軽井沢へ

　三連休はいかがお過ごしですか？
　私は、軽井沢のハッピー・バレーの写真を眺めています。毎年、アスファルトの照り返しや蒸し暑さがこたえ始めるゴールデンウィークあたりになると、軽井沢を想います。堀辰雄や中村真一郎の本を手に、旧軽井沢の唐松林を次に散歩できるのはいつでしょう？

　左上の写真は、シャーロック・ホームズと私です。パイプを持っている方がホームズです。追分で撮りましたが、なぜ彼の銅像が追分にあるかというと、日本で初めてホームズ・シリーズを完訳した、延原謙氏の仕事場があったからです。延原氏の翻訳は新潮文庫で愛読しましたが、こんな所に籠って仕事に専念できるなんて羨ましいですね。

　ブリティシュ・カウンシルで時おり開催される作文コンクールで、「週末旅行にお薦めの場所」という課題が出た時は、軽井沢に付いて書きました。残念ながら落選しましたが、以下はその応募文です（2005年5月作成）。

Go to Karuizawa

I met a student from Iceland in this winter. ‘The first summer in Japan was awful…’ said he. If you tired of hot and humid, like him, I recommend a weekend in Karuizawa. Karuizawa is a highlandtown in Nagano Prefecture. The Nagano Shinkansen takes about an hour to reach Karuizawa Station from Ueno or Tokyo Station.

　 If you have leeway in your budget, I will recommend Manpei Hotel where John Lennon liked too. This classic hotel itself is a witness to history of Karuizawa. Massive Karuizawa carving furniture in lobby and guest rooms are originated to supply to Westerner’s villas. Karuizawa used to be an international summer resort for foreign residents in Southeast Asia before World War II. They are remnant of the those days that local specialties of Karuizawa carving, fruit preserve and milk product, English nicknames for beauty spots, outdoor activities such as tennis, golf and cycling are popular. You can buy the specialties at Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza Street and the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza.

It’s also good to walk or cycling in the woods with Tatsuo Hori’s works. He is well-known for his novels take place in Karuizawa. If you walk in Happy Valley where there used to be his cottage and there is Manpei Hotel still now, you will see mist in the trees, moss carpet and cottages are a piece of landscape. And you will hear the singing of wild birds in the early morning. The early morning is the most beautiful hour in Karuizawa.