Hokkaido

Towards the end of the summary holiday, Vivian and I brought my two princesses to Hokkaido for a family trip.

Although I've been to Honshu several times and Vivian used to work in Osaka for some months, we have never been to this northern part of Japan. To me, all impression on Hokkaido comes from The Freezing Point (冰點) of Miura Ayako (三浦綾子).

Soon after our arrival, when we took a bus from the New Chitose Airport to Rusutsu (留壽都), Lake Shikotsu (支笏湖) was next to us, and the shadow of Tsujikuchi Yoko (辻口陽子) kept flashing through my mind. Where was her boat? Was she hiding somewhere in the forest? It is 50 years since the story was written and almost 30 years since I read it, but I remain eager to know how the three of them - Yoko, Tsujikuchi Toru (辻口徹), and Kunio Kitahara (北原邦雄) - are doing.

PS. My princesses were, for obvious reasons, very much less excited than I was. To Euterpe, games in the Disneyland is certainly a hundred times more interesting than flowers in Furano (富良野). As to Adler, she is happy enough wherever good ice-cream is served!