Mr.マーカスの日本探訪記 Final Message to Kunijima High School Students

To the student body of Kunijima High School:

The time has come where I must say goodbye. I will soon leave Osaka and begin a new chapter of my life in another part of Japan.

I have been at Kunijima High School for three and a half years; that time has seemed to fly by. During my time here, I learned a lot from not only other teachers, but from you students, as well.

You were often eager to show me new games or music, invite me to join in on your class, or to ask me to help you with something. I really appreciate the kindness that you all have shown me, and I hope that I have made a positive impact on the way you view English.

I also hope that you continue to try hard for success. I’ve said this to all of you many times, but I’ll say it one last time. Remember, NO 無理 ! You can do it !

Thank you very much Kunijima. I will never forget the great times that we had together. Take care.

Marcus
真佳綜



　漢字検定にチャレンジしたマーカス先生

Mr.マーカスの日本探訪記 Tennouji and Sumiyoshi

Hello everyone,

It’s Marcus again. I hope everyone is doing well. Today I am going to talk about my day with Mr. Saito. We decided to explore a few neighborhoods in the southern part of Osaka City, known as “Minami”. I’ve only been to Minami a few times, mostly Namba. However, thanks to Mr. Saito, I was able to learn a lot more about the history of this City.

［explore］＝探検する

First we went to Ikutama Shrine in Tennoji-ku. After that, we explored the Tennoji Seven Hills, passing through various shrines and temples, such as Oe Shrine, Aizendo Temple and Yasui Shrine. Before taking a break, we stopped by Shitennoji Temple. There were many visitors and the atmosphere was very lively. It was enlightening to see so much culture and history packed into a small area. I was surprised to see the different styles of architecture, along with the various tidbits that the shrines and temples had to offer.

［Ikutama Shrine］＝生國魂神社
［Tennoji Seven Hills］＝天王寺七坂
［Oe Shrine］＝大江神社
［Aizendo Temple］＝愛染堂
［Yasui Shrine］＝安居神社
［Shitennoji Temple］＝四天王寺
［atmosphere］＝雰囲気
［lively］＝にぎやか
［enlightening］＝勉強になった
［architecture］＝建築
［various］＝さまざまな
［tidbits］＝こぼれ話
［shrine］＝神社
［temple］＝寺院

After touring the Tennoji area, we had a quick lunch at a tonkatsu restaurant in Tennoji station. The food was exquisite.

［exquisite］＝絶妙な　凝った

From Tennoji we took the Hankai streetcar to Sumiyoshi Shrine. I had always wanted to visit that shrine, but for some reason I had never made my way to that area. After arriving, we were greeted by huge lion-dogs (komainu) and stone lanterns (toro). The tall arch bridge was also beautiful. I had no idea that that place was so wide. The shrine had many decorated buildings and artifacts for visitors to learn about and admire. We arrived at the temple a little later in the day, and they were going to close soon after, so we had to cut our visit a little short.

［Hankai streetcar］＝阪堺電車（チンチン電車）
［Sumiyoshi Shrine］＝住吉大社
［greeted］＝挨拶された
［huge lion-dogs (komainu)］＝大きな狛犬（こまいぬ）
［stone lanterns (toro) ］＝石灯篭（とうろう）
［arch bridge］＝アーチ型の橋　「太鼓橋」や「反橋（そりばし）」と呼ばれる赤い橋のこと
［artifacts］＝人工物　芸術品
［admire］＝感心する　称賛する

After visiting Sumiyoshi, we took the Hankai streetcar to Shin-Imamiya and walked around the area. Mr. Saito introduced me to “smart ball”. I had never heard of the game, and I was surprised to see how the smart ball center was so crowded. It reminded me of how I used to play pinball when I was a child.

［Shin-Imamiya］＝阪堺電車の新今宮駅で降りて、通天閣周辺の「新世界」を散策した。
［smart ball］＝スマートボール
［crowded］＝お客さんで混雑している
［It reminded me］＝思い出させる
［pinball］＝ピンボール　金属の球を用いて点数を競うアメリカの遊具

　スマートボール



　ピンボール



It was an adventurous day, but it was time to say goodbye. I had a great time exploring the Minami area with Mr. Saito. It made me realize that Osaka City is filled with many interesting areas besides Umeda and Namba. I hope to visit and learn more about Osaka City in the near future. Thank you for reading, and happy travels.


［adventurous］＝冒険好きな
［realize］＝実現する
［besides］＝他に

　生國魂神社



　源聖寺坂



　吉祥寺　赤穂浪士４７人の像があり、全員違った表情で面白い。



　天王寺七坂の中で一番雰囲気のある口縄坂



　大江神社　大阪市内にこんな階段のある神社があるなんて！！



　この神社はいつの頃からか阪神タイガースファンの聖地となっているらしい



　愛染堂にある多宝塔。豊臣秀吉の頃に建てられた大阪市内最古の木造建築。



　清水寺の舞台から通天閣やあべのハルカスをのぞむ。



　天神坂　「安居神社」はあの真田幸村（信繁）の最期の地とされるが、菅原道真をまつる「天神さん」「天満宮」でもある。



　安居神社にある真田幸村像。
　


　四天王寺　聖徳太子創建とされるが、建物自体は１９３４年の室戸台風や１９４５年の大阪大空襲で被害を受け、今から５０年ぐらい前までに建築されたコンクリート製である。



　９月の秋分の日。ここ西大門（極楽門）と向こうに見える石鳥居（日本最古）のちょうど真ん中に、夕日が沈む。この日、多くの人がこの場所を訪れ、西の海に沈む夕陽を見ながら極楽往生を念じる行事が行われている。



　あべのハルカス　２０１４年３月７日開業　３００ｍ６０階



　阪堺電車　

　いつの間にか駅がかっこよくなって、『じゃりン子チエ』的なディープ大阪らしさが無くなっていた。車両も「チンチン電車」とは思えないスマートなやつを目撃したが、相変わらず古いのや広告だらけのやつもあってなぜかホッとした。　



　住吉大社には、今から３００年以上前の江戸時代、全国の商人や手工業者からプレゼントされた灯籠が６００基もある。



　住吉大社を象徴する「反り橋」。「太鼓橋」とも呼ばれる。





　昔ながらの阪堺電車の車両。駅を出発するたびに「チンチン」と音が鳴る。



　通天閣　高さ１０８ｍ。現在の通天閣は２代目。１９５６（昭和３１）年完成。

Mr.マーカスの日本探訪記 天王寺七坂を制覇する！！（写真のみ）

　１年生基礎社会のフィールドワークでおなじみの「上町台地・天王寺七坂」に、生徒に負けじとチャレンジして見事制覇した上に、足を延ばして住吉大社を初めて訪れました。英文のコメントは後日掲載します。まずは写真をご覧ください。

Mr.マーカスの日本探訪記 サンディエゴ

Hello everyone.

It’s me again. Usually I write about my travels in Japan, but today I would like to talk about my favorite city in the United States.

［It’s me again.］＝マーカスです。また書かせてもらいます。

Even though I am from New York City, you may be surprised to find out that it’s not my favorite city in the U.S. My favorite city is actually San Diego in California. San Diego is the 8th largest city in the US, and the 2nd largest in California. It is about the same size as Fukuoka. Today, I will talk about my experience and impression of this city.

［Even though］＝たとえ～にしても
［my experience and impression］＝私の経験と印象

Three years before coming to Japan, in 2005, I lived in the Los Angeles area for a year. While living there, I often drove my car to San Diego. It’s located near the Mexican border, and it takes about 2 hours to get there from LA. I love this city for three reasons.

［located］＝位置する

The first reason is the weather. San Diego is known for its warm climate. In the winter it almost never snows. As a matter of fact, the average high temperature is 18 degrees Celsius, and the average low temperature is 9 degrees. In addition, on average it rains only 43 days out of the year. It was always comfortable traveling to this city.

［climate］＝気候
［As a matter of fact］＝実際
［temperature］＝温度
［degrees Celsius］＝摂氏（℃）
［In addition］＝加えて
［comfortable］＝快適





The second reason is the beaches. San Diego has beautiful beaches that are enjoyed by swimmers, surfers and sailboat enthusiasts. Many people from all around the world visit the beaches year-round. The beaches in San Diego are also popular with surfers. You can see people practicing how to ride the waves at any time of the day.

［sailboat enthusiasts］＝ヨット愛好家
［year-round］＝一年中

The third reason I like this city is the attractions it has. San Diego loves animals. Two of the most popular attractions for visitors to the city are the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The zoo is one of the largest in the USA with over 3,500 animals from 600 different species. It is one of the few zoos in the world that houses and successfully breeds the giant panda. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has over 2,600 animals from 300 species. It also has the world’s largest veterinary hospital. At this park, most of the exhibits at this attraction are habitats from Africa and Asia. It’s really cool to see. Some habitat names are “Elephant Valley”, Nairobi Village and Asian Savanna.

［attraction］＝魅力　呼び物　アトラクション
［different species］＝異なった種
［house］＝（動詞）住まわせる　※動詞の場合、発音は「ハウズ」
［breed］＝繁殖する
［veterinary］＝獣医
［exhibit］＝展示
［habitats］＝生息場所
［Nairobi］＝（アフリカの）ナイロビ

Another popular attraction is Mount Soledad. Many people drive to the top to get a spectacular aerial view of downtown San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. I loved going there to relax and enjoy the scenery.

［Mount Soledad］＝ソルダッド山
［spectacular］＝壮大な
［aerial］＝空中の
［scenery］＝風景





You might be asking, “but what about food?” San Diego has a variety of restaurants to choose from. I have eaten Thai food, Cuban food, and even real New York pizza in San Diego. Because San Diego is so close to Mexico, Mexican cuisine is very common. Tacos, enchiladas, carne asada and tortas can be found just about anywhere. Traditional food from the American southwest, such as chili con carne, smothered burritos and tamale pie are also popular.

［choose］＝選ぶ
［Cuban］＝キューバの
［San Diego is so close to Mexico］＝サンディエゴはメキシコに近い
　※上の「close」は形容詞。発音は「クロース」
　※発音が「クローズ」は動詞で「閉じる」。
［cuisine］＝料理

［Tacos］＝タコス（肉や野菜など様々な具をトルティーヤに挟んだ料理）



［enchiladas］＝エンチラーダ（トルティーヤを油で焼き、唐辛子ソースをからめて肉やチーズを巻いた料理。）



［carne asada］＝カルネ・アサーダ（薄切りの牛ステーキ肉をグリル）



［tortas］＝トルタス（メキシコ風サンドイッチ）



［chili con carne］＝チリコンカルネ



［smothered burritos］＝ブリトス



［tamale pie］＝タマーレパイ



I hope that you enjoyed my talk about San Diego. It is a warm and welcoming city with many things for you to enjoy. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. Thank you for reading. Happy travels!

Marcus

Mr.マーカスの日本探訪記 My Day in Takamatsu

　青い線＝今回のルート　赤の○＝高松市



Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!

I hope that you all had an enjoyable winter vacation. Now that the holidays are over and we are back in school, I would like to share one of my travel experiences with you.

［experiences］＝経験

For me it wasn’t just any day; it was my birthday. Every year, I decide on a different place to visit on my birthday. Last year, I wanted to see some sightseeing spots in Takamatsu, (I believe that every prefecture has something unique to offer tourists) so I did some research on the Kagawa Prefecture Tourism website, and saw an attraction called Shikoku-mura, or “Shikoku Village”. I also saw a mountain located behind Shikoku-mura called Mount Yashima. Today, I will talk about spending my birthday in these two places.

［For me it wasn’t just any day］＝自分にとって今日は特別な日なんだ
［decide］＝決心する
［believe］＝信じている
［prefecture］＝県
［offer tourists］＝観光客に提供する
［tourism］＝観光
「behind」＝うしろに
［spend］＝過ごす

You may be asking “How did you get to Shikoku from Osaka?” Well, first, I took the train from Osaka to Wakayama. Then I took the Nankai Ferry from Wakayama to Tokushima. It was the first time I’ve ever taken a ferry ride in Japan, and it was an exciting experience. After staying one night in Tokushima, I traveled from Tokushima to Takamatsu by bus.

［Nankai Ferry］＝南海フェリー

The first place I visited, Shikoku-mura, is an architectural park that is located in Takamatsu. From the city center, it takes about 30 minutes to get to by train. The first thing I noticed when entering the park was an old vine bridge. I had never crossed a vine bridge before, so crossing it was like a challenge. I was a little nervous, but I did it. Then, I was able to enter and learn about the types of buildings and structures, as well as a variety of relics from different parts of Shikoku. There was also a waterfall that I thought was really cool.

［architectural］＝建築の
［located］＝位置する
［notice］＝気づく
［vine］＝つる植物
［nervous］＝神経質な
［structures］＝構造
［as well as］＝～と同様
［relics］＝遺物
［waterfall］＝滝

From in front of Shikoku-mura, I got on a bus that went to the top of Mt. Yashima. After I got off of the bus, I was amazed. The mountain is flat, but there are a lot of places for visitors to go sightseeing. For example, tourists can enter a temple (Yashima-ji), an aquarium (Shin Yashima Aquarium ) a castle ruins site ( Yashima Castle) and take in the breathtaking views from 3 locations. I spent about an hour on the mountain taking pictures and admiring the architecture of the temple.

［amazed］＝びっくりした
［flat］＝平ら
［For example］＝たとえば
［temple］＝寺院
［aquarium］＝水族館
［ruins］＝廃墟
［breathtaking］＝息をのむような
［spent］＝［spend］の過去形
［admiring］＝感嘆する

After taking the bus back down the mountain, and taking the train back to central Takamatsu, I ate an udon and oyako-don set lunch at a restaurant. It was a lot of food, but it was really delicious. Then, I went shopping for a birthday cake in one of the local bakeries. There wasn’t a huge variety of cakes left, as there were many people buying them for New Year’s, so I quickly bought one. That evening I enjoyed a dinner and some cake, and I was happy that I could have an adventurous and memorable birthday.

［delicious］＝おいしい
［local bakeries］＝地元のケーキ屋・パン屋
［There wasn’t a huge variety of cakes left］＝そんなにケーキの種類が残ってなかった
［bought］＝［buy］の過去形
［adventurous and memorable birthday］＝大胆で思い出深い

I hope you enjoyed reading about my day. Feel free to ask me questions about it at anytime. Happy travels!

Marcus