Hakone

ENTRY

2018.10.09

カテゴリー：ブログ

Hello everyone,

Did you enjoy the long weekend? There was yet another Happy Monday yesterday, this time for “Sport’s Day”. It might sound like it, but this isn’t a sport’s day for schools. This national holiday was established in 1966 as a day on which to enjoy sports and cultivate a healthy mind and body. Originally held on October 10th to commemorate the anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in 2000 it was changed to the second Monday of October in accordance with the Happy Mondays system. Schools around Japan have their own sport’s day on the day of their choosing. Due to Old People’s Day, the Autumnal equinox, and Sport’s Day, people have enjoyed many Monday holidays recently.

On Sunday I went on a day-trip to Hakone with my family. It was my first time there and I really enjoyed it. We drove to Lake Ashi, a beautiful lake surrounded by Mount Hakone and forests. We took a ride across the lake on one of the fancy old maritime style ships. They are made up to look like old ships from hundreds of years ago,pirate statues on the deck. We took a cable car up the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani, a volcanic valley with steam rising from the ground. You can see craters where there were volcanic eruptions many years ago. There is still lava under the valley as you can see from the steam and you can smell sulphur in the air. It is famous for black eggs, a local specialty of eggs hard-boiled in the hot springs.They turn black and smell slightly sulphuric. Eating one is said to add seven years to your life. I wasn’t sure about eating a sulphuric egg, but I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. You don’t taste any sulphur, it’s just like a regular egg, but nicer. I’ll get back to you about the extra seven years. It was great weather for a day trip. I got so much sun that I fell asleep on the car journey home. Don’t worry I wasn’t driving. Hakone is deservedly a famous place for a trip in Japan and I recommend visiting there.

Alan

みなさんこんにちは、アランです。

連休は楽しかったですか？昨日も月曜祝日でしたね。今回は「体育の日」でした。

でも実際は学校の運動会の日ではありません。この国民の休日は運動を楽しみ、健康的な心と体を養うために１９６６年に設立されました。元々は１９６４年の東京オリンピックの開会式を記念して10月10日に行われていましたが、２００0年にハッピーマンデー制度が導入されたため１０月の第二月曜日になりました。日本中の学校が運動会の日はそれぞれに決めます。

敬老の日、秋分の日、そして体育の日のおけげで多くの月曜祝日を近頃は楽しむことができます。