I went to Ebigaike! |「海陽で行ってみた！」海老ヶ池編
Hello, Tony here!
みなさんこんにちは、トニーだよ！
We’re almost at the end of spring now, but the funny weather is still carrying on. Despite the occasional downpour, a couple of us from the Global Kaiyo team occasionally take advantage of the sunny days to visit Ebigaike for a refreshing lunchtime or after-work walk, so we get to see the lake and its surroundings fairly often throughout the year.
春はあとちょっとで終わるけど、変な天気はまだ続いてるよね。雨はしょっちゅうだが、グローバル海陽チームのメンバーは晴れた日を狙って、昼休みの間や仕事終わりに海老ヶ池を散歩してるんだ。年間を通して海老ヶ池とその周りの景色をよく見るんだよ。
Owing to its shape, the lake doesn’t seem very big when you’re looking from the carpark. It's only until you start walking that you get a full grasp of how big it really is, and it can take around an hour to do a full loop around it.
海老ヶ池はその形状のせいか、駐車場から見るとそう大きく見えないかもしれないが、歩き始めてから池の本当の大きさを実感することできるよ。一周するのに大体1時間くらいかかるんだよ。
Every visit to Ebigaike offers new sights, so it’s always exciting. It’s typical to see some fish jumping out of the water, but sometimes, they’re really active! You can also see turtles basking on branches sticking out of the lake, but if you get too close, they’ll slide back into the water and swim off. Various birds also make their appearance.
海老ヶ池に行くたびに新しい発見があり、いつもわくわくするんだよ。魚が水面から飛び出してくるのはよくあることだが、すごく活発に飛ぶ日もあるよ。池に突き出た枝の上でひなたぼっこをしているカメの姿も見られるが、近づきすぎると水の中に戻って泳ぎ去ってしまう。また、いろんな鳥も現れるんだよ。
There was a time during autumn last year where we witnessed a bird dive into the water while hunting for fish! That was pretty awesome.
昨年の秋に、魚を狙って水中に飛び込む鳥を目撃した！あれはすごかったなー。
There's also the picnic park right next to the lake, and it's pretty common to see people hanging out there. Here’s a picture I took from across the lake back when the cherry blossoms were still blooming!
海老ヶ池のすぐ近くにはピクニック公園もあって、そこで遊んでたりのんびりしてる人たちもよく見かけるんだ。桜が咲いてた時に池の向こう側から撮った写真だよ！
Recently however, it has been getting a little warmer and stickier which means going for a walk can be a little unpleasant. All sorts of living things like bugs and snakes have started coming out, too!
ところが最近は昼間の気温が少し上がってむしむししてきたので、なかなか散歩する気分にはなれないよね。その上、虫やヘビとかいろんな生き物も出てくるようになったね！
That being said, my favorite season to visit the lake is still spring, because that’s when the leaves take on a really nice shade of green.
それでも、この時期だと葉っぱがすごくきれいな緑色に変わるから、海老ヶ池に行くのに一番好きな季節はやっぱり春かな。
I think the most common image people have of spring in Japan is cherry blossoms. But I also think the lush vibrant green is pretty good, too. It’s a relaxing place for a daytime walk, and a great place to take in the natural beauty.
日本の春といえば、桜のイメージが強いと思うけど、あの鮮やかな緑色もいいよねー。昼間の散歩にはリラックスできるし、自然の美しさを感じるのには絶好の場所だ。