昨日で今年度の実質第１週が終了。夜には新年会もあって、本日は連載テーマは一時休止。
今週はいろいろなスタートもあったのですが、わたしは取材で伊達方面に行っておりました。久しぶりの北海道内での「遠出」。それも積雪もほぼ例年並み以上になってきた段階。朝早く札幌を出発して、昼過ぎに取材先を退出。そこで、ちょっと寄り道的に、っていうか高速道路を使わずに一般道・国道230号線を利用。
そうすると真冬の洞爺湖の風景がなつかしく、冬の詩情をたたえた表情を見せてくれた。
冬期も氷結しない湖面からは、大気の冷気に向かって水蒸気があがって「霧の風情」。周辺の山々はみんな白く冠雪してくれていて、さまざまな樹木に陰影を描き出してくれている。
札幌の人間にとって、小学校の「修学旅行」の定番はこの洞爺湖。道内でも有数の温泉街は、なんども訪れさせてもらってきた。なので、風景のすべてに余韻があって、時間を復元させてくれる。
しばらく逢っていなかった肉親のようなぬくもり感が伝わってきた。やっぱり北海道は冬の雪景色があらゆる美感で迫ってくる。雪というお化粧は、やはりすごい効果を持っているのだと再認識。女性たちの日々の努力に深く頭が下がってくる思い（笑）。
修学旅行で友だちたちと温泉に浸かってのワイワイガヤガヤの様子が遠雷のように記憶の奥底から湧き上がってくる。ふだんは見たこともないようなお膳料理にキャッキャと大騒ぎ。寝ていたのかどうか、枕投げとかの大騒ぎで、「やべ、先生が来た〜」と布団を大急ぎでかぶる。青春の手前、あどけない少年少女たちの夢舞台。
そこからの帰路。案の定、中山峠までの１時間ほどの行程はときどき視界も定かでなくなるようなブリザードっぷり。なるべく先頭を譲って２〜３番目の走行位置で先行車のバックライトを案内にしながら慎重に運転してきた。その甲斐あって、中山峠を過ぎたら降雪は終わってくれて、冬道の安定走行。こういったキビシイ条件下では、いっしょに峠を走破した「仲間意識」を一団のクルマ同士ではなんとなく持つ。こういうのも北国人のなにかの共通感情なのだろうか。
走り抜けてきて、札幌の日常的な風景に戻ってくるけれど、そういう中でも普段はやり過ごすような風景美が発見されたりする。「札幌もやっぱり北海道の中の地域なんだ」と今更ながら、気付かせられる。
なんということはない雪中移動なのですが、走馬灯のなかを巡ったような気分。ちょっと元気をもらったような小さな旅でした。
English version⬇
The season is heading into midwinter. Lake Toya Winter Scenery]
Usually, snowfall is a big problem for shoveling, but the raging blizzard is also a background device that restores various memories. A small trip on a public road in winter, no rush, no fuss. A small trip on a public road in winter.
Yesterday marked the end of the first real week of this fiscal year. There was a New Year's party in the evening, so today's series theme is on pause.
This week has been a busy one for me, but I was in the Date area for an interview. It was my first "long-distance trip" in Hokkaido in a long time. It was also at a stage when the snowfall was almost equal to or greater than usual. I left Sapporo early in the morning and left the interview site in the afternoon. We left Sapporo early in the morning and left the site a little after noon, so we took a short detour, or rather, we took the national highway Route 230 instead of using the expressway.
The scenery of Lake Toya in the middle of winter was nostalgic and showed us the poetic expression of winter.
The surface of the lake, which is not frozen over even in winter, gives off a "foggy look" as water vapor rises toward the cool air. The surrounding mountains were all crowned with white snow, casting shadows on the various trees.
For Sapporo residents, Lake Toya is a staple of elementary school excursions. I have visited one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Hokkaido many times. So all of the scenery has a lingering quality that restores time to its original state.
I could feel the warmth of the people I had not seen for a while, as if they were my relatives. Hokkaido's snowy winter landscapes are beautiful in every sense of the word. I was reminded once again that the makeup of snow has an amazing effect. I was deeply bowled over by the daily efforts of the women (laugh).
The sight of my friends and I soaking in a hot spring on a school excursion, laughing and having a good time, rises up from the depths of my memory like a distant thunderstorm. I was so excited to see the dishes that I had never seen in my life. I don't know if I was sleeping or not, but there was such a fuss about throwing pillows and such, that I would rush to cover myself with the futon and say, "Oh no, the teacher's here! The dream stage for young, innocent boys and girls on the cusp of youth.
The return trip home. As expected, the one-hour ride to the Nakayama Pass was filled with blizzards that sometimes obscured our vision. We drove cautiously, giving up the lead as much as possible and staying in the second or third position, using the backlight of the car ahead as a guide. Thanks to my efforts, the snowfall ended when we passed the Nakayama Pass, and we were able to drive steadily on the winter roads. Under these difficult conditions, we felt a sense of "camaraderie" as we drove through the mountain pass together. I wondered if this was a common feeling among people from northern Japan.
After driving through the pass, one comes back to the everyday scenery of Sapporo, but even in such a scenic environment, one often finds scenic beauty that one would normally overlook. I was reminded, even after all this time, that Sapporo is still a part of Hokkaido.
It was a simple trip through the snow, but I felt as if I was touring through a running horse. It was a small trip that cheered me up a little.