Only four more days left of Golden Week. It's Friday, May 3rd. Constitution Day which is a national holiday. However, since my wife works at a convenience store she did not have a long vacation as I and she was back at work today, leaving me on my own. Since I don't have a Japanese driver's license I decided to go for a walk around my adopted hometown. I decided to walk down different roads I hardly ever use to see what interesting things I might find.
ゴールデンウィーク残り４日。今日は５月３日、憲法記念日の祝祭日。でも自分の妻はコンビニに働いてますから、僕みたいに、ながい休みはありません。今日はなにしようかな？自分も日本の運転免許も持ってないため、近場で散歩することにした。めったに通らいない道路や道を歩きどういう発見やなにに出会うのが楽しみ。
Hey look, there is a church in my neighborhood. I've never noticed it before.
あっ、見て。僕の近所にあったのは気付かなかった。
A little place to rest. I'm still at the beginning of my walk so I just passed this by.
休憩所だ。でも散歩始まった休ますに通りすぎました。
I'm not sure if this is the correct name of the shrine but I believe it's called Mihiro Shrine.
ちょっと読み方に関してわからないが、これは近所にある彌廣神社（多分：みひろじんじゃ）。
Entrance to the shrine.
神社への鳥居。
This is so sad. It is a memorial to those children that were not allowed to be born. In my neighborhood, there is a facility for people suffering from Hansen's Disease, in another words, what used to be called a leper colony. And according to Japanese law, it was mandated that women with leprosy were forced to become sterilized or have abortions if they got pregnant. The law of course has been changed (in the '70s mind you!), but it's still a blight on Japan's history.
この記念碑を見るとちょっと悲し気分になります。書いてあるのは慰霊碑。なんの慰霊というと”生まれる事が出来なかった子供達の慰霊”。ここは昔（今でも）ハンセン病の患者の施設の近く。昔日本の法律でハンゼン病の女性たちは強制的に赴任されたり、妊娠してたら中絶されたり、人間以下の扱いだった。法律も変わったのは７０年代ころだったのも信じられない。これも日本史の恥の一つだと僕は思う。
This is the ossuary for those who passed away from Hansen's disease.
この建物は納骨堂です。
A statue of some doctor.
先生の像。
A tiny little forest right in my neighborhood.
うちの近所にある小さな森。
I found a nice path to walk along.
良い遊歩道を見つけました。
Well, I guess the owner of this shop is very confident in their ability as the name of the shop is [Hair God].
店主は美容について自信が相当ありそうですね。だって店の名前が「ヘアゴッド」。
Speaking of hair salons, I usually get my hair cut at the 1000 yen shop called [Coo] located on this left side of this building. However, as of April 1, haircuts now cost 1100 yen.
美容室と言えば、最近僕はここで髪切りに行く。店の名前は「クー」。１０００円カットと書いてますが４月１日から１１００円まで値上げされました。
And speaking of God, you can spot these yellow and black signs in different areas of Aomori Prefecture. This one says, "There is no God but Christ". When my wife and I go on road trips, we make it a game to see how many of these "Christ" signs we can spot.
神様と言えばこれ。青森県のあちこちに見かけます。妻とドライブに出掛ける時、キリストの看板は何枚発見出来るのをゲーム感覚でやってます。
A nice view of Mount Hakkoda.
今日八甲田山が良く見えます。
Two railroad tracks, the one on the left is the Ou Line and the one on the right is the Tsugaru Line.
二つの線路がある。左側は奥羽本線、右側は津軽線。
A better view of Mount Hakkoda.
八甲田山にもっと良い眺めがありました。
I decided to wander around Shin Aomori station and saw this really large carp streamer on display.
新青森駅に行って、駅内にこの大きな鯉のぼりがあった。
You find the most interesting things when you just wander around without any set goals. This is a large scarecrow of the Kabuki actor Tomio Umezawa. His mother's hometown is Fujisaki Town here in Aomori Prefecture.
歩き回ったらいろんなものに出会う。これは新青森駅の中に展示されてる巨大な梅沢富美男案山子。最近でもテレビで良く言ってるのは自分の母が青森県藤崎町出身って。
That's the Sannai-Maruyama Archeological Site on top of the mailbox.
ポストの上にあるのは山内丸山遺跡です。
Shin Aomori station / 新青森駅
I never gave much thought to this art piece right outside of the station.
このアートオブジェあんまり気にしたことがない。
I thought it was just a huge mirror all the way around.
ただの大きな鏡と思った。
But I was wrong. It was kind of fun checking out the weird images.
でもただの鏡ではなかった。なんか面白い写りしてるよ。
I think I've turned into a midget!
俺が小人になった！
No no, I'm a stick man!
いえいえ、スティックマンだ！
What's this? It's a monument to a poet named Kyozo Takagi who is known for using indigenous speech in his writings.
これはなんだ？方言詩人高木恭造の記念碑だ。
Another monument with the writing of Kyozo Takagi.
これも方言詩人高木恭造が書いたものです。
Do Not Enter
Any walk is cause for snack time.
どの散歩でもおやつは欠かせないものである。
Snackin' on a chocolate ice cream cookie sandwich.
食べたのはチョコのアイスクッキーサンド。
What the heck is this shop? Is it a cafe or a rental car office? Oh wait, it's both!!
この店もなんなの？カフェなのか、レンタカーの店か？あれ、おう、両方だ！
I think there main business is car rental. This is the Nico Nico Rent-a-Car shop.
やっぱこの建物の本業はレンターだな。店の名前はニコニコレンタカー。
Perhaps he's lost.
迷子になってるかも。
Well, that's a little tunnel.
結構小さなトンネルだな。
Carp streamers above the Shinjo River.
新城川に鯉のぼりが。
A nice wind makes it look like they're really swimming.
良い風が吹いて、泳いでるみたい。
At the top of an area called Midorigaoka Danchi (it's also where I live).
緑丘団地の頂上にいます。（僕が住んでる所です）。
You can see Mutsu Bay in the distance.
ここから陸奥湾が見える。
I wonder where this trail leads.
この道はどこに着くのかな？
A view of Mount Hakkoda and the Shinjo area.
八甲田山と新城周辺が見えます。
There is a kindergarten at the top of the hill. It's called the Shirakaba Kindergarten. It's Golden Week so there are no children here today.
丘の一番上にあったのはしらかば幼稚園。ゴールデンウィーク中なので、児童は一人もいない。
This spot is about a five minute walk from our house.
ここはうちから徒歩で５分くらいの場所にある。
Weeping Cherry Blossoms / しだれ桜
That would be Mount Iwaki in the background.
バックにあるのは岩木山だ。
Mount Iwaki poking out. This is taken from the front of our house.
岩木山がポツンと頭だけを表してる。これは家の前から撮った写真。
And thus ended my solo walk around my adopted hometown. Tomorrow will be Saturday. My wife has to work and I am still on holiday so I may go on another neighborhood walk.
そして今日の散歩の冒険が終了しました。明日は土曜日。妻は相変わらず仕事で、僕はまだ休みの最中。さて、明日も近所散歩に出掛けるぞ！
