前で４つめのホクレンの旗を手に入れた。これで４種類をすべて手にした。だからどうというわけでもないのだが、ホクレンで給油するとき１１０円で購入した。有料には驚いたが、パンフレットにあるようなキャンペーンがあるらしい。北海道の気に入った土地で旗を含めて写真を撮り応募して欲しいという。もちろん商品があるが、我々の場合、ずっと天気が悪く、とても美しい写真を撮れるような状況ではなかった。本当に残念。
　前に来たときは無料でもらい、たくさん持っているほど北海道に長く滞在していることを示し、種類が多いほど広い範囲を走っていることを意味し、どちらもツーリングオタクの勲章だった。有料化されたことは残念だが、優秀写真の商品になるのならまあいいか。

Wild Hot Springs

　　After leaving Aoi ike, I dropped in at an observatory, Bougakudai, from which I could see a magnificent view of the active volcano, Tokachidake. It was spewing white smoke from several points near its summit. It seemed a long climb to the top of the hill, but you can apparently reach the top in 3 hours or so, according to the climbers there. There were about 20 cars in the parking lot, but only a few people were there. Most people must have been climbing up.
　　Next, I visited Fukiage Onsen hot spring, which had been created in the forest. Some people were bathing, so I took pictures, not directly but from behind trees, so that the people did not appear in the pictures. Next I dropped in at Tokachidake Onsen hot spring, which was just spewing at the foot of Mt. Tokachidake. I wanted to soak in it under the sunshine filtering through the foliage, but riding just after bathing was likely to cause a cold and I refrained from it. Then, I started for Furano town.

(Vocabulary)
the sunshine filtering through foliage 木漏れ日

　青い池を出てまず立ち寄ったのが十勝岳望岳台と呼ばれる展望台。確かに煙を吐いている十勝岳が美しく遠望できる。そして吹上温泉に寄った。森の中に作られた実にワイルドな温泉で、入っている人がいたので温泉の写真を撮るのはやめた。森の中から人が写らないように撮った。次に立ち寄ったのは十勝岳温泉。入浴したかったが天気が悪化してきたこと、入浴後にバイクに乗ると湯冷めするだろうと思われどちらの温泉も見るだけとなった。そして、富良野を目指した。

Aoi Ike, Literally Blue Pond

　　Aoi ike literally means blue pond, which was formed by the construction of a barrier against the pyroclastic flow from the active volcano, Tokachidake, in case of its eruption. The mechanism of water changing into blue is still unexplained. The pond was beautiful with withered tree residues like Taishouike Pond in Kamikouchi in Nagano Prefecture.
　　It was a TV program dealing with domestic trips that  told me about this tiny pond. I thought it was located in a deserted area, but there were lots of tourists. A fairly large parking space was provided near the pond. The 5 minutes' walk took us to the pond and when I got back to the parking lot a friend was waiting for me, whom I had met a few years ago in Asahikawa City. Both of us are patriots and on the same wavelength with each other. I parted with him, promising to get together again. Then I went up on and on into the mountainous area in the center of Hokkaido.

(Vocabulary)
pyroclastic flow 火砕流
wither〈植物・花などが〉しおれる, 枯れる; [他] …をしおれさせる, 枯らす
The grass had withered. 芝生が枯れていた．

　青い池、テレビの旅情報で知った観光地。番組ではひっそりとした穴場のような言い方だったが、人の多さに驚いた。水の色が青くなる理由はよくわかっていないそうだ。上高地の大正池のような立ち枯れの木があり、美しい。広い駐車場が用意されており、池の周辺を散策して駐車場へ戻ると見知った顔が。写真と名前は伏せるがフェイスブック上の知りあいだ。何年ぶりだろうか、旭川で宴会をしたときに出会った方で、彼とは日本が好きという点で波長が合う。再会を期して別れた。そして山へ向かった。道はどんどん高度を上げていく、、、

Souunkyo 層雲峡

　　Souunkyo is located just at the center of Hokkaido. It's well known for its hot spring and surrounding vertical rock walls, and naturally it's one of the representative hot springs in Hokkaido. When I woke up, the sky was clear as you see in the pictures. I thought that I should pack the scooter's store box under the seat with my rain suit, but,,,
　　It appeared that several riders had arrived at the hotel later than us. I found several motorcycles in the parking lot for cycles. The one farthest right is from my home prefecture, Ehime. At the aerial tram station several buses were parked. So many people seemed to have climbed up to Mt. Kurodake, which formed a part of the Mt.Daisetsuzan area. They would enjoy a magnificent view from the summit.
　　Taking a walk in such a scenic area under a clear sky was really refreshing, but my hunger got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I got back to my hotel and began preparation for my departure. The breakfast was great, needless to say.

(Vocabulary)
tram (tramcarとも) (米) ロープウェー [同意] cable car ; 路面電車 [同意] streetcar(米)

　北海道のほぼ中央にある層雲峡。垂直の岩壁に囲まれている。起きてみると快晴で、今日こそは合羽を着なくても大丈夫だと思われたのだが、、、、
　昨夜は我々よりも遅く到着したライダーもかなりいたようで、バイクの台数が増えていた。写真の一番右は愛媛ナンバーだ。少し早く起きて３０分ほど散歩。黒岳へのロープウェイには既にバスが到着し、登山客がいた。気持ちの良い朝だ。

Maruseppu 丸瀬布

　　After riding for some time through the forest, I arrived at the small town of Maruseppu. I took a short rest there and headed for Souunkyo Hot Spa, which was the destination of the day. I wore my rain jacket all day, but it didn't rain. After the usual drinking, I went to bed, praying for the next day's good weather.

森の中をしばらく走り丸瀬布道の駅に出た。少し休憩して今日の投宿場所の層雲峡温泉に向かう。丸瀬布からは高速道路のような道で快適。合羽を着て行動したが、この日だけは雨が降らなかった。翌日も晴れることを祈った。

Lost Village Kounomai 4 鴻之舞探訪４

　　Looking around the lots of remains of the lost village, I recalled Besshi Copper Mine, which had been run by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. and had contributed to the modern development of Japan along with Kounomai Gold Mine. Both mines were already closed. The fact that the guardian deity of Kounomai was derived from Ehime Prefecture, in which Besshi Copper Mine was located, would imply the connection of the two mines. I found a monument of the shrine. It stood on the roadside in obscurity. It appeared that the fabric of the shrine had fallen down and only the stone stairs remained.
　　However, the present status of both mines are completely different. Besshi Copper Mine was shaped into a mine theme park and now it is one of the main tourist spots in Ehime. I took a walk in the park last year and wrote about it.
　　Several former residents in Kounomai, including our guide, were struggling to preserve their native land as a historic heritage site. Our guide told us stories about his childhood with a faraway eye.
　　The paths around the remains were accessible with the grass tidily mowed. It seemed a considerably hard work for the aged to keep the grass mowed and I asked him about it. He replied that the mine company would do that regularly without any charge. I admired the company's spirit! Anyway it's really regrettable to leave those remains buried deep in the forest.

(Vocabulary)
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. 住友金属鉱山株式会社
in obscurity  世に知られずに, 世に埋もれて
with［through］（one's）faraway［distant］eyes 遠くを見るような目で

　失われた町の遺物を巡りながら、愛媛県の別子銅山を思い出した。鴻之舞鉱山と同様に近代日本の発展に貢献し、また同じく住友金属鉱山によって経営されていた鉱山である。現在では閉山してしまった点も又同様である。鴻之舞鉱山の守り神として愛媛の大山祇神社が鎮座していたこと、決して無縁ではあるまい。県道沿いに大山祇神社の跡を示す石碑が立っていた。立ち入り禁止であったがこの奧に跡地があるのだろう。神社の建物は朽ちてしまい、石造りの階段が残っているだけだという。

　しかし、現在の様子は全く違っている。別子銅山はその跡地が観光地化され、テーマパークになっている。去年、その跡地を歩き、記事にしたのでリンクさせておく。

　鴻之舞は元の住民による保存活動がなされており、案内をしてくれたスタッフも鴻之舞出身で、小さい頃にはこの町で過ごしたという。遠くを眺めるような、印象的な目で失われた町を案内してくれた。観光客に歩いてもらうために脇道の草刈りは欠かせないが、人力では大変な作業だ。住友金属鉱山が無償で協力してくれて重機により道路を維持しているという。同社の心意気も見上げたものである。このまま埋もれさせてしまうのはなんとも惜しい歴史遺産である。

Lost Village Kounomai 3 鴻之舞探訪３

　　A diorama of Kounomai village, which had existed there before, was displayed in the historic house which used to be utilized as an Ekitei, which I wrote about in the previous but one entry. Seeing it, the village was fairly big and seemed to be prosperous, but their ruins were apparently disappearing. Other old stuff was also on display and a comic magazine caught my eye, in which a character from Kounomai village showed up.
　　After the tour of Ekitei, as we were about to leave for the present Kounomai village, we wanted someone to guide us around the lost village. It didn't hurt to ask for a guide, though I had no reservation. Then, one of the staff members spoke to us, "Shall I show you to the ruins?" He gave us an elaborate tour of the lost village, and it was very fortunate. If we had gone on alone, we wouldn't have been able to find the ruins. They were so deeply buried in the forest. Most buildings were made of wood and those moldered away. Without advance knowledge, we would be astonished to see them just like the discoverer of Machu Picchu.
　　I saw the entrance of the mine pit, a folk house, the ruins of the school and a decent swimming pool, and other things. I'll post pictures of them.

(Vocabulary)
diorama  /dàɪərǽmə, -rmə [C] ジオラマ (歴史・物語の一場面などを表す立体模型)
It doesn't hurt to ask.  聞くだけ聞いてみたら？
molder （徐々に）ぼろぼろになる, 朽ちる, 腐る

　駅逓跡の建物内にはジオラマがあった。それをみると、かなり大きな町だったはずだが、聞けばもう消えかかっているという。当時使っていた様々な日用品や、鴻之舞のことが書かれている日本では有名な漫画も展示してあった。駅逓跡を出て、鴻之舞方面へ向かおうとしたら、職員が案内してくれるという。後で気がついたことだが、ガイドがいなければ町の痕跡をほとんど何も発見できなかっただろう。ガイドを得たのはとても幸運なことであった。

　さて、鴻之舞であるが、道路から見える構造物は少なく、道道を漫然と走っていたのではここに町があったなどとは気がつかない。多くの建物が木造であったため、大部分は朽ちてしまい、石造りの部分だけが残っているのだという。道路脇の森林の中には人々の暮らしていた跡が次々と出現した。予備知識なくここを歩いていたら腰を抜かすだろう。まるでマチュピチュ遺跡を初めて見つけた探検家のように。

　炭鉱坑道入り口、住居跡、学校やプールの跡(最後の写真)まであった。いくつか写真をＵｐする。