English Essay by Brian Southwick, Niigata City ALT

56 A Trip to Yamagata and Fukushima ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow) (fast)

　One of my hobbies is cycling. I especially enjoy cycling in the countryside and visiting new places. Since I came to Niigata 12 years ago, I’ve been to many places in Niigata, for example Tochio, Izumozaki, Murakami, and to Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima, all by bicycle.
　A couple of years ago I found a new area to visit while I was looking at a map of Tohoku. The Oguni and Shirabu Onsen areas of Yamagata, and the Ura Bandai area of Fukushima, looked very interesting on the map. But there was one problem: the distance from Niigata was too great to go there by bicycle. For two years I could only look at photos of the places on the internet and dream of going. But last weekend I finally got my chance to visit.
　I recently bought an old scooter. The engine is small, just 50cc, so the scooter is not very fast, but it’s easier to ride and faster than a bicycle. I decided to take the scooter on the trip to Yamagata and Fukushima. I left early in the morning last Sunday, and first I went to Shibata, Tainai, and Sekikawa. In Sekikawa I could see some beautiful old houses with kayabuki thatch roofs. Then I entered Oguni, Yamagata.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow) (fast)

　Oguni is just a town, but the town covers a large area. In one part of Oguni I joined a mountain vegetable festival. A man in a huge green warabi suit was standing in the road waving his arms, so I stopped and had some delicious warabi soba and talked with the people. I said, “Oguni Town is quite large”, and one man said, “Yes, it’s bigger than Tokyo!” I was quite surprised to hear that.
　After Oguni I went towards Shirabu, a hot spring resort not far from Fukushima. It was a little warm in Oguni, but Shirabu, which is high in the mountains, was cool. I didn’t have enough time to take a bath there, but I did stop to take photos of the traditional Japanese inns in the village. From Shirabu I took a road into Fukushima called Sky Valley Road. It is long and very steep, with many sharp curves. When I finally reached the top, which is at 1,400 meters, there were beautiful views of Lake Hibara and Ura Bandai.
　It was now about 2:00 in the afternoon, and I still had a long way to go back to Niigata City. So, for the rest of the trip I stopped only to buy gas for the scooter. I finally got home at 7:30 in the evening, eleven hours after I started. I was sad that I didn’t have time on my way home to enjoy ramen in Kitakata, which is famous for the dish. I think my next trip this summer will be back to Fukushima to have ramen in Kitakata.
＜注＞
especially（特に），in the countryside（田舎で）， Since（〜ずっと）
’ve been to（〜へ行ったことがある），A couple of years ago（数年前），while （〜の間）
distance（距離），too great to go（行くにはあまりにも遠い）
finally（ついに），recently（最近） ，scooter（スクーター），left early（早く出発した）
with kayabuki thatch roofs（茅葺き屋根のある），covers（及んでいる）
a mountain vegetable festival（山菜祭），a huge green warabi suit（大きな緑のワラビ服）
waving his arms（腕を振りながら），quite（非常に），towards（〜の方に）
not far from（〜遠くない），the traditional Japanese inns（伝統的な日本旅館）
steep（急な），many sharp curves（多くの急カーブ），still（まだ）
only to buy（買うためにのみ），is famous for the dish（食事で有名な）





Question and Answers:　Please answer the following questions
in English in a complete sentence, with a subject and　a verb.


Q1. What places on the map looked interesting to Brian?
A1.

Q2. Why couldn’t Brian visit the places by bicycle?
A2.

Q3. Where was the mountain vegetable festival held?
A3.

Q4. How high is the top of Sky Valley Road?
A4.

Q5. How long did the trip take?
A5.





＜解答例＞

A1. The Oguni and Shirabu Onsen areas of Yamagata, and the Ura Bandai area of Fukushima, looked very interesting on the map.

A2. Because the distance from Niigata was too great to go there by bicycle.

A3. It was held in one part of Oguni.

A4. It is at 1,400 meters.

A5. It took eleven hours.