夜は枕が違うと眠れない方ですが、I usually can't sleep much with a different pillow, but this time I get to sleep well maybe because I was tired. 疲れていたからか少し眠れました。ただ、Unfortunately, however, my legs and feet hurt so much that I get awake sometimes during the night. 足先も膝上も痛くてつってしまい、その痛みで目覚めてしまう時間もあって、結果的に5時間くらいの睡眠でした。I end up with sleeping just five hours or so.
朝はまた光の差す琵琶湖を眺めてお風呂に入りました。We take a bath seeing the Lake Biwa in the morning sunlight. 全面琵琶湖なので湖に浮かんでいるみたいな気分です。The bath space windows are all facing the lake, so I feel as if I were floating on it. 昨日は午後3時頃まで曇りでしたが、It was cloudy until around three pm yesterday, but I'm glad it's going to be a beautiful day today. 今日はいい天気で嬉しいです。
朝ご飯は7時からで、Breakfast begins at seven, we're impressed with beautiful presentation first. とても綺麗な盛り付けにまず感動しました。メニューも凝っていました。The content is also prepared carefully with nobel ideas.
食べる順序もお勧めがあったのでそれに従って頂きました。They say if we follow their recommended order to eat, the meal would taste better, so we follow their instruction on the paper. ひとつずつ小さな器に入り、Each dish is in a tiny cup, so the portion of each is not so big. ひとつの量はあまり多くないのでつい全部食べてしまいました。We enjoy the meal until the end, but altogether, they make a pretty big breakfast. 9種類あるので全部食べるとかなりのボリュームです。他にはおぼろ豆腐とみぞれ鍋がありました。Other than that, there is a soft warm tofu dish and a soup with minced white radish. 眠ったせいか夕食よりさらにおいしく感じました。I feel it better than the dinner last night probably because I regain my strength after sleeping a night.
今日は彦根城のお掘を舟で巡りたいと思い、Thinking of cruising the moat around Hikone castle today, intending to stop by in Ohtsu in the afternoon.その後で大津にも寄るつもりです。少し疲れが残りますが、We are both still tired a bit, but the cruise starts at 10 am, so we check out the hotel nine thirty, taking a taxi to the ticket gate. 10時に朝のお掘巡りが始まるのでそれに乗ろうと9時半にチェックアウトし、タクシーでお掘まで向かいました。ギリギリで焦りましたが、間に合いました。In a hurry, we make it just in time.
舟は昔ながらの屋形船で、The ship is shaped like a traditional style like the ones in Edo period, 手漕ぎではないものの風情があります。although it is electric one, but with a nostalgic atmosphere.
ゆっくり45分かけてお堀を回ります。
it takes around 45 minutes to cruise the moat.
石垣の上から鷺が魚を狙っています。
A heron on the stone wall is focusing its eyes on fish in the water.
やっとお城の姿が見えました。Finally, we see the castle over the trees. 木々の緑が茂っていて、The green is so thick that it is hard to take pictures. なかなかシャッターが切りにくいです。
別の舟が繋がれています。Another ship is in standby. 桜の時期はたくさん出るそうです。When cherry blossoms are in bloom, there are much more cruise ships working, they say.
とても気持ちよく、It is truly refreshing and the talks of the ship navigator is interesting. 船頭さんの話も面白かったです。井伊家は一度も国替えをされていない唯一の大名だったため、Since the former owner of the castle the Ii family had no order from the shogunate to move to another place, 資料がたくさん残っていること。their document and other treasures in Edo period are still left at the museum here. 井伊の赤鬼と呼ばれる兵士の姿は、The outfits of the soldiers in this clan were handed over from Takedas. もと武田家の家老だった人が主家の滅亡後井伊家に仕えたために武田軍団の赤備えが引き継がれたこと。Because the Takeda's top official moved and served here in Hikone after his former master was eradicated. 江戸時代にも大切なお客が来ると、もてなしとしてお堀を巡ったことも初めて知りました。Another new information for me is that when special guests visited the castle in Edo period, some of them were entertained by cruising in the moat like us.
タクシーを降りた時にまた11時頃に迎えに来てくれるようお願いしたところ、We asked the taxi driver to pick us up the same place we got off in an hour. 舟を降りたらすぐ目の前に来てくれていました。When the cruising ended, the taxi was already there to pick us up. 良いタイミングでありがたいです。What a good timing! せっかくなのでまた彦根駅から石山寺へ回ることにしました。We might us well go from Hikone station to Ishiyama castle where a famous novel was written.
石山駅は大津市なので少し賑やかなところなのか、Ishiyama station is in Ohtsu, the largest city in this area. 石山寺はずっと昔に一度行ったきりでほとんど記憶がありません。I once visited the temple long ago, but I remember little about it. 次のブログに続きます。To be continued.
