13 Tamayodo

There is a beauty spot in Yorii Town. It is called Tamayodo. It is the area of Ara River in this town. The river is very large and about 170km long. Why is Tamayodo famous ? Now I'll talk about some reasons.

First, the stream of the river is special. The river in the town is wide and goes slowly. There are some big rocks in the river. So you can see some wonderful patterns in the water.

Second, the riversides are special. There are a lot of trees along the river. In summer, the leaves turn deep green, so we feel relaxed when we are at the riverside.

Next, famous people introduced this place. Tayama Katai, a famous novelist in Saitama, visited Tamayodo many years ago. When he saw the scenery, he said, " I've never seen such a wonderful view of the river close to the Tokyo area. " Not only Tayama Katai but also many famous novelists have visited here before.

In summer, a big festival is held here. It is called " Suitengu Matsuri ". It is one of the traditional festivals in Yorii Town. In this festival, they float some big boats which are decorated with many paper lanterns(ちょうちん). The lights from the boats are very beautiful at night. The boats are called "Funa-dashi(船山車) ".You can enjoy fireworks too. This festival is very popular and many people visit here every year. They say that it is the best water festival in the Kanto area. You'll be surprised and moved when you come to see the festival. As you see, Tamayodo is a beautiful and wonderful place to enjoy your holidays. ( 278語 )

reason　理由　stream 流れ　

expression　表情　feel relaxed　落ち着く

novelist　小説家 close to～～の近く held　行われる

traditional 伝統的な　float浮かべる

decorated　飾られた lantern ランタン

fireworks　花火　area　地域　move 感動する

（玉淀付近の地図）

寄居町に住む中学生の令子（Reiko）はアメリカから来たジェームズ先生（James）と水天宮祭を見に玉淀河原へ来ています。
James	Wow! There are a lot of people here! Are they all from this town?
Reiko	No. Many of them are from other towns, I think.
James	I see. This festival is very famous in Saitama, isn’t it?
Reiko	Yes. I think it is one of the most wonderful water festivals in the Kanto area.
James	Great! By the way, why do you call this area Tamayodo?
Reiko	Well, in old Japanese, Tama meant beautiful jewels, and yodo meant calm water. So Tamayodo
	means beautiful calm water.
James	Oh, I see.

Reiko	Look! Funa-dashi boats are coming!
James	What beautiful boats!
Reiko	The lights of the boats are so wonderful.
James	Why do the boats have so many lights?
Reiko	I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’ll ask my grandfather about it.
James	Thank you.


James	Oh, fireworks are starting!
Reiko	So wonderful!
	James, do you enjoy fireworks in your hometown?
James	Yes, we do. But not only in summer.
	We enjoy fireworks on New Years Day too.
Reiko	Oh, do you?
James	But Japanese fireworks are more beautiful than American ones.
Reiko	Thank you very much.


James	Reiko, how often do you have this festival in summer? Once a week?
Reiko	No. Only once! We have this festival on the first Saturday in August.
James	Oh. I want to see this festival next year.