Panoramas パノラマ

Today was a beautiful day, one of those uncommon mornings when it's possible to see the mountains that are behind the mountains. And I was feeling very proud of myself because I finally got out of bed and out of the apartment before 9am in order to go for a morning walk (and enjoy the fresh air) in the hills above Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park. Big mistake. Little did I know that a) there is a very active morning market there on Sundays; and b) everyone else in Fengyuan who wasn't shopping at the market also decided to go for a walk.

A "morning market" sounds like a very charming affair, but truth is, it was crowded, noisy and smelly. The small road was clogged with cars, scooters and people, and all available space was taken by stalls and vendors. I wanted to take a photo of the activity, but there was no place to stop my scooter. And then there were the walkers. Their cars were parked all the way up the road from the park to the start of the trails. There went the solitary stroll I was looking forward to. On the positive side, most of the walkers stuck to the road. And it was nice to see whole families getting some exercise together (my wife and child were still at home in bed). But next time I think I'll wait until later in the morning to do my walk, when the market is finished and most of the walkers have gone home to get ready for lunch. At least I now have a good excuse to sleep in on the weekend.

今朝早く起きて正中公園に行った。間違えてしまった。そこに毎週の日曜日に朝市を開いている。大勢の人が集まって、その市場はやかましくて込んでいた。その上たくさん人も散歩していた。そんな場合について台湾人は「人山人海」とういうことわざがある。次の週末には朝寝坊つもりだ。

Afterwards, I rode over to the public cemetery on the next hill over from Chung-cheng Park. And here I was the only (living) soul.

散歩を終わったのちに近い山腹墓地に行って、この写真を撮った。

Here are three panoramic shots taken from the cemetery:
墓地から３つのパノラマ写真：

Why do the dead in Taiwan get all the best views?

Finally, a view of the field behind my apartment building, looking much like the lavender fields of Hokkaido (note to the sarcastically challenged: I'm kidding)

アパートの後ろに野原

In the news

A couple of articles of interest (to me anyway):
http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=326706&lang=eng_news&cate_img=46.jpg&cate_rss=news_Editorial and http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061126TDY01003.htm

Japanese continued 日本語続いている

Some more examples of Japanese used on signs, this time from the "Little Europe" area (still looks pretty Taiwanese to me, however) in Taichung:

"Osyare" or "Oshare" お洒落, meaning "dressing up smartly (stylishly)". A good name for a clothing boutique, with the romanization ローマ字 adding a nice touch.

A local language school offering Chinese lessons "Chugokugo ressun" 中国語レッスン for students from Japan (why else would it be written in Japanese?)

Akasaka Ramen 赤坂ラーメン. According to the words above the name, their ramen has the same taste you would find from noodles bought at street stalls - "Yatai no aji" 屋台の味. In Japan, ramen is thought of as being "Chinese noodles", but here in Taiwan "lamien" ("lamian") is considered to be Japanese.

These signs are from a "kaitenzushi" 回転寿司, a sushi restaurant where the dishes go round on conveyor belts. In this case, it's a "Super kaitenzushi" スーパー回転寿司 that features tuna, or "maguro" まぐろ. In front of the restaurant were banners advertising a "sushi festival" or "sushi matsuri" すし祭り, 50% off. After I took the second picture, an employee came running out to tell me (in good English) that I wasn't allowed to take photos there. I informed him that as the banners were out in a public space, I was well within my rights to take pictures. Then I realized that I was being Mr. American, loudly proclaiming my rights to one and all. So I switched tack, smiled, and explained that I was interested in how Japanese is used in advertising in Taiwan, and that I had friends in Japan who might be interested in seeing such signs. He seemed to understand, and though I was doing nothing wrong in the first place, a confrontation was averted, and harmony was maintained. And to think I almost passed the Foreign Service exam...

Next door is this Japanese restaurant...:

...called "Fukufuku Tanuki" 福々狸, or the "Lucky Raccoon Dog". If you don't know what a raccoon dog is, go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog. I saw one once in Nachi 那智 in Wakayama 和歌山県 while walking along a forest path. To see how tanuki are portrayed in Japanese folklore, check this out 

And then there was this sign for a cafe, offering "Mina's favorite sandwiches" ("Mina no daisukina sando" みなの大好きなサンド).:

Finally, there's the name of this apartment building:

OK, it's not in Japanese, but one could argue there is a Japanese connection with the old general. "I shall return...home after work every night".

The Japan Files 日本語

Some more examples of Japanese used in signage around Fengyuan:

This sign is difficult to work out:

The kanji is easy "Kenkoki" 健康機, which roughly translates as "Health machine", and which I assume to mean some kind of medical/exercise equipment. It's the hiragana that precedes it that's a puzzler. It reads "Takai den kurai" たかい　でん　くらい, but without characters, it's not clear what is being expressed. For fun, I ran "たかいでんくらい健康機" through Babel Fish. What I got back was "It is high, is the extent healthy machine". At least I can rest comfortably knowing it'll be a long time before language teachers like myself can be replaced by the Internet. Pamela says the sign is for a shop that sells massage chairs.

The other signs are much easier. From the door of a Japanese restaurant...:

...which of course is "Irrashaimase" いらっしゃいませ, the standard greeting given to customers upon entering a shop or restaurant. Japanese restaurants are ubiquitous in Taiwan (Fengyuan included), and the food they serve is almost uniformly mediocre (Fengyuan included). Even Pamela complains that Japanese food in Taiwan is too bland and needs more salt. I guess she got spoiled living in Yokkaichi.

Finally, here's a sign for a Japanese language school in Fengyuan called "Kyobo" 橋坊. The sign welcomes visitors いらっしゃいませ, and asks them to please go up to the third floor - "Dozo, sangai e" どうぞ三階へ:

　

The Chinese above the name of the school says it is government-approved.

Ahem

Another one of those machines where you try to pick up a toy using a claw. Pamela wants to get one of these pencil holders. She thinks they're "cute". I wonder about her sometimes...

I'm just guessing here, but I'm willing to wager the Chinese character is pronounced along the lines of "Oh"

Amber

My daughter as seen through a paper towel holder
ペーパータオルホールだーを通って娘を見られた

Moonscape World 月世界

Two panoramic shots of the Moonscape World.
２の月世界のパノラマ写真

　

Chishan (Cishan きざん 旗山)

NT17,380. That's how much it cost to fix our car on Friday - new radiator, new set of tires, new brake pads, new I don't know what else. That's roughly ￥62,000 or $530. What better way, then, to see if we got our money's worth by going on a road trip, which is what we did this weekend. And, as it turned out, everything in the car worked properly.

Our original intention was to drive up north to Yingke (Yingge おうか 鴬歌), a town famous in Taiwan for ceramics, spend the night there, then go the next day to Sanhsia (Sansia さんきょう 三峡) to see a famous temple. However, the weather forecast called for rain in the north, so on Friday night Pamela suggested we go south instead, where it was bound to be sunny and hot. And that's how we came to visit Chishan.

Amber enjoyed the drive all the way down...

The first thing we did upon arrival was locate and check in to our hotel. In our case it was the Ichang Piehkuan (Yichang Bieguan 益昌別館). For NT600 a night (￥2140 or $18), we got what we paid for.

Amber didn't seem to mind, however...

Up until a few years ago, most people in Taiwan either worked or went to school six days a week. This left little time for leisure activity, and therefore a limited number of places to visit. Around 2000 or 2001, however, the work and school weeks were shortened, and since then more people have had more free time on the weekends, and the leisure industry has boomed. Among the beneficiaries of all this has been small towns like Chishan. A few years ago, Chishan was a place no one had heard of, bypassed by the modernization of Taiwan's economy. In other words, there was no reason to tear down the old buildings. Thus, when the leisure boom took off, towns like Chishan with their "old streets" were "discovered" by travel magazines and TV programs, and now tourists drop by in droves on weekends to look at the old buildings, eat local snacks and revel in the noise and the commotion. Here are some scenes from late Saturday afternoon and into the evening:

Chishan's old street 旗山「チーシャン」老街

A typical old building

Daddy and Amber enjoying a chocolate ice cream break (well Daddy anyway...)

Fried noodles, fried rice and beer - Taiwanese comfort food

The following morning we went back out into the street to have breakfast. My coffee cup looked like this

telling me, in somewhat incorrect Japanese, that it was doing fine - "O-genki desu" お元気です

Afterwards, I climbed the steps of Chishan Park to take in the view

旗山公園からの眺め

At the highest point of the park sits the Kaohsiung County Confucius Temple. Unlike Confucius temples in other Taiwanese cities, this one is not located in the center of an urban area. What it lacks in age and historical interest, it makes up for in setting - surrounded by trees and overlooking the town below

高雄県孔子廟

Back in town, across the road from the entrance to Chishan Park, stands this place. Called 武徳殿, it's a former Shinto shrine converted into a cafe and restaurant, with live jazz in the courtyard in the evenings. We had a beer there on Saturday night (Heineken unfortunately - Taiwan is still sorely lacking when it comes to beer availability). It's too bad other towns couldn't see fit to put their old Shinto shrines to good use, rather than just tearing them down.

カフェレストランに変えられた旧神社

On the way back to the hotel, and through the chaos that is a small Taiwanese town on a Sunday morning...

Swallows' nests ツバメの巣

After checking out, we left Chishan and drove to the nearby town of Meinung (Meinong みのう 美農). According to Lonely Planet, Meinung is a great place to rent a bicycle and ride through the countryside. However, because of Amber, that is an activity that will have to wait for another day. Instead, we visited the Meinung Folk Village. The LP Taiwan guide says it's "an artificial recreation of an old-fashioned neighborhood". I say it's "a classic tourist trap". I didn't learn anything about the Hakka 客家 people, who make up 15% of the population of Taiwan (but 95% of Meinung's people), but I did encounter many opportunities to buy various souvenirs and snacks. We came away with a small paper-and-bamboo umbrella, something Meinung is noted for

美農[メイヌン」民俗村

On the way back to the freeway, we made one last stop at the "Moonscape World". This wasn't the "Mt. Tsao Moon World" described on Pages 238-39 of the Lonely Planet Taiwan guidebook, but it was in the same general area and looked pretty interesting. I took Amber for a stroll in the badlands while Pamela waited in the car

月世界

After a stop at another rest area...

 

...we arrived back in Fengyuan by early evening

Considering the fact that, even though it was November 18-19, the weather was warm - about 30 degrees Centigrade, or around 85 F - and the skies were clear the entire time. I guess going south was the right decision. And yet another lesson in "Always listen to your wife"

New addition

Here's the latest addition to my betel nut girl figurine collection, and with her new friends

One more to go...

Japanese in Action 広告の日本語

Two more examples of Japanese in use on the streets of Fengyuan.

This is one of those arcade games where you insert a coin, then manipulate a metal claw to try and pick up some sort of toy. In this case, the prizes are Doraemon ドラえもん characters.

The writing is read as "Oyawa no yojipa" おヤワのよぢパ. What does it mean? I have absolutely no idea. If any of the 130 million or so people out there whose Japanese skills are far superior to mine can translate this into English for me, please be my guest. Otherwise, I'm assuming it's just gibberish.

The other photo is of a signboard on the sidewalk in front of a jeweler's shop

The product in question is called "Saver One", and the Japanese sentence in the white box says "Denjiha kara mi wo mamoru" 電磁波から身を守る, or "The body is protected from electromagnetic waves". And there you have it - Saver One looks to be some kind of bracelet that will keep you safe from electromagnetic waves. Make sure to wear one the next time you heat up leftovers in the microwave, or you will never be able to have children.

One more thing. Why is it on Page 13 of the November issue of Compass Magazine, the name of the Japanese restaurant is written as "Tokukago" in Romaji ローマ字, when the kanji 漢字 is clearly that for "Tokugawa" 徳川? After all, the name "Tokugawa" is one of the most important in Japanese history.