Walking Diary / ウォーキング日記:

米沢雪灯籠祭り Yonezawa Snow Lantern Festival

Feb 22

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久しぶりに米沢の冬祭りをゆっくり見て来た。雪灯籠祭りです。毎年２月中旬やる祭りだが、なんだか、この数年間、いつもその時期が忙しくて、行けなかった。
今年こそっと思って、無理矢理にお姉さんのところに泊めていただいて、見えたん。（行くその朝まで電話しなかったよ。わりーねっす、あねっちゃ。）
また短いムービー予告編みたいなビデオを作ったんで、見てけらっしゃい。

I got up to Yonezawa City in Yamagata Prefecture in mid-February to see the Snow Lantern Festival. It’s been several years since I last went. I’ve been meaning to go, but somehow, I always seem to be busy on the weekend it is held. Anyway, it was a spur-of-the-moment trip. I conned my sister-in-law into letting me stay overnight at their place. (Didn’t even call her until the day I planned to stay. Sorry about that, sis.) It was well worth it though. It’s a nice Festival. Sort of like Christmas in February. I made a “movie-trailer” type video of it. Check it out.

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岡山のもう一つの不思議

Dec 9

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岡山さ時々行くけんど、ひとつちっとめんずらしい光景に興味がある。それが、農家の屋根。昔、茅葺き屋根だったお家を改築して、茅葺きの代わりにトタンにするのが、全国的にも見られるものだが、なぜか岡山県内の場合、シルバー色の屋根は結構多い。特に「和気」（わけ）という地区に多いような気がする。なんでだろう？

Another interesting thing to look for when you visit the countryside in Okayama are the roofs of old farm houses. Many of these houses used to sport thatched roofs.  But since roofing thatch is now hard to come by (and the people who know how to replace thatch are also now few and far between), many of these roofs have been replaced and/or covered over with sheet metal.   Of course, you can see this phenomenon all over Japan, but for some reason, in Okayama, many of these roofs are now covered in shiny silver sheet metal.  They REALLY stand out. This color seems to be especially popular in and around the Wake region of Okayama Prefecture.  Though I have no idea why.  Anyway, an interesting aside.

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岡山でウオーキング・Walking in Okayama

Dec 9

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この間、久しぶりに岡山で一泊する事になりました。なつかしい町です。大学生の時代、冬休みの間、大阪の関西外大から岡山まで．ヒッチハイクした事がある。すんごいアドベンチャーになった。そのとき、もちろん、岡山の後楽園や岡山城(烏城）を見物しましたが、残念ながら、なぜか、写真は一点も撮らなかった。カメラ忘れたのかな？

とにかく、今度こそ写真を、と思って、仕事前に岡山市内をウオーキングしてみた。大変歩きやすい町です。道路はまっすぐだし、案内地図と標識は具体的で、英語も、中国語もハングルも、バッチリ。ノー・プロブレム。見るもんもいっぱい。

ウオーキング・アルバムをどうぞ。

I found myself staying overnight in the City of Okayama recently between jobs.  It had been a long time since I some spare time in that burg, so I took off from my hotel a little early to explore.

I first visited Okayama over 30 years ago when I hitchhiked down this way in my college days from Osaka. I did all the tourist destinations including, of course, the famous Japanese gardens of Korakuen and Okayama Castle. But for some strange reason, I took no photos during this trip.  Must have forgotten my camera.

Anyway, I wandered from my hotel near the main station straight down what they call “Momotaro Dori”, the main road leading toward the Castle.  Okayama was pretty much destroyed during WWII, so there  really isn’t much in the way of “historical buildings” that I could find.  But there are a number of spots that have been rebuilt to evoke the old days.  There is a pretty large “tera-machi” (“temple town”) area.  Castle towns like Okayama often have a neighborhood where the temples of the various sects are clustered, usually strategically located as a buffer zone against attack against the castle itself.  Okayama, like many of the major cities in western Japan, also features “street cars” or “trams”, or whatever you call those one car light rail trains.

All in all, Okayama is a very pleasant town to stroll about — flat, lots of maps and signs to guide you, a castle to photograph, etc.  Round trip from Okayama Station to Okayama Castle is about 6 KM.
























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秋の散歩は最高 — Taking Walks in Autumn

Dec 3

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オラ、年中、いつでもウオーキングするけんど、やっぱ秋が一番きもちいいかも。こん間、駒沢公園を通りながら、いい紅葉が見えた。他の皆さんも、紅葉狩りしていたみたい。また、鶴巻の辺りを歩いてみたら、桜新町駅にわりと近い丘の上に不思議な建築物を遠目で発見。近くまで行ってみたら、浄水場だった。なんだか、お城みたいな建物。

I like walking any season of the year, but maybe Autumn is my favorite. I recently strolled through Komazawa Park in Setagaya Ward and saw some beautiful maple leaves turning color.  Looks like everybody else was enjoying them too.  (Disclaimer : I’m from southern California where leaves never do anything, let alone change color, so forgive me if I seem overly impressed with this kind of stuff.) Wandering further, I spotted in the distance what looked like a castle on a slight hill in the Tsurumaki part of Setagaya Ward.  Getting closer, I found it was actually two very large water towers obviously built quite some time ago, back when people appreciated cool architecture.  Neat find.

お城っぽいか、モスクっぽいか、なんか面白いデザイン

お城みたいな浄水場も発見・鶴巻の丘の上



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世田谷通りと多摩川ウオーキング

Nov 23

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今日はちょっと頑張った。三軒茶屋をスタートして、まんづ世田谷通りを多摩川まで歩いて見た。馬事公苑とか、東京農業大学とかその辺までは何十回歩いた事があったが、世田谷通りは、どこまで続くものかなって、疑問でした。環八を超えたら、東京都内ちゅうなのに、だんだん田舎っぽくなる。なんだか東北の４号線を歩いているような感じになった。しばらくすると、狛江市に入った。オラ、狛江は年に一回必ず行くとこだ。いかだレースに参加するため。市内に入ったら、世田谷通り沿いの眼鏡屋さんの屋上に、なんと、キング・コング親子にばったり。

鉢巻きのコングは、なぜか、葉巻を吸う

I took quite a long stroll today. The weather was perfect, so I started from Sangenjaya and walked along Seatagaya Dori (Road) to see where it ended.  I’d been out past Baji (Equest- rian) Park and the Tokyo Agricultural University many times before, but I didn’t know how far out Setagaya Dori actually went.

After passing Kan-pachi (Concentric Loop Highway No. 8), the scenery along Setagaya Dori turns a bit rustic.  Sort of  reminds me of Highway  No. 4 up in the Northeast (Tohoku).

I entered Komae City and stumbled upon King Kong and son on top of an optomitrist shop.  Not exactly sure of the significance of that, but it sure grabs one’s attention.


この親子もいた。稲荷神社のガード・フォックス

Came across a nice little Inari Shrine too. Stopped by and took a pic.

Inari Shrine are dedicated to the god(s) who deal with agricultural issues.  Everybody prays here to wish for a good harvest.   Obviously, Komae City and the surrounding areas were once much more rural than today.

This shrine guardian fox, a rather feisty looking sort, also brought his/her kid along to teach him the ropes I suppose.  You can the kid underfoot.  A local parishoner has gone to the trouble of providing “bibs” for both.  A nice touch.


狛江市を通ったら、多摩川に出た。川を渡って、神奈川県に入ったら、世田谷通りの名前が変わって、「津久井道」になる（つくいみち）。その点から、南へ（下流に向かって）。二子玉川駅にたどり着いたら、もうすっかり暗くなってしまった。全体的に歩きやすいコースでした。世田谷通りのところどころで、排気ガスはちょっと心配でしたが、大丈夫でした。寄り道も含んで、トータルで、２２KMでした。After crossing the Tama River, I headed south (downstream) about 6 KM to the Futako Tamagawa Station. Altogether, it was a 22KM course.

Good exercise.

The Tama River from Komae City

Near Futako Tamagawa Station - on the Kanagawa side

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ウオーキングで世田谷区の森巌寺（しんがんじ）

Nov 20

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東急田園都市線(旧名：新玉川線）の池尻大橋駅の北口を５０M先に歩けば、緑道があります。梅が丘方面へ目黒川の上流を沿うと、茶沢通りのひとつ手前の道を北へ約１３０M歩けば、世田谷区の「ヒッデン・トレジャー」（隠れ遺産）がある。森巌寺（しんがんじ）です。住宅街のど真ん中の御陰か、とても大都会だと思わぬ静けさはポイント。

四季ともいいオアシスだが、秋は見頃かも。非常に大きなイチョウの木が何本かあって、秋になると、「黄金」という色を描写する光景になります。今年のタイミングは多分来週（１１月下旬）。



A supremely quiet place, not far from Shimo-Kitazawa



I ventured out for a long walk today and decided to visit an old favorite. Shingan-ji in Setagaya-ku. Being situated in the middle of a residential area, this is a nice temple to visit anytime of year. It’s so peaceful.

But Fall is really special. The grounds feature several very old, very large “Icho” (Gingko) trees that literally define the word “golden”. They are absolutely gorgeous. I stopped by today to check on their progress. I believe next week (the last week of November) they will be at their most beautiful this year.


森巌寺は仏像を楽しむ人も喜ぶ。ちっとめんづらしいものがあります。エマ様、不動明王、また数本の腕を持つ弁財天。こんな弁天様は初めて見た。




Ema-sama & Fudo-Myo-o





Benzai-ten or Benten-sama










Shingan-ji is also a treat if you’re into Buddhist statuary. Along with the rather ferocious looking Fudo-Myo-o, they’ve got an absolutely HUGE, and rather ticked-off looking Ema-sama, the guardian of the gates to the afterlife (the dude you REALLY do NOT want to annoy). That combination alone was enough to satisfy me, but today I think I stumbled upon a special airing out of their Benzai-ten (other wise known as “Benten-sama”). She is the Buddhist deity in charge of music, the arts, wisdom, and beauty, and is a member of the “Seven Gods of Happiness” in Japan. I’ve seen quite a number of Benten-sama over the years, but this one has, like, ten arms. Don’t think I’ve ever come across one quite like her.

とにかく、お寺好きなオラにとっては、満喫出来たひとときでした。あと何点か写真をどうぞ。

Anyway, it was a nice afternoon. I leave you with a few more shots.



江戸時代から針供養で有名ですよ





来週のイチョウの木、楽しみだな〜




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10/25/2010等々力渓谷近辺walking

Oct 26

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スタートは三軒茶屋あたりから、駒沢公園を回って、駒沢公園通りを南方面に歩いた。駒沢通りをちょっと過ぎたところ、この大道路は二つに分かれる。右の方(西側）の細い方を選んだ。何キロかまっすぐ行くと、その道が等々力駅のそばを通る。あと５０M位で、右側に、等々力渓谷の入り口がある。

降りてみると、おったまげ。東京都内だっちゅうのに、まるで山奥の沢を発見。



大都会のなかのオアシスみたい









その沢をしばらくあるくと、お寺さんと神社も見えてきます。弘法大使の若い頃の彫刻も展示されてた。

夕方の秋雨の中を歩いてたから、オラ以外、誰もいない。ちょっと神秘的なひとときでした。



弘法大使様の子供の頃の仏像（ちごさま？）




渓谷を抜けると左へ行けば、目黒通りに繋ぐ。

そこを右に下れば、間もなく多摩川に出る。

多摩川がいちを目的地だったけど、もうちょっと足を伸ばして南へっと。

そうすると、川崎市のスカイラインがばっちりと見えて来た。

ナイス・フィニッシュ。






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一時間で楽しめる京都駅近辺の散歩

Mar 28

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京都駅にわりと近い「東寺」




Have you ever found yourself with an hour to kill at Kyoto Station waiting for a train? It’s a real bummer. There is SO much to see in Kyoto, but with only an hour, you feel sort of trapped at the station. What a waste.

If you are “walker” like I am, one suggestion is to take a leisurely stroll west and south of the station. Less than two kilometers away is “Toh-ji” (literally “East Temple”).

If the weather is cooperative, you can fill up your digital camera with some nice “snaps” of the temple and its environs and get some exercise at the same time.

The most prominent feature of Toh-ji is its five tiered pagoda, which is actually visible from the Shinkansen Bullet Trains just after leaving Kyoto Station heading toward Osaka (south of the tracks).




電線を地下に埋めてあるから、五重塔の写真もばっちり




Of course, being so close to the station, the roads around Toh-ji are a bit congested which makes it hard to take those “serene” tourist pamphlet type photos which feature that OH-SO-ADVERTISABLE “Kyoto mystique”. I didn’t have time to try anyway. So, I went for the “ancient / modern” contrast shots mostly.




お寺さんなのに、めずらしく大堀もある




Anyway, Kyoto is REALLY easy to navigate. All the streets run straight either north/south or east/west.
To get lost lost in Kyoto, you either have to really be trying, or be my wife. Never met a girl with a poorer sense of direction. But that’s OK. It gives me an excuse to take her places.




東寺の南大門をくぐって





Folks say that Kyoto has lost a lot of its original charm. I suppose it’s inevitable. But you can still see bits and pieces of the old neighborhoods holding their own against the tide of modernization.
Just south of Kyoto Station and along the way to Toh-ji, I took a few snaps of these neighborhoods, narrow roads, local shrines, etc. just to wrap up my one-hour walk.





京都駅のすぐ近くに残る町屋













東寺へ歩く途中で見る京都ならではの小道




An older house book-ended by more modern structures.
An “alleyway” curves through the block just south of the station.




A little Buddhist shrine tucked in between a shop and cigarette vending machine







Some runners taking advantage of the nice weather.




Anyway, all in all I scored about four kilometers on this walk, took maybe 20 photos, learned a bit more about how ancient civilizations cope with rapid modernization (at least from a city-planning perspective), and met some cool people along the way

Not bad for an hour’s walk.  Beats the heck out of sitting on the train platform.


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テレビ東京「土曜スペシャル」で相模川ハイキング

Mar 21

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相模川ハイキング・コースのスタート地点４月３日放送分


２０１０年４月３日放送分の

テレビ東京 (TX) の「土曜スペシャル」

今回探検したのは、神奈川県の相模川です。

都心からこんなに近いところに、こんなにいい景色が見えるという事、オラ初めて知った。

まるで、山形に里帰りしたような気がした。





かたくりの花いっぱい

まんづ最初に訪ねたのは「かたくりの里」。

橋本駅の２番乗り場から臨時のバスに乗ってたった１５分で行ける。３月中旬から４月中旬の間、次から次へと春の花を満喫できるスポット。

かたくりをはじめ、めんずらしい花をいろいろ植えはじめてから、５０年も経っている。

とにかく、すんばらしい花のコレクションだ。




ちっちゃくてかわい花も一杯。

I did a travelog gig for Tokyo TV (TX) recently. That’s channel 12 for those of you who live in the Kanto Region. The program is called “Doyou Special” and it airs every Saturday evening from 7 PM.

On April 3rd, the broadcast will be about local “hiking courses in the Kanto Region”, in other words, near Tokyo.

I helped with one of the reports. We went to the Sagami River in Kanagawa Prefecture, just west of Tokyo.





めんずらしい椿もある

We started off by taking a bus from Hashimoto Station to the “Katakuri no Sato” (lit. “The home of the Dogtooth Violet”). It’s a privately operated flower garden with dozens of different varieties of Spring blooming plants.

The big draw is, of course, the Dogtooth Violet, which is the first purple flower shown above. It blooms in profusion around this time of year and covers half of the whole mountain. Quite a sight.

The Dogtooth Violet faces downward when it blooms so they gave it sort of a nickname “Hatsukoi”, which means “First Love”. I guess the bloom looks like a shy teenager who can’t seem to find the courage to tell the object of his affection about his feelings.


I called this one "yellow popcorn"


Anyway, this garden is an explosion of color around the beginning of April.

The guy who runs the place gave me the tour. He ticked off the name for each flower and a bit about its history and when they first planted it in this garden, etc.

Real nice guy but I am afraid I don’t process information as quickly as I used to. I’ve already forgotten many of the names for these flowers.

Just enjoy the photos.



Of course, this one then became "Red Popcorn"


There were dozen of people with cameras taking photos of all the flowers. There is also a lady there who teaches people how to actually draw flowers and make their own personalized post cards. I tried my hand at drawing a Dogtooth Violet. The result was mediocre so I won’t post it here. But it was fun to try.

花の名前は全部覚えられなくても、写真をいっぱい撮ったから、どうぞゆっくり見てけらっしゃい。



ショカッサイを撮るカメラマン



「かたくりの里」のあとは、相模川ハイキング。

いい季節です。河原沿いにかなりワイルドに咲いている花が沢山。

３月２０日、撮影に行ったとき、一番目立てたのはこれ、ショカッサイ(諸喝采）という紫色の野草。

Later, hiking downstream along the Sagami River, we took some time to film this field of purple wildflowers called “Shokassai”. That’s the official name in the reference books anyway.



Close-up of a "Shokassai" or "Daikon no Hana".

The locals apparently call it “Daikon no hana” (lit. “White radish flower”) which is a lot easier to remember.

Anyway, you can probably spot this flower all over Japan except the far north.

正式正名はショカッサイだけど、地元の方々はこれを「大根の花」と呼んでいるらしい。

ん、その方が覚えやすい。



相模川沿いに釣り堀もあった。



相模川沿いに見るものが沢山。

花、キャンプ場、バーベーキュー場、アユ釣りのおとり売り場、水鳥、等々。

釣り堀までもあった。

Lots to see hiking along the river. Flowers, a campground, a little shop selling “decoy sweetfish” for the upcoming fishing season, lots of waterbirds, etc., etc.


天婦羅を食べさせて下さった方が山菜採りのうでを見せて下さった


















割烹旅館「旭屋」の美人おかみさんとツーショット


旅番組ならではの不可欠のところは、やっぱし御馳走。今回最初のうんめ〜もんは、なんと「ダチョウ料理」老舗の旅館「旭屋」で６年前からダチョウ料理を出し始めたそうですが、あまりのヘルシーさにお客さんは大喜び。

でも、グルメ・レポーターの舌をごまかす事は出来ない。

食べてみたら、本当にヘルシーだけでなく、めちゃくちゃおいしかった。

普通の鶏肉と違って赤身なんだ。なにに例えれば悩んだが、鹿肉と鴨肉と間ぐらいな感じかな。

サイトは：asahiya-cc.com


ダチョウのたたき。くせになる。また食べたいよ〜


The really “tough” part of being a travelog reporter is
eating absolutely fabulous food. We visited a traditional Japanese style inn called “Asahiya” which has been in business for close to 200 years. Their usual fare consists of locally caught river fish and locally gathered vegetables. But starting six years ago, they began serving ostrich meat dishes to their health conscious guests.

The ostriches are raised locally in Sagamihara City.

I had never tried ostrich before. I was suitably impressed. It’s sort of a cross between deer and duck meat.


側沿いに「望地弁天」という弁財天さまがいます


通りすかったら、望地弁天の社を管理する方が、たまたまいらっしゃいまして、開けて下さった。年に２回ほど、掃除するためにしか開けないそうですが、これがラッキーだった。ちょっとめんずらしい弁財天さまです。手は８本、頭の上にまたもう一つの頭がある。

We stumbled across a little shrine along the river just as the caretaker was passing by. He allowed us to peek in to see a very unusual statue of Benten (also called Benzaiten). It has 8 arms and a smaller head on top of the main one. Sort of reminded me of the Juichi-men Kannon you see here and there around Japan.


そろそろ、４月上旬位にシバザクラも満開



最後に「瓢禄玉」（ひょうろくだま）という川魚料理の老舗の「ますのからあげ」と｢ます寿司」をいただきながら、相模川沿いにある土手のシバザクラを眺めた。オラの一番好きな花かも。

We finished up the program again enjoying food — deep fried trout and trout sushi, both of which were wonderful — while viewing another bank of flowers along the river. these are called “Shiba-zakura”, literally “lawn cherry blossoms”. Best time to see them this year is probably early April.

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岡山県高梁市でなつかしい光景

Mar 14

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大学生の時代を思い出す

３月１４日岡山県の山奥の高梁市に講演しに行ってきました。オラにとって、なつかしいところです。

大学生の時代、この町のわきにある臥牛山（がぎゅうさん）の備中松山城を見物しに行ったときの話し。お城を眺めながら、日が暮れようとした。仕方がなく、お城のとなりにテントと建てて、そこで寝る事にしました。（大学生の時代はあっちこっちに旅しました。でも、金はなかったから、ヒッチュ・ハイクしながら、野宿する事も多かった。）

ところが、このお城のまわりは日本猿の大きな群れのねぐらだった。食料はおにぎり一個しか持っていなかったオラだけど、猿達がそれに嗅ぎついてきて、一晩中オラのテントを襲って来た。

オラの左後ろに見えるのが、その臥牛山です。久しぶり高梁市に来てその山を見て、なつかしくてしょうがない。

I made a speech down in the City of Takahashi in Okayama Prefecture on March 14th.  This place has a sort of special memory for me. The mountain behind me is called Gagyu-san and there is a small mountain castle near the top called Bitchu Matsuyama-jo.  31 years ago (during a short break from my college classes in Osaka) I visited this castle while hitch-hiking through this part of Japan.  As it turned out, I got to the top of the mountain just before sunset, and decided to pitch my tent right next to the castle for the night.

Unbeknownst to me, the castle grounds also served as the sleeping grounds for an absolutely HUGE troop of Japanese monkeys (macaques).  The only food I had with me at the time was a single rice ball that I was saving for breakfast.  I guess monkeys have a good sense of smell because they attacked my tent all night long trying to get at it. And, man, are they noisy when they’re hungry.

I laugh when I think back on this experience now, but it was pretty scary at the time.

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