My family temple and my wife’s family temple are both located in Shizuoka Prefecture, so we visit their graves about two or three times a year. This time, we visited both temples before the New Year’s holiday.
先ずは私の方のお寺から。藤枝市にある長楽寺。
First, we visited my family’s temple. Chorakuji Temple in Fujieda City.
Konatsu went with us to the gravesite, cleaned it, offered flowers, and that was the end of our visit. A volunteer who temporarily took care of Konatsu when she was sheltered lives near here, so we met her again after a long time..
Konatsu looks happy in every picture. Konatsu was doing whatever she wanted, going upstairs without permission, etc. Even after more than 10 years, Konatsu still remembers the person who rescued her, right?
最後にはたらちゃん(左)、なつめちゃん(右)と一緒に写真が撮れた。
This family also has a shelter dogs. Tara (left) and Natsume (right)
たらちゃん。こなつと同い歳だけど若く見えるねえ！
Tara is the same age as Konatsu, but looks younger.
なつめちゃんは一つ年上だったと思う。来年もまた3頭で会いたいね！
Natsume is one year older than Konatsu. I hope to see all three of them together again next year.
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 am writing about Konatsu’s daily routine. Konatsu’s eyes have been slightly cataractous since the beginning of this year. The veterinarian pointed this out to me, and I have been giving her eye drops twice a day, morning and night, to suppress the progression of the cataract.
It may not look white depending on the angle. From the way Konatsu looks, it doesn’t seem as if she has difficulty seeing, and I hope the cataract doesn’t continue to develop. I hope the eye drops are working.
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.
In December, it gets darker around the time of evening walks, and Konatsu’s black hair makes her hard to be seen, so there are concerns about various accidents. So I bought one like this for walking.
首に掛けて光らせるもので､､､
It is a light that hangs around Konatsu’s neck…
光る部分をハサミで切ってサイズを調整できるのが上手くできている。
The size can be adjusted by cutting the glowing part with scissors.
Amazonで1,000円くらい。
It costs about 1,000 yen on Amazon.
明るい場所でもこんなに目立つし､､､
It stands out so much even in a bright place…
電気を消して暗くしてみるとこんな感じ。
This is what it looks like when the lights are off and the room is dark.
更に真っ暗にするとこうなる。これなら目立つし、車や自転車からも認識されるね。
And when it is completely dark, it looks like this. It stands out and can be recognized by cars and bicycles.
些細なことだけど、これで散歩が楽しくなるかも。
It’s a small thing, but it might make my walk more enjoyable.
Lately we have been traveling frequently, but it has been in the spirit of making as many happy memories as possible while Konatsu is still in good health. On this particular day, we went to Manyo Park in Yugawara.
I took a peek and sure enough, there is a footbath. But who would use a footbath while visiting a bank? Well, it seems like a bank in a hot spring resort area.
その近くに古めかしい和菓子屋があったので行ってみた。
There was an old-fashioned Japanese sweets shop near the bank, so we went there.
ここのお団子おいしかった。
The dumplings were delicious.
この日の宿泊は東急ハーベスト熱海伊豆山。
We stayed at Tokyu Harvest Club Atami Izusan.
それにしても、この1週間のサッカーW杯はお驚きの連続だ。
Still, this past week’s soccer World Cup has been full of surprises.
Today, we invited our friends to a home party at our house. It was the day of the World Cup soccer match between Japan and Costa Rica, so we planned to enjoy the party while watching the live TV broadcast.
我々が準備をしているのを見て、こなつは今夜は誰かが来るようだということを感じ取り､､､
When Konatsu saw us getting ready, she sensed that someone was coming tonight,
so she went down to the front door and waited. When they don’t arrive, she sometimes goes to the window on the stairs to see what is going on outside. I am impressed by Konatsu’s ability to sense things at times like this.
やがて皆さん到着し宴会スタートです！
Soon everyone arrives and the party begins!
おお、何だか前菜から気合が入っているねえ！
Oh, my wife’s cooking is really enthusiastic right from the appetizer!
漬物の盛り合わせ
Assorted Japanese pickles
里芋の煮物、カボスの風味付けで里芋の美味しさが引き立っている。
Taro simmered with kabosu (a type of citrus fruit), the flavor of the taro is enhanced by the kabosu.
As the party progressed and we were feeling tipsy and comfortable, the game kicked off. I was watching the game thinking that there was no way they could lose…
The day before this, I went to Gunma on a business trip and bought some Shimonita leeks from the production area. It is an ingredient that feels like winter as it is just entering its season.
近所の魚屋に頼んでおいた刺身。これが出てくるとこなつのアピールが始まる！
Sashimi I ordered from a local fishmonger. As soon as this appears on the table, Konatsu’s appeal begins!
それ、ワタシの分もあるよね！と鋭い視線(笑) こなつ用には別のお刺身を用意してある。
You have some for me, too, right? she looked at me sharply (lol). I have prepared other sashimi for Konatsu.
こなつの至福のひとときなのだ
It is a moment of happiness for Konatsu!
3種類のコロッケ コンビーフ、鮭、コーン
Three kinds of Korokke, which is like a Japanese croquette.
In the 26th minute of the second half of the match, Ito was knocked down and it looked like a penalty kick, but it was just outside the area. The free kick was not scored, Japan lost a goal right after this! I was so stunned that I did not take any pictures of the food after the game. The result of the game was not so good…
I asked the doorman of Regina to take a commemorative photo of us, the first and last family shots of our trip. We were so comfortable during our 4-day/3-night stay at the Regina Resort that I have already made a reservation for our next visit (lol). After checking out, we went shopping at Tsuruya.
軽井沢で最後のランチは蕎麦屋の東間（とうま）
My last lunch in Karuizawa was at a soba restaurant, Toma.
This is another soba restaurant where you can have a meal with your dog on the terrace, and after we entered the restaurant, people came one after another with their dogs.
だし巻き玉子。コレ美味しいよ！
Japanese-style omlet. This is delicious!
ここの蕎麦は鎌倉の「こ寿々」の味に似ている。もちろん美味しい。
The taste of the soba noodles here is similar to that of “Kosuzu” in Kamakura. Of course it is delicious.
デザートもしっかり！
We also had dessert!
これでいよいよ今回の旅行が終わりとなる｡｡｡
This was the end of our trip…
上信越道を走って我が家まで4時間。また来たいねえ､､､
It took us 4 hours to get home on the Joshin-etsu Expressway. I want to come back again…
It’s a lithograph, not an expensive one, but it’s in my house. Thaliassen is a nice place to stroll around. The day after this, we went to the dog park in Komoro City.
山の中腹に駐車場があって、そこから上まで登って行くのでけっこうキツイ。
There is a parking lot in the middle of the mountain, and it is quite hard to climb up to the top from there.
下に見えているのは小型犬用のドッグラン。そして私が居る所が大型犬用のラン。
The one below is a dog park for small dogs, and the one where I am is for large dogs.
最近はあまり走ることがないこなつだけれど、ここではよく走っていた。
Konatsu doesn’t run much these days, but she used to run a lot here.
We left the dog park early and went to the top of the park. The autumn leaves are beautiful here, too.
レジーナに戻り、館内で撮影。内部はもうクリスマス仕様になっていた。では夕飯を食べに行きましょう。
We returned to Regina and took some pictures. The inside of the hotel was already decorated for Christmas. Let’s go have dinner. Now, let’s go have dinner.
これはレジーナ1日目のメニュー
This is the menu for the first day in Regina.
ここの食事はいつも美味しい！更にワンコと一緒に食べられるのがいいね。
The food here is always delicious! And I love that I can eat with my dog.
これはこなつ用の 秋鮭と野菜 ↑
This is for Konatsu. Autumn salmon and vegetables.
蒸し鶏の胸肉と野菜 ↑ こんなの毎日食べてたらまたダイエットやり直しだ(笑)
Steamed chicken breast and vegetables ↑ If I eat like this every day, I’ll have to start my diet all over again, lol.
After checking out of the hotel, we headed for Karuizawa, but a short detour would take us to Togakushi Village (now Nagano City). Since I had come to Nagano, I wanted to eat delicious Soba, so I searched for Soba restaurant on my smart phone.
戸隠に向かう途中のリンゴ農園。真ん中の赤い帯状に見えてるのがリンゴ
An apple orchard on the way to Togakushi. The red band in the center is a harvested apples.
This is Togakushi Shrine. In this picture, tourists seem to be sparse, but I was surprised that there were actually quite a lot of them. I don’t know if it is because there are many soba lovers or because of the travel discount.
ネットで紹介されている蕎麦屋はどこも超満員なので空いてそうな店を探してここにした。
All the soba restaurants introduced on the Internet are very crowded, so we looked for a place that seemed to be quiet and decided to go here.
私は三味蕎麦。タレは左から、いくさ(エゴマ)、醤油、ゴマくるみ。
I chose Sanmi Soba. The tare (sauce) are, from left to right: ikusa (egoma), soy sauce, and sesame walnut.
My wife ordered hot soba noodles. I later found out that this restaurant has been in business for more than 50 years, and their soba soft serve ice cream is a masterpiece that no other restaurant can imitate. It’s too late!
It was one of the pleasures of travel to move around without a fixed schedule. It takes about one and a half hours from here to Karuizawa via Joshinetsu Expressway.
この日からは最終日まで3泊4日をここレジーナリゾート軽井沢御影用水で過ごします。
From this day until the last day, we will spend 3 nights and 4 days here at Regina Resort Karuizawa Mikage.
Konatsu seemed to be a little tired because we traveled long distances every day and walked in unfamiliar places during the first half of this trip. So it was a good decision to choose this familiar place for the last part of the trip, and Konatsu gradually regained her energy. I will post more about our stay in Karuizawa at a later date.
When we take Konatsu out for a morning walk, the early morning hot spring resort is still quiet , and we only encounter people walking their dogs who seem to be staying at the same hotel as us.
いかにもこの地方らしい説明看板
A sign telling the 400-year history of this cedar tree
I didn’t show you a picture of the rooms, but all the rooms here are Japanese-style rooms with dog-friendly tatami mats and beds on them. It was a cozy room.
早めの時間にチェックアウトして次の目的地・金沢に向かう。
We checked out early and headed to our next destination, Kanazawa.
ここから金沢までの所要時間は約1時間。高速には乗らずに国道8号線を走って行った。
It takes about one hour from here to Kanazawa. We did not take the expressway, but drove on Route 8.
The first place we visited in Kanazawa was a long-established Japanese sweets shop called Morihachi. There used to be a branch of this shop in Kamakura, where I live, but it is no longer there. My wife bought some wagashi that can only be bought here.
ここが海産物で有名な近江町市場。170店もの鮮魚店や飲食店があるのですが､､､
This is the Omicho Market, famous for its seafood. 170 fresh fish stores and restaurants…
カニ漁が解禁になったばかりということもあるのか凄い賑わいだが、第8波が心配｡｡｡
The crab fishing season has just started, and the market is very crowded.
On this day, my car’s mileage hit the 200,000 km mark! It’s still less than 6 years old, lol. The temperature is 24 degrees Celsius in Komatsu City at around 10 in the morning. When we arrived in Hakuba, the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees Celsius.
This day is actually November 12, the day we move from the Pacific Ocean side to the Sea of Japan side, so we finish our morning walk early and leave as soon as we eat breakfast.
ここは浜名湖。こなつは海の波は怖いのだが、湖の小さな波なら怖くないらしい。こんな風に歩いていた。
This is Lake Hamanako. Konatsu is afraid of ocean waves, but she is not afraid of small waves on the lake. This is how she was walking.
これは黒ヤギのウナギ君。前回来たときは子ヤギだったけどこんなに大きくなった。
This is Unagi, a black goat. The last time we were here, he was a baby goat, but he has grown up to be this big.
This is Lake Biwa. Compared to Lake Hamanako where we were this morning, Lake Biwa is much larger. We had only seen it from the window of the Shinkansen, but standing on the lakeshore, we could really feel the size of the lake.
ここでもこなつはこうして遊んでいた。
Again, Konatsu played in this way.
昼頃に長浜市に到着。
Arrived at Nagahama City around noon.
ワンコ連れOKの96カフェ(ｸﾛｶﾌｪ)でランチ。
We had lunch at 96 Cafe (Kuro Cafe), where you can bring your dog.
After lunch, we walked around the area called Kurokabe Square. I had no prior knowledge of the area, but I found it to be an unexpectedly nice neighborhood…
We arrived at YU-KAI Wan-Wan Resort in Awazu Onsen. It was a Saturday night, and the room was full, and it was a hard state to put it in the parking lot. We stayed here on the second day.
This year my wife and I both turned 70. So we started planning a trip in the summer to celebrate. Now in Japan, there is a campaign called “Travel Discount,” which offers a 40% discount on the price of travel anywhere in Japan.
So we are going to leave home on this day and drive a little bit each day to the Sea of Japan. On the first day, we will visit the family temple in Fujieda, stay overnight in Hamamatsu, and go to Awazu Onsen in Ishikawa Prefecture via Lake Biwa on the second day.
半年ぶりのお墓参り。
The first day was the first visit to the gravesite after a half year’s absence.
Looking up at the road, the second cream-colored building from the left is the birthplace of ballet in Japan. In 1927, a Russian exile named Pavlova opened a ballet school here.
こなつと波打ち際を歩いていると
Walking along the surf with Konatsu
ときどき大きい波が我々の足元近くまで寄せてくる。
Sometimes large waves come close to our feet.
すると水が嫌いなこなつは慌てて逃げだす(笑)
Konatsu, who hates water, runs away in a hurry. (lol)
歩くならここら辺がイイわ｡｡｡と言ってそう
She seems to be saying, “If I want to walk, this is the best place to walk…”
七里ヶ浜に流れ込む行合川
This is the Yukiai River flowing into Shichirigahama-beach.
この階段を上がって堤防の上を歩こう。
Let’s go up these stairs and walk on the embankment.
駐車場の中を歩いて行くとカフェレストランがある。
There is a cafe-restaurant when we walk in the parking lot.
ここは海を眺めながらのんびりするには絶好のロケーション
This is a great location to relax and enjoy the view of the ocean!
メニューも充実している！
They have a full menu!
こんなに暖かくて天気の良い日に海に来るととても気分が良い！
Feels so good to come to the ocean on such a warm, sunny day!
My wife’s physical therapy treatment was early in the morning, so afterwards we had breakfast with Konatsu on the terrace of a nearby bakery, Mont Peche Mignon.
こなつはオスワリして何をしてるのかと言うと､､､
Konatsu was in a state of undress, and what was she doing?
店内でパンを買っているママの姿が目の前に見えているので、それを目で追っているのです。
She can see my wife buying bread in front of her, so she is following it with her eyes.
そのときママも店内から写していた。
My wife also took a picture of Konatsu from inside the bakery.
我々のとは別に、こなつ用のミルクパンも買ってあり
She had also bought a milk bread for Konatsu, in addition to ours.
これ全部をあげるのではないけれど､､､
I don’t mean to give all of them to Konatsu, but…
「少しだけね」と言いつつこれを4～5回くらい繰り返す.
I repeat this 4 or 5 times, saying, “Just a little bit”.
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.
Konatsu has 4 months to go until she turns 13 years old. She still has seven years to go until her goal of turning 20, but she has come this far in good health. Weighed 200g less than last month, now 18.7kg, no physical problems so far!
