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.
Heading toward Kamakura from the Asahina IC, just before Hachimangu Shrine, you will find “Maker’s shirts Kamakura,” also known as Kamakura Shirts. My shirts are usually made here because of their high quality and comfort.
その先に三の鳥居が見えてくる。ここが鶴岡八幡宮の入り口
Two hundred meters further on, you will see the third tori-i gate. This is the entrance to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
この日は平日だったけどやっぱり観光客が多いね。
It was a weekday, but there were many tourists.
八幡宮の前を段葛に沿って進むと
Driving along Dankazura steps in front of Hachimangu Shrine, you will see…
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Kamakura branch. It was a Polo Ralph Lauren store until more than 10 years ago, modeled after the store on Fifth Avenue in New York, but it was regrettably closed, and the New York store closed five years ago. I feel the passage of time.
二の鳥居を通過して海の方向へと進む
Passing through the second toriｰi gate, we proceeded in the direction of the sea.
There are so many tourist buses in front of, behind, and in the parking lot. But there were not many people on the beach. Where have they all gone? Maybe visiting temples?
しばらく海沿いに走り稲村ケ崎まで来たら
We drove along the coast for a while until we came to Inamuragasaki.
TVの撮影？らしき集団がいた。
There was a group of people who seemed to be filming for TV.
この人が主役のようだけど私は知らない。誰だろう？
This person seemed to be the main character, but I don’t know who he is.
稲村ケ崎には天然温泉がある。歴史は浅く、2000年に井戸を掘った際に発見されたそう。
Inamuragasaki has a natural hot spring. It has a short history and was discovered when they dug a well in 2000.
TVで湘南が紹介されるとき必ず出てくる風景。
This is a scenery that always appears when this area is introduced on TV. Enoshima Island and Mt. Fuji
Sunrise Shack, a cafe where you can bring your dog. This is the place that gave me a parking ticket when I entered the parking lot without my wallet a few years ago. This is my favorite cafe by the sea. It’s obvious, lol.
この道路R134号線の江ノ島から鎌倉に向かう方向はいつも渋滞している。
This road R134 from Enoshima to Kamakura is always congested.
アニメ「スラムダンク」の聖地、鎌倉高校前の踏切。いつも人で溢れている。
The railroad crossing in front of Kamakura High School, a sacred place for the anime “Slam Dunk”. It is always full of people.
This is the number of visits to my blog over the past year by country. I am not able to show all of them, but in fact there were accesses from 87 countries. Konatsu is a mutt rescued dog, and it is fun just to imagine how people in different places feel about her life.
Looking down from the balcony, I see a persimmon tree. I picked some persimmons about a week ago, and the ones I left behind are turning color. It’s the harvest season, isn’t it?
これは前回採った柿。まだ食べきれずこんなに残ってる。
This is a persimmon I picked last time. We haven’t eaten all of them yet.
The day after our visit to Hakone, we went to BioTOPIA (near the Oimatsuda IC of the Tomei Expressway) recommended by Anne’s owner. This was a great place to take the dog, so I will introduce it to you.
According to a search on the Internet, this BioTOPIA is a “facility for improving pre-symptomatic diseases” by Kanagawa Prefecture in cooperation with this area. If you are interested in pre-symptomatic diseases, please visit Kanagawa Prefecture page.
There is a cafe terrace and marche on the first floor, and the garden there is such a pleasant space. Konatsu and Anne walked around here for a while and then we all had tea together.
屋内にはワンコは入れませんが、こんな素晴らしいものを発見！ ↓
No doggies allowed indoors, but we found this amazing thing! ↓
No matter how many refills you want, it’s free. I thought to myself, “If that’s the case, why don’t I order coffee? But we would feel bad if we did, so we ordered coffee and tea.
This is Izusan Shrine. The shrine grounds are spread out over a vast area from the bottom of the mountain to the top, so it would be difficult to walk all the way around. The photo above is the main shrine.
こなつも一緒にお参りしたよ。
Konatsu visited the shrine with us.
もう少し上まで行ってみようかと歩いてみたら､､､
I tried to walk a little higher up, but…
ここは白山社に続く道。右側に見える狭い上り坂が順路であるが､､､
This is the path leading to Hakusan Shrine. The narrow uphill slope on the right is the route.
この坂をこなつと登っていくのは無理そう。本宮はこの先にあるが、ここで諦めて戻ることにした。
It seems impossible to climb up this slope with Konatsu. The Hongu shrine is just ahead, but I gave up and decided to return here.
鎌倉殿に繋がる物語発祥の地でもあるんだね。
It contains a story that is over 800 years old.
我が家もご利益に与ろうと、私達二人とこなつ用の強運のお守りを買ってきました。
In an effort to bring good luck to our family, we bought good luck charms for my wife and I and for Konatsu.
このときに居た本殿はこんな高い場所にあります。遠くに伊豆大島が見えている。
The main shrine where we were at this time is located at such a high place. Izu Oshima Island can be seen in the distance.
The best four teams for the high school baseball championship tournament at Koshien Stadium came out yesterday. In fact, I thought that my alma mater would be able to participate in the tournament this year, so I had planned a cheering tour for the quarterfinals and booked a hotel more than a month ago. In the end, we didn’t make it, but we switched the cheering tour to a spectator tour and all the applicants went to the tournament.
新横浜から新幹線で新神戸を目指します。
Take the Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama to Shin-Kobe.
混んでるかなと思ったけど乗車率は7割くらいだった。
I thought it would be crowded, but the boarding rate was about 70%.
京都を通過するときには雨が土砂降り､､､
By the time we passed through Kyoto, it was pouring rain,…
Arrived at Arima Onsen Station. Since we had time before check-in, we wanted to take the ropeway to the top of Mt. Rokko, but it was out of service due to bad weather that day.
仕方ないので時間まで温泉街を散策することにして､見つけた「ごんそば」でランチ。
We had no choice but to stroll around the hot spring resort until it was time to check in, and had lunch at “Gonsoba” that we found.
まあ旅先だし、昼ビールになるよねえ(笑)
Well, it’s a travel destination, so we had to have a beer for lunch, right?
そして東急ハーベスト有馬六彩に到着。
Then we arrived at Tokyu Harvest Club Arima Rokusai.
チェックイン後は温泉にゆっくり浸かって夕食の宴会に備えます。
After checking in, we soaked in the hot springs and prepared for the dinner banquet.
This time, we splurged a little on the “Kobe Beef Steak Course,” and the bottles of champagne, white wine, and red wine were empty (lol)…. And the next day
I really wanted to buy a box seat, but the quarterfinals at Koshien are so difficult to obtain that they are called platinum tickets, and I may have been lucky just to be able to buy this reserved infield center seat.
The seats were in this position. It was very comfortable, with a roof over my head and the wind blowing! We were very satisfied with our tour to Koshien, as we were able to see a powerful home run by Asano of Takamatsu Sho and a triple play that changed the course of the game in Osaka Toin vs. Shimonoseki Kokusai.
こんな楽しみもあったり､､､
There’s fun like this, and…
酔いが回って寝ちゃったヤツもいる(笑)
Some of them got drunk and fell asleep.
帰りの新幹線はスッカスカ！
There were hardly any passengers on the bullet train on the way home!
Japan is in the middle of summer vacation, but I was at work today. I took the Ken-O Expressway and then the Kan-Etsu Expressway to Gunma, but even at this time of the year, the expressways are crowded, but there was an accident on the opposite lane of the Kan-Etsu Expressway, so the road was closed. I was driving slowly for more than 10 km because everyone was watching the accident and driving slowly in the lane on my side.
I managed to arrive safely, finished my work, and was on my way home when the Tokyo-bound lane was congested with traffic for more than 20 km, starting at the Takasaka SA. I had no choice but to get off the expressway and take the local road home. Ahhh, I am so tired!
帰りは普段の倍の時間がかかったけれど、こなつが出迎えてくれれば疲れも吹っ飛ぶ！
It took me twice as long to get back home as it usually does, but having Konatsu there to greet me blew away any fatigue!
I made a short slideshow using images I have taken around Nishikamakura. It has been so hot lately that I rarely go out in the daytime and have nothing to talk about, so this is a bitter pill to swallow (lol).
そして少しでも涼しさを感じられるように、数日前にPCの背景画像を下の雪景色に変更した。
And to make it feel a little cooler, a few days ago I changed the background image on my PC to the snowy landscape below.
今年の2月に白馬に行った時のものです。今こんな場所があったら行きたいねえ｡｡｡
This is from a trip to Hakuba in February of this year. If there was a place like this now, I would love to go there.
The house is covered with Konatsu hairballs everywhere. It’s going to stay like this for the next two months. By the way, this is a continuation of the high school baseball game I wrote about last time.
昨日、母校の応援に行ってきました。スタンドは両校のファンでこんなに埋まっていた。
Yesterday, I went to support my alma mater. The stands were so filled with fans of both schools.
この球場はかつて澤村とべーブルースが試合した由緒ある球場であり、二人の記念像が立っているのです。
This ballpark is a historic place where Sawamura and Babe Ruth once played a game, and a memorial statue of the two stands here.
さて試合の方は､､､
Now for the match…
両軍のピッチャーが頑張って0-0のジリジリした展開が続いたのですが､､､
Both pitchers did their best to keep the 0-0 jitters going, but…
Finally, in the bottom of the 8th inning, our alma mater scored a long-awaited run! Then, in the top of the 9th inning, our opponent’s offense got two outs and no runners on base, and with just one more out, we had won! We didn’t doubt our victory anymore, but…
What a surprise, from there they scored three runs and lost the game in reverse order. We could only be stunned, and with that, our team’s summer was over.
Today I’m talking about high school baseball. The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as “Summer Koshien”, is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan, even as soccer continues to gain more attention. There are about 3,500 teams participating nationwide. Currently, my alma mater is also competing in the Shizuoka Prefecture Tournament for a berth in the Koshien Tournament. They won yesterday’s game to remain in the top 8, and will play in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
A friend of mine who went to the ballpark yesterday to cheer for the team sent this photo. The cheering scene is the same as it was 50-60 years ago when I was a student at the school, which can be said to be a continuation of tradition. And this year, too, a new legend will be born. People call it a sacred place.
サヨナラ勝ちして歓喜の瞬間！
A moment of jubilation after winning the game!
さあ明日の準々決勝には私も草薙球場に応援に駆け付けます。さて、どうなることやら｡｡｡
The yellow one in the upper right is my alma mater. Now, I will be at the stadium to cheer for them in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Well, I wonder what will happen…
At the nursing home in Shichirigahama where my mother resides, visitation has been suspended since last year due to the Covid-19 disaster and only online visitation has been available, but face-to-face visitation resumed this month.
早速面会の手続きして行ってきました。
I immediately arranged a visitation and went with my wife.
入居者が普段生活しているスペースには入れず、面会専用の部屋で15分という決まり。
The rule is that residents are not allowed to enter the space where they normally live, but in a room dedicated to visiting for 15 minutes.
8か月ぶりの面会だが特に変わりなく元気そうだった。
I visited my mother for the first time in eight months, and she seemed to be in good health with no particular change.
It is like this for 15 minutes. This Shichirigahama Home is located on a hill near the sea, so it has a nice view, and the atmosphere of the staff people seems to be cheerful and comfortable. I think it would be good for me to move in here in the future.
Meanwhile Konatsu was waiting in the car. It would have been nice if Konatsu could have joined us, but unfortunately they wouldn’t let the doggie inside, so my mother had to put up with the pictures.
