Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Back Home and Last Entry about Ski Trip

　　We arrived in Japan at last. Our leader, Ms. O., is smiling in the picture. She got injured in the snowy mountains and had to walk with her crutches after that. Her crutches were made in China, carried across the Pacific Ocean twice, by extension via Korea and had reached Japan. They would bring back good memories of the funny trip. The personnel of Narita International Airport, who took care of Ms. O., told us that the airport was alarmed that night when our plane gave up landing at Narita Airport. Though he was a 20 year-plus veteran, it was apparently his first experience. It might mean that we also had a very rare experience. Anyway, we enjoyed everything that had happened around us.

　　By the way, we had to stay one more night near Narita International Airport, because we arrived late and missed the connective domestic flight. Our baggage was supposed to be sent by a door-to-door delivery service, so I took my extra clothes, the electric shaver, battery chargers of my PC and cell phone out of it. We were in cold-weather clothing even in Korea, and wanted to take a shower as soon as possible.

　　I have to write one more thing. The hotel fee was offered from Air Canada in Narita too. Finally, Air Canada set up two days of hotel fees and four meals for us.

　　To Air Canada: Thanks! We'll make friendly use of your service next time!

(Vocabulary)
bring back memories  思い出［記憶］をよみがえらす
Being here brings back bad memories.  ここにいるといやな事を思い出す．
alarm〈人〉を不安にさせる, に警鐘を鳴らす
alarmed  恐れて, 不安を感じて
alarmed by/at/over
Researchers are alarmed by an increase in AIDS infections among teenagers. 研究者たちはティーンエイジャーの間でエイズ感染が増えていることに不安を抱いている．
door-to-door delivery service  宅配便
cold-weather clothing  寒冷地用の衣服

Leave Korea

　　I asked a person at the tourist information in Insadong to call for taxis. The driving was considerably rough, but the driver took us straight to our hotel early enough, at 14:30 hours. We were supposed to be picked up at 15:00 hours. The following two pictures are the taxi which transported us and Incheon Airtel Hotel. You can see the route of the taxi in the map of our trace (link). The third picture was shot just before the check-in at the airport. We were really relieved to be able to come back home. Naturally, Ms. Kaneko successfully got together with her husband here.

　　This stay in Korea stemmed from the unpredictable weather and was totally fun. I experienced lots of new things. I remember a volcanic eruption that had occurred two years ago in Iceland. Almost all European airports were reportedly closed for several days and many people were stranded. Tourists were sleeping on the floor or benches. We might have been lucky for even getting the hotel room for rest, and moreover just one day. The meal in the last picture was offered from Air Canada on the flight to Japan, even though the flight time was only two hours. I thought it was due to the departure time of 17:30 hours. I was thankful for a nice holiday in Seoul from Air Canada.

(Vocabulary)
stem from something  [句動詞] (事態・問題などが) ＜…＞から生じる, に由来する
unpredictable  予測できない, 先行き不安定な, 〈天気が〉 気まぐれな

Insadong 인사동

　　We went to Insadong district by two taxis. I made my GPS receiver (link) start working to record our trace for my friends, because they were new to Insadong and I thought they wouldn't remember where they were, but I made a mistake. I didn't turn the receiver off when we were indoors, and there's wrong data on the map, but you'll catch a rough image of our route. As I made up this map, I found that Odusan Unification Observatory was within our reach. Sightseeing in Insadong was really wonderful, but it's regrettable that we couldn't view the land of North Korea.

　　By the way, the lady who joined at the hotel was Ms. Kaneko, who is a professional pianist. She allowed me to show you her pictures and the url of her blog (link1, link2).

　　Nowadays, a flat tire has become rare, but we had it on the way to the city center. How many adventures would occur on this trip? The driver called a replacement and we had to wait for some time to change cars. However, this trip to Korea was fun and we thought of it as a present from Air Canada.

　　We had a tea break at a Korean rice cake shop and dropped in at a classical Korean restaurant. In the first picture, Ms. Kaneko was chatting with a man who was really good at Japanese. He had apparently been brought up among Japanese people.

(Vocabulary)
adventure   わくわくする体験

Wandering in Seoul

　　When I devoted myself to the pamphlet offered from the front desk as a map, which was extremely simplified and was not useful as a map, a young woman addressed me. She was also a passenger on the same plane as us. She was alone and felt lonely, and came to join us for a day. Her story surprised us. I got her permission and I'll write about her. She travelled to Yellowknife to watch the Aurora Borealis with her husband. When they arrived in Vancouver as a stopover on the way back to Japan, they had to stay one more day due to overbooking. As a result, they came to get on board the same plane with us. At Incheon Airport, in the midst of the chaos as I wrote before, they ended being separated, transported to individual hotels, and by extension they couldn't communicate with each other. Their cell phone didn't work in Korea. It's natural for her to feel lonely in an unknown nation. Finally, we, seven Japanese people, got to spend six hours in the country which we didn't want to visit.

　　Mr. W., who was our chef, had been to Seoul as an attendant doctor on a Korean patient, but he only stayed for a few hours and went back to Japan after turning the patient over to Korean medical personnel. For that reason, I decided on the place we visited in Seoul City.

(Vocabulary)
Aurora Borealis  /ərrə bɔriǽlɪs 《常に単数形で》オーロラ　北極光　[同意] the Northern Lights
decide on/upon sth [句動詞] (多くの選択肢の中から) ＜…＞を選ぶ, 決める
Have you decided on a career (×decided a career) yet? もう仕事を決めましたか．

Breakfast

　　The restaurant designated for breakfast was a cafeteria style and I chose mainly Korean items. The dishes looked plain and uninviting, but the taste was not bad. After breakfast, I contemplated the day's plan over a cup of coffee as I had six to seven hours before departure in South Korea. It's really nonsense just to kill time in the hotel. However, I had no preparations for visiting and sightseeing in Korea. I didn't even have any Korean map and cash! Additionally the battery of my PC was dead. I couldn't even access the internet.

　　The tourist attraction that I most wanted to visit was Odusan Unification Observatory (link) which is located on the lip of Imjin River, which is the border between South and North Korea. I had seen the observatory itself from the highway to the border when I visited Panmunjeom a few years ago. Every time I watch on the TV that varied VIP, like the U.S. President and the Secretary of State, visit there and have a poor view of North Korea, I'd like to visit the same place. I asked a hotel clerk how long it would take to visit it and come back to the hotel, but he couldn't figure it out. I also wanted to see a junior high school (link) in Incheon City, which must have been ten or twenty minutes from my hotel, but I thought my friends wouldn't want that. Finally I decided to enjoy sightseeing in the heart of Seoul.

(Vocabulary)
plain  (デザイン的に) 飾りけのない, 〈衣服などが〉無地の,〈紙が〉罫(けい)のない; 〈食べ物が〉あっさりした味の, 淡白な
a plain wooden table  シンプルな木のテーブル
The food was plain but delicious. 食べ物はあっさりしていたがおいしかった．
uninviting  〈場所などが〉 魅力のない, 行く気のしない
Imjin River/Rimjin River  臨津江／イムジン川 （ハングル表記：임진강 〔イムジンガン〕、朝鮮半島中部に源を発して黄海に注ぐ川。下流では漢江と合流し、川幅が広がる。
Panmunjeom  板門店

Nice Restaurant

　　One of the front clerks could speak Japanese and it was really handy. It was about 3:00 hours and he looked really sleepy, but we were not, thanks to jet lag. We went out for dinner despite the time of 3:00 hours. The restaurant was near the hotel. We started dinner with Korean beer. We were hungry and ate so much, but the price was about 25 U.S.D. per person including alcohol. We were surprised at the delicious dishes and their low prices. We enjoyed Korean cuisine and alcohol to our heart's content. It was about 4:00 hours when we got back the hotel. I went straight to bed, but woke before 7:00 hours. I suffered from serious jet lag.

　　The battery of my mobile PC was almost dead and I had no charger. I went to the hotel lobby to kill time and get some information about the flight schedule and the weather in Japan. I received a sheet faxed from Air Canada, and I'll show you it below. I assumed that our next flight would be before noon, but it was scheduled for 17:50 hours. We would be picked-up at 15:00 hours at the hotel. What should I do? I thought.

　　Anyway, I decided to have breakfast and plan today's actions.

Hotel and Airport Personnel

　　I looked at things from the hotel and airport personnel's point of view. Our plane arrived at Incheon Airport only two hours after the change in destination. The staff members of Air Canada in Seoul would arrange hotels for more than 300 unexpected visitors in a hurry. The situation would be the same in the airport. Personnel on midnight duty would call for assistance to staff members of security, immigration, or other ground staff. People whom we had met at midnight must have been called when in their bed. Such an idea made me thankful for accepting the landing of the plane. According to our hotel's front staff, the direct flight from Toronto seemed to have arrived at Incheon Airport before our arrival, avoiding the furious weather at Narita International Airport. I understood the chaos in the airport.

　　There was something that I suspected at the front desk of the hotel. The clerk insisted that he would keep our passports. I didn't know why, but I had no choice at that time. I deposited my passport at the front desk. I'd not been challenged to do so in other hotels. When I visited Seoul last time, I kept my passport all the time. Naturally, it was not his own idea, but the general rule of the hotel. Did they worry that we would escape or go missing? However we didn't visit there by our own desire. We were afraid that they might be used illegally.

Incheon Airtel

　　I found several buses waiting for us in front of the gate. I didn't know which bus we should take and we just stood still around the gate. At that time, someone came over and asked me, just "Air Canada?" and I replied "Yes". Then, he urged us to get in his minivan and we got in it, without being provided with any guidance from Air Canada. Thinking later, it might be dangerous to get in a car, without even knowing its destination in an unfamiliar country. Anyway, we were taken to Incheon Airtel, a hotel in Incheon City. The pictures show the name and location of the hotel. The hotel side was also a little confused. They didn't even know how many passengers were to stay at the hotel when we checked in.

　　About my room, there were several unfavorable and unbelievable things, but the network circumstances were perfect. I could freely connect my PDA to the internet. In the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, the internet connection was charged. Recalling the Hyatt Regency, only at this point, this hotel was better than the Hyatt Regency.

　　However, the chargers of my PC and PDA were in my luggage which was locked
in the cargo space of the plane. Not only the chargers, but extra clothes, underwear, my electric shaver and a bottle of Canadian whiskey were also in my luggage. What should I do? I didn't feel sleepy at all due to jet lag.

Chaos

　　I heard an airport worker saying aloud "Come here". I obeyed her. She was maybe a Korean, who was not good at speaking English. She would be able to talk only particular usual formulas in English. Our situation was above her English skills. The line of passengers who were walking toward the exit was gradually getting longer and longer. Our group leader, who had suffered from a knee problem, couldn't walk at a normal pace without any wheelchair. We almost lost our way.

　　On the way to the exit, I saw several dozen people gathering at the corner of the corridor. They were depositing their liquid possessions which they had bought after departure procedure in Vancouver, but why? They would apparently be confiscated at the re-embarkation from Korea. Why? They can put them in their luggage.

　　We got to the luggage claim. The conveyer was at a standstill. The luggage didn't come out. I knew that the luggage was locked in the cargo space of the plane. I understood the pilot's words now. I was supposed to get on board the same plane. The maintenance of the plane would start at daybreak, and the crew should take enough rest and sleep. I thought our next flight would be in the afternoon. When I began thinking where I could have a rest, I saw several buses come in, and airport personnel told us to get on the bus without any instructions. It was complete chaos.

(Vocabulary)
formula [C] (ほとんど意味のない) 決まり文句
His speech was full of the usual formulas and clichés. 彼のスピーチはありきたりな言葉と陳腐な表現に満ちていた．
deposit  (安全な場所に) 〈貴重品など〉を預ける
confiscate  (罰として) …を押収する, 没収する
daybreak  夜明け, 日の出

Incheon Airport

　　Our plane smoothly and successfully landed at Incheon Airport, and some passengers burst into applause at the skillful pilots. I thought I would immediately have some guidance on the next flight to Japan, but there was no instructions about what to do at the airport. Anyway, we got out of the plane. So tired! Stretching myself was really comfortable. To record the rough time of our arrival, I took the picture below. The accurate time was probably 1:00 hours local time.

　　When I got out of the plane, I came across a pilot who was just coming out of the cockpit, and he said to me, "See you tomorrow." I couldn't understand this phrase. At that time, I supposed that we would take a rest for several hours at the airport, change planes and go back to Japan by another plane. That means, I thought that I would never see the same pilot on the next day. While thinking like that, I missed having time to reply to him. I was really sorry that I didn't say anything to express my gratitude for their tough work.

　　I wondered how hard the operation of passenger planes was, and while I was looking for the labor regulations of Air Canada, I found a news item on sleep inertia in Yahoo News (link). According to the rules, a pilot seems to work as long as 17 hours. It must be tough, I thought.

(Vocabulary)
inertia  惰性, 停滞; 無気力

http://news.yahoo.com/sleepy-air-canada-pilot-thought-collision-coming-dives-135232948.html

Unwanted Seoul, but...

　　Look at the picture below firstly. We had to continue flying two more hours and got to Incheon International Airport at midnight. I'm writing about this unexpected visit to South Korea. It's the beginning of Chapter Two of the trip.

　　Listening to the announcement from the cockpit, we were surprised. The storm usually passes from the west to the east and both Chubu International Airport (Nagoya) and Kansai International Airport (Osaka) are located to the west and must have been in operation for 24 hours. Chubu was very windy and the fuel left in our plane wasn't enough for multiple attempts at landing. Kansai International Airport was already overflowing with evacuated planes. These are the reasons why we had to move to Incheon.

　　Such an event was new to me and I didn't know what to do and what would become of us. To my surprise, there were no instructions from Air Canada after the announcement of the modification of the destination. The crew must have been in panic.

　　However, just after the announcement, I began planning to enjoy Seoul or Incheon. There were several places that I had wanted to visit, but I didn't have any maps, guidebooks or cash. Moreover, I didn't know how long we had to stay in Incheon.

(Vocabulary)
instruction 《[C]通例複数形で》 指示, 指令
an attempt to do sth ＜…＞しようとする試み
an attempt to climb Mount Everest  エベレスト登頂への挑戦
an attempt at (doing) sth ＜…＞（すること）への試み
My first attempts at speaking Spanish were embarrassing. 初めてスペイン語を話そうとしたときは恥ずかしい思いをした．

Trace of Our Plane

　　We were urged to fasten our seat belt about an hour before the landing. It was rather earlier than usual for the flight. I remember the seasonal strong wind in Japan. I'd like to have known the situation, but I couldn't access the internet in the past 10 hours and didn't have any information. The plane seemed to have been struggling against the unexpected strong winds or air turbulence. The cabin attendants were seated. I stopped watching a movie and switched the display from the movie to the trace of the flight. I'll show you the trace map of that time to you below. What do you think of it? You would easily be able to guess the effort of the airline pilots. Can we successfully land on the soil of Japan?

　　At last, our plane started going down. I clearly felt the descent of the plane. I was relieved. I can go back home! However, at that time, the plane was fanned by a gust of wind and was raised up. I was scared. The pilots gave up landing and the plane went up in full throttle. According to the story that I heard later, take off and ascent require much more fuel and they can never try landing many times repeatedly. As a result, we got to be transferred to another place. Where? You'll know in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
be fanned by the wind / be hit by a gust of wind / struggle against the unexpectedly strong winds of  風に煽られる
turbulence  乱気流; (政治的な) 混乱, 騒乱, (心理的な) 動揺
descent [C,U](フォーマル) (飛行機などの) 降下, (山などを) 下る［下りる］こと
ascent  《[C]通例単数形で》 上昇, 登ること

Last Note of this Trip

     We enjoyed this trip to our hearts' content. I was glad to spend a few days with my daughter. The plane for Matsuyama was being prepared for take-off in the first picture. The second picture was of the meal in the plane. It was not good, but it's ok because I had many good memories of this trip. Through this trip, I began to feel friendly for South Korea. I will visit the country again and again. Next time,,,, I would maybe choose Jeju Island.
     By the way, look at the third picture. It was of the display in the cabin. Dokdo was displayed on it. I couldn't help laughing at it. As I wrote about this small island or rocks several times before, I won't repeat it here. However, it will take more and more time for Korean to grow up. If you want to read it, click the archives for "Korea" and search "takeshima". You'll find nine entries about that.
     When I switched on my cellular phone in Matsuyama Airport, I received an e-mail from my daughter with the last picture attached. I bought her an iPOD in a duty free shop in Incheon Airport. She told me that the manual for it was written in Korean. It was a nice punch line at the end of the trip.

Wandering in Incheon Airport

     I had to kill time in Incheon Airport. I thought about how to do it. Going out of the airport flitted througn my mind, but I was afraid I could lose my way back and I gave that up. I took a walk in the airport.

     I heard a tuneful melody of traditional Korean instruments. It was the booth for experiencing Korean culture. Some people were trying to make some crafts or use writing brushes. However, it was not unfamiliar to me. I enjoyed just the tune of the instruments.

     I saw the sign on the gate saying "TASHKENT". This city isn't so well-known in Japan. I realized that this airport was specifically an international hub airport. At the same time, I remembered the miserable history of some Korean people. Stalin adopted the migration policy of Korean people and many Koreans were forced to move into Central Asia about 70 years ago. Many descendants must have lived in Tashkent. Stalin did lots of horrible things against surrounding countries, but the present Russian Government hasn't apologized about them. What a lack of morals!

     This is the information board for international departures. Every time I see it, I feel my heart beating loudly. There are many places in the world and I hope that I can visit as many places as possible. I'm just thinking about visiting Freiburg, the sister city of my home town, this summer. It is only a plan now, but I'd like to make it come true.

     I tried some Korean traditional clothes on. These clothes sounded like they were for the nobles. There were many beautiful clothes for ladies here, and I regretted that my daughter had already left.

     This picture was of my lunch, ramen. This ramen was so-so, but it was intersting that kimchi wasw added to all the food in South Korea.

     After getting tired from walking, I moved to my depature gate. At that time I found a wonderful network service. I'll show you two pictures about it. It was called Naver Square. Naver is a famous network service in South Korea and offers free access to the internet around here. I dropped in at the square with a canned coffee and took my PC out of my daypack and turned it on. My pc was easily connected to the internet. It was very useful. I read some news in Japan while I was in Seoul. I checked my e-mails and replied to some of them and started writing these trip notes.

(Vocabulary)
flit through someone's mind   考えなどがチラッと（人）の心をかすめる
writing brush   毛筆
international hub airport   国際ハブ空港

(KW: 仁川空港) 

Departure

     We got out of the hotel at about 7:00. My flight was at about 15:00 hours, but my daughter's was at about 11:00. We had to start for the aiport this early because Incheon Airport was 2 hours' drive from our hotel.
     After having arrived at the airport, I looked for the coffee shop for our breakfast. I'd like to have chosen a Korean style one, if I could. Finally, we found a rice cake shop. We had breakfast here. To my surprise, the shop was the same as the shop we had dropped in at in Insadon the day before. It seemed like they were chain stores. I took the second picture for my trip notes. The first picture shows the entrance of our hotel. When I arrived, it was dark and when I went out, I walked out of the basement and so it was the first time I had seen the main entrance of the hotel. The last picture shows our breakfast on our last morning in South Korea. These rice cakes would hit the spot. Traditional Korean tea and these rice cakes were the best match.
     After breakfast, I sent my daughter off to the departure gate. She left for Tokyo alone.
I used Incheon Airport this time for the first time. I had four more hours until my flight and enjoyed sightseeing in the airport, though I knew the airport was huge.

Dinner & Casino

     We decided to have dinner at our hotel on our last night in Seoul. I chose the traditional Korean style dishes as I'm showing below. As many high-class hotels are like this, however, the price of dinner was expensive, but not so delicious. I was disappointed. After the dinner, we tried the black jack at Seven Luck Casino in the hotel. It was our first time, but we enjoyed it. We lost about 3000 yen for one hour, but it was fun.

How Can She?

     Look at the picture. Eri was posing in it, thinking about how to pack her suitcase. This suitcase was bought in Seoul to bring souvenirs back to Japan. She didn't have any big suitcase and was going to get one in Seoul. Shopping in Seoul has an advantage over Japan now. It was a good idea. Her new suitcase was very nice and was a reasonable price. However, it was just smaller than her souvenirs. The big bag before her was dried laver seaweed. It was extremely light, but took a lot of space. It was fun seeing her consider how to do it.

(Vocabulary)
dried laver seaweed   海苔
take a lot of space   かさばる

 

Insadong (인사동 仁寺洞)

     We were shown Insadong, next. This area is well-known as the center of the Korean culture. There were many fancy shops and restaurants. We got 30-minutes' free time and walked around. Look at the first picture. The Korean letter "떡" attracted me. This means "rice cake". Rice cake is also made  in Japan when they celebrate something, such as a new year, weddings, newly-built houses and so on. It sounds like both Koreas have the same culture, but Korean rice cakes have much more variety than those of Japan. This was introduced on an educational TV program of the Korean language, which I watched and learned Korean from. That's why I was intersted in Korean rice cakes. I bumped into this shop by chance, but it might be a logical consequence gifted from the God of "learning".
     I entered the shop without a second thought and found a few tables inside. It seemed like we could try rice cakes with some drinks. I chose two rice cakes and ordered the traditional Korean tea, which I wanted to try after seeing it on the TV. There were many kinds of rice cakes and teas, but I didn't have enough time to choose and followed the suggestion of the waitress. It was great and I recorded the name of the shop with my digital camera. There were many stalls outside. Eri was curious about it. I wanted to visit there again and recorded the name of the street with my camera.

(Vocabulary)
as a logical consequence    必然の結果として

Changdeokgung (昌徳宮 창덕궁)

     We visited Changdeokgung, which is an old palace of the Korean king. This was, I think, the most popular tourist's attraction in Seoul. Several guides were always ready at the tourist's information center. Korean, Japanese, English and Chinese speaking guides started into the palace every ten minutes with about 30 people. Our tour group joined the Japanese group, leaving our original guide at the entrance, and took a walk in the palace for about one hour having the explanation from the new guide. I took lots of pictures and I'm showing you some of them with some explanations.
     The first picture is of the main building of the palace. Small posts that arrange in the yard say the rank of the nobles on their surfaces. When in some official events, the nobles seemed to have lined up at their ranks. I've watched the scene that had been shot here in the TV drama, "Dae Jang Geum (대장금 大長今)" and I was eager to visit. The story was fiction, but it made me motivated to learn Korean. The old building in the second picture was also used in the drama. Our guide was very smart and friendly. I took a snapshot of her and I'll record her in my blog. This place (3rd-5th picture) was very famous because it was used in the scene in which the heroine had a chat and took a walk with the king.

Chogesa Temple (曹渓寺 조계사)

     We were shown Chogesa Temple next. This is the headquarter temple of Korean Buddhism. I prayed for the health of my family, relatives and friends here. I had been usually relaxed when in Japanese temples, but I didn't think I became calm with the solemn feelings here. I'm not sure, but it might be due to the untidiness of the temple. We stayed here only for ten mimutes.