上山田温泉の代表のイベント、温泉夏祭りはあと４週間弱。７月１８日と１９日の海の日の連休です。温泉中で皆が準備で段々と盛り上がってきています。私も昨日で４回目の寄付集めで回りました。亀清の若女将は民踊連の今年の「長」です。４５０人の踊りやの管理が大変だけど、本人は頑張る気。子供を育ちながら、旅館の若女将の仕事をしながら、私は感心している。でも、それが祭りだ。祭典取締の１人、大黒屋の夏目さんはレストランを休みしながらやっている。自分の店を町の為に一ヶ月間犠牲するなんて、すごい！祭りが終わってからにんたれカツを食べに行こう！
ちなみに、自分は当日、土曜日にお神楽で獅子笛、日曜日は祭りのでかい獅子に入る予定です。
上山田温泉の夏祭りはかなり迫力のある祭りで一回見ればまた見たくなる。海外からの常連の客さんもいるぐらい。皆さんに是非、見てもらいたいので今年の上山田温泉夏祭りにおいでやす！

Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's biggest event of the year, the Kamiyamada Onsen Summer Festival, is less than 4 weeks away. It will be held on the July 18th & 19th "Umi-no-hi" holiday weekend. This type of festival really brings the community together. Kamesei's "waka-okami", Mari, is this year's person in charge of the Minyoren dance -- 450 people in an organized procession dancing to 3 different traditional songs. She's busy handling all the preparations for that along with raising our kids and doing her regular duties here at the inn. That's "matsuri" (festival) for you. One of the leaders of the organizing committee, Natsume-san from Daikoku-ya, is having to close his restaurant for the duration of the preparations. He deserves an award for dedicating so much time to the town. Let's all go eat the garlic sauce pork cutlets at his restaurant after the festival is over!
As for me, I will be doing the flute with the Okagura guys on Saturday, and you'll see my long legs sticking out of the huge festival lion on Sunday.
Once you see Kamiyamada's energy-filled summer festival, you'll want to see it again. We have one guest who will be coming from Denmark for his 3rd festival this year. Don't miss it!

祭りの詳しくはこちらClick here for details on the festival.

これはただの石に見えますか？どこの石でしょうか？実は、ここが戸倉上山田温泉のど真ん中です。千曲川の石です。堤防の中に入れば、別な世界になる。自然な川辺の世界。
私は子供のころから良く川で遊んでいた。地元のシアトルの近くで家族の別荘があった。山のふもとの川沿いだった。こういう石でよく冒険、探検した。この千曲川に石を見れば、浅間山から噴火された石もあり、ざらざらの石、すべすべの石、色々ある。今日は子供たちと一緒に遊びに来て、千曲川の石辺から日の入りを見ました。
Do these look like just a bunch of rocks? Where are these rocks? Actually, this place is in the middle of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen. These are rocks of the Chikuma River's banks. Once you descend inside the levees, you enter this separate world -- a world of river rocks. When I was a kid back in the States, I used to explore and horse around in rivers and with river rocks very similar to this. My parents have a cabin along a river in the foothills above Seattle. So when I see rocks like this, I spot volcanic rocks that spewed from Mt. Asama, rough rocks, smooth rocks, all kinds of unique rocks. This evening I took our sons down here to the Chikuma River rock field to watch the sunset.