温泉旅館をやっている私達も他の温泉街に行ってお風呂に入るのは大好きです。今日は田沢温泉に行ってきました。

田沢温泉で旅館は３件しかない小さな温泉で、江戸時代の建物、雰囲気が残っています。石畳の細い道に２，３階建ての木造の宿、歴史を感じさせる松の木、絵になるような温泉街。
旅館組合青年部で知り合った若旦那、宮原Kenさん（今は、県部長として頑張ってくれている人）の宿、ますや旅館のお風呂に入らせて頂きました。私が大好きな木の造りで迷路のよう長い廊下を通ってお風呂場まで行く。お湯はまあ、田沢温泉がぬるいと言う噂を聞いていましたので噂通り、ぬるかったです。源泉が３８℃だそうです。その分で長く入れました。露天風呂に入りながら、青空や周りの松や竹を見ながらゆっくりくつろげました。
信州の自然、江戸時代の建築・・・田沢温泉は良かった！
（戸倉上山田温泉から車で約４５分。）

Our family runs an onsen ryokan. So what do we like to do on our days off? Go see other ryokans and take an onsen bath, of course! Today we went for a drive to Tazawa Onsen.

Tazawa is a small onsen with only 3 inns in operation. But the narrow cobblestone street is lined with 2~3 story wood buildings, many built in the Edo era, with manicured pine trees giving the town a classic feel.

We went to Masuya Ryokan for our bath. The innkeeper, Ken Miyahara is actually the leader of the prefecture's Junior Ryokan Association. His inn has the type of construction that I just love -- warm wood with long corridors running along the outside of the building, all in a confusing web of passageways.

As for the onsen water, well, I had heard that Tazawa Onsen is only lukewarm. And sure enough, with the onsen source being only 38C, the baths were quite a bit cooler than ours. But that meant we could enjoy a nice, long soak. The outdoor bath was especially enjoyable, with views of the blue sky above and pine trees and bamboo on the hillside next to the bath.

Tazawa Onsen -- blessed by Nagano's wonderful nature and featuring classic Edo-era architecture. It makes my list of Cool Japan.

(Tazawa Onsen is about a 45 minute drive from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.)

田沢温泉のますや旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Masuya Ryokan in Tazawa Onsen.