又中又英 | A sight to behold | 褚簡寧

　　Mount Rainier in the US state of Washington is a sight to behold. When I lived in Seattle in Washington state in the late 1990s, I could see Mount Rainier with its snow-capped top from my apartment. The snow-capped Mount Fuji in Japan is also a sight to behold. If something is a sight to behold, it means it is very impressive or worth seeing. If a volcano or mountain is snow-capped, it means its top is covered with snow. As I wrote in my previous two columns, I spent 16 days in Japan last month with a family member who had never been to Japan.

　　I last went there several decades ago when it had far fewer tourists. But Japan’s overtourism nowadays is frustrating for locals as well as tourists. There were so many tourists walking up the steep slope to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto that people had to walk at a snail’s pace. To walk at a snail’s pace means to walk very slowly. But the temple, built in the 8th century, was a sight to behold. My family member and I wanted to see Mount Fuji during our Japan visit but cloudy skies made that difficult.

　　We tried one partly sunny day on the 40th floor of a Tokyo government building where tourists could go for a panoramic view of the city. We were lucky and saw Mount Fuji! Japan’s overtourism is a problem, but it’s worth visiting for its culture, cuisine, and history. We went to a beautiful town called Uji, which has very few tourists but is famous for its green tea. We also enjoyed Yokohama’s scenic harbour and Chinatown.

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　　美國華盛頓州的雷尼爾山是a sight to behold。我1990年代尾還住在華盛頓州的西雅圖時，可以從我的單位看到給大雪封頂（snow-capped）的雷尼爾山。而日本那山頂積雪（snow-capped）的富士山亦是a sight to behold。若某事物是a sight to behold，意即它非常壯觀或很值得一看。若一座火山或山峰是snow-capped，意即它的山頂給白雪覆蓋。正如我在前兩篇文章中所說，我上月跟一位從未踏足過日本的家人同遊日本16天。

　　我上次到日本已是幾十年前，當時遊客少許多。但今天在日本的過度旅遊，對當地人以至遊客而言都是很苦惱的。京都有太多遊客走在陡峭的斜坡上，要登上清水寺，使得人人都要walk at a snail’s pace——to walk at a snail’s pace的意思是走得非常緩慢，像蝸牛般爬行。不過，建於8世紀的清水寺，確實令人嘆為觀止（a sight to behold）。我和我的家人在這趟日本之旅中，都想看看富士山，然而天陰多雲令我們難以看到。

　　在偶爾放晴的一天我們碰碰運氣，登上了東京一棟政府大樓的40樓，遊客可在此飽覽城市的全景。我們很幸運，終於見到富士山了！日本的過度旅遊是個問題，但因着它的文化、美食與歷史，實在很值得一遊。我們去了一個小城名宇治，那裏很少遊客到訪，卻又以抹茶聞名於世。我們也很享受橫濱風景秀麗的海港，亦喜歡中華街。

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 Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻