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Archive for the ‘stories’ Category

I can’t leave Japan without going to an onsen!

Posted in culture, japanese, stories, tagged , , , on June 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

My annual trip to Japan always includes a visit to an onsen (hot spring). The relaxed feeling after dipping into a Japanese hot spring is indescribable. Since my first onsen experience many years ago, I always leave time in my Japan travel schedule for onsen therapy.

When I told a Japanese friend that I am going to Akita prefecture this year, she suggested I visit Nyuto Onsen village. So I took a shinkansen (bullet train) for an hour from Akita city to Tazawako station and then a fifty minutes bus ride to the mountains to take a dip in one of the famous hot springs there.

There were so many onsen facilities in Nyuto Onsen village to choose from that I was tempted to go onsen-hopping all day! In the end, I settled for just one, Taenoyu Onsen. It is a cosy little ryokan with a rustic feeling. It has two types of hot spring water, one gold-coloured and the other clear.

The view from the private family bath that I booked was amazing! The waterfall from the Sendatsu River was mesmerizing as I soaked in the warm mineral water. View at Taenoyu Onsen

 

I will come back again in another season to soak in other hot springs in this area.

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Introducing Reflections of Seto セトの鏡

Posted in japanese, stories, tagged , , , on March 12, 2010| 2 Comments »

I decided to start this blog in Japanese to polish up my Japanese language skills. In reference to the Japanese idiom “腕をみがく”,I will do my best. Comments are welcome.

Recently, I read a short Japanese story by Kawakami Hiromi titled “God”. It is a simple story about a talking bear that invited the author to go for a walk to the riverbank.

It is not unusual to find talking animals in Japanese stories. In this story, the author has made the bear so human & polite that he is even better behaved than the people that they met on the way.

There was no reference to “God” in the story except towards the end where the talking bear says, “may the blessings of the bear god rain down upon you” to the author. The author tried but could not imagine what the bear god might be like. Giving the story the title “God” is a bit misleading.

mt fuji

セトの反映

日本語が上手になるために、このブログを始まった。“腕をみがく”の日本の熟語を覚えていて、頑張ります。コメントがありましたら、歓迎します。

２０１０年（平成２２年）

３月１２日（金曜日）

最近、川上弘美が書いた“神様”を読んだ。これは、簡単な物語だ。作家は、話せる熊に川原に向かって散歩誘われた。日本の物語の中に、話せる動物がいるのは、珍しくないです。この話に、作家は、熊の話し方を人間のようにした。途中と会った人より、丁寧な行動している熊だ。この物語の中に、神様についての話は、終わりに近いで、２行しかなかった。話している熊は、「熊の神様のお恵みがあなたの上にも注ぎますように」と言った。作家は、熊の神様とはどのようなものか、想像できなかった。“神様”と名づけられた物語ということは、少し紛らわしい。

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