Xinbeitou Hotspring

　　We explored the Xinbeitou Hot Spring Area with a private tour guide. He took us to all the places we wanted to see. Our first stop was at Diregu(地熱谷), literally 'Geothermal Valley, which immediately brought to mind Beppu Onsen in Kyushu. I assumed that both Kyushu and Taiwan are located on the same circum-Pacific volcanic belt. The place we visited next was Beitou Puji Temple (北投普済寺), which was not in my guidebook. I took some time to look inside and around the temple, and realized that it was genuinely from Japan. Built in 1905, it served as a preaching site of the Myoshin-ji School of the Rinzai Sect. My roots trace back to a temple of this sect. This temple has a sister-temple relationship with Rei-un-in, located within the grounds of Myoshin-ji. Rei-un-in is located next to Zakke-in, whose priest is my relative. I felt a sense of affinity with this temple. Then, we headed to Radium Kagaya Taipei (日勝生加賀屋), a high-end Japanese hotel. It was too pricy for us to stay, and we only enjoyed its hot springs. The following picture shows us waiting to be served our afternoon tea in the hotel lounge. On our way to the hotel, we passed a big monument. I was surprised when I saw it. It was built for commercial use for Dogo Onsen in my hometown. Seemingly, Xinbeitou and Dogo are sister spas, and the number of direct flights between Taipei and Matsuyama has increased. I was over the moon about this commercial monument. 
　　Next, our tour guide showed us an nondescript staircase. Without him, we'd have missed this historic site. The description knocked us for a loop. The site was where the founder of the hot spring once lived. I climbed up and down the historic stairs with mixed feelings, looking back on that time.

　　

　　

　　

　　

　　　　　　　

　

　

新北投温泉

ガイドに案内していただき、新北投温泉を見て回った。プライベートガイドなので見て回りたいところ、どこにでも寄ってくれる。最初に寄ったのは地熱谷(Di Re Gu)、見た瞬間に九州の別府温泉の海地獄を思い出した。環太平洋火山帯に属し、九州に続いているのだろうと容易に想像できた。次に寄ったのは北投普済寺、これは手元のガイドブックにも載っていない。臨済宗妙心寺派の布教所として１９０５年に開設されたという。じっくりと見て回ったが日本の寺院、そのものであった。そして、霊雲院と兄弟締結とある。霊雲院のそばに親戚の塔頭があり、縁を感じた。次に向かったのが、超高級日系ホテル、日勝生加賀屋（Radium Kagaya Taipei）だ。宿泊は高いので、ただ立ち寄りで新北投温泉に浸かった。写真は温泉から出てアフタヌーンティーを待っているところ。驚いたのはこのホテルのそばのモニュメント。わが町、愛媛県松山市の道後温泉が宣伝されていた。姉妹温泉らしい。兄弟寺に姉妹温泉、、嬉しくなってくる。

ガイドが次に案内してくれたのがホテルの隣にある何の変哲も無い階段、掲示してあった説明を読んでビックリした。教えてくれなければ通り過ぎるところだった。新北投温泉の発祥の地であり、温泉を見つけ、開発した人の記録だった。感慨深く階段を歩いた。１３０年前に歩いていた人のことを思い描きながら。

 

Xinbeitou Historic Station

　　This is my third visit to Taiwan. A wave of nostalgia overtakes me every time I visit Taiwan. The indelible scenes from my childhood are dotted across the country. The atmosphere of the stations on the Pingxi Line, which I visited in 2013, was reminiscent of old Japanese stations. I was surprised, and it dawned on me that Japanese people had surely lived there. While I recorded these trip memos in my blog, I can't read them now as my blog was unfairly shut down. I dropped in at Xinbeitou Historic Station, which was originally built when Taiwan was a part of Japan. It has now been converted into a railroad museum. The museum is located at the gate of Beitou Hot Spring. I was awed by a sense of familiarity from exhibits such as authentic railroad cars, photographs, and maps. My fondness for Taiwan grew by leaps and bounds.

 

 

 

 

(Vocabulary)
Pingxi Line  平渓線
Beitou Hot Spring　北投温泉

　　台湾は３度目の訪問になる。台湾に来ると懐かしい温かい気持ちになる。子供の頃にみた日本の原風景のような景色があちこちに残っているのだ。２０１３年４月に初めて台湾に来たときに立ち寄った平渓線の鉄道駅の雰囲気が日本のまさにそれだったので驚き、確かにかつてこの地に日本人が住んでいたのだと実感した。この旅行の記録もブログに残していたのだが、理不尽なサービス停止により今はみられない。
　　今日はまず、新北投駅に立ち寄った。１９１６年、台湾が日本だった時代に作られた駅で、今は鉄道関連の展示やギフトショップがあり、ミュージアムのようになっている。北投温泉にはMRTの真新しい駅が作られていたが、そのすぐそばに日本時代の駅が残されていた。展示されている列車や、展示物、写真には初めて来たとは思えない懐かしさを感じた。また、さらに台湾が好きになってしまった。

Hotel Sunroute Taipei

　　After a smooth flight, we arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on time. While I was there, I got two Easy Cards for my wife and me, since I'd heard they are very convenient. We immediately headed to our hotel by MRT (the subway in Taipei). We successfully changed trains at Sanchong Station and arrived at Zhongshan Elementary School Station, which was close to our hotel. The Easy Cards were very handy, and gave us the feeling we could go everywhere we wanted in Taipei. 
　　We stayed at Hotel Sunroute Taipei, which was affiliated with a Japanese company, and had a good reputation with Japanese tourists. Our initial thought was that if we had any issues in Taipei, the hotel staff would help us out; however, there were only a handful of few people at the reception desk who spoke Japanese. Anyhow, it was ok.
　　I found some signboards shown below in this entry between the station and our hotel. I saw them everywhere in the streets during our stay in Taipei. They indicated air-raid shelters. I grasped the looming danger of war. My wife wanted to have a rest in the hotel, and I went out to explore the area. I found a boisterous night market. There was a slice of good old Japan.

　　　　　　

　快適なフライトだった。飛行機は台湾桃園空港に到着。初めての空港で不安だったが、まずEasy Card(悠遊卡)を購入。事前の調べで大変便利だと聞いていた。さっそくMRTで予約しているホテルへ向かった。三重で乗り換えて無事ホテルのそばの中山國小駅へ到着。Easy Cardは実に便利で、もうどこにでも行けるような気分になった。
　ホテルサンルート台北に旅装を解いた。日系ホテルであり、困った時には日本語でいろいろなことをお願いできるだろうと思ったから。でも日本語が使えたのはフロントスタッフの一部のみで地下にあるレストランではまったく通じず。まあ仕方ない。
　駅からホテルへ向かう途中で防空壕への案内板を何度か見かけた。この後も台湾滞在中にあちこちで見かけた。戦時中なのだと言うことを実感した。ホテルで休みたいという家内をホテルにおいて一人でホテルの裏手を散策した。夜市が賑やかで、古き良き日本があった。

Trip to Taiwan

　　I booked our first flight to Osaka the day I was flying to Taiwan. Upon checking my email just before turning in the previous night, I found an email from ANA (All Nippon Airways) informing us of the cancellation of my flight due to an equipment scheduling issue. Something must have happened to the aircraft during the last flight to my city. Even so, I was lucky to find the e-mail the previous night. If I had learned about the flight cancellation that morning at the airport, I wouldn't have caught the next flight from Kansai International Airport(KIX) to Taiwan. Immediately, I sprang into action and searched for an alternative route to KIX, and I got up about 4 o'clock and got on a train around 5:00 a.m. I changed trains to the bullet train at Okayama Station. At last, I was able to catch the booked flight to Taiwan. I had a good impression of EVA Air, so I used this airline to fly to Taiwan.

　　

Welcome Party

　　The Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) is the assistant of school teachers in compulsory education. The Japanese government recruits them from English-speaking countries. Most Japanese do not require advanced English skills as long as they live within the country, so their English level may not be optimally and practically developed. The government hopes to change this situation and familiarize younger generations with the language.
　　By the way, a coordinator for international relations (CIR) hailing from Rothenburg ob der Tauber works in the town hall. He holds weekly volunteer German lessons, which are part of my routine. The other day, I was asked and agreed to attend the welcome party of a new ALT. While I did not have the opportunity to talk with her, the party was a sociable evening with a pleasantly reserved atmosphere, featuring a traditional performing art exhibit.

(Aug. 19th)
Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) 国際交流員
https://jetprogramme.org/en/