Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Texas Daddy

　　An Italian American had been attracting my interest for the past three years. I happened to find his motion picture on YouTube while seeking for information on Sea Shepherd to handle it in my blog. I don't remember exactly when, but I was profoundly impressed with his straightforward way of talking. He wasn't a big name then, but who was he? He didn't seem to be a political figure and was nothing but just one of the ordinary people in the U.S. After a while, I knew about his enthusiastic supporters in Japan and also his website, with which I immediately linked my blog. Naturally, I started checking his motion pictures on a regular basis. What he said was always clear and wholly understandable. His name is Tony Marano, also known as Texas Daddy or Propaganda Buster in Japan.
　　One day, I learned about his visit to Japan. I juggled my schedule and flew to Tokyo to attend his welcome party. First of all I, along with him and his supporters, visited Yasukuni Shrine. Then I attended the party and enjoyed chatting with him and folks at the party.
　　The next day, Sept. 23rd was my 55th birthday. What I had done first on the day was jogging around the Imperial Palace. This route was getting popular year by year and I was eager to run. I was happy to talk with Texas Daddy the previous night, and starting with this jogging my 55th year was also great.

(Vocabulary)
juggle (曲芸などで) ジャグリングする;
[他] 〈時間・仕事など〉 をやりくりする
It's hard trying to juggle a job, kids, and housework.  仕事，育児，家事を全部うまくやりくりするのはたいへんだ．
juggle sth with sth  ＜…＞と＜…＞の両立を図る
[他] 〈日程・予定など〉 を調整する, 変更する

My Mobile Phone Broken

　　About two weeks ago, I inadvertently dropped my smart phone, which was in the chest pocket of my shirt, onto the floor. It slipped out of it when I took my shoes off. It resulted in what you see in the following picture. Nowadays, cell phones serve not only as telephones but comprehensive information terminals. In my case, additionally, my mobile phone also works just like a wallet. You would understand that I really got bogged down. Fortunately, the phone wasn't completely broken at that time and I continued to use it.
　　However, around a week later, the phone began to work in a different way than usual. I was planning to visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to honor people who had lost their lives for the good of my country. I'm a Japanese and Tokyo is the capital of Japan, but I'm unfamiliar with it. Without some guidance, I can't freely move around Tokyo. The smart phone tells me where I should change trains, or pay for my fares precisely. It's hard work for me to calculate the fare. With the phone, I have just only to wave it over the reader at the gates of the stations or inside buses.
　　I asked the shop to repair it in a hurry and was recommended to change it for a new one because it was covered by insurance. I followed the advice and I got a new one with a small amount of money.

(Vocabulary)
inadvertently　不注意にも, うっかりして = accidentally
get/be bogged down　〈人・状況などが〉泥沼にはまる［はまっている］, 行き詰まる［行き詰まっている］

Google Seminar

　　I joined a seminar on Google Apps. I use Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Calendar in my everyday life, and I was interested in Google Apps, too. I knew it was for corporate services, but I wished to know how it worked. The presenter mentioned its functions, using movies effectively. In my opinion, it is great and it would streamline users' work. If I were to lead some groups, I would put it to effective use.

PC Down

　　In the morning on May 11th, my PC in my office went dead abruptly. It never started up. I tried some remedies, but it never came up. I ended up giving up repairing it and ordered a new one from a pc shop.
　　I have two PCs with the same setting as each other, one in my home and one in my office. Additionally, the data is stored in both PCs and on the internet. So, the damage was the least and it was lucky. The replacement should have been done easily and promptly.
　　However, the point was what platform would be adopted. The platform of both PCs was Windows XP, whose technical support was announced to be ended the other day. It means that I should choose Windows Vista or later versions like Windows 7 or 8. What should I do?

(Vocabulary from the comments)
inherent 〈性質・要素などが〉本来備わっている, 固有の, 付きものの
inherent in  problems that are inherent in the system  そのシステムに固有の問題

It Never Rains But It Pours

　　On this trip, one thing was on our mind all the way. That was about the coming huge typhoon. We all moved to Tokyo eastbound from the western part of Japan by bullet train or plane. To tell the truth, the typhoon was following us. We hoped that the typhoon would catch up with us and go far away while we were asleep in the hotel. However, there was no indication that there would be a storm that Saturday night. Today's weather was fine and far from gusty. On the returning bullet train for Tokyo, I knew that we might be meeting the typhoon in Tokyo. The Western region's public transportation system came to a standstill one after another. We parted at Tokyo station. One had a ticket for the last flight to Okayama and would drop in at his daughter's house. One would utilize the bullet train to the western end of Honshu after seeing the outside of the Tokyo station, which was newly renovated, and others, including me, headed straight for Haneda Airport. Only one would reach his house as scheduled. The bullet train was stranded for a few hours. A friend from Okayama and I had to stay overnight.
　　Why only two without three? I was taken to Seoul due to the storm at Narita International Airport when I came back from Vancouver in April. I was held up in Toronto in August by the storm again, and this was the third time this year. I hope that it will be the last time to be stranded associated with flights.
　　However, I'd like to add one thing. I rarely waste the opportunities. I called an old friend and saw him after an interval of a decade, and I met his wife for the first time. I have written about him in this blog several times. In the heavy rain and wind, we enjoyed nice dishes and wines. In spite of the typhoon, the restaurant was crowded. I'll post a picture for you to feel the happy atmosphere in the restaurant and the link to my friend's picture. Two years later, I'm sure that they will appear in my blog again with lots of pictures of Canada. They also love snow. We decided to get together and go skiing or snowboarding at Whistler.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/11/seeing-after-se.html

(Vocabulary)
It never rains but it pours.〔【直訳】降れば必ず土砂降り。◆ことわざ〕 二度あることは三度ある。
Why only two without three?   二度あることは三度ある
indication  (ある事の) しるし, 表れ, 兆候
gusty 〈風が〉 吹きすさぶ

Got to Toronto

　　When I was following the flow of passengers from the plane to immigration, I found a propeller aircraft set in the parking area. I didn't exactly remember the name, but it would have been a Bombardier Q400 or Dash8, both of which frequently cause problems in Japan. All of them were luckily minor, but those minor problems sometimes lead to bigger ones. I was going to fly to Prince Edward Island the next day, so I was afraid I'd have to get on board one.
　　We sailed through the immigration procedure. We picked our luggage up and headed for the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, which was connected to Terminal 3 of the Toronto Pearson International Airport. This hotel was really convenient, because we had to take an early flight the next day and I didn't want to be far away from the airport, in particular, in such an unfamiliar place.
　　It was about 7 o'clock in the evening, but we didn't want to have anything to eat, maybe due to the jet lag. My daughter went swimming to get a better sleep. On the other hand, I tried to connect my PC with the internet via the wireless router which I rented in Narita, but in vain. I wondered why the hotel didn't provide the guests with free internet access. I took a shower, drank a canned beer and went to bed, but ,,,,.

(Vocabulary)
propeller aircraft  プロペラ機

Barbecue in Hirota Village

　　Someone from my SNS friends came up with a nice plan to enjoy a barbecue in the mountainous village near my hometown. Two designated drivers couldn't drink alcohol, but I spent really nice hours there. It was in the rainy season, but it didn't rain though the sun didn't appear.

E-mail

　　You might wonder why I was moved to read an e-mail even now, but I really felt that the internet was wonderful. I got an e-mail from my second daughter, Yuri, who is staying in Auckland now during her college vacation. The Rugby World Cup is held in New Zealand now and she is asking me what I want concerning the rugby games. I asked her to get a towel or something which has the World Cup logo. The game between Japan and France will be tomorrow. My desire will be passed on to her in time. Though she is in the southern half of the globe, she looks like she's living in the neighbourhood. The e-mail system is thoroughly useful.
　　I have two brothers; one is also a surgeon, who specializes in orthopedics, and the other is a journalist working for the local newspaper company. We are planning to have a party celebrating the ages of 80 years of both parents on September 18th. The Chinese letters for 80 resembles an umbrella, so this celebration is called "Sanju", meaning a happy umbrella. My brothers are spending hectic days and it's not easy to get in touch with them and we use e-mails for preparation.
　　The e-mail is getting essential to my life.

(Vocabulary)
pass sth on ＜情報・伝言など＞を伝える, 知らせる
If I get any news, I'll pass it on.  何かわかったらお伝えします．

Friend or Enemy?

A month has passed since the unprecedented huge earthquake and tsunami devastated the eastern part of Japan. I wrote about the resilience of Japan in the past entry; I'm writing about the current picture of Japan in my eyes this time.
The affected people are showing undaunted exertion. Each and every person does what he/she can/should do. The tsunami deprived them of their loved ones, houses, possessions and bread and butter. Fishermen lost their boats, farms for sea products and seafood processing factories. Various kinds of rubble on the bottom of the coast curb the use of the ports. 78% of the rice fields along the coast were damaged by seawater. What's more, in some areas, seawater is still on the fields, because of the ground sinking. Little kids lost their books and stationery. Most of their kindergardens and schools were also damaged. In such helpless conditions, the assistance of the U.S. was really, really, helpful and I'm grateful. I will never forget their friendship and Tomodachi Operation. I'll hand it down in posterity.
Next, I'd like to talk about the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station. I read several reports written in English, German and Korean. I was very disappointed with them. It's not the nuclear power generation but the unbelievably terrible tsunami that is responsible for this accident. Lots of European people apparently insist on abandoning the nuclear plant, not improving the security of the plant. The nuclear explosion occurred in Chernobyl, but the nuclear fission reaction was shut off a second after the earthquake in Fukushima. I'm not sure, but this looks like a way higher technique. Additionally, no one died in this crisis.
There's an amazing fact that wasn't broadcast overseas. Just when the earthquake broke out, 27 Shinkansen bullet trains were in service in the affected area. Several of them were at their top speed, over 300km/h. Guess what became of those trains. None of them derailed. No passengers were injured. Can you believe it? The earthquake state, California's Governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger, would have to choose Japanese technology for California's super-express train project.
Now, I'll write about the aid from overseas. Lots of countries operated warm-hearted relief efforts for Japan. I'd like to pick four countries, such as Israel, Taiwan, China and South Korea in this entry.
Several Japanese media, like NHK, Asahi Newspaper and Mainichi Newspaper are known for their biased coverage. They didn't want to cover the aid by Israel and Taiwan on one hand, and willingly report the aid by China and Korea. Why?
In the Greater East Asian War, Japan had a military pact with Germany which persecuted the Jews, but Japan rescued lots of Jews and helped them to move to the U.S. against the policy of Nazi Germany. It is a historical fact. The central figure of this plan was Mr. Hideki Tojo, who was accused and hanged as one of the war criminals in the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals. This fact is very inconvenient for some liberal groups. Though the Israel team stayed in the affected area and continued its efforts even after the nuclear crisis, the above-mentioned media didn't report them. However, lots of Japanese could know of their devotion via the internet.
In Taiwan, ordinary people raised relief funds and the total of the fund got over that of the U.S. This fund was raised by not the company, or some welfare groups, but private ordinary people! I was moved. However, this fact wasn't reported in Japan and Prime Minister Kan didn't show any gratitude to Taiwan, so voluntary people raised money for advertisement in the Taiwanese newspaper. Their target was 2,400,000 yen, but the donation reached 20,000,000 yen. I'd like Taiwanese to know our feelings of gratitude.
The second largest GDP country, China, sent only 13 people for rescue, but apparently they only took lots of pictures and didn't work so hard. They were thought to be kind of spies or they would sell pictures to the Chinese media privately.
When Japanese authorities announced a Japanese textbook of history, the South Korean people stopped raising money against it. They were the people which I had expected. No matter what textbook Japan adopts, it is an internal affair. I realized their narrow-mindedness.
In such difficult times, Japan was being threatening by some countries. Russia frequently dispatched scout planes and fighter jets along the border and Japan had to scramble fighter jets while the Japan Self Defence Force was performing rescue tasks. China is also threatening the coast guards around the Senkaku Islands. South Korea is building a new military facility on Takeshima Island which is Japanese territory.
The Japanese genetically hate disputes. The Japanese tend to prefer an apology and concessions rather than a dispute, but there are limits. The above-mentioned stupid three countries seem to be trying our patience. They should know that they are playing a tragic adventure.
Even though the media are foolish, people can get the exact information from the net. I think Japan will change by getting rid of the influence of the GHQ and McArthur.

(Vocabulary)
picture 《常に単数形で》 状況, 情勢
the big/bigger/wider picture   全体像, 大局
It's important not to lose sight of the big picture. 全体像を見失わないことが大切である．
Give me the picture of Japan in your eyes. あなたが見た日本の様子を教えてください。
undaunted  (困難などに対して) くじけない, ひるまない
exertion   a lot of physical or mental effort
bread and butter 生活の糧
be damaged by seawater 塩害を受ける
ground sinking 地盤沈下
nuclear fission reaction  核分裂反応
biased coverage 偏向報道
internal affair / matter of internal politics  内政問題
narrow-minded 心の狭い, 偏狭な, 狭量な
narrow-mindedness  偏狭, 狭量
scout plane 偵察機
give way 譲歩する
concession 譲歩

Internet Television

　　I had the internet television installed in my house. The biggest Japanese telecommunication company, NTT, had launched a campaign of optic fiber communication for private use until the end of January. The initial cost was almost free during the campaign and I achieved the benefit. The optic fiber allows us to send and receive a huge amount of data.
　　To my surprise, nearly 100 channels and more than 25,000 movies are available via internet in this system. I can watch movies whenever I want. I don't need to visit the DVD rental shop and also don't worry about the return-day any more from now.
　　I think it is very convenient, but it looks like I have to take care about lack of sleep.

(Vocabulary)
achieve [他] …をかちとる, 獲得する, に到達する/ [他] …を成し遂げる, 達成する

Telecommunication System

　　When I had my house built eight years ago, I had up-to-date optic fiber cable for internet access installed. The optic fiber cable has enabled me to use internet comfortably with its transfer speed. I have been able to enjoy what you call, "internet surfin", since then. The fast-pace of technological innovation is spectacular, however, and it has remarkably changed the present IT world.( <-- great sentence!)  Now, you can watch TV via internet from the progress of the quality and speed of the transmit. You don't have to visit the DVD movie rental shop any more. You can order a movie from your house via internet whenever you want to watch the movie.
　　I decided to upgrade the optic fiber cable to the most updated one the other day to utilize the internet TV and applied to NTT, the Japanese biggest telecommunication company, for installation.
　　A few days later, SECOM, the security company, and gas company called me, telling that they had to modify their own system. I have used an analogue line for my phone, but I was going to change it to a digital line this time. I could imagine that SECOM used the phone line to know how my house was, but I didn't know the gas company was using the remote monitoring of my house. They seemed to have monitored the gas consumption and kept not to be short. If an abnormal condition was found, the monitoring system is designed to inform the company. If the gas leaked, the gas consumption monitoring system will catch the unusual gas usage and SECOM will detect the leaked gas. That is to say, my house is proven protected from gas leakage accidents in two ways. It's wonderful.
　　I'll report later about the internet TV.

(Vocabulary)
reflection [C] (鏡・水面などに) 映った姿［像，影］/ [U] よく考えること, 熟考
After some reflection, I decided not to accept the job. よく考えた末，その仕事は断ることにした．

Best Wishes For A Happy New Year

　　This is my sixth year for keeping my blog. I began writing the entries on Nov. 25th in 2005. I never expected to be able to keep my incentive so vivid for such a long time. I don't know why, but it is clear that it's fun to express my opinion to people all over the world. At the beginning of the year, I think, I'm going to use or try new expressions this year which I've never used. Especially, I want to use shorter words such as "have", "take", "give" rather than longer words. It's my new year's resolution.

(Vocabulary)
This is my third year in Tokyo. 東京へ来てから足掛け 3 年になる.

Travel Notes

　　After coming back from Germany, I've been writing travel notes under the pressure of the piled work that I had left for a week and also under the influence of jet lag. Some of my friends think it's too much trouble to keep record of my travels. I think so, but these notes remind me of the details of the travels even long afterward. It's fun to write entries and show pictures to my friends and relatives.

(Vocabulary)

trouble [U] 面倒, 手間, 骨折り

「手数がかかって面倒だ」の意味でtroublesomeは不可．too much troubleを用いる

Some people find it too much trouble (×troublesome) to separate out different types of waste.

種類の異なるごみを分別するのは面倒だと思う人もいる．

afterward あとで、その後

soon/shortly afterward  その後間もなく

Direct To Freiburg

　　When I came to Frankfurt last time, the travel agent advised me to reserve a hotel in Frankfurt on the arrival day in case the flight was delayed. So, I left for Frankfurt after I had arrived at Frankfurt airport about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. However now, I'm heading directly for Freiburg from the airport. The long-distance train station is adjacent to the airport and it is very convenient. I will reach Freiburg soon. It's 7:45pm now, and the sun is just on the horizon. I realized that I was really at a higher latitude than my hometown.

　　By the way, I usually check various expressions on the internet when I write this blog. For example, when I am torn between "on the internet" and "in the internet", I google both and count the number of  hits and adopt the one that has more. I found a sign on the door of the coach that I got on, saying that you could use the internet, but it was out of service between Frankfurt airport and Basel. This train (InterCity Express, ICE) runs between Köln and Basel. The internet access is utilized in the north of  Frankfurt airport, but not in the south. It was really regrettable. The picture was shot on the escalator going down from the upper floor.

(Vocabulary)

be torn between A and B  AとBの間で迷う

 

Prep for Trip

     My second daughter, Yuri, came back home and started preparing for our trip to Germany.
     Her passport ran out in February this year and at first she applied for a new one. When she got it ten years ago, I did all the procedures for her, but this time I made her do it. She went to the city hall and got a copy from the family register. She had her portrait taken at a photo shop. She successfully applied for it and got it a week later. I'd just told her to get it without any detailed instructions. It might be due to blind parental love, but I felt her growing up.
     Next, I gave her all the pamphlets and guidebooks that I'd collected up until now. Some of them were sent from the tourist information center of the German city of Freiburg. It is written in German, but she can understand German. I'm expecting her to set all the schedules.
     The development of internet technology brought us an umbelievable convenience for the trip. The reservation of hotels and transportation can easily be done on the internet. You can even know the time schedule of the train between Frankfurt and Freiburg from Japan. However, I'm afraid that she would make a mistake in making the hotel reservations and decided to ask the travel agent to do it. We are going to stay the night of 26th in Frankfurt and leave for Freiburg the next morning.

(Vocabulary)
apply for a passport  パスポートを申請する。
extract of family register  戸籍抄本
blind parental love  親ばか

Message from Malta

     I got a message from Malta. You can read it on my blog, if you like. I've kept writing my blog for about four years and was counting the number of nations from where comments came. The number has been at a standstill at 49 for the last six months. Finally, the number reached 50 a few days ago. The latest message was from Malta. She is interested in haiku which I wrote about before. She knows something about Japan, but I didn't know anything about Malta. I looked over some websites about Malta and knew the outline of Malta. I wish I'd get the chance to visit the historic island, Malta!

Offline Meeting

     I went to Tokyo just for fun. When I got the air ticket two months ago, I had a task, but it vanished later. I met my eldest daughter and had a party with my acquaintances, whom I knew only on the internet. I met them for the first time, but we hit it off from the start. Their careers and present jobs were far different from mine and it made my knowledge widen. Such a meeting would offer mental and spiritual sustenance to me.
     The Japanese style inn where we got together was located in one of the busiest areas of Tokyo, Shinbashi. This station is noted for the birth place of the train. The first railway track in Japan was constructed between Yokohama and Shinbashi. There's the steam locomotive square in front of Shinbashi station. An old locomotive is exhibited and it is often used as a designated spot.

(Vocabulary)
hit it off  会ってすぐに意気投合する
from the start 初めから、ぶっつけから、最初から
offer mental and spiritual sustenance  心の栄養になる
sustenance  [U] (生命維持に必要な) 食物, 栄養（物）
railway track 《鉄道》 線路

Tobishima (Islands Hopping) Route

     Last Sunday, I enjoyed riding my scooter along the Tobishima Route as I wrote in the last entry. I'd like to show you the whole route on the map and pictures in this entry. I have been learning how to use one of the services of Google Map these days and have got it, roughly. I adopted this service in my blog. Firstly, check the following URL: http://kumo.typepad.jp/wadachi/tobishima.html. It was to my surprise that this map could be zoomed in and out, and be panned. It implies that you'll know where the area on the map is on the globe. Try to scale up and down the map. You can easily figure out the whole route.
     My friend and I started for Imabari City at about 6:30. Our outward route was drawn in red on the map. Our track was accurately recorded on the map. Even the miscourse at the harbor was written on the map(grin). We got on a small ferry boat at Imabari harbor and headed for Okamurajima Island. You can trace even the track of the ferry. The bridge under which our ferry boat passed is Kurushima Bridge, which I'd shown you before: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/05/shimanami-kaido.html
     The ferry stopped by two tiny harbors before reaching our destination, Okamurajima. The picture is of the vehicle deck.

(Vocabulary)
outward  外へ向かう
vehicle deck  《海事》車両甲板

(KW: とびしま海道　岡村島　関前村　せきぜんフェリー　来島大橋)

Under Revision

     Quite a few people have visited my blog via automatic translation sites in recent days. I'm flattered by the number of the visitors, but I'm afraid that the automatic translation is under development right now and I wanted to inform them of my exact opinions. So I decided to revise categories and add Japanese translations for the category of opinion. Besides, the classification of my entries has got unreasonable now. I started checking the categories of the former entries at the beginning of May, and will finish it by the end of June.
     When I counted the number of the entries in early May, it was 780! and I felt a deep emotion. At the same time, I made up my mind to try more difficult topics from now on.

(Vocabulary)
quite a few  かなり多くの
unreasonable 実情にそぐわない
deep emotion  感慨

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)