Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Walking Along the Ruined Railroad

My son living in Tokyo mailed me last night and said that I had got a comment for my blog and I should have answered it sooner. I'm so sorry, Mr.G not to write back and thank you for your kind comment. Mt. Asama is active this year and we can see white smoke from it When I finish publishing my essay, I get relieved and don' t open my computer for some time. To tell the truth , I'm not good at computer or internet, and when I want to do something with it, I need my husband's help. Whenever I do something with the computer, I feel scared it might be broken or exploded. My husband says, "You won't learn anything as long as I live." It must be true

A few days ago, my family visited "Tetsudou bunka Mura", the park for the exhibition of trains and railroads, in Yokokawa, Gunma. There, we can see many kinds of railroad coaches. that were once running on the railroads. My grandchildren were excited on a train led by a miniature steam locomotive. We also enjoyed walking the trail in the mountain and bathing in good onsen. The trail was once a railroad from Yokokawa to Karuizawa; it means it was a part of the railroad from Tokyo to Nagano. The line was called 'Shinetsu-sen', the line to Nagano and Niigata. It was one of the main and important lines. Before the winter Olympic games held in Nagano, they built the Shinkansen to Nagano. from Tokyo Then they cut off Shinetsusen at Yokokawa to get all the passengers on Shinkansen. It was quite a stupid idea. Shinetsusen was working perfectly with a lot of turists and commuters. After that, when we want to go to Tokyo, we have to take Shinkansen with an expensive ticket There is no way left to travel slow and cheep on the train. And, people can't commute from Komoro to Annaka, for example. .Now, the railroad track between Yokokawa and Karuizawa is used as a trail for walking. The area is very mountainious, and building railrosds was very difficult , they say. Those railroads and brick bridges are just ruins now. If you are interested, why don't you walk along the trail in the early summer green?
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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

It's Been Long Time.

It's been long time since I wrote my last essay here. When Abby was here, I often see her and talk with her about the next topic, After that, I worked with it like a student who was given a homework. But now...I'm a little lazier like a student without teachers, and also a little busier than before. I'm joining some activities, espeially I'm working for a small organization for peace. One more reason. I don't have any forein new comers around me now, and so, I don't know what information is needed or interested in. But my husband says I should keep writing.. Yes, I'll try a little more, but I'm afraid it can't be good information to help you, sorry.. .

Though it wasn't so cold this winter, we are happy to feel spring is coming. The day is getting longer, and the wind isn't chilly as before. In my garden I can find crocuses, Christmas roses and yellow pheasant's eyes. As you know, we love cherry blossoms, but before them we enjoy plum blossoms. In the warm places, they bloom even in January, but here in Saku, we have to wait till late in March. Yesterday my husband and I went to Gunma to see the plum blossoms. They were at their best. Comparing to the cherry blossoms, they are not so gorgeous, but they have fragrance and we, Japanese people have loved them as a symbol of early spring.

I'm trying to walk as much as I can to lose my weight I gained during the winter. It's fun to walk with my little grandson playing with our shadows or watching birds. But spring is also the season of hey fever. We see many people with a white mask to prevent pollen. My husband suffers badly every year, . Are you all right with it? If you suffer from it, go and ask docters. They know good medicine that works.

. A few weeks ago my husband and I went to Egypt on a tour. It was the country that has the most different culture among the countries we have visited. It was great, beautiful, darty, chaotic, fierce, and friendly. I was interested in the culture and their life, but it seemed diffcult for me to live there. The people were very friendly, but we saw a lot of police officers, guards or soldiers with big unwrapped guns, and it made me uncomfortable. Just after we came back to Japan, we heard a news of bombing attack in the city of Cairo, where we spent three days and enjoyed walking around. Egypt is the contry which is just next to the countries with harsh conflicts..