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I love traveling and my family and I take trips several times a year. Incidentally, last year we went to Osaka and Kyoto in the spring, in summer we went to Aomori and Akita and in the autumn we took a trip to Okinawa. We also took some short trips to some nearby hot springs spending one night and two days .
At the end of the year, we always go to a Hot Spring and this year went to a famous hot spring area called Atami near Tokyo.
Atami was visited by Ieyasu Tokugawa in the old days, and after the beginning of the Meiji period, it was visited by various famous literary figures who often wrote there. Among the many literary works written there, was Kon jiki ya sha ( English title is The Gold Demon) which was written byKouyou Ezaki in Atami.
From around the 30th year of Showa (1955) the area became a bustling mecca for honeymooners and after the period of rapid economic growth, it began to attract large group tours. Since the end of the economic bubble, the number of large group tours has severely decreased and some hotels and inns have been forced to close down leaving the impression of an area in decline.
But recently, due to fact that its close to the city, its convenient to get to, it has a beach and also because there is a recent hot spring popularity boom, the area has regained some of its bustle.
Even though there aren't many places to go sight seeing there, the fact that its near the beach, has some great sea food , and boasts a variety of hot springs, means that you can spend the whole day from morning to night going from one relaxing hot spring to another. I think Atami is a really wonderful place.
If you ever get a chance, try to pay this place a visit.
今週の語彙 This week's vocabulary
■熱海 a city on the east part of Shizuoka Prefecture facing Sagami bay. A spa resort and sightseeing spot from old days . Population 46,000. ■近場 a nearby place ■温泉 spa or hot spring ■古 anciently , formerly ■年末 end-of-year ■徳川家康 Civil war general in Japan . Founder of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1600 to 1868 ■明治 Meiji period (1868-1912) ■文人 a literary person ■尾崎紅葉 Novelist and haiku poet. Born in Tokyo ■昭和 Showa period (1926-1989) ■メッカ a mecca ■高度成長期 the period of rapid financial growth ■誘致 attraction, lure, invitation ■バブル経済 the “bubble” economy ■寂れる to decline, to fall (down)
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