【秋遊日本記趣】奈良中谷堂

很久沒去奈良探親，跟住在日本許多年的大舅舅大舅媽約了下午碰面，所以決定早上去奈良走走。在近鐵車站附近散步拍照，突然饞了起來，想起中谷堂的現搗麻糬，於是穿過商店街，朝著人群走過去。師傅現場製作的景況吸引了大批人群圍在店前拍攝，我也不能免俗地跟著拍了一段，這會兒每次看到這影片就口水直流，真是糟糕！

【秋遊日本記趣】神戶牛排

吃是這趟日本行的重點。出發前和朋友聊到神戶牛排，突發奇想在網路上試著尋找多年前和朋友一起去嘗鮮的牛排館，來到Mouriya餐廳的網站，才知道那時誤打誤撞去了一間還不錯的店，於是決定回去嚐嚐，那牛肉是否如記憶中的美好。記得十多年前初次品嚐神戶牛，第一口吃進去那種入口即化的感覺仍歷歷在目，這次好吃歸好吃，感動卻不再。時空差異，在義大利住了這麼多年，把我的嘴養刁了。

【秋遊日本記趣】明石海峽大橋

想去看看這座橋，也好幾年了。安排旅行計劃時，和朋友相約去神戶吃牛排，想了想，找了找，發現這橋兒還有個什麼參觀體驗，看來挺有趣，於是，兩人就預約了下午的參觀。

參觀以博物館為起點，導覽人員先說明參觀的安全措施，然後領著所有人參觀博物館，介紹了這座橋樑的建設過程，只是我並沒有太專心聽講，只感到一股莫名的興奮感。待我們走過養護工程人員使用的便道，搭上電梯，登高望遠，眼前景色無限美好，一整年的忙碌與慌亂，似乎都豁然開朗。

這一趟，值得了！

【秋遊日本記趣】京都。点邑天婦羅

碰面前，朋友把他的口袋名單傳給我挑，本來說要去吃鰻魚飯，不過考慮到我才抵達，吃鰻魚飯的餐廳有點遠，最後決定去吃天婦羅。老實說，我肖想去吃這種天婦羅已經很久了。以前只聽人說過，開始捨得花錢吃飯以後，就再也沒又到日本去玩耍，朋友傳來的名單上出現天婦羅，我眼睛都亮了！這間餐廳並不大，座位大約只有十個，很溫馨的感覺。和朋友邊聊邊吃，偶爾師傅還會插個話介紹食物，挺愜意，心想著下一次若帶著外子造訪京都，絕對要再來光顧。
回到旅館，順手做了記錄，這會兒才發現，原來我又蒐集到一顆米其林星星，頓時虛榮地覺得，那錢花得更值得了！

【秋遊日本記趣】京都好久不見！

夏初，替自己安排了一趟日本行，在十月的最後一天獨自前往日本放風。抵達下榻的青年旅館安頓好，已經過了下午三點。和朋友約了吃晚餐，於是拎了包包拿起相機，先出去走走，漫無目的的那種。旅館在京都車站的南側，要前往任何景點都得先走到北側去搭車。走在京都車站的南北通道上，突然想起伊勢丹旁邊的大樓梯，於是繞了上去。記憶中的大樓梯並不是彩色的，看到那彩虹變幻的景象正覺驚喜，身旁出現一群校外教學的小朋友。聽著他們數「一、二、三！」一群人就這麼往上衝，讓人不禁會心一笑。

京都，好久不見！

05秋季日本行(後記)

這是我第一次和「小小朋友」一起旅行，就說是見識到了吧！這樣子的經驗，這輩子不知道會有幾次…短短幾天，讓我對「當媽的人」的敬佩又添了一分。儘管在行前我一直給自己做心理準備，不過在短短五天中，小鬼有甜到讓人倍感窩心的時候，也有讓人想要一把巴下去的時候，應付小鬼果然不是件容易的事。

有人說，養小孩就是讓自己再回味一次童年，這次日本行算是讓我體認到這一點。不過那湯瑪士樂園，我想我這輩子大概就去這麼一次吧！

等今年六月向Hello Kitty Land進攻了！

05秋季日本行(第四天我愛醬油丸子)

「茶店外舖著紅布的長椅，旅人在此暫歇，一旁小碟子上放著醬油丸子，來杯熱茶。」這樣的畫面，愛看日本漫畫的人應該不陌生。

第一次吃到醬油丸子這東西，已經不記得是什麼時候了。模糊的印象中依稀記得，對這東西的好奇心，是看漫畫看出來的，第一次在台北某百貨公司看到時興奮不已，直跟母親討著要。吃下去的第一口，「X的，怎麼有哇撒米！」不過卻也就此愛上了那微嗆微甜微鹹的滋味，一有機會總是要來上一串。

日本去了那麼多回，卻是到這次才真的有機會坐在那舖著紅布的長椅上吃我心愛的醬油丸子。現在回想起來，著實也是件怪事，只能說，也許是到這次才有伴有時間有閒情吧！

往銀閣寺的路上，我心裡頭就已經如此盤算著。待我們從銀閣寺逛一圈出來，的確也是走得有些累了，看到銀閣寺大門前的紅布長椅，我們坐了下來，和聞聲而出的店員比手畫腳，點了一份五百日圓的醬油丸子，店員還主動附了兩杯茶，讓我們留下了極好的印象。

由於時間不多，我們討論了一下，決定犧牲午餐，爭取更多參觀購物的時間。出銀閣寺後吃了丸子，又順手買了新鮮米?沿路從銀閣寺門口啃到公車站牌，飢餓感暫時是壓了下來。

跳上公車，過沒幾站開到了平安神宮的大鳥居，沒時間參觀拍照也好，反正買的是無限搭乘的公車一日卷。之後我們又跳上公車，最後來到了祇園。下車後順道進八?神社走了一圈，還順便看到打扮成藝妓模樣的兩位小姐。

我們沿著八?神社前方的大街，順著右側逛了下去，走過了許多間精緻特色的京都名物專賣店，我又被香味給吸引了過去，看起來有點古老的小店前，有著絡繹不絕的人潮，看樣子是挖到寶貝了。這次看到的可不是醬油小丸子，而是大醬油餅了！

忍不住誘惑，我們買了一串，就在街上這麼分食了起來。我邊吃邊想，這地方我少說也來過四五遍了，怎麼從來就不記得這間店的存在？感情是以前太顧著購物，還是根本就沒有走到這裡來？
就這樣，我探訪京都的必經之地，又多了一個！

05秋季日本行(第四天銀閣寺雜記)

銀閣寺，一個我百去不厭的地方。

印象中，第一次去銀閣寺是大學剛畢業那年的秋天。當時剛離開了我人生第一份工作，離職後想要出門散心，選了日本，走了趟東京，然後到奈良大舅家住了幾天。那次並非刻意到日本去賞楓，卻誤打誤撞在關西最適合賞楓的時節來到了銀閣寺。還記得那天飄著小雨，遊客稀少，我獨自一人撐著傘走過寂靜的哲學之道，氣氛與當時刻意孤獨落寞的情緒不謀而合。進到銀閣寺，儘管周圍偶爾有遊客經過，卻也有種獨立遺世的感覺，完全沉浸在自己的情緒中，沿著參觀路線，走到了寺內的洗月泉，抬頭看到了我這輩子看過最美的楓紅，楓葉呈現出各種紅的層次，因為雨水被打濕的樹葉，顏色更是躍然眼前，一種一輩子也忘不了的景象。

第二次和第三次來到銀閣寺，都是夏天，一次是和外公與媽媽，一次則是和米奇。熾熱火紅的太陽讓人汗如雨下，到林蔭密佈的銀閣寺，圖的是一分沁涼，也圖著用數位相機留下記憶的機會。

所以算起來，這次帶著嫂子到銀閣寺，至少也是我第四次來到此地。對於第一次到日本的嫂子來說，去哪裡都沒有什麼差別，那我又為什麼不選一個我沒去過的地方？很簡單，一方面我想要和嫂子分享銀閣寺的美，一方面則希望能夠再次看到銀閣寺的楓紅，再次看到那令我無法忘懷的美景。

我們並沒有在山丘上看到大片大片的楓紅，儘管那偶爾出現的一抹楓紅點綴，呈現的是另一種景象，我卻因為沒有看到午夜夢迴的景象，而有點失望。

大學時代，偶爾會與同學一起上九份。記得那時有人說要蒐集四季的九份。同樣地，我也想要蒐集四季的銀閣寺。

當天晚上大家到大舅家吃飯時，大家問起我和嫂子去看了哪些地方。我解釋了我再訪銀閣寺的原因，也提到與金閣寺的華麗感相較之下，銀閣寺的淳樸與日式造景更得我心，沒想到也讓大舅媽和外公同聲附和。外公還提到，以前還住在京都的時候，有一年冬天難得下了大雪，當時外公馬上帶著外婆去了銀閣寺，白雪靄靄的景色煞是美麗…外公因地利之便，早已集到了銀閣寺的四季，對於住在遠方的我來說，怎麼卻是如此遙遙無期…

ps. 其他照片就請移駕到這邊看吧!

05秋季日本行(第四天京都車站)

外公家離近鐵車站只有五分鐘不到的路程，而且有車直達京都，交通上甚是方便。我和嫂子起了個大早，趁著小鬼還沒有起床前摸了出去，不消十點，已經到了京都。

沒有小鬼跟班，心情上輕鬆很多。既然是嫂子第一次到京都，不好好看一下京都車站也說不過去。於是我們先找地方喝了杯咖啡，然後再走上五六層樓高的看台驅，仔細欣賞京都車站的建築。如果不是因為十一月已經有點寒意，不然在那好幾層樓高的看台區找地方喝杯咖啡，實在是很愜意的一件事，只不過我們兩個衣著上都稍嫌單薄，只好放棄了這樣的想法。

京都車站於1997年秋天改建完成，是建築師原廣司所設計的多功能複合式建築，車站本身只佔整座建築的百分之五，其他則是百貨公司，室內劇場、旅館、會議中心等，半露天的看台區更可以是大型活動的舉辦場地。

我第一次到京都是小學五年級的時候，也許因為年紀小不復記憶，也許因為這座新的京都車站太令人印象深刻，我對於老車站反而是一點印象都沒有，好像這座車站從我認識京都以來就一直佇在這裡一般。

和嫂子慢慢上到最高層的露台，因為起了點風，加上空間開闊，說起話來煞是吃力，話講沒多久兩個人都靜了下來，各自欣賞這座建築物的美…我腦海裡竟浮現出幾年前夏天和米奇一同到京都玩耍的景象，朋友帶我們去吃好吃的雪梅娘，暮然回首，竟然也過了三年多，不禁讓人感嘆時光飛逝…

05秋季日本行 (第三天坐新幹線到阿祖家) Japan Trip 05 (Day III Shinkansen to Great Grandpa's Home)

約莫四點，我們終於從迪士尼離開。原本預計早一點走的，讓趕車的時間能夠寬裕一點，不過我和嫂子用力血拼到最後一秒鐘，接下來整個時間也就變得有點趕。
Around 4pm, we finally left Disneyland. We were to leave earlier so that we'd have more time to catch our train, however, Janet and I didn't waste a minute and we shopped until the last second. As a result, the following schedule became a bit tight!

由於我們離開的時間並沒有免費的交通車帶我們回飯店，所以我們是坐火車加東京區內的新幹線回到旅館的。小鬼坐上娃娃車沒多久就開始呼呼大睡，也省了我們抱上抱下的困擾，只是我低估了抬娃娃車和推娃娃車走所需要的時間，所以當我們回到新宿車站以後，我堅持由我和嫂子兩個人走回飯店領行李，而娘和娃娃車則被安置在一個我們容易找的地方，一陣慌亂之下，我們終於在預計發車時間的前半個小時到了東京車站，還有點時間可以上上廁所買買便當。
There's no shuttle bus taking us back to the hotel, we had to take train and metro to get back. Chien fell asleep soon after she got onto the stroller and it actually saved us lots of trouble taking her up and down. However, I made a mistake about the time and energy needed when we took along a stroller. So when we got back to Shinjuku station, I insisted that Janet and I go back to the hotel to pick up the luggage while my mom remained close to the station with the stroller/baby. It's kind of messy at that moment but we finally made it to Tokyo station a half hour before the departure time. We even had some time for the lady's room and also got ourselves dinner.

在沉沉地睡了兩個多小時以後，小鬼終於在上火車以後醒了。新幹線是她最喜歡的卡通人物之一，這其實也多虧了日本人的生意頭腦，設計出這麼可愛的卡通人物，讓小鬼每次看到新幹線卡通圖案就眉開眼笑（看到湯瑪士也是一個樣兒）。所以，當我們還在台灣的時候就告訴她，我們要搭新幹線到阿祖家，她對於搭火車這事兒可是很期待的。
After two hours of deep sleep, Chien woke up in the train. The Japanese JR company has publicated a cartoon figure with Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) as theme. That's one of Chien's favorite. Japanese are really business minded that they could think to have such a cute character for the train. As a matter of fact, Chien laughs so happily every time she sees it (same for Thomas & friends). So when we're still in Taiwan, we told her that "we'll take the Shinkansen to great grandpa's home" and she's excitedly expecting the trip.

從東京到京都坐最快的Nozomi要兩個多小時，我們坐定位以後，因為行李的關係，身邊並沒有太多空間，不過我也顧不得形象，先把腳翹上行李箱休息一下，實在不得不承認這次有被操到~~~
Even with the fastest Nozomi, it still takes more than 2 hours from Tokyo to Kyoto. It's not as spacious in the train that after we settled down in our seats there's no much space left due to our trolleys. I was tired and couldn't bother about the so-called "image". I put my feet on the trolley to take some rest. The trip itself is much tiring than I expected.

喘了口氣，終於開始有點心情吃便當。我對日本的火車便當向來都有很高的期待，尤其喜歡那種「XX限定版」，看起來吃起來都讓人心情亂爽的。吃完便當以後稍微休息一下，小鬼竟然跟斜後方的日本太太玩起躲貓貓，笑聲大到讓我覺得有點不好意思（因為周圍的日本乘客實在也真是安靜）…此時我也拿出在迪士尼替她買的小飛象逗她，玩著玩著就聽到快要到京都的廣播。
After a short break, we're finally ready for dinner. I always have very high expectation for lunchboxs in train stations in Japan, especially those so-called "limited editions". They're not only nice to be looked at but also taste great. Another break after savouring the lunchbox, Chien started to play with a Japanese lady behind us. She laughed so loud that I started to feel a bit embarrassed about it (because passengers around us were just soooooooooo quiet). I also gave her the Dumbo I bought in Disneyland. Not long after that, we heard the broadcast that the train's approaching Kyoto.

下了火車，嫂子特別照了新幹線的照片，我們還特別等到整個月台的乘客都已經走光了以後，才慢慢地往近鐵車站移動。由於我從東京到奈良這一段已經走了好多回，我特別堅持要外公別到京都車站來接我們，不管怎麼樣，我都覺得自己帶著老媽嫂子和小鬼從京都到郡山絕對不會有問題。出了新幹線車站，近鐵車站就在不遠處，懶得查看票價，我逕自走到售票口購票，大概發音也夠標準，竟然也就順利買到車票、上車。
We got off the train. Janet especially took some photos of the train and we waited until all other passengers were gone so that we could move around easily and slowly. It's not my first time to travel by train from Tokyo to Nara. I insisted that grandpa should stay home and wait instead of coming all the way to pick us up. I just thought there wouldn't be any problem that we travel alone. Getting of the JR station, the Kintezu station is on just nearby. I went straight to the window and purchased the tickets. I was (probably) able to pronounce the name of the station correctly that everything just went smoothly.

京都到郡山的車程約莫一個小時，等到我們下了火車，就看到外公已經在車站等我們了。到外公家，我突然有一種如釋重負的感覺，一整天緊繃的精神終於鬆懈了下來。
It took around an hour from Kyoto to Koriyama. When we got off the train, we saw grandpa outside the station waiting for us. When we finally got to grandpa's home, I suddenly felt so relieved...

這個晚上，我也見識到了小鬼精明的程度！住在樓上的表姊表姊夫下來抬槓，嫂子拿這幾天拍的影帶給他們看，小鬼還會在旁邊一起唱和，讓表姊夫直嚷「這樣的女兒好，我們也來生一個！」等到表姊表姊夫離開了以後，我已經洗好澡換上睡衣，就看小鬼戴著小飛象髮圈走了過來：「姑姑戴維尼熊，媽媽戴米妮…」然後牽著我們兩的手，帶著我們走到阿祖（我外婆）的房間說要給阿祖看，逗得外婆可樂了~~~
On the very night, I also got to know how "smart" the kid is! My cousin lives upstairs and she came down with her husband to say hi. Janet showed them the video that she shot these days and Chien even stayed beside them to sing and dance along. (Mind you it's the first time they met!) My cousin's husband was so amused, "A daughter like this is great. Why not have one!" After they're gone, I took a shower and put on my pijama. Chien put on her Dumbo headband and walked toward me. "Gugu (aunt) put on winnie, mom with minnie..." Then hand by hand we went to Great Grandma's room because "Chien wants to show her"... My grandma was just so amused and happy...

05秋季日本行(第三天東京迪士尼)

上一次去東京迪士尼，已經是十二年前的事了。記憶中的人潮沒有變、灰姑娘城堡依舊，不過多了許多新花樣，讓人在去之前有點躍躍欲試的感覺，幾乎快忘了小鬼的存在…

幸運的是，飯店有免費的直達車接送房客來回迪士尼，雖然得要起個大早，不過省去搬著娃娃車上下電車地鐵之苦，也真是挺方便的。當天早上，為了怕小鬼鬧脾氣，我們並沒有把小鬼挖起床，而是讓她繼續睡…基本上她起床的時候，我們已經進了迪士尼，好像睜開眼睛進入童話世界一樣，真是幸福！

現在回想起來，這個到迪士尼的決定，還真是個浪費錢的舉動。一方面因為我們是三個大人陪一個小鬼，另一方面則是因為我們在下午三點半就必須離開，搭電車回飯店拿行李，才能趕得上六點多到京都的火車。血拼…反而成了我和嫂子唯一的慰藉。

人多，所以花了不少時間在排隊，舉例來說，光是為了讓小鬼坐上她最喜歡的小飛象，就花了一個多小時排隊，我和嫂子除了得要壓抑住煩悶的心情，還得跟個兩歲的小孩解釋為什麼要排隊…不過大體而言，小鬼是挺合作的，玩到了小飛象、旋轉木馬，看了音樂劇場，坐到了渡輪和火車，而我和嫂子則是藉著所謂的fast-pass和尿遁，至少看到了以提姆波頓的聖誕夜驚魂為題而製作的鬼屋。

此外，在遊園的過程中，也出現了不少有趣的鏡頭。一進到迪士尼，就看到老老少少頭上都戴著迪士尼卡通人物的耳朵髮框或髮夾…我們當然也去湊熱鬧，嫂子買了米妮，我買了維尼，小鬼則得到了她最愛的小飛象。

話說我們推著小鬼在園裡走動，遠遠看著高飛狗走了過來，小鬼嚷著要跟高飛狗照相，我們於是放慢腳步，緩緩地往高飛狗的方向移動…此時，同方向走過來的，還有幾隻鄉村熊（Country Bears），牠們走到小鬼面前看了一下，窸窸窣窣地討論了一會兒，就看牠們把小鬼的髮框拿起來，轉到另一面再幫小鬼戴回去。其實我們不是不知道小鬼戴反，不過她就愛這樣，我們也就隨她，遇上熊兒們要跟她玩，就出現了小鬼以為熊要搶玩具的畫面，也挺好玩的。


此行最大的收穫之一，就是老媽終於還給我一隻維尼熊。至於為什麼，這就說來話長了…維尼熊是我最喜歡的迪士尼卡通人物，上次到東京迪士尼的時候，花了一大半零用金，特地買了一隻維尼熊娃娃回家。我搬到歐洲以後，還沒來得及把心愛的維尼熊給帶過來，就聽到了牠被送人的噩耗…老媽的理由是：「人這麼大了玩什麼娃娃」、「妳沒拿走我以為你不要了」…從此之後，這件事三不五時就會被我拿出來唸一下，要老媽買一隻還我。期間米奇有好幾次到迪士尼的機會，卻都沒有看到漂亮的，而這次我自己到了迪士尼專賣店，也有同樣的感覺，似乎現在的手工沒有以前細了…唯一看到的，就是一隻坐在蜂蜜罐裡的聖誕維尼。雖然我想要的是一隻普通維尼，不過嫂子一句「只有這種時候才買得到聖誕維尼」，讓我決定把牠帶回家，牠也就跟著我從東京到奈良，回到台灣，再到義大利的家中。

05秋季日本行(第二天富士山河口湖) Japan Trip 05 (Day II Lake Kawaguchi)

搭上古典公車，不消幾站就到了香草館。下了車以後，原本還在納悶湖在哪裡，頭一轉，往旁邊的停車場看過去，傳說中的河口湖就在那裡靜靜地等著我們。
We took the bus and arrived the Herb-kan after a few stops. Getting off the bus, I was wondering where the lake is. Turning my head and looking toward the parking space beside me, the legendary Lake Kawaguchi was waiting for us.

我們往湖邊走了過去，看到了一條沿著湖邊蜿蜒而去的步道，決定順路往旁邊的公園走一走。天色已晚，湖邊景色配上日暮低垂時分的色調，煞是美麗。走著走著，過了個彎，伴著殘霞的富士山突然映入眼簾。我和嫂子看到了可以下到水邊沙灘的樓梯，急忙跳了下去，自顧自地拍起照來，眼前的美景，第一次讓我有了不虛此行的感受。
We walked toward the lake and saw a passage along the lakeside. So we decided to walk around the lake for a while. It was late afternoon and the color of sunset made it a beautiful view to enjoy. Following the curve, the Fujiyama came into my eyes. We went down to the beach and started photographing. It’s the very first time that I felt it’s worthy of all the efforts to come here.

瞬息萬變的日落雲彩，讓我們深怕錯過了什麼好鏡頭，竟然讓我和嫂子在湖邊各自拍了不下三十張照片。照到過癮以後，我的注意力轉到了一旁靜謐的公園。秋天的日本，有著蕭瑟卻溫暖的顏色，在這座種滿銀杏樹的公園裡更是顯露無遺。秋黃的銀杏配上楓紅點綴與綠松蒼翠，公園中央的雕像似乎是畫蛇添足了。
The colors of the sky kept changing and we’re so afraid to have missed some nice shots. We both took more than thirty photos here. After I photographed to my heart’s content, my attention was then drawn to the quiet garden beside the lake. Autumn in Japan has a very sad but warm color. This park of gingko trees can show it to the fullest. The autumny gingko yellow with maple red and pine green, the statue in the center of the garden seems redundant.

時間就這麼過去了，天色已經暗到再也照不出什麼好照片來了，加上湖面寬廣，竟也帶來了些許寒意，在等公車的同時，我們決定走進香草館，邊取暖邊殺時間。
Time flies. The night fell and we couldn’t have any nice photo taken with that dark light. We also started to feel chilly. So we decided to go into the Herb-kan while waiting for the bus, to warm up and kill time.

傍晚六點，我們回到了河口湖車站。湯瑪士火車已經在月台裡等待，離開車還有好一段時間，卻也讓嫂子能夠好好地用相機和錄影機把這輛火車給拍個透徹。這下子總算是趁了芊的意了。
It’s 6pm that we went back to the Kawaguchiko Station. The Thomas Train was waiting already, though it’d only leave half hour later. We’ve got plenty of time taking photos and videos of the train. Chien was finally satisfied.

05秋季日本行(第二天富士山河口湖車站) Japan Trip 05 (Day II Lake Kawaguchi Station under Fuji Mountain)

離開富士急樂園也是三點過後的事了。芊玩得很盡興，有些設施硬是玩了兩遍才肯依依不捨地放手，也就因為這樣，原本想要早一點到河口湖車站的計畫也生變。
We left Fujikyu after 3pm. Chien was having a lot of fun and went on many of the facilities twice before she could let go unwillingly. For this reason, we had to change our plan and arrived Lake Kawaguchi Station later than scheduled time.

從富士急樂園站到河口湖站，火車慢慢開也不過兩分鐘就到，連加速的感覺也沒有。到站以後才驚覺這段車票之昂貴，日幣180圓，搞不好是走路就可以到的距離…
It took only two minutes to arrive Lake Kawaguchi Station from Fujikyu Station by slow train. The train didn’t even speed up. At least I didn’t feel it. It’s not until we arrived Lake Kawaguchi Station that I surprisingly discovered how expensive this ride is, 180 yen for a distance that I could probably reach the destination by feet.

到河口湖要做什麼呢？老媽說：「看猴子表演。」千里迢迢到河口湖看猴子表演？說穿了也是因為要找個芊可能感興趣的地方。
So what are we going to do at Lake Kawaguchi? Mom said, “Go to the monkey theater.” Monkey theater? All this trip just to see the monkey theater? So it’s another trial to get something that Chien might be interested in after all.

一到河口湖車站，我看大家都傻了…車站小得讓人驚訝，火車站就像集集車站一樣大小，旁邊再加一個同樣大小的公車站，就這樣。猴子劇場在哪裡？幾點有表演？怎麼去？我在傳單架上拿簡介的同時也丟了一連串問題給老媽（因為我完全沒有看到任何猴子劇場的消息），她在候車室裡看了老半天，終於找到了資料，最後一場表演是三點，早就過了…
When we arrived the station, we’re all surprised by the scale of the station. It is so small! There’s only a tiny room for purchasing tickets and waiting for train in the station, and nearby there’s another small house of the same size as the bus station. That’s all. “So, where’s the monkey theater? What time is the show? How do we get there?” I asked mom when I collected flyers on the rack (because I didn’t see anything related to the theater). Mom looked around in the room for a while and finally got the information. The last show was 3pm, long passed already.

接下來的問題是，那我們要幹什麼？老媽答應芊要讓她坐到湯瑪士彩繪火車，得要等到六點半，中間這兩個半小時怎麼過？看了看地圖，決定坐公車到離河口湖最近的車站下車，大老遠跑了一趟，總不能連河口湖的影子都沒看到吧！
So the following question is, what are we going to do now? Mom promised Chien that she’d be able to take the Thomas train on the way back. (There’s a train decorated with various trains from the animation running back and forth but the schedule is limited.) We had to wait until 6:30pm. How are we going to pass the two and half hours? Looking at the map, we decided to go to the nearest station where we can at least see the lake by bus. After traveling all this way to arrive here, we can’t leave without seeing the famous lake!

下一個問題是，公車怎麼坐？
So, the next question is, how do we take the bus?

我隨著老媽進了公車站問，小地方，英文不管用，老媽又聽不太懂，售票人員拿起一張傳單指著上面的一日卷票價1500日圓，告訴我們在外面搭乘。我滿腦子問號走出了公車站，看看傳單，原來要搭的是我們在一出火車站時看到的古典觀光巴士，離湖最近的一站是香草館。花1500日圓搭四站公車來回？也未免太貴了些，難道就沒有單程車票？我又在公車站附近仔細看了看，‘好不容易’才看到英文說明…眼睛也太大了點，那麼明顯的牌子竟然漏掉了！單趟公車不到兩百日圓，終於出現了個可接受的價錢。
I went inside the bus station with my mom. But a small town like this one can hardly find anyone that speaks English. And my mom couldn’t understand fully what the bus station staff was saying. Excellent! So the woman picked up a flyer and pointed the one-day pass price 1500 yen, and then pointed out where we should take the bus. I went out of the station with my brain full of question marks. Looking at the flyer, so the bus we should take is the “classical bus” we saw when we got out of the train station. Getting of at Herb-kan we’d be able to see the lake. 1500 yen for a return bus trip? That’s way too much! Isn’t there any single ride ticket? I searched around the station again and eventually I found some English panels… My eyes are just too big to skip those evident signs on the way from train station to bus station. So a single bus ride is less than 200 yen. Finally got an acceptable price.

05秋季日本行(第二天湯瑪士樂園) Japan Trip 05 (Day II ThomasLand)

湯瑪士小火車是我這次回台灣前夕才知道的東西。那時正在想辦法討好不到三歲大的芊，聽老媽說這小鬼很迷這個小火車，好奇之下才上網查看究竟是何方神聖。咕狗大神讓我一下子就到了官網。一看之下，還真是個男孩子氣的東西…回台灣以後也見識到小鬼對這火車入迷的程度，怪不得寵金孫的老媽會決定要帶著小鬼殺到富士山腳下，就為了去富士急樂園中按照動畫裡複製出來的湯瑪士樂園。
I got to know “Thomas and Friends” right before I went back to Taiwan. I was trying to look for presents to please the two-year-old and heard of the train from my mother. It is said that Chien is very fond of this little train. Out of curiosity, I went to Google and looked for the official web site. It’s such a boyish thing!! After I went back to Taiwan, I saw with my own eyes how much she likes Thomas and could finally understand why my mom insisted to take her to the ThomasLand in Fujikyu under the Fuji Mountain.

富士急樂園有許多看起來很刺激的遊樂設施，入園時更看到號稱世界最大的恐怖鬼屋，可惜的是，玩這些東西要有伴，而且芊喜歡坐刺激性高的遊樂器材，為了避免「為什麼姑姑可以我不行」的狀況，我在去日本前就已經放棄玩樂，本來就打算專心當陪客。
There’re many exciting facilities in Fujikyu Highland, and I even saw the so-called biggest haunted house in the world! However, one needs the right company to go and enjoy this kind of things. On the other hand, Chien also likes to have fun with these exciting stuffs. To avoid the situation “why auntie can and I can’t”, I decided to give up my own pleasure before we left for Japan.

可想而知，在樂園裡的大部分時間，都在拍照、顧娃娃車與抬槓中度過。三個大人輪流陪著小鬼乘坐各種以小火車為主題的遊樂設施，略算一下大概也有個十來項吧，小鬼可說是玩得不亦樂乎、意猶未盡，足足在裡面晃了三個多小時！
So you can imagine that most of the time we’re taking photos, taking care of the baby carriage and chatting. Three of us took turns to accompany Chine to enjoy more than ten different kinds of facilities with the trains as theme. She’s having great fun and even asked to play some of the facilities twice. We stayed in the theme park for more than three hours!

日本人也真讓人佩服，除了唯妙唯肖的複製街景與人物以外，（與東京迪士尼相較下）服務人員的帶動與服務也更為投入。這個存在已經有一段時間的湯瑪士樂園，維護和保護措施也做的頗不錯，家長能夠很放心地讓小朋友在裡面跑來跑去。
When I entered the ThomasLand, I can’t help admiring Japanese for the detailed copy of the characters and street scenes. The staff is more devoting to their work and service (comparing to Tokyo Disneyland). Even though the theme park has been opened for quite a while, the maintenances and protections are done nicely so that children can have fun without any security concerns.

在富士山腳下坐雲霄飛車大概會是個很特別的經驗吧!
To take a roller-coaster ride under the Fuji Mountain must be a special experience.


做得很漂亮的湯馬士樂園.
View of ThomasLand

小孩子尺寸的湯馬士火車.
Children-size Thomas train.

買了新衣服馬上就要換上的芊!

Chien wanted to put on the new shirt immediately.

05秋季日本行(第二天買票記) Japan Trip 05 (Day II Purchasing Tickets)

往富士極途中拍到的富士山The Fujiyama taken on the way to Fyjikyu

按照老媽的計畫，第二天的行程是富士急樂園和富士山河口湖。到富士急樂園是為了看芊芊很喜歡的湯馬士小火車，因為裡頭有個湯馬士樂園；至於河口湖，則是預計去看猴子劇場。
According to my mom’s plan, the destinations for the second day were Fujikyu Highland and Lake Kawaguchi. The former was for the Thomas Land because Chien is very fond of the animation “Thomas and Friends”. As for the latter, it’s for the monkey theater.

早上吃早餐時，就和老媽有點不愉快。因為平常沒有在用日文，所以老媽的日文的確退步了不少，所以從第一天抵達東京以後，我們就決定要考驗日本人的英文程度，盡量讓我用英文來處理大小事情。之所以和老媽起了小爭執，是在於她雖然查了資料，卻都是日文，一大早我人還沒睡醒，眼前就遞來了一疊日文，殊不知我的日文大部分都是聽一聽猜一猜，只要扯到除了漢字以外的五十音，我就直接投降，一個字也唸不出來…所以老媽把資料遞過來，示意等會兒到新宿車站時要我去買票，我人都傻了…坐什麼車、目的地是哪裡、怎麼換車等，都是日文…
During breakfast, I was having a small fight with my mom. Mom used to speak some Japanese, but because she’s not using it often she almost loses it. So after we arrived Tokyo, we’ve decided to test the English level of Japanese people that I should take care of everything with English. The reason for the fight? Well, my mom did look up for information about the trip, but everything was in Japanese. I wasn’t really awake since we got up early and some papers in Japanese were handed to me. My Japanese? Well, I can only guess by listening. As to reading Japanese, I guess with Han characters (which were adopted from the Chinese language) but when it comes to the fifty sounds I can only surrender! I don’t know a single sound of it… So when my mom gave me the papers and said I should go and purchase the train tickets, I was about to “faint”… what train to take, where is the destination, where to change, etc. were all written in Japanese.

老媽也跟我一起脾氣不好，賭氣之下，她拿著資料決定自己去買票，而當我們抵達新宿車站時，她也就真的自顧自地走進了售票處。我不放心，隔了兩分鐘還是決定跟進去…
So my mom decided to buy the tickets herself. When we arrived the station, she went directly to the green window. I wasn’t feeling sure about it, so two minutes later I went inside as well.

老媽拿著手上的紙，用日文告訴售票員她的目的地…一切似乎都很順利，一直到售票員問我們要搭九點半還是十點半的火車。看了看錶，距離九點半只有10分鐘，不過要在新宿車站等一個小時也挺累的，老媽在一旁猶豫不決，我則使勁地催促她趕緊作決定，因為要搭九點半的車，我們只剩十分鐘買票找月台跑火車，更別說還有的偌大的娃娃車得要搬…終於決定要搭九點半的車，不過接下來的發展就有點好笑…售票員以為是兩張票，更正是三張以後，售票員霹靂啪拉講了一堆日文說明又沒人聽得懂，我換用英文問她，她竟然還是用日文回答我…然後我又莫名其妙簽了兩張簽帳單，她交到我手上的有三張，還把其中一張圈了起來，不過我完全沒搞懂這些到底在幹什麼，只知道快來不及了，也只好拿著車票往外衝…
With her papers, mom told the lady where she wanted to go. Everything seemed to go well, until the moment we had to decide which train to take, the one at 9:30 or 10:30. We only had 10 minutes to get to the train if we took the former one, but it’s tiring to wait for another hour in the station. Mom was hesitating and I was trying to hurry her to make a decision, for the reason that taking the 9:30 train we’ve only got 10 minutes to buy the ticket and look for the platform, just don’t mention that we still had a stroller to carry. Mom finally made up her mind to take the 9:30 train, but the following “developments” were kind of funny… The lady thought we’re getting two tickets instead of three, and after the correction she’s trying to provide information with a series of Japanese which none of us could understand. I switched to English to ask for confirmation but she still replied to me in Japanese… Then, I signed two credit card slips but she gave me three while circling on one of them with red pen and explaining what it referred to… I totally had no idea what’s going on, but meanwhile I knew we’re about to lose the train. So we grabbed the tickets and left.

順利找到月台上了車，沒幾分鐘車子就開了，還頗有驚魂未定的感覺…坐定了以後，我把剛剛發生的事情回想了一遍，然後把簽單拿出來看，怎麼看就是看不懂，上面的數字加起來也不是三的倍數，越看越奇怪…我免不了有點抱怨了，不過聽在娘耳裡也頗不舒服，竟然可以從這件事情開始牽托到其他事情，而我只是在抱怨「不要拿日文資料給我然後要我用英文做事」…坐在前面的嫂子聽著我和老媽雞同鴨講的對話，想笑也不敢笑出來…
We arrived the platform and got onto the train few minutes before it departed. I was feeling lucky. After we sat down and relaxed a bit, I tried to think over what has happened and took out the credit card slips… the more I looked at them the more I was confused. I couldn’t understand what it meant and the numbers adding together was not multiple of three. I couldn’t help complaining but mom wasn’t too happy about my complaints. So she started to complain as well and the “topics” got further and further, while I was only saying that “don’t give me Japanese info and ask me to do things in English”… My sister-in-law was sitting in front of us hearing all the conversation. Later she told me that she’s about to burst out laughing but at that very moment she knew she couldn’t…

05秋季日本行(第一天) Japan Trip 05 (Day I)

在機場等我們喝完咖啡的芊Chien awaiting us to finish our coffee

六點多起了個大早，就是為了趕九點多到東京的飛機。回台灣這一陣子很少這麼早起，加上前一晚照樣趕稿，一點也感受不到「出去玩」之前的那股興奮心情…
We got up around 6am to catch the flight at 9am to Tokyo. I rarely got up this early since I came back to Taiwan, and the night before I was still struggling with work, so I really couldn’t feel any excitement before leaving for a “pleasure trip”…

這也不是芊第一次坐飛機，幾個月前老哥就已經趁著去澳門表演的時候帶去了一趟。不過，因為老媽很久之前就開始跟芊預告要帶她去看小飛象、坐湯瑪士火車、坐新幹線，小鬼倒是挺興奮的，將近三個小時的飛機，也不見她吵鬧，乖乖地玩著空姐送給她的飛機模型，同時也小睡了一番。
It wasn’t Chien’s first flight. A few months ago, my brother took the chance and brought her to Macao when he went for a performance. However, because my mother started telling her that we’re going to see Dumbo, Thomas and take Shinkansen, she was actually quite excited. She was pretty good during the three-hour flight, staying quiet with the gift, the little airplane given by the airline, and also took a nap.

飛機按預定時間抵達了成田機場，不過當我們走到護照查驗時，卻被眼前的景象嚇了一跳…豈只是人山人海…上次進東京時也是同樣的景象，不過一直到這個節骨眼，我才想到這次得跟個不到三歲的娃兒通關，眼前也只好硬著頭皮去排隊…
We arrived Narita as scheduled. However, when we saw the lines in front of the passport control, we’re more than surprised… crowds of people… It’s the same situation that I faced when I came to Tokyo last time. But it’s not until the very moment that I remembered we had to face this with a three-year-old. Well, there’s nothing we can do but join the queue. So we did.

我們有一搭沒一搭地聊著，還遇上了很沒水準硬插隊的老外，好家在的是，排了沒幾分鐘，就有好心的旅客告訴我們，旁邊有兩個窗口是專門給老年人和帶著嬰兒的旅客使用的。儘管有點狐疑，我還是先去看了一下，果然是真的，於是就回去把老媽和嫂子一起找了過來，托芊的福，竟然可以省過那將近兩個小時的隊伍，迅速地過了關，拿行李去。
We chatted while queuing, and also bumped into a very rude westerner that tried to get into the line. Luckily, a few minutes later there’re some good-hearted passengers telling us about the two windows dedicated to seniors and people traveling with infant. I was suspicious but still went to check. It’s real! So I went back to call my mother and sis-in-law. It was because of Chien that we could save the two-hour line of passport control. We passed shortly and went to pick up the luggage.

坐上了前往京王飯店的巴士，好不容易可以鬆懈一點，不過心情卻也隨著大雨而沉了下去。原本計畫要去淺草走走，不過到飯店的時候也已經五點了，只好稍事休息，然後出發去吃晚餐。
Getting onto the airport limousine, we finally could rest a bit. However, the mood went down with the pouring rain… I was thinking to take them to Asakusa, but we arrived the hotel at 5pm and it was too late for any sightseeing. So we took some rest and then left for food hunting.

飯店離新宿車站很近，上次來東京的時候也是住在同一區，所以我對這一帶還挺熟的。下雨又帶著小鬼，我早就對自己念念不忘的立食壽司死了心，索性找了家日式烤肉店。店員不會講英文，菜單也全是日文，不過還好有一些圖片，加上老媽尚且可用的破日文，竟也讓我們吃了一頓豐盛的晚餐。
The Hotel is close to Shinjuku station. I stayed around the very same area during my last trip to Tokyo so I know it pretty well. The rain was pouring and there’s Chien with us, so I gave up the idea to go to my favorite stand-up sushi long ago. We went into a teriyaki place. People don’t speak English and the menu is in Japanese. Luckily there’re some pictures and my mom’s Japanese is good enough to order food for us, we had a great dinner.

吃完以後，我們在地下街逛了一下…在逛街的同時，竟然又有日本老公公跑來跟我問路。他問我JR要到哪裡搭，我聽是聽懂了，不過不知道怎麼回，索性一句「sumimasen」，老公公一聽馬上就發現我不是日本人，說了句對不起趕快閃人。我心裡頭還是免不了犯滴咕…我真的長得那麼像日本人嗎？
After we finished dining, we went to the underground shopping street for a walk. When we’re going around, a Japanese old man came up to me and asked for direction. He was looking for the JR station. I understood what he’s asking but couldn’t really answer him (because I don’t speak Japanese). So I just said “sumimasen” (I’m sorry) and he understood immediately that I’m not Japanese. He said “sorry” and went away immediately. I still can’t stop murmuring… Am I looking so much Japanese?

一方面是因為早上起太早，大家都累了，一方面也是因為朋友要到旅館和我碰頭拿個東西，所以我們決定早早回到旅館休息，養精蓄銳，為第二天的行程作準備。
Because we got up early and were feeling tired, and I was about to meet up with a friend at the hotel lobby, so we went back to the hotel quite early, to prepare ourselves for the next day.

05秋季日本行(前言) Japan Trip 05 (foreword)

我娘在我七月決定要回台灣參加好友婚禮以後，便開始計畫要趁著我在台灣的期間出國走一趟。幾經轉折，到了回台前一個月，終於決定要去日本玩個五天。
My mother started to plan the trip after I decided to come back for a friend’s wedding. My trip back in Taiwan was confirmed in July, but she didn’t make up her mind as to our destination until September. At the end she decided to go to Japan for five days.

只是，這次日本行是很不一樣的…因為，我們要帶著一個不到三歲的娃兒一起去。
However, it’s quite a different trip… because we’re taking a baby girl who is not yet three years old with us.

芊芊是小鬼的小名。自從我上次回台灣因為管她看電視而跟她結下樑子以後，家人就處心積慮地想要化解我跟她之間的「恩怨」。幾個月以後，某次她指著照片裡的我戲稱「pingu」，打死都不叫姑姑以後，娘就決定要趁著我在台灣的時候，帶著芊芊一起去旅行，好讓我們姑姪倆培養感情。
Her nickname is Chien-Chien. During my last trip in Taiwan, one time I was trying to make her stay back when watching tv. She wasn’t too happy about that and remembered that “gu-gu” (aunt from father’s side in Chinese) was mean to her. Some months later, one day she’s pointing at me in the photo calling me “pingu” continuously instead of “gugu”. My mother decided that she’d take the baby for a trip with me when I’ll be in Taiwan, and try to develop a more friendly relationship between the baby and me.

既然有了個小鬼同行，就得以小鬼會玩的地方為主，所以行程就變成：
Since there’s a baby with us, we had to choose places suitable for the baby. So our schedule became as follows:
第一天 First Day
台北飛往東京。
Taipei to Tokyo

第二天 Second Day
富士急樂園裡的湯瑪士樂園。
The Thomas Land of the Fujikyu Highland.

第三天 Third Day
早上到東京迪士尼，傍晚乘坐新幹線前往奈良外公外婆家。
Go to Tokyo Disneyland in the morning. In the late afternoon take the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to Nara where my grandparents live.

第四天 Forth Day
可能可以把小鬼丟給大人，和嫂子一起去京都。
Possibly leave the baby with grandparents and mom, and go to Kyoto with my sister-in-law.

第五天 Fifth Day
回台。
Go back to Taiwan.

很多朋友聽說我要去日本，都發出了羨慕之語，大概只有米奇能夠想像我這次可能得面臨的奇怪狀況。雖然出發前我已經做好了心理準備，不過真正發生的時候，還是有點措手不及的感覺。
Many friends envied me when they heard that I’d go to Japan again. Probably only Michele was able to imagine what I’d have to face during the trip. Even though I was prepared psychologically, I still felt unprepared when it really happened.