Since 2026 started, more than one month has passed.
I’m happy to say I’ve been spending relatively good days thanks to many people’s cooperation.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. I must do my best,too.
新年になってはや一カ月過ぎましたね。おかげさまで今のところ充実した毎日を過ごせています。
「天は自らを助くるものを助く」という言葉を思い返しこれからもベストを尽くしたい思います。
Yesterday I went to an area called Tanimachi 4th street to visit an accountant firm. I’ve been there many times to apply for the passport.
And during the period of Covid, I used to drive my wife and daughter through the area to their workplaces almost every day to avoid commuting by crowded trains.
Actually it was a happy time to me driving with my wife and daughter because it was one of a few chances to go out during the Covid period.
I didn’t renew my driver’s license last summer so I‘ll never have a chance to drive with them.
昨日、税理士事務所に用事があったので谷町4丁目まで出かけました。この辺りはパスポートの申請によく来ました。またコロナが猛威を奮っていた頃は妻と娘を車で仕事場までこの場所を通ってほとんど毎日、車で送りました。満員電車での朝の通勤を避けるためでした。
私にとっては彼らとのドライブはコロナ時代の数少ない外出の機会でもあり、楽しみでした。
去年夏に運転免許を返納した身ではもう二度とこんな機会はないでしょう。
I often mention Matsubara because it was a place where I had lived for a longest period in my life. That’s why it was my second hometown but Higashiosaka is a place where I was born and lived until I was a high school student.
私は東大阪、当時布施市で生まれて高校生のときに松原に来て60年以上住んで現在はまた東大阪市に住んでいます。両地域とも故郷と呼べそうです。初めて松原に来た頃は池以外何もない田舎町という印象でした。でも初めての引っ越しは高校生の私にとっては新鮮で歴史好きの私には楽しかった。暇あったら自転車で古墳巡りや近くの池で釣りをしたり楽しみました。
When our family moved from Higashiosaka to Matsubara, we didn’t have a road called Chuo Kanjyosen.
We needed to go a road called Yaokaido by taxi passing an underpass of Yao airport and crossing Yamatogawa river. It took nearly one and a half hours. My first impression of Matsubara was a rural place with a lot of ponds. There were two large ponds near my house.
Seening the ponds, my grandmother said, “This place looks like a hot spring resort Katayamazu.” In fact, it was a nice and wide view. But no shops and restaurants in the place.
As for me, I was very curious about the new place so I enjoyed exploring the area by bike. I was excited to find those ancient key-hole shaped tomb mounds here and there.
My father and I would often enjoy fishing at a large ponds just behind our house.
To tell the truth, after having lived in Matsubara for more than 60 years, we moved back to Higashiosaka.
This is a huge ancient keyhole shaped tomb mound called Kawachi Otsukayama kofun in Matsubara. It’s said it was built about 16 centuries ago.
これは松原にある巨大な前方後円墳です。最近はグーグルで見ることが出来るのでこれ以外にも古墳跡らしきものが散見されます。この辺りは難波と大和を結ぶ古代ルートだったのでシルクロードとも言えそうです。大陸からの使節や遣唐使も通った道です。