お盆休み
弊社ではお盆を境に前段、後段に分けてお互い調整しながら５日間ほどの夏休みを取ることにしている。今年私は後段組に属し、
１４,１５,１６日と２泊３日の北海道旅行に出かけたた。今までは出身地の隠岐ノ島に家族皆で帰る事が普通であったが、今年は次女
（隠岐が一番好きな子）が都合で帰れないため、少し抵抗があり、急遽北海道旅行を計画したと云うわけである。
コースは、伊丹→千歳→夕張（泊)→富良野→旭山動物園→キロロリゾート（泊）→小樽→千歳→関空。
可也の強行軍ではあったが大阪の喧騒を忘れての３日間は快適であった。中でも印象に残ったのが夕張。過疎の街というよりも死の街に近い感じ。
建物から何から全てがさびれている、しかし、炭鉱で賑った昔をどこと無く偲ばせるものがあり、独特の雰囲気をかもし出していた。何故か、
西部劇の一シーン（廃墟と化した町に砂埃がまう風景）が思い出された。今ひとつは、「幸せの黄色いハンカチ」。
私の大好きな映画の一つであるが、何と、夕張の街に入るやいなや、やたらと家の前に竿にさした黄色いハンカチが目につく。
４?５軒に１軒は黄色いハンカチを出している。あれでは夕張の亭主族は真っ直ぐに家に帰らない訳にはいかないだろう・・・。それにしても、
寂寥感と幸せ感が入り混じった不思議な雰囲気の町であった。そして、翌日は富良野。「北の国から」のイメージとは少し違ったが、
それにしても素晴らしい風景であった。北海道ならではの風景を眼にしながら着いた所が、かの有名な旭山動物園。ペンギン館、アザラシ館、
白くま館は長蛇の列。しかし、ここまで来たからには観ないわけに行かない。炎天下の中で我慢の一時であった。想像していた程では無かったが、
それでも至るところに観る人を喜ばせる工夫がなされており、小さな動物園ではあったが運営する人の心が伝わってくる場であった。
動物園に限らず、どんな仕事でも相手の立場に立って物を考え、それを実際の経営に生かして行く事の大切さ、
弊社に於いては常に依頼者の立場に立って調査し報告しなければならない・・との気持ちにさせられた、教訓的な場でもあった。
そして約３時間かけてキロロリゾートへ。翌日は朝８時の出発で小樽へ。私の頭の中では、「小樽と云えば裕次郎、裕次郎と云えば小樽」、
そんなイメージで裕次郎記念館とニシン御殿を楽しみにしていたが、現地で４０分程しか時間が取れず、何れも拝観できず残念であった。
１２時千歳発の飛行機で関空へ、飛び立ってまもなくした時、イヤホンでラジオを聞いていた妻が「お父さん大変・・・、
宮城で震度５強の地震だって・・・、」。妻は青春の一時代を仙台で過ごしており、宮城県には友達が沢山いるのだ、、。
それにしても空の上ではどうしようもない。予定通りＰＭ２時過ぎに関空着。４時過ぎに自宅へ無事帰還した。
３日間のんびりと英気を養った。今日から再度気持ちを引き締め仕事にいそしむ事にする。
そんな気持ちで張り切って出勤したが世間は未だ殆どお盆休みなのか、電話一本鳴らず、少し拍子抜けした感じである。
We have decided to take a five-day summer vacation by dividing them into two groups around the Obon Festival, one for the first and the other for the second. This year I belong to the Shodan group.
I went on a trip to Hokkaido for two nights and three days on the 14th, 15th and 16th. Until now, it was usual for the whole family to go back to their hometown, Oki-no-jima, but this year, my second daughter
He was a little reluctant to go back to Hokkaido because he couldn’t come back for his own reasons, so he planned a trip to Hokkaido in a hurry.
The course is Itami → Chitose → Yubari (overnight) → Furano → Asahiyama Zoo → Kiroro Resort (overnight) → Otaru → Chitose → Kansai International Airport.
The three days of forgetting the hustle and bustle of Osaka were comfortable though it was a pretty strong army. The one that left a lasting impression on me was Yubari. It feels more like a city of death than a depopulated city.
Everything was deserted from the building, but there was something reminiscent of the old days when the mines were crowded with people, creating a unique atmosphere. For some reason.
It reminded me of a scene from a western (the dusty landscape of a ruined town). The current one is “The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness”.
As soon as I entered Yubari town, I noticed a yellow handkerchief on a pole in front of my house, which is one of my favorite movies.
One out of every four or five houses has a yellow handkerchief out. In that case, the husband and wife of Yubari would not be able to go straight back home… Nonetheless.
It was a town with a strange atmosphere where a sense of loneliness and happiness were mixed together. And the next day was in Furano. It’s a little different from the image of “From the North Country,
Nevertheless, it was a wonderful scenery. We arrived at the famous Asahiyama Zoo with a view of Hokkaido’s unique scenery. Penguin Pavilion, Seal Pavilion.
There was a long line at the Shirokuma Museum. However, since we’ve come this far, we can’t afford not to watch it. It was a moment of patience under the blazing sun. Not as much as I’d imagined, though.
Even so, there were many ingenious ways to make visitors happy, and even though it was a small zoo, it was a place where you could feel the heart of the people who run it.
Not only in zoos, but in any job, it is important to think from the other person’s point of view and apply it to actual management.
We must always investigate and report from the client’s point of view, and it was a lesson learned for us.
It took about three hours to get to the Kilolo Resort. The next day we left for Otaru at 8:00am. In my mind, the word “Otaru” means Yujiro and “Otaru” means Otaru.
I was looking forward to visit Yujiro Memorial Hall and Herring Goten with such an image, but I was disappointed that I could not visit either of them because I could only take about 40 minutes at the site.
Shortly after we took off, my wife, who was listening to the radio through her earphones, said, “Father, you’re in trouble…
I heard an earthquake of magnitude 5 in Miyagi…,” he said. My wife spent her youth in Sendai, and I have many friends in Miyagi Prefecture…
Nevertheless, there’s nothing I can do about it in the sky. I arrived at Kansai airport at 2:00 p.m. as scheduled and returned home safely at 4:00 p.m.
I spent three days relaxing and cultivating my spirit. From today, I’m going to get my mind back on the job.
I went to work with such a feeling in my heart, but I didn’t get a single phone call as it was still almost Obon vacation, so I felt a little disappointed.
