Due to various reasons (especially unsolicited comments and spam mails), we have decided to make this blog private. We will be setting it up in the next few days. I will provide the ID and password to my friends and some of my close friends who are connected to me on Facebook. For the rest of you, thank you for reading this blog for a long time.
My sister’s husband passed away last year and we went to Okazaki for the first anniversary of his death. We couldn’t leave Konatsu behind, so we drove out together.
There was a five-car pileup on the Tomei Expressway just before Gotemba, and the traffic jam was initially indicated as 2km/5minutes, but it never moved, and in fact it was 7km long and took us an hour to get through. We were worried that we would not make it in time, but somehow we made it and arrived at the temple in Okazaki.
After the memorial service, we decided to stay the night at Tokyu Harvest in Amagi Kogen, because it would have been difficult to go back to Kamakura. Since we arrived at night, we just had dinner in our room and went to bed.
これは翌朝の散歩ですが、ここは標高1000m近くあるのでとても寒く、、、
This is Konatsu’s walk the next morning. It was very cold here at an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters.
施設内のテニスコートも一面真っ白でこんな状態だった。
The tennis court in the facility was completely white and in this condition.
この日は何もせず夕方までゆっくり過ごして、、、
We did nothing that day, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.
This place is located in the middle of Izu Peninsula, close to Kawazu, where the Kawazu cherry blossoms are at their best right now. Tomorrow, I plan to go see them and then return home.
The news has been reporting since yesterday that the Kanto region is about to experience heavy snowfall. Such is the case, but I have been in Gunma for work since yesterday, and as of 9:00 a.m., there is still no sign of snow.
まもなく雪が降り始め、一気に積もりそうな感じになってきた。
Soon it will start snowing and it looks like it will pile up all at once.
According to the weather forecast, it looks like it is going to snow more and more heavily, and looking at the information on the highways, various restrictions and road closures due to snow are starting to appear. If I continued to work until the evening, I might not be able to go home, and the director, worried about that, cancelled my evening work.
そんな訳で昼過ぎには仕事を終え、これは上信越道を走っているところ。
So I finished work in the afternoon, and this is where I was driving on the Joshin-Etsu Highway.
It snowed quite a bit up to Hachioji, which is at a high elevation, but onIce I passed Mt. Takao, the snow turned to rain, and I felt like I could have worked until the end.
When I took her to the veterinary clinic last month for a tartar removal, they pointed out that her periodontal disease had progressed to the point where her teeth were slightly shaking, in keeping with her age. She doesn’t have much tartar on her teeth yet, but it’s important to brush her teeth!
しばらく歯磨きをサボっていたのでこれを買ってきた。
I bought this for Konatsu since I haven’t brushed her teeth for a while.
Konatsu will comply with brushing her teeth and applying eye drops even when she knows it’s something she doesn’t want to do. This is a very good thing about Konatsu.
歯磨きが終わってベランダへ
After brushing her teeth, she went to the balcony.
For several years now, I have heard that foreign visitors to Japan have been saying that service areas on Japanese highways are fun or that they are like theme parks. Since nearly half of this blog is accessed from overseas, I thought I would introduce the service area (SA) I visited today.
私は毎月群馬に仕事に行くときに関越自動車道を走っている。その途中、、、
I drive on the Kan-etsu Expressway every month when I go to Gunma for work. On the way there, …
ここは埼玉県と群馬県の県境にある上里SA、ここで休憩することにした。
This is Kamisato SA, located on the border of Saitama and Gunma prefectures, where I decided to take a break.
平日の午前9時頃だが結構混んでいる。
It was around 9:00 a.m. on a weekday, but it was quite crowded. I guessed there were about half commercial vehicles and half tourists.
最近はあちこちのSAでスタバを見かける。が、ここは素通りして先ずはトイレ。
Recently, I have seen Starbucks at many SAs. However, I passed by this place and went to the restroom first.
I can’t take a picture of the inside, but the toilets are always cleaned by cleaners and of course equipped with electronic toilet. I guess that kind of thing is attractive to people from overseas.
この日は2台のキッチンカーが営業中。手前が焼きそば、奥のはホットドッグ。
On this day, two food trucks were in operation. The one in front is yakisoba noodles and the one in the back is various hot dogs.
本館に入ってみよう
Let’s go into the main building.
広いフードコートがあって、ラーメン、うどん、かつ丼などファーストフード系の店が7店
There is a large food court with 7 shops serving light meals such as ramen, udon, katsudon (pork cutlet served on top of rice), etc.
デザートもあれこれ充実している。
There is also a wide selection of desserts.
フードコートの隣にはショッピングコーナーがあり、この地方の特産品などのお土産が売られている。
Next to the food court is a shopping area where souvenirs of the region are sold.
その更に奥にはレストランが営業中だけど、この時間には殆どお客さんはいないね。
Further in the back is a restaurant, but at this time of the day, there are hardly any customers there.
ATMに、宝くじ売り場、チケットカウンター。こういうのがあるのも海外のSAでは珍しいのだろうか?
There is a bank ATM, a lottery ticket booth, and a tour ticket counter. Is this kind of thing rare in SAs overseas?
いろいろ見てるうちに、このパン屋のパンとコーヒーが欲しくなり、、、
While I was looking around, I wanted some bread and coffee from this bakery…
車に持ち帰って、オヤツタイム!
I took them back to the car and had a snack!
ガソリンは満タンにしてきたから私には必要ないけど出口付近にガソリンスタンドがある。
There is a gas station near the exit.
無事に目的地に到着し、今日から二日間ここで仕事です。
I arrived safely at my destination and will be working here for two days starting today.
Since the planned trip was cancelled, so, we decided to have a drinking party…
ビール・日本酒・ワインがテーブルに並び、これはビールを飲み終え日本酒に移るところ。
Beer, sake, and wine were lined up on the table, and this is when we finished the beer and moved on to the sake.
ワタシも食べたい!とアピールすると、、、
Konatsu said, “I want some too! I want some too!
出てくるんだよねえ、こなつ用の刺身が
Sashimi for Konatsu!
このあとも沢山いただきました! ここからは我々のオツマミです。
Konatsu had plenty more after that! The following is our meal.
焼いただけの下仁田ネギ。皮1枚を剥いて食べると中はトロトロで旨い。
Shimonita leeks, just grilled. When you peel off the skin and eat it, the inside is tender and delicious. It’s hard to describe the food from here on out, so you’ll just have to guess from the pictures.
刺身の盛り合わせ
蛇腹ポテトと言うらしいが、モスラみたい、、、(笑)
大根と蕗のとう味噌
御殿場のミートプロ鈴木の馬刺し
ワタシ、まだまだイケるんですけど、、、 お手して催促(笑)
I can eat more… Konatsu said.
結局もらえちゃうんだよねえ。。。
Then, this is what happens in the end.
ドライいちじくFigLogと生ハムとチーズのサラダ
ブロッコリーの唐揚げ(ニンニクとめんつゆに浸して揚げる)
蒟蒻白和え 菜の花白和え
ウィンナーとピーマンの炒め物
たくさん食べて満足顔のこなつ。
Konatsu looks satisfied after eating a lot.
最後にとらやの赤飯大福、これも美味しい!
Finally, Daifuku for dessert! Daifuku is a rice cake stuffed with red bean paste.
これはもらえないと悟ったこなつは諦めて寝る態勢。楽しい飲み会でした。
Konatsu, realizing that she would not get it, gave up and went to bed. It was a fun night.
Today is the day my wife goes to the dentist’s office in Motomachi for a routine checkup, so Konatsu and I decided to go with her to Motomachi and take a walk around the area while we wait for her to finish.
まだ商店街は開店時間前。ママを下ろして港の見える丘公園に向かった。
It was still before opening time in the shopping arcade. I dropped my wife off and headed for Harbor View Park.
The park is divided into several blocks, and this is the English Rose Garden. Unfortunately, the roses are not in bloom because it is not the right time of year.
気温は低いが日差しが強くて、歩いていると暑いくらいに感じられた。
The temperature was low but the sun was strong and it felt hot as we walked around.
ここからは横浜港の眺めが良い。
There is a nice view of Yokohama Harbor from here.
その一角にあるガンダムドック。動くガンダムは健在のようだ。
The Gundam dock is located in one of the corners. The moving Gundam seems to be alive and well.
今年の3月末で公開終了らしいので見たい方はお早めに!
Apparently, it will be closed to the public at the end of March this year, so if you want to see it, be quick!
公園の向かいにある外人墓地
Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery across from the park.
こなつには興味無さそうな場所だね。こうしているうちにママの治療が終わり、合流して場所を移動。
This place doesn’t seem to interest Konatsu. Meanwhile, my wife’s treatment was finished, and we joined her and moved to a new location.
ここは山下公園に隣接する駐車場。そして、その目の前にあるのが、、、
This is a parking lot adjacent to Yamashita Park. And right in front of it is…
I have previously presented the top countries with the most access to this blog, and today I will look at the countries with the least access. Two and a half years have passed since I started this blog (Ver. 3), and in that time I have had access from 97 countries. The 20 countries in the table below shows that only one person came to see this blog during these two and a half years.
By the way, I don’t know how many countries there are in the world today, so I looked it up… The number of countries approved by Japan at this time was 195. And there are three countries that Japan does not recognize: North Korea, Palestine, and Taiwan. According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan has refrained from official government-to-government contacts out of consideration for China, but has been handling various business matters on the assumption that Taiwan is a recognized “state”.
ワタシにはそんな難しいことは分かりませんが平和な世の中を願うばかりです!
“ I don’t know how difficult it is, but I just hope for a peaceful world ! ” Konatsu would say.
Around the beginning of the New Year, when I was cleaning up the room on the first floor where my parents used to live, I found an Ofuda from Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. It was probably more than 10 years old, so it was dirty. ※Ofuda is supposed to ward off bad luck
このまま捨てるわけにもいかず八幡宮に納めに行こうということになった。
We could not just throw it away, so we decided to return it to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
I wondered how far dogs are allowed to go in the park, and found out that they are allowed to go as far as the stairs at the back of the park. Even so, it was a weekday today, but it was quite crowded, so we decided to take Konatsu as far as the arched bridge, and my wife and I would take turns going up to the end of the bridge.
While waiting for my wife, we stayed at the left side of the bridge where we could see Heike Pond. There were few people here, and Konatsu could wait without being scared.
ママが戻ってきたので今度は私が行く番。
My wife came back and it was my turn to go.
奥の方に古いお札やお守りを納める場所がある。
There is a place in the back to store old Ofuda (amulet)
八幡宮の八の字が鳩の形をしているのは有名な話だが、、、
It is well known that the figure eight in Hachimangu Shrine is in the shape of a dove…
境内には鳩がたくさんいる。
There are many pigeons, the symbol of Hachimangu Shrine, in the precincts of the shrine.
狛犬と、、、
Komainu (statue of dog, you will find them at the entrance of a shrine) and…
Our family’s Hatsumode (first shrine visit of the New Year) is to Suwa Shrine in Katase. This year we went on the 7th because it is crowded on the fiert three days of January.
こなつも一緒に行ったのだけど境内には入れないので、、、
Konatsu went with us, but she was not allowed to enter the shrine grounds, so…
一緒に歩けるのはこの辺りまで
we can only walk around here together.
犬の像の所でお留守番する?
Can you stay at the dog statue?
こんな小さな神社だけど1300年もの歴史があるらしい。
This is a small shrine, but it has a history of 1,300 years.
Let’s go through the hoop to purify our body and soul and purify our health. So we are following the instructions and repeating the left turn and right turn.
神社に来るとどうしてもおみくじを買いたくなるんです。
When I come to a shrine, I really want to draw an omikuji. (Omikuji is a fortune slip.)
結果は中吉。まあまあ悪くないでしょ。無事に初詣も済ませて帰宅。
There are seven levels of fortune telling, from great blessing to great curse, and I was the third from the top, middle blessing. Not so bad. We finished our Hatsumode without incident and returned home.
この日は七草粥の日でした。これも欠かせない年中行事だから毎年食べている。
It was the day of the seven herbs porridge. By eating the porridge on 7th, we believe that we can get rid of bad luck, and the custom has been passed down from generation to generation.
投稿日:
今週は出張やら何やらで忙しい。
This week has been busy with business trips and whatnot.
I will be working in Gunma until tomorrow, but here in Kanra-town is a peaceful place with rural scenery in all directions. It is a very nice place to visit once in a while.
Yesterday morning, Konatsu had no appetite and did not eat breakfast. When I called my wife at night, she said Konatsu had eaten dinner, but even such a trivial thing worries me these days. She is an old dog now.
I woke up early in the morning to cheer for the Japanese team in the World Cup, but unfortunately they lost to Croatia. It was a pity, because I thought we could make it to the top eight this time, but it can’t be helped, and I look forward to the next four years.
But there are still more fun sports games to watch. Next year’s World Baseball Classic will be held in March, so let’s enjoy that. I tried to buy tickets to watch the games from the first round to the quarterfinal round, which are also played in Japan, but all the tickets were already sold out. Otani and Darvish are both going to play, and I am looking forward to baseball, I think it will be better than soccer.