Friday, April 21, 2023

Maille Coeur Shogetsu

箱根湯本での一泊で選んだのは、 ホテル マイユクール祥月 という宿でした。

フランス語ですかした名前が付いていますが、楽天やじゃらんで非常に評価が高い宿です。
女性に優しい癒やしの宿、を謳っているだけあって、宿泊客の8割以上が女性だそうです。
入口は割と地味で、こんな感じ。

中に入ると… ロビーフロアと受付はこんな様子でした。
ちいさな売店もここにありましたが、既に『銘菓 月のうさぎ』を買ってあるので気にしません。

駐車場の入口横には、なぜか御稲荷さんがありました。
この存在のため、夕食時に稲荷寿司が一切れ出てきました…。

チェックインして、予約しておいた最上階の展望風呂付きの部屋へ。
こんな部屋です。3月上旬に改装され天井がやたら高くなって、開放感のある空間です。
3名利用で予約したので、ベッドはエキストラを使わず、トリプルに仕立ててあります。

さっそく、Wi-Fi も計測してみました。
…う~ん、Wi-Fi はあんまり速くないや。

窓際にはソファも置いてありました…。
最近になって特別室も出来たようですが、予約時はここが広くてお手頃だと思いました。

コーヒーテーブルの上には、ウェルカムのお菓子が。さすがは温泉旅館?
ちっさなパウンドケーキが。チョコレート風味みたいですが、結局食しませんでした。

窓からの景色は、こんなです。
最上階の6階からは、湯本駅方面にある川を眺められます。

樹木に隠れて写真ではよく見えませんが、窓を開けるとせせらぎが聞こえてきます。

窓のすぐ下には、桜が開花し始めていました。
箱根でも山麓だし、開花が早いのかな?…と思ったら、露天風呂の前で暖かいからみたいです。

つまり真下が露天風呂ですが、残念なことに 入浴客はまるっきり見えませんでした。

内風呂がこちらですが… 
洗面台がふたつあります。その奥が展望風呂となっています。

鏡の前には、アメニティキットがみっつ置かれていました。
宿泊者名から判断して、女子2、男子1と判ったようです。

男の子向けのキットは、こんな内容。
歯ブラシ、髭剃り、たび、ペナペナな手ぬぐい、ブラシ。

大浴場で、邪悪な見た目の 黒い綿棒 を発見したので、もらってきて足しておきました。

さて… 母と妹は、ここで思い切りガッカリ
展望の内風呂ですが… 予約時には「ジャグジー付き」と銘打ってあったのです。

この時点でのウェブサイトでは未だに改装前の写真と情報で、しっかり載っています。
 
ね…? 母が「ジャグジーに入りたい」と言うから、検索してここを見つけたのに。

それを、改装してジャグジーが無くなったのを事前に一言も告げられませんでした。
そもそも、改装工事をやった事さえ何もメール等で連絡をいただけませんでした

さらに困ったのが、この新しい内風呂です。
スレートっぽい石張りだけど、手すりが一切ありません

濡れたら滑りやすいし、滑ったら大けが必至。危ない浴室です。
母と妹は、這うようにして湯舟へ出たり入ったりした模様です。
もう二人からはケチョンケチョン。二度と来ない!とキレていました。

風呂場の石鹸やシャンプーは、こんなでした。
これは大浴場とほとんど一緒みたい。

トイレはこんなでした。
日本ではあたりまえのヲシュレット完備。

他にも『女性に優しい』をモットーにしているからか、追加の枕が選べます。
エレベータホールの前に、こんなふうにして枕が数種類ありました。

この枕が、儂が普段使用しているものに近そうなので、これをひとつ拝借。
わずかに高すぎて、儂にはあわなかったですが… こだわりを感じました。

部屋の中にある冷蔵庫には、おやつと飲み物も。
酢をベースにしたドリンクと、ゼリーが人数分。

シークワサーのゼリーです。
ちむどんどんしそうですが、妹が食したらイマイチだったそうなので、やめておきました。

他にはミネラルウォーターも。
エレベータホールの裏手にはドリンク類の自販機があったので、そこでサイダー等を買えました。

なお、さすが温泉旅館だからなのか、ポカリスエットはずーっと売り切れ状態でした。

食堂とラウンジ、大浴場は2階にあります。
食堂前のラウンジは、こんな。

ズラリと並んでいるのは、塗り箸です…。
下の皿に入っている豆を上から下へ移動させ、箸の使用感を確認すると自分に向いた一膳を見つけられます。

…儂、塗り箸は嫌い。だって先っぽが細くて掴みにくいんだも~ん。
この数十年、ほぼ割り箸しか使わない人なので、興味は湧きません。

そして大浴場です。
Gentlemen の暖簾が… こういうの『チョイ悪おやぢ』って言うんでしたっけ?(笑)

男湯・女湯は、晩と朝で入れ替わります。

真っ先にチェックインしたので、カラッポの湯殿を盗撮してきましたよ♪
ここが脱衣場のロッカー。COVID-19 のおかげで、市松模様に利用制限がかかっていました。

メイクアップはここで…。
男女入れ替わるので、女湯になった時にはこのくらいの広さは必要でしょう。

お風呂場は、こんな様子。
室内の湯舟は温度が少し高め。箱根湯本は単純泉なので、無難にほっこり温まります。

流し場は、こんなでした…。
清潔に保たれています。

そして露天風呂が、こちら。
水深は浅いですが、ぬるい事もなくて、よく温まります。

儂は夕食の前後に2回、朝食前に1回、露天風呂で長湯をして、捻った足がずいぶん良くなりました。

あと、大風呂で会った他のお客さんは最大3名。儂を含めて 65 歳以上がほとんどでした。
チョイ悪オヤヂなんかいません。みんな白髪の爺さんばっかりで、ふけせんの儂は幸せ♪
きっと女湯は阿鼻叫喚の混雑なのでしょうが、女性が多い旅館の男湯では至福の時です。

この間には… 母は昼寝、妹はスパでイイ思いをしてきた模様です。

お食事は、こちらの食堂で供されます。17 時 30 分または 19 時 45 分の2回制。最初、妹が「5時半なんて早すぎる!」というから遅い回にしましたが… 今度は母が「午後8時じゃ、普段は寝てる」と言うので、早い回に。
テーブルセッティングはこんなです。

膳のコーディネーションは、もう最初から和洋折衷。
御神酒と稲荷寿司が置いてある隣に、飾り皿って… これ、外人客にはどう映るんだろう?

御稲荷さんの説明書きがおいてありました…。
霊験あらたかな白い女性の子狐様は、黒い狐様に恋をして実ったそうです…。

ここ、Campbell (F) さんが読んだら、狂ったように笑い出しそうで楽しみ。www

お膳の中には、御神酒と稲荷寿司が…。
え~、正月でもないのにお屠蘇かよ?…と思ったら、御神酒は梅酒でした。

御稲荷さん… ちっさ! でもこれ、小さくないと、きっと後に響きます。
案の定、女子2名はこの先のお食事計画を策定した結果、摂取を拒否。

おかげで稲荷寿司みっつに梅酒2杯をげとしました~♪

着席して飲み物のオーダーを通してまもなく、前菜がこんな様子でイッキに届きます。
サービスパーソンさんの手が写っていますが、一品毎に解説してくれています。

綺麗な絵の載った おしながき が置いてありましたから、皆様はこちらからどうぞ。
どれも、そこそこ美味しい。口に含んでから「なんだこりゃ?」はいないけど、美味しい感動もそこそこ。

ひとつだけ儂が気に喰わなかったのが、バーガーに建ててある国旗。
なぜ星条旗を使わない!?・・・属国のくせに(ぉぃぉぃ…)
ユニオンジャックやメープルリーフなんかいらない。合衆国市民には星条旗を見せなさい!

ハアハア… ともあれ、前菜は、そしてその後も、『インスタ映え』が全てのようです。
お味より見た目。ブロガーにはもってこいのお宿、と申せましょう。

そして前菜の後は、こうやって続きました。
胃弱の母が、アイテム交換してもちゃんとおなかいっぱいになるか心配でしたが、食い切れなかったそうです。

スープが届きました。
キャベツのクリームスープですが、ものすごく熱い!

これ食べただけで、大汗がでてきました。だから美肌にいいのか?

ここで、なんだか大きな洗面器みたいなのを各テーブルに配っていきます…。
コースメニューには載っていない、料理長さんからの本日のスペシャルだそうです。
手作りの豆腐を、オリーブ油、天塩、または特製味噌でいただくそうですが… 母はすぐ拒絶。

大豆臭さが全くなくて、なんだか芳ばしい風味がある…。
絹ごしくらいの硬さで、テクスチャは本豆腐に近い感じ。
妹とふたりで分け合いましたが…「普通に醤油で喰ったらうまいんじゃね?」という結論。

次は、お造りです。
母には『煽り烏賊』は無理なので、儂の桜鯛と交換しました。

エディブルフラワーにキンギョソウが載っているのも面白い。
紫蘇の花はともかく、キンギョソウが食せるのは存じませんでした。

次は椀物です。
椀は器を愛でるので、蓋を開ける前もご覧に入れております。

金とネイビーの蓋を開けると… 白子みたいなのの上に煮物野菜が。
魚卵は鯛の白子だそうです。野菜のほうが美味しくて、そっちに意識が寄ってしまいました。

そんで、本日の主菜は… ぶたみかん
これ… 事前に予習してあって「3月は豚と蜜柑」と知っていたので、もう一品取りました。

これです。箱根牛のビフテキです。
なんだか1センチくらいの厚さで期待していなかったんですが… すごく柔らかくて美味しい!

このビフテキ追加注文は、当たりでした。妹も儂もこの体験で気を良くして、5月末にまた家族で熱海へ行く時にも、予め国産牛のビフテキを追加予約してあります。(笑)

肉は美味しいんですが…「よろしければこちらをお使いください」という調味料がイマイチ。
塩胡椒はともかく、本山葵と味噌みたいなのまで。 これは、 よろしけれなかった。

千葉県人にはバター醤油でも持ってきてくれたほうが、よっぽど嬉しかったです…。

最後は、炊き込み御飯とおみおつけ。
筍が無理な母はお粥にしてもらいましたが… ちょっと羨ましそう。
「次回の旅では、御飯をお粥にしてもらわなくていいから」と言われました。(笑)

最後はデザートですが… 3段重ねで、こんだけ出てきました。
インスタで見ると以前はブッフェ形式だったようですが、パンデミックでこうなった模様。

デザートも、綺麗な絵が添えられた おしながき が出てきたので、毒者の皆様にはこちらで。
この中では『ベルガモットと日向夏のジュレ』が予想外に美味でした。
妹はレモンタルトが美味しいと喜んでおりました。

持ってきていきなり「上段のプリンみたいなのは、お手を付けずにお待ちください」だって…。
これが「ぷりんみたいなの」です。クレムブリューレが、まだ焼いてない…。

そしたら、兄さんがバーナー持ってきて、こうやって焼き始めました。
シュボボボボボボ… 見ていて、兄さんがうっかり指を焼いたりしないか、そっちのが心配。

「お待たせしました~♪ 上の方がもの凄く熱いので、数分お待ちください」
そりゃ、こんだけ焦がしてたら上の方は相当に熱いでしょうよ。

ちょっと待ってからいただきましたが… あれ?串団子みたいな味がする??
おしながき を確認したら…『みたらしのクレムブリューレ』でした。

その他のアイテムを一人分取り分けたら、こんなです。
オランジェットのチョコがちゃんとテンパリングされているのは驚きましたが、他は…

コーヒーか紅茶をいただけます。母はレモンティー、儂はコーヒーで。
チラリと見えていますが、レモンティーの『レモン』も、スジャータ製でした。軽い驚き。

そして退席する時…

「ありがとうございました。最後にアイスクリームをお持ちください♪」と声をかけられました。

このショーケースから、2~3スクープまでオッケーだそうです。まだ少し湯上がり状態なので嬉しい。
チョコ、バニラ、ストロベリーは基本の基本ですが… メロンって少し珍しい。
カシスはもっと希かも。母に聞かれました。

「カシスって何?」
「黒スグリです」
「スグリって…?」
「ママの実家の山に自生してる、桑の実みたいな奴です」

他にうまく説明できませんでした。植物分類学はBでしたから、らんまんになれません。(笑)

この会話につられて「黒スグリとバニラをお願いします」って注文かけちゃいました。
ちゃんと、カシスとバニラが入ってきました~。

我々の会話を聞いていたか、黒スグリがカシスなのをちゃんと知っていたかは不明です。
カシスは予想したよりも風味がハッキリしていて美味しい。バニラも悪くない。

そして… また露天風呂に行って爺さんと世間話して、戻って寝て。

翌朝、朝ご飯は7時~10時までですが、開店直前の6時55分頃に来て待ちました。
母は他の人がタッチした食品を「穢された」と認識して、食べないからです。

こういう難しさがあるので、母と一緒のブッフェスタイルは難関。
そこで次回の熱海の旅館は、食事が全て部屋出しになる宿を選択。

朝の食堂は… まだ、あんまり人がいません。
真っ先に行って、穢れていないアイテムを撮影するのも、ブロガーとしての使命です。

入り口前には、お飲み物が。
ジュース各種にミルク、コーヒー紅茶が入手可能です。

これより奥へ進むには、マスクと使い捨て手袋の着用が義務づけられています。
ガリ直食いとか醤油差し舐める輩はいないでしょう。穢され難くて安心です。

ここの朝食ブッフェって… ものすごい品数です。
楽天やじゃらんで人気投票トップなのが納得できる、凄い品揃えでした。味もなかなかいい。

このへんが取り分け式の温かい料理群です。
馬鹿デカいオムレツとかグラタンとか。朝からこんな食べたらどうなっちゃうか心配。

ソーセージとかスープとかも、いろいろありました。
湯豆腐も置いてあるから、脂ぎったのが苦手な母にも大丈夫。

蒸したものもいろいろ。
さつま揚げらしきものに、屋号から『』と焼き印がおしてあるのが笑えた。

こんだけ採取してきました~。母に「そんなに食べられるの!?」と、怒号されました。
妹は「プリン持ってきてるし… 夕べも食べなかった?」って呆れてるし。
「いや。昨日のはクレムブリューレですから」と、無理な言い訳をする儂。

ともあれ、夕食、朝食ともに満足度は高いです。

我が家の女子は大浴場が嫌いなので、そこが問題でした。
ロビー横の、待ち合いっぽいコーナー。この奥がスパになっているようです。

帰りは雨模様なので、昨夜のうちから甥に迎えに来させる手配をかける我が家の女子…。
でもおかげで、習志野まで濡れずに帰れました。

途中、米軍施設で昼食を摂ったのは以前の記事にしたとおりです。

帰省時のネタに加えてイスタンブールのネタがまだあるので、また写真変臭して記事にします。

11 comments:

  1. As the previous article seemed like a mere advertisement for me, this article shines even more with your wonderful photography skills, not to mention the high ratings on Rakuten and Jalan for the Maille Coeur Shogetsu inn. Although I haven't had the chance to visit Hakone Yumoto, the inn looks quite appealing, especially with over 80% of its guests being women.

    My wife loves souvenir shops and miscellaneous stores, so it's a bit disappointing that the gift shop here is small. However, since the inn is not targeted towards group tourists, this may be sufficient.

    Next to the entrance of the parking lot, there is a shrine for some reason, and during dinner, a piece of inarizushi was served... Is there some connection between this inn and foxes?

    Booking a room with a private open-view bath on the top floor shows how much you care about your mother. It's also luxurious that the bed is made as a triple without using an extra bed. The Wi-Fi may not be very fast, but since this is not a business-oriented inn, it should be within an acceptable range.

    It's nice that there is a welcome snack on the coffee table, giving a traditional Japanese inn feel. Opening the room window allows you to hear the soothing sound of the river, which is a calming environment for elderly women like your mother.

    You say it's "unfortunate" that despite the outdoor bath being located directly beneath your room, it would be quite nice for the bathers not to be seen by anyone else (lol).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Sensei… so you are enchanted by the balance of female guests, not the accommodation, bath or meals. On the previous weird colored BMW, I couldn’t utilize my photo skill because recording the truth is more important than makes everything charming on the foods or hotels.

      This hotel itself doesn’t have souvenir shop really, but the walking from Yomoto station to here, about 10 min of roads are filled with so many tourists’ traps – souvenir shops, sweets and snacks, local handcrafts and evangelion shop.

      The origin and myth of Oinarisan is being told on the document I uploaded (2023Apr_Hakone02_33.jpg) which is telling that a while foxy girl fell in love with black fox, and her dream came true. Campbell(F) san does love that story, definitely.

      The top floor room was very spacious and comfortable for me, but for my mom snd sister, they are really upset about missing of Jacuzzi as well as no security bars in the renovated bathroom. They left superbly ugly nasty bitchy reports after the stay… I lost one good hotel from my favorite list because of just one their mistake. (lol)

      The public large baths are very nicely done and maintained. For gentlemen, there were always 2-3 old men, including me, and we were chatting a lot in the outdoor bath, sauna to cold water bath, and then we achieved “Totonou.” I have a sauna room in my home but I can’t do that kind of achievement by alone. Bathing buddies are so essential.

      Delete
  2. I see, the jacuzzi that your mother was looking forward to was not in the indoor bath. However, what caught my attention was the fact that there were no handrails in the bath, which is indeed a dangerous bathroom as you said. If they advertise it as a "hotel that is kind to women, especially elderly women," it's understandable that your mother and sister gave it a bad rating, but it's not entirely your fault that you couldn't anticipate this in advance.

    I've also seen several pillows placed in front of the elevator hall at business hotels. Perhaps not only women but also businessmen are concerned about pillows.

    Having snacks and drinks in the mini-bar in the room is good, but a シークワーサー jelly? It seems somewhat Okinawan.

    I also don't particularly like lacquered chopsticks. Especially round lacquered chopsticks without corners are difficult to hold.
    Like you, I also prefer wooden chopsticks, but I have a slightly bitter memory. 46 years ago, when I was taking the entrance exam for Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, there was a question in the modern Japanese language subject that wrote about the meaning of "ichigo ichie" (once-in-a-lifetime encounter) in relation to food. The content was something like, "Even if it's a meal with the same content every day, the meal in front of you is a one-time meal that you will never encounter again. Japanese people have been aware of this since ancient times, which is why they prefer to use disposable chopsticks. They use disposable chopsticks for meals that they can only encounter once." However, the question was too detailed, and after taking the exam, I disliked even looking at disposable chopsticks for a while. Of course, the fact that I failed in the exam also had a significant impact.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I just took tonight’s s-zopiclone so this reply would be the last one today.

      When I was checking out this hotel, I complained about the missing of Jacuzzi but the receptionist wasn’t pay attention well. Then, I also complained about the dengerous renovation without the hand-rails in the in-room bath, she suddenly aware of the importance of my point and started taking notes. This means, danger of the new bathhouse is more important than their false and fake webpage information.

      The original pillows in the room weren’t too shabby at all. There were form and feather pillows and feather one is low enough for me. I prefer very low raised pillow.

      And the refreshments and snacks prepared in the room were… for me, disappointing. If it were custard puddings served in breakfast instead of citrus jerry, or Madeleine cakes instead of chocolate flavored cupcakes, I was impressed. Therefore, if they assign a bit more cost for room amenities, they still have an opportunity of receiving better scores by actual guests. (I’m still holding the rights to report the truth on Google Maps or TripAdvisor. Surprisingly, I’m a goo contributors to those media because of my pictures)

      So, Sensei doesn’t like lacquered chopsticks either… for me, I received disciplines for silverware (or say cutleries in Japan) when I was at 3-4, then learned chopsticks and Japanese table manner afterwards, I couldn’t use chopsticks until I enter an elementary school. Then… now I cut and reconstructed the tendon on my right ring-finger, the finger moves but not recovered 100%, so my holding style of chopsticks are not normal. I cant keep the lower stick on my ring finger but hold by center finger, I control chopsticks with only three fingers. This is somewhat unstable, but I have already fit into this holding style… can’t go back to the original.

      And the exam of entering the medical schools… Sensei didn’t make one which your daughter-san entered and graduated. This is something. – even under Buddhism, “Ichgo-Ichie” or “Goen” situation might be happened. But anyhow, both of you guys graduated very well known public universities, Congratulations again.

      Talking about the entering exam for modern Japanese, for me… the entering test at Ichikawa-Gakuen was interesting. The question part is showing the lyrics of Hotaruno Hikari. The questions is “This lyrics contains numbers of “double-meaning.” Find them out and explain one by one how its meanings are doubled.
      This was fun to answer at that time because I was under the fever around 39.5℃ - I always have fever when I attend an exam… my brain maybe overloaded for working shell I call it.知恵熱? (lol) But surprisingly, I passed the entrance exam of Ichikawa where the T-score is around 74, the best private school in Chiba at that time. (Shibuya-Makuhari has taken the #1 in Chiba now) I still can’t believe They gave me an approval to enter. I got tested with English, Japanese and Math. I couldn’t receive the tests of my strongest two – Science and Social. I have no idea how they pick the candidates… but I anyway picked Kisarazu Public high-School then I was got choked my neck by the classmates in the first 2 hours… they told me I infringed their chances to enter Ichikawa.
      For the entrance exams for universities? I was already gave up studying hard, and change the strategy – wide campus, comfortable to being with other students, good environment and no severe study needed to remain top 3%. Then, T-Gakuen is the best place for me!! (lol)

      Now, oyamasunasai♪

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  3. I went to Sapporo for one night and two days, the day before yesterday and yesterday (while you enjoyed peaceful days... hahaha). I apologize for being unrelated to the content of the article (is it too late for an excuse?), but please forgive me.

    Regarding the hotel breakfast, this time it was included as the research meeting was sponsored by a certain pharmaceutical company. I confirmed the breakfast start time, which was surprisingly early at 5:30. I was a little worried about what to do, but following your actions, I set the alarm for a little past 5:00. However, there was no need to worry as the sun shining into the room woke me up before the alarm rang, since Sapporo's sunrise time is about 40 minutes earlier than in Okayama. I arrived at the breakfast venue at 5:25 and there were already a few customers, but I think it was my first experience to enter the restaurant at the start of breakfast.

    Oh, it was great. It's like the feeling of "skiing on fresh snow where nobody has skied yet, freely leaving footprints and messing it up." I experienced the pleasure of messing up the untouched buffet venue for the first time. I will continue to do so (only in situations with breakfast included).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I have enjoyed piece and quiet days. Thank you.

      Then… you went to Sapporo? I am just guessing the approach to be there – airplane connecting at Haneda, or drive to Itami then flies, or San’yo-Tokai-Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansens tehn local train?? The last one will be fantastic for train nerds! (lol)

      So… Esai or someone invited you to be Hokkaido. It won’t be Astra Zeneka, I hope… but it was only a night at Sapporo? It’s so pity cos it’s a wonderful season.

      Ah… Japan doesn’t have daylight saving system. But sunrise at 5 am is still too early. Here in San Francisco Bay Area, Sunrise is about 6:20 and today’s sunset is at 19:52.
      I totally understood you were in the very east side of Japan where the sunrise would be 40-50 minutes earlier than Okayama. I was pointing out that geometrical issue before reading your texts. (lol)

      > I arrived at the breakfast venue at 5:25 and there were already a few customers
      Wow… my mom is not alone! (LOL) If the restaurants are at the truck stop or on the roadside of busy traffic, then 5:30 am can be a busy breakfast time but… at the hotel breakfast? It may be because of the conference of medical doctors who are usually get up before sunrise for preparing the operations… right?

      > skiing on fresh snow
      This is a great figuring, sensei. This phrase came into my eyes over 1G bps and I laughed at so hard, now my abs hurt.. (lol)
      When we Americans try 'contaminating' the fresh snow, we do “An Angel.” For the images, please google “angel on snow.”

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  4. This is a sequel to my impression of my trip to Sapporo...

    Both the outbound and return flights were via Haneda, with ANA on the way there and JAL on the way back. I think it's rare for general practitioners in Japan to hold higher tier memberships like SFC or JGC in airline FFPs. If they have a decent income, they would want to fly in the higher class even on domestic flights, as they may only travel occasionally. If that's the case, they would choose premium class on ANA or first class on JAL. If both airlines have double tracks from their local airports to Haneda, and if JAL has a first class option, many people tend to choose that over ANA's premium class. The reason for this is believed to be as follows.
    I flew in both classes this time, and I noticed a difference in how the lounges were handled. JAL's Diamond Lounge allows not only JGC Diamond members but also first class passengers like me who rarely fly to enter. On the other hand, ANA's Suite Lounge only allows SFC Diamond members to enter, so premium class passengers are denied entry. Perhaps because JAL's first class route options are limited, while ANA's premium class has relatively more route options, there should be a considerable difference in the number of users, which is why ANA Suite Lounge does not allow premium class passengers to enter.
    If there were no significant differences in the services provided by these two lounges, ANA Premium Lounge and JAL Diamond Lounge, then there wouldn't be a big impact. However, in reality, there are quite noticeable differences. Of course, if I go to ANA Suite Lounge, I can expect to receive services comparable to JAL Diamond Lounge, but actually I am only a guest of ANA Premium Class, I cannot enter their Suite Lounge, so there is no choice.

    For routes like Haneda-Okayama where both airlines have tracks but JAL does not offer a first class option, many doctors working in Okayama seem to choose ANA.

    I apologize for the musings of a rural doctor who rarely travels.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I briefly checked the airport lounges at OKJ. How about “Muscat Lounge”? It’s not covered by Priority Pass but it’s on LoungeBuddy. So Amex might be able to help you…
      However the easiest way is being a lifetime Star Alliance Gold. To achieve that, please fly between OKJ and SFO every weekend. Within two years, voila! You will be Lifetime UA Premier Gold which is Star Gold for life. I can offer my sofa for your stay, and my cats will love you. But whne you came home, Run-can will be disappointed. (lol)

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  5. It seems like your peaceful days are over now (lol).

    If I retire completely three years from now and decide to go to Sapporo, I might take the Sanyo, Tokai, Tohoku, Hokkaido Shinkansen lines, and local trains to get there, and on the way back, I might take the ferry from Otaru to Tsuruga. Will such a leisurely retirement come to me as well?

    Yes, at least AstraZeneca didn't invite me to Hokkaido. I only stayed overnight in Sapporo, but it was enough for me, who is frugal. The toughest schedule I've ever had was when I had to give a 1.5-hour lecture after finishing my regular clinic until noon, then transferring to Nagasaki by Shinkansen and local trains. I wanted to stay overnight in Nagasaki, but if I did, I wouldn't make it to the morning clinic duty the next day. So right after the lecture ended, I rushed to Fukuoka and stayed there, then took the first Nozomi train to Okayama the next morning and barely made it to the morning clinic duty on time, but I was exhausted. I would like to offer my heartfelt admiration for Shohei Ohtani, who is living such a life every day.

    We ordinary Japanese people don't understand the concept of daylight saving time as a real feeling. While I think it's very logical, if it were actually implemented in Japan, we would be quite confused. As someone living in the United States, you must be used to adjusting to different time zones within the country.

    Recently, even in Okayama, it's starting to get light outside around 5 in the morning, which might be a good thing for us older people who tend to wake up early. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the sun sets nearly 8 pm, so it's nice to have a leisurely time to be active.

    I don't really understand why you laughed so hard when I used the phrase "skiing on new snow." I find that a snow angel is an angel-shaped mark made by a person lying on their back with their arms and legs spread out, with moving their arms up and down and opening and closing their legs, on fresh snow. However, I discovered that there is an adult PC game called "Angel Snow," which actually caught my attention more (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      No worries. I am having fun replying to your comments in English, if I’m staying home.

      Well… are you such seriously considering your retirement? Dr. Ito, who is maintaining a maternity clinic as well as taking care of the babies he helped their birth, Ito-sensei helped my life when I came to the world… I was in a oxygen chamber by the measured me at 2,500 gram so that I wasn’t an immature baby officially. I heard he told my parents “I added extra 500 gram♪” which sounds like a butcher. (lol) Anyway, Dr. Ito was taking care my fragile childhood and he retired over 75. I still remember when I got tonsillitis and attended his clinic, he was almost tearing because I became a big boy – I was still 4 years old but I came to the clinic with health insurance card, requesting two injections – Sulpyrine and Chlo-My (Chloramphenicol). Those chatty old ladies and pregnant women saw my behavior, and then “The kid ObaKoba might be a genius!” kind of rumors were covered in Futtsu within an hour. That’s why I don’t like countryside of Chiba…
      So, Dr. Ito was in his profession until 77 or 78. Why don’t you try one more decade so that I can visit Okayama more frequently? Yes, Dr. Doi will help me but the reason I visit Okayama is because of you.

      I’m so sorry to hear your short stay at Nagasaki. My shortest trip except mileage-run (lol) was, NRT ⇄ LHR. I stayed Heathrow for 2.5 hors on the plan, but actually I could stay 4 hours because of the flight delay. That trip was for receiving a Q-Switch crystal for pulse ruby laser I operated. I even didn’t have a chance to have fish and Chips at the airport.

      Now we are in PDT, Pacific Daylight Time (No, not PhotoDynamic Therapy). It is quite convenient for us, especially “After-5” is still sunny and comfortable to spend outdoor.

      > an adult PC game called "Angel Snow," which actually caught my attention more
      …please don’t go there, sensei (lol). But I expected more naughtier video game. SegaSaturn has much more erotic and naughtier games. (Isware I didn’t have any)

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  6. You say that replying to comments in English is fun when you're at home, but isn't it annoying to read comments while traveling? Starting today, I am an early elderly person. The fear of becoming increasingly unable to self-restrain is greater than ever. So please feel free to skim through without worrying about it.

    Yes, I am seriously considering retiring at the end of March, three years from now. Many doctors, like Dr. Ito whom you know well, seem to continue their medical practice while maintaining their own clinics, until they physically cannot work or until they suddenly meet the end of their lives.
    At first, I was thinking in the same way, but the words of a certain patient greatly shook my feelings. He said, "When I choose a medical institution or a doctor in charge, I have two criteria in mind. The first is to graduate from a national or public university, and the second is to be under 70 years old."
    There may be pros and cons to the validity of this way of thinking, but I was made to think that there is some reason to it.
    To be honest, I don't really agree with the first point. Doctors who graduated from private medical schools are generally excellent (indeed, sometimes they include incredible doctors). The second point, especially for clinics like ours that offer internal medicine services close to surgical practice, is a sore point.
    By the way, he is a person who lived in America for many years as an expatriate of a large company.

    It's very interesting that you visited the clinic with your insurance card and specified the two types of injections when you were still four years old. I can understand the feelings of the adults present then, who whispered, "That kid might be a genius!"

    Please continue to visit Okayama frequently, if you don't mind that I'm not practicing medicine. I also agree with the opinion of the patient mentioned above, so I'm not very keen on trying to keep going as a clinical doctor for another decade or so, especially since it might backfire and even become a nuisance for me who is only good at gastrointestinal endoscopy. Of course, I have absolutely no intention of pretending to be "retiring while being missed."

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