One of the attractive points of Toronto is Lake Ontario. They were planning to build most of the athletic facilities and athletes' quarters around the lake. You can enjoy walking by the lake because there is a shopping center, the CN Tower looking down the town, and the baseball stadium for the Blue Jays which is highly praised by architects. Built with the latest technologies, this stadium is famous for being able to open and shut the roof within a short period of time, as I heard from some architects.

Partly because it was Sunday, there were so many people gathering for a free open-air concert, and an open-air restaurant was bustling with families and couples, and the lakeside was very crowded. There were quite many people who were doing nothing but taking a walk. It was probably due to the heat exceeding thirty degrees, those people were carrying water bottles in their hands. Wondering what they were drinking, I looked and found that the most popular drink among them was coke or other soft drinks, and water was second. I somehow noticed that women tended to be drinking water and men were drinking soft drinks. I found a bottle of Chinese tea in a refrigerator at a market which seemed like a convenient store, but, as I looked at the bottle that it contained sugar, I no longer wanted to drink it, and put it back on the rack. I guess that they would put sugar in such kind of Asian tea also in the same way that they put sugar in English tea. Or, are they supposed to put sugar in some particular kind of tea also in China?

Getting on a ship from the port, I went to Toronto Island. There, the Chinese Boat Race was being held, and there were also a conspicuous number of Asian people who seemed to be there to see that event. It seemed that there were quite many tourists because I could hear a variety of languages other than English everywhere. I guess that I'm not in position to say that because I myself was also talking in Japanese with my Thai friend. As I was lying down on grass, a participant of the race, who was red with sunburn carrying paddles in his hands and a medal on his chest, passed by me. We couldn't see the race since we went there to enjoy the cool evening breeze, but a pleasant atmosphere was still there. There were some street stalls selling hot dogs and dim sum. Eating some spring rolls while looking at the lake, I just wanted to stay there forever by growing roots. I wonder if this is how Canadians spend their daysÉ. I experienced a relaxing time for a little while. The sky is bright until a little after nine o'clock. During the short summer they don't have to worry about time while the sun is up.

I would have stayed there until the sun goes down if I didn't have to care about a bus. The bus to Niagara Falls was supposed to leave at 21:30. Because we had a feeling that we would have no problem taking the bus, we left the Island to go to Chinatown in response to my stomach's request. We took our time eating fried vegetables, noodles with meats, and sweet flat noodles. When we arrived at the bus terminal ten minutes before its departure, we were stunned to see a long line, and we regretted how little we understood. This bus was going to New York. There might be many people who were going home on Sunday night; there was a big line formed with people carrying big bags by the wall. We looked at each other thinking "Are we going to be able to get on the bus?" If we miss this one, the next bus is at 23:30. Since we've already enjoyed ourselves to the full, we were tired and felt disgusted to wait two more hours.

With the size of what we call a large-sized sightseeing bus in Japan, there was no way everybody here could get on the same bus. The people at the front of the line began to board. Then, with fewer than twenty people in front of us, it was filled to capacity. There were also about ten more people behind us, and they too were looking around restlessly. Just as I was thinking "It might be better to change the ticket and take a bus not to go to the Niagara bus terminal but to the Falls which would be leaving in ten minutesÉ," a bus driver came running toward the back of the line and shouted in a loud voice.

"Is anyone going to Niagara?" "Who is going to New York?" Then he started to count the people. There is still a chance. He is going to arrange one more car! After thirty minutes, our bus arrived. Of course, it's needless to say that it happened because it was only in Canada, but at the same time, the feeling I had that I have no problem getting on a bus anytime was reinforced even more. Oh well, I was glad that it was a safe country.

The following day I was tremendously excited at Niagara Falls. Drenched, I felt like I was going to be swallowed up in the falls. It's not exaggeration to say that I'd never experienced such a feeling in my life. I guess that everybody who visits here thinks the same way. Now, please look at the picture. My clumsy words are not needed!

Watch out for the splashes!

Translated by Maiko Noda