乗っ取り HIJACK

　　乗っ取り
 

　東京に女房と一泊旅行に行って来た。（一日目、柴又と浅草とスカイツリー、二日目、歌舞伎鑑賞）
歌舞伎やスカイツリーは期待通り良かったが、驚いたのは浅草である。何だ、あの混みようは。気違い沙汰だ。芋を洗うようとはこのことだ。ちょうどホウズキ市をやっていて、滅茶苦茶人が多い。本堂には人が満ち溢れ、群がり、とても近づけない。１０年か２０年前に一度来たことがあったが、こんなに混んでいなくて、ゆっくり参拝できたのに。
　ホウズキ売りの人に聞くと、最近は中国人がいっぱい来ているという。そういえば、２０人ぐらいの中国人の団体が、幾組も旗を持ったガイドに連れられ、境内に怒涛のごとく押し寄せ、我が物顔で闊歩し、中国語を飛び交わす。「日本人、そこのけ、そこのけシナ人通る」　なぜ浅草があんなに中国人に人気があるのか理解できない。ネットで情報を手に入れたのだろうか。ネット恐るべし。
　それにしても、あちこちで中国人をよく見かける。羽田空港だったか、瀑買いをした中国人が、手荷物を５つも６つも機内に持ち込もうとして、係員に注意され、荷物預かりに回すための手続きが煩雑になり、予定通り飛行機が離陸できない、とテレビで報道していた。 聞くところによると、京都も、高山も中国人であふれているそうだ。
　そのうちに、日本の観光地は、いや日本の国土そのものが中国人に乗っ取られかねない。


HIJACKHIJACK

　　I went on an overnight trip to Tokyo with my wife. We visited Shibamata, Asakusa, and the Tokyo Skytree on the first day, and saw Kabuki on the second.
　　Both the Skytree and Kabuki were amazing as I had expected, but what surprised and at the same time disappointed me was Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Since that day fell on the hozuki plant market day, the temple was extraordinarily crowded. The visitors were jam-packed like sardines. I couldn’t walk smoothly. It was impossible to climb the stone steps that lead to the offering box in front of the main temple, because the steps were full of people. I had visited the temple some dozen years ago, but it was not so crowded. I took my time praying without being pushed from behind my back.
　　According to a man selling hozuki plants, the number of Chinese tourists has  recently increased tremendously. I saw several groups of Chinese walking in the temple grounds. Each group consisting of about 20 to 30 people was led by a tourist guide who held a blue flag in her hand. They seemed to be walking as if the grounds were their properties. They were speaking Chinese in a high-pitched voice, that sounded like “Hey, Japanese / Clear the way / For us Chinese.” I don’t know why Sensoji Temple is so popular among Chinese. They must have got the information about it on the Internet. A horrible net!
　　These days I see a lot of Chinese people in cities and tourist spots. The other day I watched a TV program, which dealt with a bunch of troublesome Chinese tourists in the Handeda Airport. They had bought a lot of Japanese goods and intended to carry them onto the airplane, which was against the rule. Because of the cumbersome procedure to get all their parcels onto the place, the departure had to be delayed.
　　One of my acquaintances told me that Kyoto and even Takayama were full of Chinese people. I am afraid that sooner or later Japanese sightseeing areas or the whole Japanese archipelagos will be occupied by Chinese.