4月 – 2011 – 信州戸倉上山田温泉旅館亀清

牛に引かれて善光寺詣り　5月5日 'Pulled By an Ox to Zenkoji' Walk May 5th

2011.04.12: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada

我々戸倉上山田温泉旅館青年部の毎年の大イベント：「牛に引かれれて善光寺詣り」の第30回は今年、5月5日(木)に行います。今回は東日本大震災のチャリティーとして実施する予定です。この戸倉上山田温泉から善光寺の30ｋｍのウォーキングです。ぜひ、ご一緒に歩きましょう！

去年は私が実行委員長で、宮崎県で発生した牛の病気で、牛の参加は直前に自粛になってしまいました「牛のない牛に引かれて善光寺」でした。今年は牛がちゃんと先頭してくれる予定なので、ちゃんとした詣りになると思います。

ＲＳＶＰは4月20日までです。問い合わせは千曲観光協会へ。

This year's running (walking?) of the 'Pulled by an Ox to Zenkoji' event will be held on Thursday May 5th. This will be the 30th edition of the 30km walk from our onsen town, Togura Kamiyamada to Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City.

Last year it was my turn to be the event chairperson, and it was my luck to have an outbreak of some cow disease in southern Japan right before the event was to take place. So we had to cancel Satoko-chan's appearance. That's the ox that was scheduled to lead us in the walk.

This year, we should once again have an ox leading us. The cut-off for RSVP's is April 20th. I hope you can join us for the walk. Check with the Chikuma City Tourism Bureau for details.

Scene from Last Year's Walk

戸倉上山田温泉イースターエッグフェスティバルは4月24日(日）！ Togura Kamiyamada Onsen Easter Egg Festival Sunday April 24th

2011.04.12: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada

It's Easter Egg Time Again!

今年のイースターエッグフェスティバルin戸倉上山田温泉は4月24日(日)に開催です。チョコ入りの卵は1000個を温泉の千曲川沿い噴水公園で隠して、子供達が探すという楽しいイベント。

毎年、町の子供達がこのイベントに馴染んできて、参加者がどんどんと増えています。去年は百数十人のお子さんたちの笑顔がありました。亀清のＣｈｅｆ武井を込めて温泉の調理師会青年部が卵料理も提供し、今年はまた馬車が登場する予定です。楽しいゲームもあるし、皆さんに是非参加して頂きたいです。

今年の実行委員長はまた私ですので、是非宜しくお願い致します。

イースターエッグフェスティバルin戸倉上山田温泉
2011年4月24日(日）
１３：３０－１５：３０　(受付は13:00～)
参加費：　子供一人200円
エッグハント、ゲーム、エッグアート
完了後、戸倉上山田温泉の旅客見合いの提供で、お風呂の入浴券も付きます。
持ち物：　エッグアート用のゆで卵、お風呂グッズ
ＲＳＶＰ：　千曲国際交流協会 Tel/Fax 026-274-3150

This year's Easter Egg Festival in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen will be held on Sunday April 24th. Over the years, the towns people have really taken to the festival (this will be our 6th year!). Last year we had over 100 kids participate at our prime spot by the fountain along the Chikuma River in front of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.

This year we will once again have over 1000 eggs hidden in the park for a massive Easter Egg Hunt. There will be games and egg coloring. And once again, our Chef Takei and other ryokan chefs will cook up some yummy omelets, and this year, too, we are looking forward to having horse buggy rides.

Yours Truly will once again be the event chairperson, so I hope you can come and participate!

6th Annual Easter Egg Festival in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen
April 24th (Easter Sunday)
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Cost: 200 yen per child
Easter Egg Hunt, Games, Egg Art
Onsen Bath passes for participants, courtesy of the Togura Kamiyamada Ryokan Association
What to Bring: Hard boiled eggs to color, a towel for your onsen bath.
RSVP: Chikuma Int'l Exchange Assoc. Tel/Fax 026-274-3150

姨捨駅・周辺の掃除・工事 Obasute Station Construction Alert

2011.04.11: その他 Miscellaneous

Station Facelift

姨捨駅の外観掃除が始まっています。いつも可愛いらしい駅舎は今、緑のネットで隠れています。6月まで我慢すれば、きっと更に綺麗な外観になります。

そして、姨捨駅・長楽寺周辺は下水道管工事が行われています。道の通行止めもあります。詳しくは千曲市観光協会のＨＰへ。

亀清旅館の姨捨夜景・伝説ツアーにこの工事は影響がありませんので、お客様の御希望があれば喜んでご一緒に行きます。是非、声をかけてください。この時期は姨捨の「田毎の月」で有名な棚田の田植えの準備が始まっています。今年こそ、田んぼ毎に映っている月様が見えるかな？

The Obasute Station station house is getting a heavy-duty cleaning. The normally cute station house is currently covered in green construction netting. But we'll only have to put up with it for a couple of months, and then the facade will surely be even cuter than ever.

In addition, the roads around Obasute Station and Choraku-ji Temple are being torn up for sewage pipe installation. The construction will result in some road closures. Details are on the Chikuma City Tourism Bureau's website.

None of this construction will affect Kamesei Ryokan's 'Obasute Legends / Night View Tour'. So if our guests would like to go on the tour, I would be happy to go with them. And the famous moon-reflecting Obausute rice fields are in the process of being prepared for flooding and planting. Hopefully this year I'll be able to see the moon reflecting in the rice pads.

5am座禅プランのお知らせ 5am Zazen Meditation Plan

2011.04.10: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

喧騒から離れて

地震・津波・原発の不安の中で…

昨日にも書きましたが、旅館は静けさを提供するのが重要だと。その為のプランを提供したいのでお知らせします：

リセットプラン：　若旦那と朝五時座禅

この時こそ、温泉宿に泊まって、心の修業はいかがでしょうか？お泊りになる日の次の朝５時に亀清のロビーで集合し、青い目の若旦那と一緒に開眼寺の座禅堂にて座禅を体験すると言うプランです。その後、亀清に戻り、朝食を召し上がって頂けます。

朝５時に頑張って起きて、開眼寺へ向かって、木造の温もりの座禅堂で小鳥の鳴き声や森の風の音だけ、つまり都会の喧騒から離れて静かなときと場所でご一緒に座禅をしませんか？

このプランではお料理が夕食も朝食もChef武井の手をかけた亀清旅館の代表の料理です。
お湯は上山田の温泉らしいお湯女湯にも男湯にもそれぞれ露天風呂が付いております。
お部屋は離れ風かお風呂前か２階山景色のどれかになります。

注意点：

＊座禅のやった事ない人でも大歓迎。若旦那が事前に１ポイント座禅レッスン致します。

＊座禅堂の場所はお寺さんなので参加者は志付けをお願いいたします。

詳しくは亀清のＨＰへ
The 3.11 earthquake and tsunami disaster and the ensuing radiation scare has taken a toll on all of our psyches. As per my previous entry, we here at Kamesei Ryokan are hoping to do our part by providing a quiet place for people to get back in touch with themselves. As part of this effort, we would like to introduce a new plan:

"Reset Plan" 5am Zen Meditation

Perhaps we all need to stop and make time for some meditation.

We here at Kamesei Ryokan would like to provide a relaxing stay at our onsen ryokan, where guests can enjoy our peaceful, traditional inn, the rejuvenating onsen baths, and our chef's tantalizing kaiseki-style dinner, followed by a trip to nearby Kaigen-ji Temple's zazen room for an early morning meditation session.

Kaigen-ji is a centuries-old temple with a modern all-wood zazen meditation hall in the forested hills above the Chikuma River here in the Nagano countryside. At 5am, the temple is silent and still, with only the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling in the nearby trees -- perfect for a quiet time of inner reflection.

Note:

Plan includes dinner in your guestroom as well as breakfast served back at our inn following the 5am zazen meditation. Our onsen baths are available 24 hours a day featuring 100% flow-through natural hot spring mineral water. Both the mens and womens baths have outdoor 'rotenburo' baths also.

Zazen meditation first-timers are welcome -- our proprietor will gladly explain the basics in English.

A amall donation for the temple would be appropriate.

For details, please see the Kamesei website.

旅館の提供出来る事：静けさ　What a Ryokan can Provide: Quiet and peacefulness

2011.04.09: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi

静けさ：　亀清の提供

東北地震・津波・原発問題でテレビや新聞などで、辛いニュースばかりです。皆さんは旅するムードがなくなっちゃう。「レジャー離れ」となっています。原発や停電の関係ない長野でも、予約キャンセルの津波が続いています。

アメリカも、9.11のテロ事件の後、皆が自粛して、国内のホテル業界に影響がやはりかなりありました。調べたら、ホテル側で元気を取り戻す方法として、その時に一番必要となっていた「安心感」を提供するのが重要だったそうです。Ｓｅｃｕｒｉｔｙを強化して、その安心感でＰＲしたそうです。

日本の3.11の後、皆さんの不安に応対する様に我々旅館は何の提供ができるか、色々と考えました。停電、余震、原発、色んな心配はある。その喧騒から離れて、静かな所へ行く必要性があるのではないかと思います。日本の旅館はまさにそんな場面の提供はしています。温泉やお料理でリラックス、満足して、お部屋の落ち着かせる雰囲気、静けさになる。

この間のお客さんから頂いた言葉：「亀清に泊まったおかげで肩から荷を下ろせた」と。

お客様に静けさを提供するのはこれからの仕事。

Following the 3.11 earthquake / tsunami and ensuing radiation disasters, the news here has been filled with gloomy, depressing images. After seeing so many of those, everyone's desire to go travel has taken a huge hit. This aversion to 'leisure' has resulted in a tsunami of cancelations at inns like ours, even here in Nagano which is unaffected by the radiation and electrical shortages.

In America, following the 9.11 terror attacks, the hotel / hospitality industry took a similar hit. Nobody felt like travelling after seeing all the destruction and loss of lives. One thing the industry focused on in order to entice people to go travel again was to focus on security and creating an environment of 'safety'.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what us ryokans here in Japan can contribute to providing an environment where people would feel comfortable to travel again. With all the worries about aftershocks, radiation, power outages, etc., perhaps the best thing a ryokan can do for everyone to provide a sanctuary of quiet and peace. With the relaxing onsen baths and nourishing meals, and the calming simplicity of the guestrooms, our guests can put their worries aside and enjoy a quiet time of reflection.

One of our recent guests commented their stay at Kamesei was like taking a giant weight off their shoulders.

That's what our job as a ryokan is -- providing a quiet place for people get back in touch with themselves.

老舗おそば屋さん：　稲荷山のつる忠 Classic Soba Shop: Tsuruchu in Inariyama

2011.04.08: グルメFoodie

Tsuruchu's stylish exterior

千曲市の稲荷山地区に「つる忠」と言う老舗なおそば屋さんがあります。お蕎麦にうるさい信州の中で、つる忠は評判のいい方だそうです。先日は初めて行きました。そば屋さんとして歴史が百年以上あるらしいけど、建物事態は割と新しいです。明るくておしゃれな作りで、その背景でお蕎麦はなお美味しく食べれる。

我々欧米人はクールジャパンを憧れています。このつる忠さんで昭和初期までお客さんが馬に乗って来店したそうです。そのころからの馬つなぎ石が玄関に飾った有ります。それが最もクール！

私がお店の事をへたに説明するより、私の稲荷山街並み保存会の仲間の文章を参照してください。

In Chikuma City's Inariyama District, approximately 20 minutes by car from Kamesei Ryokan and our onsen town of Togura Kamiyamada, is a classic soba restaurant called Tsuruchu. The other day, I went to eat there for my first time.

Tsuruchu has been serving soba for over 100 years. Their current building was built relatively recently but with a traditional style. The bright, stylish design complements the soba eating experience nicely.

We Westerners are big fans of 'Cool Japan'. And this Tsuruchu restaurant has some really 'cool' touches. Apparently their customers used to come by horse up until the early Showa period (the 1930's), and they have a stone used for tethering horses from back then on display in their entrance. How cool is that!

Rather than attempting to explain the finer details about Tsuruchu here, I will leave it to my buddy at the Inariyama Preservation Society and the explanation on his blog.

The cool horse tethering rock

森「あんずの里」：つぼみ状態 Mori's Apricot Village trees starting to bud

2011.04.07: 季節 Seasons

Apricot trees starting to bud

森「あんずの里」のあんずまつりは４月２日から始まったけど、今年のあんずの花が遅れています。どんな状況か、昨日、又行ってみました。咲いている木も多少ありましたが、大体つぼみ状態でした。今週末ぐらいから咲き始まるかな？

Our local Mori 'Apricot Village' district's Apricot Blossom Festival started on April 2nd, but the trees are late in blooming this year. Yesterday I went to see how they were developing. While there were a few trees starting to flower, most were still just in the budding stage. Hopefully they will start to blossom by this weekend.

プロのカメラマン、島田さんのあんずの写真はこちらClick here for pro camerman, Shimada-san's apricot blossom pic's

Some trees in bloom

客室の冷蔵庫を工夫した：電源スイッチ

2011.04.06: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

亀清旅館の客室の冷蔵庫は今まで２４時間３６５日間で電源が付けっぱなしでした。以前からは気になっていたが、今の震災関係の節電の中で、スイッチを取り付けるチャンスだと思いました。先日に里帰りした時に、適応な物を見つけたので、買って帰りました。この２，３日日間に取り付ける作業をしました。

これで客室の冷蔵庫、全部にスイッチが付きました！掃除のバイトの人が、「えっ、こういう専用なスイッチがあるんだ！」と驚きました。いいえ、専用なスイッチじゃなくて、私が工夫して取り付けた訳。

冷蔵庫のご利用したいお客様はご自由にスイッチをオンにして、ご利用して頂けます。これで電気の無駄使いの一つを防ぐことが出来ました。

Up until now, the refrigerators in the guest rooms here at Kamesei Ryokan have been running 24 hours, 365 days a year. I had always thought that to be a wasteful use of energy. Now with the earthquake / tsunami / nuclear radiation problems resulting in a nationwide electricity shortage, I decided to take advantage of the situation and attach switches to all of our refrigerators. When I was in back home in the States, I picked up a suitable switch at a home center store, and over the past few days I worked to attach them to all of the refrigerators.

One of our cleaning ladies saw them and said, 'Wow, I didn't know there were switches for this.' There aren't -- I had gotten creative and made my own solution.

Now our guests have the option of switching on the fridges whenever they like. Meantime, they stay off, meaning an end to a waste of electricity!

暗いニュースの中で、４０人分の可愛い笑顔 Amidst all the gloomy news, 40 cute smiley faces

2011.04.05: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi

上山田小学校の入学式

地元の上山田小学校の入学式は今日、行いました。うちのＡｎｄｙ君とＫｅｎ君が５年生と３年生になり、そして美咲ちゃんはあと２年間で入学する。しかし、私は小学校の評議員なのでＶＩＰ（？）として入学式に呼ばれました。

最初は「こんなに忙しいのに」と思いましたが、行ってみて、入学した生徒４０人の可愛い姿を見て、元気になりました。原発問題などの中で、こういう明るい事も必要ですね。

The elementary school entrance ceremony for our local Kamiyamada Shogakko was held today. Our two sons Andy and Kenny are now 5th and 3rd graaders, and our daughter Misaki won't enter grade school for another 2 years. But since I am on the school's community overwatch board, I was called to attend the ceremony.

Thinking about all the work I have to catch up on, I was not looking forward to attending. However, seeing the smiling faces of this year's 40 new students was so uplifting. I needed that with all the gloomy nuclear radiation news.

「杏」テーマの部屋の杏の木に花 Our 'Anzu' themed room's namesake blossoms

2011.04.04: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

New 'Color' here at Kamesei

亀清の客室「千歳」は去年から少し改造して、地元のあんずの里の記念として「杏」のテーマにしています。庭に杏の木も植えました。今日見たら、花が咲き始まりました。今まで亀清旅館にない色で、私は非常に嬉しいです。

宿つくりの中で、こういう「花」も必要。

注：森「あんずの里」のあんずまつりは４月２日に始まりました。しかし、低い温度に日々が続いていて、８日ぐらいからは花見ができる程度咲く見込みです。祭りは１６日までですが、花はもう少しのころ様な気がします。また写真を撮りに行って、ここで載せますので宜しくお願いします。

For Kamesei Ryokan's guestroom 'Chitose', last year we started doing a small make-over to a 'Anzu' (apricot) theme in honor of our local Anzu no Sato (Apricot Village) district. Part of the make-over was to plant an apricot tree in the room's private garden. When I checked on it yesterday, I was thrilled to see that the tree had started to bloom. Until we planted this tree, Kamesei never had this type of colorfulness.

Adding color like this is a major goal for the improvements we are making here at Kamesei.

NOTE: Mori's Apricot Village started this year's Apricot Blossom Festival on April 2nd, but the flowers are late this year due to continuing cold temperatures. The locals say the blossoms will be ready by Friday the 8th for viewing. The festival is scheduled to run through April 16th, but I'm guessing the blossoms will continue a bit past that. I will get some pictures and post them here regularly.