2014年12月8日 Dec 8, 2014
東京 Tokyo
日本に戻ってから最初の秋。秋晴れを楽しみにして公園でピクニックをしたかったけど、普通の秋より寒いからやめた。でも、全然寒くないと思う人もいて、なぜだろう。
This is my first fall season since returning to Japan. I was looking forward to the clear blue sky that is common in the fall, as well as picniking in the park. But since it has been colder than usual this fall I gave it up. Nevertheless, there are people who think it has not been cold at all. How could that be?
暖かい秋から寒い秋に切り替える時に綺麗な紅葉が出て来ると理解するから、ずっと寒い今年の秋は紅葉が綺麗にならないと想定した。確かに今年の紅葉は溢れて盛大ではない。けど、色の鮮やかな紅葉があちこち点々と見える。
My understanding is that beautiful fall color comes to being only when the weather changes from warm to cold. Since it has been cold throughout this fall, I was not expecting to see beautiful fall color. Indeed, you don't see an overwhelming abundance of fall color. Yet, there are patches of vibrant fall color here and there.
それを見えたのは、最近参加し始めたウォーキングサークルのおかげだ.。2週間前に柴又の辺りと水元公園で紅葉を満喫した後、今週末は等々力渓谷の秋の美しさに感動された。
I was able to experience that thanks to a walking group which I recently joined. We enjoyed fall color to the fullest in the Shibamata area and Mizumoto Park two weeks ago. Then this weekend we were awestruck by the beauty of Todoroki Valley in the fall.
起点の等々力駅は小さくて南口と北口は飛んで渡れる距離。駅の辺りをぶらつく余裕がなかったけど、面白そうな町。
Todoroki Station, our starting point, is so small that you can jump across it from the south to the north exit. We did not have time to hang around in the station area, but it looked like an interesting town.
サークルのメンバーと雑談しながら進んでた。一人のメンバーのお婆ちゃんの出身地の鳥取県について話したら、日本の神話が話題になった。鳥取県の側に島根県があって、そこに出雲大社があるでしょう。毎年の十月に全国の神々が出雲大社に集まるため、島根県以外に神様がいない。だから、十月は神無月と呼ばれる。でも、出雲大社に神々がいるので、島根県だけ十月は神在月と呼ばれると、教えてもらった。
I walked while chatting with members of the group. One of them has a grandmother from Tottori Prefecture which led to a discussion of a Japanese mythological story. As you may know, Tottori Prefecture is next to Shimane Prefecture, where one finds the Izumo-taisha Shrine. As the story goes, deities from all over the country gather at Izumo-taisha Shrine in the month of October. As a result, none is left in the rest of the country. Therefore, October is also called the Month without The Gods, or Kannaduki. But in Shimane Prefecture, October is called the Month with The Gods, or Kamiariduki, for obvious reasons.
雑談でどういう豆知識を入手するか予め分からないから面白い。
You never know what you will learn in small talks, which is why they are interesting.
その話をしながら綺麗な紅葉は少しずつ出て来てた。特に等々力渓谷にある日本庭園の周りにもみじの葉っぱは赤色、緑色、黄色、及びオレンジ色が混ざって、自然の油絵は目の前に現れた。
While we were having that discussion, fall color started to show, a little bit at a time. In particular, around the Japanese garden inside Todoroki Valley, Japanese maple leaves in red were mixed with those in green, yellow and orange to present to us nature's oil painting.
庭園の茶屋に暖かいお茶が提供されて、体を温めながら綺麗な油絵を観賞して素敵な体験。
There was a teahouse inside the Japanese garden where free, hot green tea was served. It was a delightful experience to be able to enjoy a beautiful painting while being warmed up with a cup of hot tea.
茶屋手前の景色はこういう感じ。
This was the view in front of the teahouse.
日光に当たられて最高の色が引き出された。
Sunlight hitting on the maple leaves created the most beautiful color.
日本庭園の次は万願寺に着いた。本館に向かう階段の起点に仏様と観音様の像があった。何で喧嘩した後相手と話したくないような姿勢になったか分からない。笑
After the Japanese garden we moved to Manganji Temple. At the bottom of the stairs that lead to the main hall, there were two statues - those of Buddha and Kannon, the Deity of Mercy. Why they struck the post of two people who did not want to talk to each other after a fight is beyond me :)
階段に上って本館に近づいたら綺麗な紅葉がまた現れた。
Climbing up the stairs, we were again treated to a beautiful view of fall color as we approached the main hall.
紅葉の色は、お寺のオレンジ色の提灯に似合うことに気が付いた。
Here I noticed how well the fall color of Japanese maple matches the orange lanterns in the temple.
そして、お寺を出たところ、この何十個の蕾も群れをなす花を発見。
On the way out of the temple I discovered this plant that has clusters of tens of flower buds.
今回のコースは、世田谷と田園調布の住宅地を通って、街の中の紅葉も楽しんだ。それから、両方の場所も大金持ちの街だと感じた。
This course took us through the residential neighborhood of Setagaya and Denenchofu which allowed us to enjoy fall color throughout town. I also realized that both towns are home to a lot of rich people.
一つの立派な家の壁に可愛いクリスマス飾りがあった。
Cute Christmas decorations were seen on the wall of this magnificent house.
それから、秋晴れで暖かいお天気なので、カモ群れも出かけて散策した。
Since it was a warm day with clear blue sky, even ducks were out in groups for a stroll.
後、猫も暖かい日当たりの下でヨガして体の柔軟性を見せてくれた。
And this cat which was doing yoga post while basking in warm sunlight showed us the flexibility of its body.
次は多摩川まで行って、川沿いの浅間神社に寄った。
Next we walked up to Tama River and made a brief stop at Asama-jinja Shrine on the river bank.
そこから川の向こう側にある川崎の高層ビル群れが見えた。
From there we saw the cluster of high-rise buildings in Kawasaki across Tama River.
神社に紅葉はみくじ掛に結んだ神籤と互いに引き立てて色の鮮やかな写真を作った。
Fall color of Japanese maple and paper fortunes tied to a rack in the shrine complemented each other to create a picture with vibrant color.
終点の田園調布駅に向いて行くと、最後は銀杏並木の道を歩いた。銀杏は、温度のパターンに関わらず秋になると綺麗な黄色に変身することが分かった。
Approaching our destination of Denenchofu Station, the final leg of our walk was a street lined with gingko trees. This made me realize that regardless of the weather pattern, when fall comes, gingko trees always turn beautifully yellow.
それから、銀杏は秋に風を招くパワーがあるようで、風が吹いたらいっぱいの葉っぱが落ちって、異なる綺麗な景色を作り出す。
And they seem to have the power to summon wind in the fall blows to bring about an avalanche of leaves creating yet another beautiful scene.
日本に戻ってから一回目の紅葉を楽しみながら、それは私の日本に戻った理由の一つだと思った。他にもあるけど...
While enjoying my first season of fall color after my return, I was thinking that this IS one reason I am back in Japan. And there are more ..
では、that's it for now.
東京 Tokyo
日本に戻ってから最初の秋。秋晴れを楽しみにして公園でピクニックをしたかったけど、普通の秋より寒いからやめた。でも、全然寒くないと思う人もいて、なぜだろう。
This is my first fall season since returning to Japan. I was looking forward to the clear blue sky that is common in the fall, as well as picniking in the park. But since it has been colder than usual this fall I gave it up. Nevertheless, there are people who think it has not been cold at all. How could that be?
暖かい秋から寒い秋に切り替える時に綺麗な紅葉が出て来ると理解するから、ずっと寒い今年の秋は紅葉が綺麗にならないと想定した。確かに今年の紅葉は溢れて盛大ではない。けど、色の鮮やかな紅葉があちこち点々と見える。
My understanding is that beautiful fall color comes to being only when the weather changes from warm to cold. Since it has been cold throughout this fall, I was not expecting to see beautiful fall color. Indeed, you don't see an overwhelming abundance of fall color. Yet, there are patches of vibrant fall color here and there.
それを見えたのは、最近参加し始めたウォーキングサークルのおかげだ.。2週間前に柴又の辺りと水元公園で紅葉を満喫した後、今週末は等々力渓谷の秋の美しさに感動された。
I was able to experience that thanks to a walking group which I recently joined. We enjoyed fall color to the fullest in the Shibamata area and Mizumoto Park two weeks ago. Then this weekend we were awestruck by the beauty of Todoroki Valley in the fall.
起点の等々力駅は小さくて南口と北口は飛んで渡れる距離。駅の辺りをぶらつく余裕がなかったけど、面白そうな町。
Todoroki Station, our starting point, is so small that you can jump across it from the south to the north exit. We did not have time to hang around in the station area, but it looked like an interesting town.
サークルのメンバーと雑談しながら進んでた。一人のメンバーのお婆ちゃんの出身地の鳥取県について話したら、日本の神話が話題になった。鳥取県の側に島根県があって、そこに出雲大社があるでしょう。毎年の十月に全国の神々が出雲大社に集まるため、島根県以外に神様がいない。だから、十月は神無月と呼ばれる。でも、出雲大社に神々がいるので、島根県だけ十月は神在月と呼ばれると、教えてもらった。
I walked while chatting with members of the group. One of them has a grandmother from Tottori Prefecture which led to a discussion of a Japanese mythological story. As you may know, Tottori Prefecture is next to Shimane Prefecture, where one finds the Izumo-taisha Shrine. As the story goes, deities from all over the country gather at Izumo-taisha Shrine in the month of October. As a result, none is left in the rest of the country. Therefore, October is also called the Month without The Gods, or Kannaduki. But in Shimane Prefecture, October is called the Month with The Gods, or Kamiariduki, for obvious reasons.
雑談でどういう豆知識を入手するか予め分からないから面白い。
You never know what you will learn in small talks, which is why they are interesting.
その話をしながら綺麗な紅葉は少しずつ出て来てた。特に等々力渓谷にある日本庭園の周りにもみじの葉っぱは赤色、緑色、黄色、及びオレンジ色が混ざって、自然の油絵は目の前に現れた。
While we were having that discussion, fall color started to show, a little bit at a time. In particular, around the Japanese garden inside Todoroki Valley, Japanese maple leaves in red were mixed with those in green, yellow and orange to present to us nature's oil painting.
庭園の茶屋に暖かいお茶が提供されて、体を温めながら綺麗な油絵を観賞して素敵な体験。
There was a teahouse inside the Japanese garden where free, hot green tea was served. It was a delightful experience to be able to enjoy a beautiful painting while being warmed up with a cup of hot tea.
茶屋手前の景色はこういう感じ。
This was the view in front of the teahouse.
日光に当たられて最高の色が引き出された。
Sunlight hitting on the maple leaves created the most beautiful color.
日本庭園の次は万願寺に着いた。本館に向かう階段の起点に仏様と観音様の像があった。何で喧嘩した後相手と話したくないような姿勢になったか分からない。笑
After the Japanese garden we moved to Manganji Temple. At the bottom of the stairs that lead to the main hall, there were two statues - those of Buddha and Kannon, the Deity of Mercy. Why they struck the post of two people who did not want to talk to each other after a fight is beyond me :)
階段に上って本館に近づいたら綺麗な紅葉がまた現れた。
Climbing up the stairs, we were again treated to a beautiful view of fall color as we approached the main hall.
紅葉の色は、お寺のオレンジ色の提灯に似合うことに気が付いた。
Here I noticed how well the fall color of Japanese maple matches the orange lanterns in the temple.
そして、お寺を出たところ、この何十個の蕾も群れをなす花を発見。
On the way out of the temple I discovered this plant that has clusters of tens of flower buds.
今回のコースは、世田谷と田園調布の住宅地を通って、街の中の紅葉も楽しんだ。それから、両方の場所も大金持ちの街だと感じた。
This course took us through the residential neighborhood of Setagaya and Denenchofu which allowed us to enjoy fall color throughout town. I also realized that both towns are home to a lot of rich people.
一つの立派な家の壁に可愛いクリスマス飾りがあった。
Cute Christmas decorations were seen on the wall of this magnificent house.
それから、秋晴れで暖かいお天気なので、カモ群れも出かけて散策した。
Since it was a warm day with clear blue sky, even ducks were out in groups for a stroll.
後、猫も暖かい日当たりの下でヨガして体の柔軟性を見せてくれた。
And this cat which was doing yoga post while basking in warm sunlight showed us the flexibility of its body.
次は多摩川まで行って、川沿いの浅間神社に寄った。
Next we walked up to Tama River and made a brief stop at Asama-jinja Shrine on the river bank.
そこから川の向こう側にある川崎の高層ビル群れが見えた。
From there we saw the cluster of high-rise buildings in Kawasaki across Tama River.
神社に紅葉はみくじ掛に結んだ神籤と互いに引き立てて色の鮮やかな写真を作った。
Fall color of Japanese maple and paper fortunes tied to a rack in the shrine complemented each other to create a picture with vibrant color.
終点の田園調布駅に向いて行くと、最後は銀杏並木の道を歩いた。銀杏は、温度のパターンに関わらず秋になると綺麗な黄色に変身することが分かった。
Approaching our destination of Denenchofu Station, the final leg of our walk was a street lined with gingko trees. This made me realize that regardless of the weather pattern, when fall comes, gingko trees always turn beautifully yellow.
それから、銀杏は秋に風を招くパワーがあるようで、風が吹いたらいっぱいの葉っぱが落ちって、異なる綺麗な景色を作り出す。
And they seem to have the power to summon wind in the fall blows to bring about an avalanche of leaves creating yet another beautiful scene.
日本に戻ってから一回目の紅葉を楽しみながら、それは私の日本に戻った理由の一つだと思った。他にもあるけど...
While enjoying my first season of fall color after my return, I was thinking that this IS one reason I am back in Japan. And there are more ..
では、that's it for now.