こちらの「芥川荘」を見学したいと旅館本館を訪れたところ、女将さんとおぼしき方がいらっしゃって、どうぞ見学ください、だけど台風に備えて雨戸を全部閉め切っていますから、申し訳ないがご自分で開けて、ご自由にごらんください、というありがたい申し出。
その傑作小説に深く親しんできていた作家の恋文執筆の地、という興味が強かったので、まずはその恋文を樹間の碑でしっかり読破させていただいた後、若き25才の文豪が滞在した「離れ」に。
建築としてのこの庵はまことに温暖・蒸暑地らしい建物。本体の図面などは見当たらなかったけれど、八畳２間に３方向が縁が回っている建築。屋根は茅葺きで庇部分が張り出している。たぶん南国的な気候で時雨が多く、その対応なのでしょう。茅葺きは結構重厚ですが、もちろん夏期の日射による室内気温上昇を抑制したいというのが主目的。冬期も零下までの気温低下は考えにくい地域性なので、まさに夏を旨とした日本文化的軽量建築。
杭基礎が表れていて、床下は全開放されて蒸暑気候の中での耐久性を考え、通風最重視という考え方がよく表れている。太平洋・九十九里の浜辺らしく地面は砂地であることがあきらかで、杭基礎は多少不同していて、縁の部分など、多少の不同沈下が見られています。でも、建物自体が軽量な造作なので確実に築100年は超えているけれど、乾燥状態が保たれた建物と目視できます。

東大在学中からその文才を認められて作家として人生をスタートさせるというのは、その後、大江健三郎がその後嗣になって日本文学作家の一典型にもなった経歴。しかも芥川の場合は終生の師と仰いだ夏目漱石の激賞を受けたばかりという時期。チョー恵まれた環境で人生を歩み始めた天才の、輝かしい時期にこの海浜の庵への逗留時期が重なっている。太陽の季節。
夏目漱石の時代は明治国家としてあらゆる産業勃興させ、社会を欧米近代に追いつかせることに全力だった時代。そういうかれの世代の心理から、芥川のような天才の文学の仕事が日本社会文化創造に欠かせないと判断された時代だったのでしょう。
室内にはこの時期の交友関係が示された手紙・ハガキが展示されていて、上の写真は菊池寛からのハガキ文面。おおむね２週間程度の芥川の滞在期間中にのちの「文藝春秋社」創設者・菊池寛からハガキが来ているということは、のちの菊池寛と芥川の関係をも予測させる。わたしの推量としては「作品制作の場」として滞在費を出資し新進気鋭の作家を「缶詰め」にして作品執筆に当たらせる文化の初源期か？
建物はいかにも温暖地の開放型住宅らしくて北海道人には、夢のようなパラダイス気候環境を想起させてくれる（笑）。「こんなのでも冬，たいして寒くないんだ」という気候条件そのものに対して強く感受性が反応して、いわば底抜けの日本的な心理的解放感を見ておりました。
そういう日本の温暖・蒸暑地らしい住宅建築の「いごこち」についてちょっと考えてみたいので、明日以降、この庵の住宅環境を掘り下げて見たい。

English version⬇

Warm climate seaside “ventilation-oriented” light architecture Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hermitage in Kujukuri – 4
From the point of view of the people of Hokkaido, this is a dazzlingly blessed climatic environment blessed with the “season of the sun. I would like to delve deeper into the “comfort” of this environment.

When I visited the main building of the ryokan to see “Akutagawa-so,” the proprietress kindly offered me a tour of the house but told me that she had closed all the shutters in preparation for a typhoon.
I was very interested in the place where the writer, who was deeply familiar with the masterpiece novel, wrote his love letter, so I first read the love letter carefully at the monument in the tree house, and then went to the “detached house” where the young 25-year-old literary great stayed.
The hermitage as an architectural structure is truly typical of a warm and humid place. I could not find any drawings of the main structure, but it is a two roomed house with three sides of a rim. The roof is thatched with overhanging eaves. This is probably a response to the tropical climate and frequent rainfall. The thatch is quite massive, but of course the main purpose is to control the rise in indoor temperature due to solar radiation in the summer. Since it is hard to imagine temperatures dropping below zero even in winter in this region, this is a Japanese cultural lightweight building designed for the summer.
The pile foundation is evident, and the under-floor space is fully open to allow for durability in the hot and humid climate, and to emphasize ventilation. The ground is obviously sandy, as is typical of the Pacific and Kujukuri beaches, and the pile foundations are somewhat uneven, with some unequal settling, such as at the edges. However, the building itself is of lightweight construction, so although it is certainly over 100 years old, it can be visually recognized as a building that has been kept in a dry state.

Akutagawa’s literary talent was recognized while he was still a student at the University of Tokyo, and he began his life as a writer, a career that later became typical of Japanese literary writers when Kenzaburo Oe became his successor. In Akutagawa’s case, he had just received a great award from Soseki Natsume, whom he looked up to as a mentor for the rest of his life. The time of his sojourn at the seaside hermitage coincides with a brilliant period in the life of a genius who began his life in a very privileged environment. The season of the sun.
Soseki Natsume’s era was the Meiji era, when the Meiji nation was doing everything in its power to make all kinds of industries flourish and society catch up with the Western modern era. The psychology of his generation probably led him to believe that the literary work of a genius like Akutagawa was indispensable for the creation of Japanese society and culture.
The photo above shows a postcard from Hiroshi Kikuchi. The fact that Akutagawa received a postcard from Hiroshi Kikuchi, founder of Bungeishunju-sha, during his two-week stay suggests that Kikuchi’s publishing company financed Akutagawa’s stay as a “place to create works” and allowed the up-and-coming writer to write his works “in the can.
The building itself is a warm-weather, open-plan residence that evokes for Hokkaido residents a dreamlike paradise climate (laughs). (Laughs.) I felt a strong sensitivity to the climatic conditions themselves, and saw a sense of psychological liberation that is uniquely Japanese, so to speak.
I would like to think a little about the “comfort” of housing architecture that is typical of such a warm and humid climate in Japan, so from tomorrow onward, I would like to delve into the housing environment of this hermitage.

Posted on 10月 9th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅取材＆ウラ話, 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

現代でこの一宮館は「老舗」旅館として、またこの作家との縁を強調して人気旅宿になっている。じゃらんで見てみると結構な高級旅館ぶり。九十九里の浜辺が海水浴場として鉄道も開通して、東京からの観光客が押し寄せ始めた時代、そういった一種の「ブーム」に沸いていたのかも知れない。
地図を参照してみると、この旅館の建つ位置は一宮川が九十九里にそそぐラグーンのような立地になっている。明治の大変革によって近代化の道を歩み始めた日本は、日露戦争の勝利などで「一流国」という位置を獲得し、そういう時代背景の中、大正ロマン主義のような社会の空気感があったのだろう。大衆社会化状況というような時代相が感じられる。竹久夢二のようなロマンチックな表現がもてはやされたことからは、そういう雰囲気が感じられる。


青年芥川龍之介は25才の時にこの「芥川荘」と後にかれの名声を名付けた一宮館・離れに友人・久米正雄氏と逗留した。庭園の一角に石版が置かれている。写真には大正５年の8/17〜9/2までの滞在期間が記されている。
九十九里の海浜の開放的な「真夏」感がかれの本能を激しく刺激して、かねてから恋がれていた女性のことが熱情のように脳裏を満たしていたことが想像される。その熱情がこの離れの、いかにも蒸暑地の開放的な庵という空間の雰囲気の中で涵養されたのか。まぁ、微笑ましい。いつの世でも若い男女の恋愛こそが「生きる」根源的なパワーであることは自明。
芥川の足跡を見ると、大正5(1916)年東京帝大在学中に発表した「鼻」が夏目漱石に評価され、文壇に登場とある。この旅館滞在時期とみごとに重なっている。「鼻」はこの年2月新思潮に発表されたということなので、漱石の激賞を受けて文壇各社がこの新進作家に注目し、激烈な「新刊」争奪戦が繰り広げられただろうことは想像に難くない。たぶんそのなかの１社が「夏まっ盛りの九十九里の旅館に籠もって、原稿書いてみませんか」みたいに「缶詰め」作戦に出たのかも知れない。その後の短編作品の量産ぶりを見ると蓋然性は高い。
「どうして25才の青年がこんな旅館に長期逗留できたのか？」という疑問を読者の方から提起されたけれど、背景などを考えてみるとこういった事情のように思われる。芥川は終生、この夏目漱石からの激賞に深く感謝し師弟関係を強く意識していることからも、この時期はかれが自分の未来に対して、無限の可能性を感じていたに違いない。
そういう生命力の高まりがかれをラブレターの執筆に向かわせたのだろうか（笑）。かれの多感な恋愛生活も、著名作家として個人情報などの配慮は一切なく（笑）白日の下にさらけ出されている。
江戸期の浮世絵作家、明治期の近代国家建設期の作家たちとも相違して、いわゆる大衆社会化のなかで大正期以降の作家たちは今日社会のテレビ芸能「スター」のように扱われた存在だったのだと思う。華やかな商業主義出版資本と作家の内面という点で、興味深いものがある。
やがて自死に至る「僕の将来に対する唯ぼんやりした不安」というものが、その後の日本の作家に色濃く広がっていく。なんとも言い難いものを感じてならない。

English version⬇

Taisho Romance, Kujukuri: The Hermitage of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Love Letter Writing – 2
Since he is a well-known writer whose writings are abundantly documented, his psychological state of mind also emerges in real time. Akutagawa’s psychological upheaval. …

Today, Ichinomiya-kan is a “long-established” ryokan and a popular inn, emphasizing its connection with the writer. A look at Jaran shows it to be a fairly high-class ryokan. The Kujukuri beach may have been in the midst of a kind of “boom” at the time when the railroad was opened as a bathing beach and tourists from Tokyo began to arrive in droves.
Referring to the map, the location of this ryokan is like a lagoon where the Ichinomiya River flows into Kujukuri. Japan began its path of modernization with the great reforms of the Meiji era (1868-1912), and with the victory in the Russo-Japanese War, the country achieved the position of a “leading nation” in Japan. This was a time of mass socialization. The popularity of romantic expressions such as those of Takehisa Yumeji suggests such an atmosphere.

At the age of 25, the young Ryunosuke Akutagawa stayed with his friend Masao Kume at Ichinomiya-kan, which he later named “Akutagawa-so” (Akutagawa Manor). A stone tablet is placed in the corner of the garden, and the third photo shows the period of his stay from August 17 to September 2, 1916.
The open “midsummer” feeling of the Kujukuri seashore stimulated his instincts, and we can imagine that his mind was filled with a passionate love for a woman he had long been in love with. Was this ardor nurtured in the atmosphere of the open hermitage space in this remote summer resort? Well, it is a very funny story. It is obvious that love between young men and women is the fundamental power of “living” in any age.
According to Akutagawa’s footsteps, he first appeared on the literary stage in 1916 when his novel “Nose,” published while still a student at Tokyo Imperial University, was highly praised by Soseki Natsume. This coincides perfectly with his stay at the ryokan. Since “Nose” was published in February of the same year in Shin-Shicho, it is not difficult to imagine the intense competition for “new publications” that ensued as the literary world paid attention to this budding writer in the wake of Soseki’s high praise. Perhaps one of the companies may have launched a “canned” strategy, asking him to stay at a Japanese inn in Kujukuri in the height of summer and write his manuscript. The fact that so many short stories have been produced since then makes it highly probable.
The reader may raise the question, “How could a 25 year old stay in such an inn for such a long period of time?” This seems to be the reason, considering the background of the story. Akutagawa was deeply grateful to Soseki Natsume for his generous encouragement, and he was very conscious of the relationship between master and disciple.
This surge of vitality may have motivated him to write the love letter (laugh). As a well-known writer, his sensitive love life is also exposed in the light of day, without any consideration for personal information (laugh).
Unlike the ukiyoe artists of the Edo period (1603-1867) and the writers of the Meiji period (1868-1912), when the modern nation was being built, the writers of the Taisho period and after were treated like the TV entertainment “stars” of today’s society in the so-called mass socialization. It is interesting to look at the glamorous commercialist publishing capital and the inner lives of writers.
The “only vague anxiety about my future” that eventually led to his suicide spread strongly among Japanese writers in the following years. I can’t help but feel something indescribable.

Posted on 10月 7th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅取材＆ウラ話, 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

一昨日このブログで書いた記事【Replan発行：札促社代表退任、新会社設立】を見ていただいたり、札促社WEBサイトの会社紹介記事なども参照してくれた「新建ハウジングDIGITAL」の記者さんから、３日夕刻連絡をいただき、この内容を記事としてアップしていいか、という問い合わせをいただきました。
わたしとしては関係する各事業社・個人のみなさんに封書でのお知らせを送付もしているので、事実の周知ということではありがたいお申し出と思いその旨（株）札促社新社長の小林氏にも事前連絡の上、承諾しました。そうしたところ、電話でのインタビューもと申し込まれ即、電話対応。なお顔写真の提供も求められました。ちょっと恥ずかしい気分もありましたが、承諾させていただいた。あとで気付いたらこの写真時点では醜い無精ひげが残っていました（笑）。あとの祭りであります。
この記事写真は10月４日夕方17:07分のアップされた記事のヘッドタイトル回りのスクリーンショット。もと記事のURLは https://www.s-housing.jp/archives/326619　ですので、参照ください。（無料公開情報記事）
住宅業界専門誌メディア記事で周知していただければ、パブリシティとしてはコスパがきわめて高い。地域型住宅雑誌・メディアとして全国的知名度はいま一歩、ですからこの記事はたいへん効果的。新建ハウジングの三浦社長とは旧知でもあり、ご好意で取り上げていただいたものと感謝しております。

・・・というような立ち位置の変化による身の回りのあわただしさは、もうちょっと続きそうな気配。そういった合間を縫って、直近での関係のあるみなさんと電話などで肉声でご挨拶。その一方では新体制での「新常態」を手探りで作って行かなければならない。いつもチコちゃんに叱られながら「ボーッと」生きてきていることを深く反省させられている次第であります。わたしにとっての「チコちゃん」は、さて（笑）。

English version⬇

News coverage in the housing industry magazine “Shinken Housing DIGITAL
As a regional media outlet, we are not yet well-known nationwide, so the article was effective. Chiko is scolding me, but I can’t sit idly by. …

A reporter from “Shinken Housing DIGITAL,” who saw the article I wrote on this blog the day before yesterday [Replan: Fushoku Sha’s Representative Resigns, New Company Established] and also referred to the company introduction article on the Fushoku Sha website, contacted me on the evening of the 3rd and asked if I could upload this content as an article, I was contacted by a reporter from “Shinken Housing Digital,” who also referred to the article introducing the web site.
As I had already sent a letter of notification to all the companies and individuals involved, I thought it would be a welcome offer to make the facts known to the public, and after notifying Mr. Kobayashi, the new president of Fushoku-sha, in advance, I agreed. I contacted Mr. Kobayashi, the new president of Fushushinsha, and he agreed to the offer. I was also asked to provide a photo of my face. I felt a little embarrassed, but I agreed. Later, I realized that I still had an ugly stubble on my face at the time of the photo (laugh). It was a later event.
This article photo is a screenshot of the headline area of the article uploaded at 5:07 p.m. on the evening of October 4. The URL of the original article is https://www.s-housing.jp/archives/326619″ rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”
Please refer to it. (Free public information article)
If you can get the word out through housing industry magazine media articles, the cost of publicity is extremely high. As a regional housing magazine and media, we are not yet well known nationwide, so this article is very effective. I am also an old acquaintance of Mr. Miura, the president of Shinken Housing, and I am grateful that he kindly allowed us to feature this article.

I am grateful to Mr. Miura, the president of Shinken Housing, who is an old acquaintance of mine, for kindly taking the time to feature my work in this article. In between all of this, I have been greeting everyone with whom I have had a relationship in the recent past by phone and in person. On the other hand, we have to make a “new normal” under the new organization by groping around. I am deeply reminded of the fact that I have been living “in a daze,” always being scolded by Chicochan. Let’s see what “Chicochan” means to me (laughs).

Posted on 10月 5th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: リプラン＆事業 | No Comments »

昨日はわたしが創業した（株）札促社にとって大きな節目の日でした。
わたし自身が代表取締役を退任し、後継の小林大輔氏にバトンタッチしたのです。
事前に情報公開することは混乱も多く、すべての段取りが整理整頓されてからのお知らせとなったことをお詫びします。以下、昨日関係お取引先に送付された「あいさつ文（要旨）」です。

株式会社札促社 社長退任
新設分割会社「リプランハウス株式会社」代表就任のごあいさつ

今般令和５年10月2日を持ちまして、わたくし三木奎吾は長く務めていたReplan誌編集発行／株式会社札促社の代表取締役を退任しました。事業継続については東京の若手ベンチャー企業経営者・株式会社SUMUS社代表取締役の小林大輔氏が、札促社の全株式を引き受けていただき代表取締役にも就任いただく運びとなりました。
事業基盤が一段と強化されることとなります。（株）札促社はフラッグシップ事業のReplan誌発行をはじめ北海道から東北そして関東・関西とその活動ウィングを拡大して参ります。今後ともみなさまのご支援をお願い申し上げます。
この経営権移譲に伴い、前記の小林新社長の構想に沿って株式会社札促社から「新設分割」されて「リプランハウス（株）」が発足します。
わたくし三木奎吾は、この新設会社の代表として今後活動します。リプランハウス（株）の主要な経営資産としてようやく全体システム開発が完成段階のAI活用型「Replan住まいナビ」の権利を承りました。もちろん（株）札促社と緊密な「業務提携」合意しており札促社が全力でこの新事業の拡販推進に当たることは不変です。このふたつの会社は不即不離の関係で連携して事業に当たって行くことになります。
新体制になってよりダイナミックな事業展開を推進する（株）札促社と、新設のリプランハウス（株）に、今後とも変わらぬご愛顧を賜りますように、なにとぞよろしくお願い申し上げます。

以上のような発表内容であります。そういう次第でこの日々のブログでもサイレントに（笑）タイトルを変更してきています。以前の「Replan発行人」という表記から「住宅ジャーナリスト」というように自己紹介も変えてきていました。
わたし自身は経営者というよりも、建築・住宅空間に対してよりピュアな立場で住宅ユーザー視点での「よりよい家づくり」のための活動を継続して参ります。その表現の場として今後ともブログ執筆を続けていきます。予感としては「ライフワーク」そのものになるのかもと思っています（笑）。
今後ともみなさま、よろしくお願いします。

English version⬇

[Replan Issued: Retirement of Representative Position and Establishment of New Company by Sassoku Sha Co.
Information on the retirement of the representative position of the company that founded the company and the succession system. We will continue to strive to disseminate information on our blog by looking at the site from the starting point of “better homes”. ・・・・.

Yesterday was a major milestone for Sassoku-Sha, the company I founded.
I myself stepped down as representative director and passed the baton to my successor, Daisuke Kobayashi.
There was much confusion in disclosing this information in advance, so I apologize for not informing you until after all the arrangements had been sorted out. Below is the “Message of Greetings (summary)” that was sent to related business partners yesterday.

Resignation of the President of Sassoku-Sha Corporation
Message from the President of the newly established spin-off company “Replan House Co.

As of October 2, 2023, I, Keigo Miki, have resigned from my long-serving position as Representative Director of Replan magazine editor/publisher Sassoku-Sha Co. Mr. Daisuke Kobayashi, a young venture business owner in Tokyo and representative director of SUMUS Corporation, will assume all shares of Fushushosha and become its representative director as well.
This will further strengthen our business foundation. （Sassoku-Sha Inc. will expand its activities from Hokkaido to Tohoku, Kanto and Kansai, starting with the publication of Replan magazine, its flagship business. We look forward to your continued support.
In line with the aforementioned transfer of management control, Replan House Corporation will be established as a “newly established company” from Sassoku-Sha Corporation, in line with the aforementioned vision of new President Kobayashi.
I, Keigo Miki, will act as the representative of this newly established company. We have received the rights to the AI-based “Replan Sumai Navi” system, the entire system development of which is now in the final stage of completion, as one of the main management assets of Replan House Co. Of course, there is no change in the fact that Replan House has agreed to a close “business tie-up” with Sassoku-Sha Corporation, and Sassoku-Sha will do its utmost to promote the sales expansion of this new business. The two companies will work together in a non-exclusive relationship.
We would like to ask for your continued patronage and support of Sassoku-Sha Corporation, which will promote more dynamic business development under the new structure, and the newly established Replan House Co.

This is the content of the announcement. As such, I have been silently (laugh) changing the title of this daily blog as well. I have also changed my introduction from “Publisher of Replan” to “Housing Journalist.
Rather than being a business owner, I will continue my activities for “better house building” from the viewpoint of a housing user from a more pure standpoint regarding architecture and housing space. I will continue to write blogs as a place to express this. My hunch is that it will become my “life work” itself (laugh).
Thank you for your continued support.

Posted on 10月 3rd, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
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さて週末は東京での用件があって朝散歩は上野不忍池周辺であります。
はじめて東京に来た頃、いまから53年前くらいですが東京と言っても、東京と横浜の中間地域がフランチャイズだった。それは兄姉たちがそこに暮らしていたことが機縁だった。横浜で勤めていた姉の居所に近いという縁だったように記憶している。
東京と札幌というのはわたしたち年代には「いちばん近しい」関係だったと思います。それはほとんどが飛行機移動に変わっていたことが大きい。千歳から飛行機に乗ればいちばん近いのは羽田線。
千歳のちょっと先に東京がある、という感覚だった。
で、わたしたちより上の年代のみなさんは列車移動で東京まで行っていた。札幌から函館まで汽車移動し、青函連絡船に乗って青森に着き、そこから東北本線で10数時間、仙台というのはまったく寝ている内に通過する東北の中心都市であり、ようやくたどりつくのが上野だった。
北海道や東北に暮らす日本人は上野が東京の玄関口であり、独特の旅愁を感じ続けていた。そういう先輩のみなさんとは、東京体験に大きな違いがある。
ところが、最近になって東京のいろいろな「まち」での滞在経験知が積層するようになってくると、自分的にはどうも上野が近しくなってきている。状況の機会には文化接触機会として東京国立博物館・特別展参観が習慣化してきているので、勢い、上野公園周辺にたくさん滞留する時間が増加。時間節約をかねて考えると、上野とか御徒町とかの街区ホテルが合理的になったのですね。
東京の友人からは「なんで、上野さ？」と半ば不思議がられる。東京駅から西側のほうがなんとなくふさわしいと感じているようなのですね。
毎朝の散歩はわたしの最大の健康維持策なので、かならずどこでも、周辺の「自然」ふれあい環境を踏破することになる。そんなことから不忍池がいちばん選択されることになるのですね。
コイなども巨体で水辺に近づくと、寄ってくる。たぶん多くの方が餌やりするのでしょうね。丸々とした体躯であります。まったく「自然」感はない（笑）。ふだんの札幌円山の池の生態系とはまったく違うのでしょうね。きのう書いたような「ヒグマがかわいそうだ」みたいな意見というのは、こういった自然喪失感に慣れてしまって、北海道に本来的自然感を過剰に求める心理というのがあるのではないでしょうか？

English version⬇

Today’s walk at Shinobazuno Pond in Ueno
Perhaps the excessive “expectation” of nature in Hokkaido generates the psychology of blame and slander toward brown bear hunters. I am somewhat uncomfortable with the well-nourished carp in Shinobazuno Pond. …

Well, I have some business in Tokyo over the weekend and my morning walk is around Ueno Shinobazu Pond.
When I first came to Tokyo, about 53 years ago, my franchise was in an area between Tokyo and Yokohama. It was because my older brothers and sisters were living there. I remember it was because it was close to my sister’s place of residence who was working in Yokohama.
I think Tokyo and Sapporo were the “closest” relationship for my generation. This was largely due to the fact that most of our trips were by air. If you took a plane from Chitose, the closest flight was the Haneda line.
It was as if Tokyo was just a short distance away from Chitose.
So, those who were older than us used to go to Tokyo by train. From Sapporo to Hakodate by train, then to Aomori by the Aohako ferry, then to Sendai, the central city of Tohoku, where you pass through in your sleep, and finally to Ueno.
For Japanese living in Hokkaido and Tohoku, Ueno was the gateway to Tokyo, and they continued to feel a unique sense of nostalgia for their travels. There is a big difference in the Tokyo experience with these older generations.
Recently, however, as my knowledge and experience of staying in various “towns” in Tokyo has increased, I have come to feel closer to Ueno. I have been visiting the special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum as an opportunity for cultural contact, and I have been spending a lot of time in the Ueno Park area. Considering with time saving, it became reasonable to stay at a city hotel in Ueno or Okachimachi.
My friends in Tokyo halfway wonder, “Why Ueno?” and they half wonder why Ueno. They seem to feel that the area west of Tokyo Station is somehow more appropriate.
Since my morning walk is my most important health maintenance activity, I always go to the surrounding “natural” environment wherever I can. This is why Shinobazuno Pond is my first choice.
Carp, for example, are huge and will come to you when you approach the water’s edge. Many people probably feed them. They have a rounded body. They do not look “natural” at all (laughs). It must be completely different from the usual ecosystem of the ponds in Maruyama, Sapporo. I think that the opinion I wrote yesterday, “I feel sorry for the brown bears,” may be due to the fact that people have become accustomed to this kind of loss of nature, and they are seeking for a sense of nature in Hokkaido to an excessive degree.

Posted on 10月 1st, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
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