亀清旅館の新しい貸切露天風呂「しなの風呂」の庭に節分草が咲いてきました。庭師の岡田さんが去年にこの庭を作った時に球根を植えくれたので、楽しみにしていました。

節分草の小さな白い花びらに黄色と紫の中心が可愛いらしい。

戸倉上山田温泉のキッティパーク（戸倉駅の上の天狗公園）の節分草のファンが多いなので見る価値はもちろんあります。そのついでに、亀清のしなの風呂にゆっくり浴びながら節分草を楽しめる事も出来ます。

Kamesei Ryokan's new "Shinano-buro" family bath features a garden designed by Okada-san, our gardener. When he built it last year, he planted some bulbs for a rare flower called "Setsubunsou" in Japanese. They have just started blooming, something I have been looking forward to seeing.

Setsubunsou flowers are cute little things, with white petals and purple and yellow centers.

Here in our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, the nearby Kitty Park (above Togura Station, nicknamed "Tengu-Kouen") has a cluster of setsubunsou growing wild. They attract photographers from far and wide. And justly so. Now perhaps the photographers can come for and enjoy a bath here at Kamesei Ryokan, and get to view more setsubunsou flowers as they soak in the onsen!