It was a Monday when my wife and I decided to the Aomori Prefectural Natural Park and was planning on hiking up to the summit of Mount Bonju until we went to the visitor's center and my wife saw that they were giving out small bells to scare bears away. My wife said no way are we going hiking where there might be bears so we had a change of plans. We decided to drive to Senjojiki on the coast of Fukaura. On our way to the Senjojiki, I saw a sign pointing the way to "Japan's Largest Gingko Tree". Of course we had to check it out.
ある月曜日でした。うちの近くに青森県民の森に行った。梵珠山の山頂までハイキングする予定だったが、妻がビジターセンターでただで熊除けの鈴が置いたことで、山登りはその時点で断念した。今日の遊びは急に変更された。深浦にある千畳敷行くことにした。千畳敷行く途中に「日本一のイチョウ」のサインが目に入り、探索するしかない。
A short jaunt to Mount Bonju.
梵珠山の入り口の近く。
There are many trails at the Aomori Prefectural Natural Park.
梵珠山にいろんなウォーキングトレールがある。
My wife didn't want to run into any bears so we changed our plans for today.
妻が熊と出会いたくないため、行動変更。
As we were driving to Senjojiki in Fukaura, we decided to check out the giant gingko tree in an area called Kita Kanegasawa.
深浦にある千畳敷行く途中、日本一のイチョウ「北金ヶ沢大イチョウ」を訪ねました。
What? You say it doesn't look so big?
なに？そんなに大きく見えないって？
It looks like a bunch of trees but they share one root. The tree is massive!
木がたくさんあるみたいが、一つの木です。超デッカイ！
See if you can find my wife in this picture.
この写真に僕の妻が見つかれますか？
Can you find my wife again? This gives you an idea of how large the tree really is.
僕の妻また見つかりましたか？発見したら、この木の大きさが分かる。
よく見ると僕が見つかりますよ。
アーニーを探せ。この写真の中にどっか居るよ。
One last look at the huge gingko tree.
Can you spot me?
Ooh, a soft cream made with the Sea of Japan salt.
This area was used as a film location for the movie [Wasao] about the cute but ugly Akita dog of the same name.
There were a a couple of little shrines by the tree.
木の近くに小さな神社があった。
I like the dragon designs on these stone lamps.
龍のデザインがカッコいい。
この場所から去る前にもう一回大イチョウを見る。
Here we are at Senjojiki.
千畳敷に到着。
Oh no! My wife is stranded!!
ヤバい！妻が小さな島に取り残された。
I spotted a large bird.
大きな鳥が居た。
Pretty cool shade of green.
凄い緑の陰。
We saw this guy fishing.
釣り人が居ました。
Checking out another bird.
また鳥を見かけた。
僕を見つかりますか？
On our way back home, we just had to stop at this little rest area.
The sign she's holding says all the snacks and foods you get here are from active fishermen.
We had lunch at Senjojiki as well. My wife ordered the sea urchin bowl.
千畳敷でランチを食べた。妻がうに丼を注文。
I opted for the opted for the iwanori ramen.
僕は岩海苔ラーメンを注文。
This is the woman who works at the diner / B&B called [Tanaka].
食堂・民宿「田中」で働いてる女性。
帰り道にここに寄って行くしかない。
With all those scarecrows welcoming you to this rest stop, how can you just pass them by?
大勢の案山子が歓迎してるので、取りすぎることは出来ないな。
This place is just so cute.
建物自体が可愛い。
One of these is not a scarecrow. That would be me!
案山子じゃない人が居る。俺やん！
Giving one of the scarecrows a high-five.
一人の案山子にハイタッチ。
At first, we weren't sure of what we were seeing so we stopped the car.
最初なにを見てるの分からなくて車を止めた。
They're not scarecrows but it was another menagerie of mystery.
案山子ではないが、謎の物体が気になる。
Well, if it isn't Doraemon.
ドラえもんじゃないか。
And a kokeshi doll?
こけしなの？
Our next destination was the Kurokuma Waterfall.
次の目的地は黒熊の滝。
We drove for almost an hour before we saw this sign that said the road was closed. We could have saved some gas if there was a sign posted before we went down this road. Needless to say, we didn't get to go to the Kurokuma Waterfall.
３０分以上ドライブして、通行止めになった。なんだかガスリン使いがいだわしい！結局滝まで行くことが出来なかった。
The waterfall is further down the road but this is the end of the line for us.
滝はまだ先なのに、通行止めじゃん。
I guess there was a landslide about a year or two ago and the road is still under construction for repairs.
２・３年前に土砂崩れが起き、道路の修理工場はまだまだ続いてる。
Dragonfly / トンボ
The sign says this is the way to Takakura Shrine and the Akaishi Castle Ruins.
The gate to Takakura Shrine.
高倉神社の鳥居。
My wife was not interested in exploring the shrine so this is as far as she would take me.
妻が高倉神社や赤石城跡に興味が持ってないため、ここまでしか行けなかった。
That pretty much put an end to our adventure and nothing was nothing less for us but to go home.
これで今日の冒険が終了して、あとは帰るだけ。
