Weekly Topics/Archive
March 2011
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Yesterday, I was reunited with my old colleague, Yasutake−san in Chita
City, Aichi
Prefecture.
Maybe this was our first reunion in about 10 years.
Recently, I got an e-mail message from him that he he would like to be reunited with me
on his way to Akashi for an errand.
I sent him a reply stating that I'm allright.
And so we were scheduled to meet at JR Zeze station.
I left home an hour early and took the Keihan Railway from Keihan Zeze
station to Ishiba.
I visited a historic site, "Night-light in Ishiba", at Nagisa
Park near the station before I met him.
Between Ishiba and Yabashi Port near Kusatsu-juke on the opposite shore,
the sailing
ships were in service in the Edo period.
This night-light was built for the convenience of their navigation.
Last week, I visited the night-light in Yabashi by bike, but strangely
I had an opportunity
to visit the night-light in Ishiba on the opposite shore this time.
For articles related to "the night-light in Yabashi", please
click here.
After that, I was ruunited with him on time at the ticket gate of Zeze
station.
As it was before noon, we had a lunch at a nearby restaurant , while having
a chat over
various topics like how we've been getting along.
And then we visited Gicyu-ji temple nearby, which is a officially-designated
historical site,
as he has proposed.
The temple gate of Gicyu-ji |
When I asked him why you planed to visit this temple, he answered me that
he has been
interested in Basho, who was the most famous poet of the Edo period, and
so is enjoying
a leisurely walk in various historical sites.
Although it is the mere sightseeing temple without any priests, it has
a grave of Kiso
Yoshinaka, who was a general of the late Heian Period of Japanese history, as its name
suggests and also a grave of Basho.
And so, I fully understood why he planed to visit here.
In the temple ground, there are a lot of stone tablets inscribed with Basho's
haiku.
Here, I introduce one of them with his representative haiku.
A stone tablet inscribed with Basho's haiku |
A haiku on the stone tablet is well-known as his haiku of farewell as
below.
tabi ni yande / yume wa kareno wo / kake meguru
(falling sick on a journey / my dream goes wandering / over a field of
dried grass )
After we walked around in the temle ground for about 30 minutes, we pledged
a reunion
and said our goodbyes.
For more informations on Gicyu-ji temple, please visit the following link.
 Picture / Pilgrimage to old temples / 「義仲寺 散策」
[Note] reunion ； 再会、 be reunited with 〜 ； 〜と再会する、 errand ； 用事
Keihan Railway ； 京阪電鉄、 Keihan Zeze station ； 京阪膳所駅
on the opposite shore ； 対岸に、 in service ； (船舶・飛行機などが)就航して
for the convenience of 〜 ； 〜の便宜のために，navigation ; 航行、航海
have a chat over various topics ； 四方山話をする
how we've been getting along ； 我々の近況 (get along ; 暮らす)
Gicyu-ji ； 義仲寺、 officially-designated historical site ; 国指定史跡、 Basho ； 芭蕉
Kiso Yoshinaka ； 木曽義仲、 general ； 将軍、武将
a stone tablet inscribed with a haiku ； 句碑、 (stone tablet ； 石板、inscribe ；(石碑などに)刻む
haiku ； 俳句)、 haiku of farewell ； 辞世の句 (farewell； 別れ)、 pledge a reunion ； 再会を約束する
Japanese Diary / No.349−2011.03.18 / 「久し振りに元同僚と再会」
On Sunday yesterday, it was a nice, warm day according to weekly weather
forecast.
The forecast on the newaspaper's weather page said the average highest
temperature
was 16 degrees Celsius in Shiga Prefecture.
I went cycling as scheduled in expectation of the warm weather，though I thought it might
be imprudent to do that in the national crisis of the Great Tohoku Earthquake.
I'm going to cycle the course from home to Yabashi-kihan island and back
again.
In the Edo period，there was the ferry in Yabashi which prospered as departure and
arrival port of the sailing ships in Lake Biwa.
They connected Kusatsu-juku to Otsu-juke where was the post station on
the Tokaido.
At that time it was crowded with travelers who used as a shortcut to Otsu-juke
by land,
but at the present day it's abandoned port.
It's been famous as one of the Eight Views of Omi, " The returning
sailing ship at Yabase".
"The returning sailing ship at Yabashi", one of the Eight Views
of Ohmi
(Drawn by Hirosige) |
Yabashi-kihan island is an artificial one which was built to set up a
facility for sewage
disposal on the west side of that Yabashi Port site.
After lunch, I left home at 12：55 p.m.
I used the cycling road in the paddy field zone as usual to reach Sazanami Road, which is
the cycling one along the shore of Lake Biwa.
The cycling road in the paddy field zone |
Maybe this is because it was sunny Sunday.
I met a group of seniors who looked like members of a walking club and
some young bikers
on this Sazanami road.
When I crossed the Yabashi Ohashi Bridge, I got to the island in about
45 minutes.
The island also has some parks and some sports facilities like a baseball
ground, tennis
courts and a ground golf field as well as a facility for sewage disposal
and so was crowded
with holidaymakers including many children and their parents.
The park in the Yabase-kihan island which was crowded with many children
and their parents |
I cycled around the island.
I didn't have much sights to see in the island, but only the views from
the island were great.
The Omi Ohashi Bridge spanning Lake Biwa |
I left the island to visit a "night-light", only historic site
at the Yabashi Port Site.
When I asked an old person in the local village about the location of the
night-light，he kindly
told me how to get there.
According to him, the place used to be Lake Biwa when he was a child and
was reclaimed
to be housing areas and fields.
The "night-light", only histric site at Yabashi Port Site |
The words, "night-light", "the safty of the crossing"
etc in Japanese are carved on the stone pillar of its night-light.
At that time it must have given facilities to ships sailing on Lake Biwa.
I rode my bike on the cycling road along the shore of Lake Biwa again
and then in the
paddy field zone.
Mt.Ohmi-Fuji beyond hazy fields is beautiful, isn't it?
I came back home around 3：40 p.m.
According to the cycle computer attached on my bike, data on today's cycling
is as below.
・Trip distance ； 24.3 Km ・Trip Time ； 1 hours 33 minutes
・Average Speed ； 15.7 Km / hour
For more details on this cycling trip, please visit the following link.
 Picture / Cycling / 「近江八景「矢橋帰帆」矢橋帰帆島 早春のサイクリング」
[Note] in expectation of 〜 ； 〜を見込んで、 imprudent ； 不謹慎な、軽率な
national crisis ； 国難、 the Great Tohoku Earthquake ；東北大震災
ferry ； 渡し場、 ferryboat ； 渡し船、 prosper ； 栄える、 Kusatsu-juke ； 草津宿
post station ； 宿場町、 Tokaido＝Eastern Sea Way ； 東海道、 by land ； 陸路で
abandoned port ； 廃港、 the Eight Views of Omi ； 近江八景
the returning sailing ship at Yabase ； 矢橋の帰帆、 sailing ship ； 帆船
artificial ; 人工の、 facility for sewage disposal ； 下水処理施設
holidaymaker ； 行楽客、 cycle around 〜 ； 自転車で〜を一周する
span ； (橋が)架かっている、 night-light ； 常夜燈、 historic site ； 史跡
used to be 〜 ； かっては〜であった、 reclaim ； 埋め立てる、 pillar ； 支柱
give facilities to 〜；〜に便宜を図る、 hazy；かすみがかかった
Japanese Diary / No.347−2010.03.14 / 「早春のサイクリング(矢橋帰帆島)」
Today，around 2:46 p.m., we had an earthquake in a large area of eastern
Japan,
centered in the Tohoku region.
At that time, I was watching Diet proceedings on NHK and suddenly an emergency
earthquake alert appeared on the TV screen.
After a few second, I felt the shock of the quake at home here in Kusatsu,
Shiga Prefecture.
I actually thought Japanese earthquake early warning system worked quite
well.
It was a long-period and long earthquake.
My home shook softly with a ceiling fan.
When I looked out the window, I saw telegraph poles and houses shaking.
Anyway, as it shook long, I was a little bit scared.
According to early quake report on TV, the quake registered an intensity of 3 on the
Japanese scale in the Kinki region.
Every TV station begun to broadcast news reports on the quake.
The scenes that Large Tsunamis was rushing to a wide range of costal areas
in the
Tohoku region was being broadcast live.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake had a magnitude of 8.8.
The earthquake's epicenters and their magnitude |
According to live TV coverage, some aftershocks with a magnitude of 3 to
5 have followed
in the Tohoku and the Kanto region and the tsunamis with a height of 3
to 10 meters have
rushed to costal areas in the Tohoku regions.
Anyway, I was very surprised at the amount of energy of tsunami which rushed
to Hachinohe, Miyako Port and Sendai Airport, and then saw the horror of
tsunami.
The tsunami which
rushed to Miyako Port
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The tsunami which
rushed to Hachinohe Port |
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The tsunami which
rushed to Sendai Airort |
After the quake, I often tried to call my wife in Yokohama to ask about
her situation, but
I could never get her on her mobile-phone.
The mobile-phone network had been already blocked.
Around two hours after the quake, I got her phone call at last.
She said the quake made her feel fear in a very intensity way in Yokohama.
I'm so glad no harm was done and the house in Yokohama wasn't collapsed.
At my home here in Kusatsu, only damage was that my bike, "GIANT"
was fallen down.
Is this a damage?
My friends in Kanto region, were you OK ?
I express my heartfelt sympathy to you.
Every TV station continued to broadcast only news report on the quake.
One of the greatest fear in the quake is the nuclear power plant disaster
caused by it.
There might have been some concerns.
Edano Yukio, the chief cabinet secretary, announced that Japanese government
issued
an evacuation order to people living near the nuclear power plant in Fukushima
Prefecture.
Edano Yukio, the chief cabinet secretary, who hold a press conference |
I wish it wouldn't get too bad.
[Note] centerd in 〜 ； 〜を中心とする、 Diet proceedings ； 国会中継
an emergency earthquake alert ； 緊急地震警報、 long-period ； 長周期の
Ceiling fan ； 天井のファン、 shake ( shook / shaken ) ； 揺れる，揺さぶる
telegraph pole ；電柱、 early quake report；地震速報
the earthquake registerd an intensity of 3 on the Japanese scale in Kusatsu.；
その地震は草津で震度 3 でした
TV station ； TV 局、 Large Tsunami ； 大津波、 costal area ； 沿岸地域
Japan Meteorological Agency ； 気象庁、 a magnitude of 8.8 ； マグニチュ−ド8.8
epicenter ； 震源地、 live TV coverage ； TV の生中継
express my heartfelt sympathy to 〜 ； 〜に対して心からお見舞いの言葉を述べる
nuclear power plant disaster ； 原子力発電所事故、 concern ； 懸念
issue an evacuation order ; 避難勧告を出す
hold a press conference ； 記者会見する、 it get too bad ； 大事に至る
Japanese Diary / No.346−2011.03.11 /
「国内観測史上最大の東北地方太平洋沿岸地震発生」
When I got up in the morning, it was a beautiful sunny day without a cloud
in the sky
though it wasn't as mild as yesterdy.
I haven't been getting enough exercise lately.
To put it bluntly, I have a little metabolic syndrome.
And so, I went out for a one-day cycling trip to overcome some of them.
I hopped on a bike to leave my home in Kusatsu at just 12:05.
Today's cycling course is from my home to the turn-around point,Ukimido in Katada
town on the other side of Lake Biwa.
Since it's been a while since I went biking, I used the cycling road in
the paddy field zone
in order to avoid the risk of a traffic accident and got to Sazanami Kaido Street along the
shore of Lake Biwa.
Off course, we, bike riders, are safe from the accident bcause this street
is a cycling road too.
First, I headed toward the Biwako Ohashi Bridge over Lake Biwa.
It is for the first time for me to cross this bridge.
The Biwako Ohashi Bridge |
It was at 1:07 p.m. when I got to Ukimido.
It turned out that it took just about an hour from my home to Ukimido.
The temple gate of Mangetsu-ji temple |
Ukimido stood on Lake Biwa as one of the temple buildings of Mangetsu-ji,
where is located in Katada town, Otsu City.
Mangetsu-ji belongs to the Daitoku-ji school of Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism.
It's also well-known as "The descending geese at Katada", one
of the Eight Views of Omi
or Omi Hakkei.
I didn't expect the temple to be so smallish.
Although you may know well in the picture, I saw Ukimido on Biwa Lake for
the first time.
Ukimido standing at the shore of Lake Biwa |
I looked around the temple for about 30 minutes in a cycling wear.
As I was very hungry, I had a lunch at a chinese noodle shop, " Tenka-ippin"
in the street.
I had a set meal with kimchi including pork.
This meal had a really world-class taste.
Now，the return road begins here.
On my way home, I took a short break at a restaurant near Kusatsu Aquatic Botanical
Garden, "Mizunomori".
I drank a bottle of walm sake with "takoyaki", a snack with a
small piece of sliced octopus
in it.
As I drank sake, I came home taking safer cycling road in the paddy field
zone than the public road again.
The cycling road along Hayama river |
As you can see, it's really a cycling road in the pastoral paddy field
zone，isn't it ?
According to the cycle computer attached on my bike, data on today's cycling
is as below.
・Trip distance ； 42.2 Km ・Trip Time ； 2 hours 10 minutes
・Average Speed ； 19.5 Km / hour
For more details on this cycling trip, please visit the following link.
Picture / Cycling / 「満月寺 浮御堂 今年初めてのロ−ドバイク」
[Note] to put it bluntly ； ぶっちゃけた話，ざっくばらんに言うと
have metabolic syndrome ； メタボリックシンドロ−ムになっている
hop on 〜 ； 〜に飛び乗る、 turn-around point ； 折り返し点
paddy field zone ； 水田地帯、 Sazanami Kaido Street ； さざなみ街道
Biwako Ohashi Bridge ； 琵琶湖大橋、 it turns out that 〜 ； 〜ということになる
Ukimido ； 浮御堂、 the Eight Views of Omi / Omi Hakkei ； 近江八景
The descending geese at Katada ； 堅田の落雁、 goose / geese ; ガン(雁)
The wild geese returning home at Katada；堅田の落雁
smallish；こじんまりした，set meal；定食，kimchi；キムチ(料理)
world-class ；天下一品の，return road；帰り道，復路
Kusatsu Aquatic Botanical Garden；草津水生植物公園，pastoral；のどかな
Japanese Diary / No.344−2010.02.26 / 「今年初めてのロ−ドバイク」
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