4月 – 2013 – 信州戸倉上山田温泉旅館亀清

音楽♪温泉：　冠着太鼓の土曜日シリーズ＠戸倉上山田温泉 Music and Onsen: Saturday Night Taiko at Togura Kamiyamada Onsen

2013.04.10: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada

Saturday Night Taiko Series in Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen

2013年の6月と9月の毎週土曜日はこの戸倉上山田温泉の地元の太鼓グループ、冠着太鼓は「サタデーナイト和太鼓」で夜8時半から演奏する。

水と緑…のある公園(カラコロ足湯の所）の能舞台で約1時間の演奏するそうです。途中で「ふれあい太鼓」で子供達も一緒に演奏が出来る。

6月は8日、15日、22日、29日(1日は休み）、
9月は7日、14日、21日、28日
の8回の開催となる。

戸倉上山田温泉の週末のお客さんを是非、この迫力のある冠着太鼓を楽しんで頂きたいと思っております。一緒に見に行きましょう！

Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen's own taiko drum group, Kamurikidaiko, has announced a Saturday Night Taiko Series of performances. They will play every Saturday night from 8:30pm for the months of June and September, 2013.

The one-hour performance will take place at the Stage in the Mizu to Midori park in the middle of our onsen town. It will include a chance for kids to come up on stage and try out the drums.

This is a great chance for weekend guests to Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen to get to see and here the energetic Kamuriki drummers. Won't you come and go see them with me?

イースターエッグフェスティバル2013年の様子 Scenes from Easter Egg Festival 2013

2013.04.09: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada

Easter fun in Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen

２０１３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6日に行われました。今年で第8回でしたが、大勢のお子さん達とそのご両親が集まって頂いて、大成功でした。千曲川沿いの公園で、御菓子入りのプラスチックの卵1000個を探したり、イースターのテーマのゲームをやったり、温泉の調理師会によるオムレツを食べたり、ゆで卵に色を塗ったり、さまざまな遊びでした。最後で温泉旅館組合の提供で参加者の皆さんは温泉入浴も楽しんで頂きました。

今年はフェスブックで情報発信したお蔭、小布施や妙高からの友人も来てくれて、今まで一番国際的だった。やはり、私達日本在中の欧米人たちはイースターの文化を私達の子供達に伝えたい。千曲国際交流協会のお蔭で、良い思い出になりました。スタッフの皆さん、ご苦労様でした！

The 2013 Easter Egg Festival in Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen took place on April 6th. Over a hundred children and their parents participated, making for a huge success. This being the 8th annual rendition, it once again took place at the park in front of the onsen town along the Chikuma River. Besides a massive, 1000-egg hunt, there were Easter-themed games, Easter egg coloring and omelets thanks to a couple of the ryokan chefs. After the festival, all the participants got to take onsen baths provided by the Togura Kamiyamada onsen ryokans.

This year thanks to spreading the word by Facebook, friends from as far as Obuse and Myoko brought their kids. We Westerners living in Japan appreciate this chance to share Easter fun with our children. I would like to give a big Thank You to the Chikuma International Exchange Association for putting on the event!

千曲国際交流協会 Chikuma Int'l Exchange Assoc.

Our kids Andy and Misaki helping out with the reception table

Pastor Dave's Greeting

Egg Hunt

Egg Coloring

Egg Toss

Adults, too!

Making the omelets

Serving the omelets

Decorating Easter cookies

Egg hop

Egg crawl

Your chief organizer

森「日本一あんずの里」は今、一番綺麗 Mori "Apricot Village" Blossoms at Peak

2013.04.08: その他 Miscellaneous

亀清旅館・戸倉上山田温泉から車で約20分、
森「日本一あんずの里」の花は今、ピークです。
8日にまた見に行きましたが、

杏の花は更に咲いていて、
春空は更に青くて、
雪をかぶっている北アルプスは更に見えて、

パーフェクトでした♪

皆さん、今はチャンスですよ！　花咲や天気は自然な現象ですから当たり外れが厳しい中で、今週はちょうどいいタイミング！

A short 20 minute drive from Kamesei Ryokan / Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen, Mori "Apricot Village" is at its peak for the apricot blossoms.

On the 8th, I again took a drive over to check out the flowers,

The blossoms were even more open,
The spring sky was even more blue,
The snow-capped Northern Alps in the distance were even more visible,

In other words, it was perfect!

The timing of the flowers and the weather are always hard to predict, but this week promises to be a great one for flower-viewing at Mori.

戸倉上山田温泉に桜タイム！ It's Cherry Blossom Time in Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen

2013.04.07: 季節 Seasons

戸倉上山田温泉にいよいよ桜が咲いてきました♪

写真はカラコロ足湯の公園のしだれ桜。

やっと春が来た！

It's cherry blossom time here at our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada!

Pictured is the 'shidare-sakura' (weeping cherry tree) at the Kara-koro Footbath park in the center of our town.

Spring has finally come!

雪猿2013年グリーンシーズンのアクセス Snow Monkey Access for 2013 Green Season

2013.04.06: その他 Miscellaneous

Transportation Guide to the Jigokudani Snow Monkeys for 2013 Spring/Summer/Fall

地獄谷野猿公苑のスノーモンキーは相変わらず、人気があります。亀清旅館・戸倉上山田温泉から楽で日帰りで行ける。車なら亀清から野猿公苑の登り口まで高速で約1時間。電車なら色んな乗換方法があるので一番便利なのをまとめて、この表を作りました。

春は赤ちゃんが生まれるのでスノーモンキーは雪がなくても見るのは楽しい♪

The famous "Snow Monkeys" of Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park are as popular as always. Going to see the monkeys is an easy day trip from Kamesei Ryokan and our onsen town, Togura-Kamiyamada. By car, it only takes an hour from our inn to the trailhead. By public transportation, it can be a bit confusing. To make sense of it all, I compiled this list to get from our local Togura Station, changing at Nagano Station to reach the trailhead at Kambayashi. From there, it is a pleasant 30 minute walk through a beautiful evergreen forest.

There doesn't need to be snow to enjoy the snow monkeys. Especially with the babies being born in Spring, the monkeys are fascinating to watch in the green season as well!

Detailed information about the Jigokudani snow monkeys, their social composition, habitat and more available on the park's official website:

地獄谷野猿公苑 Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park

亀清の家族でダブル入学式 Double Commencements for our Kamesei Family

2013.04.05: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi

4月4日に私ども亀清の家族で入学式は2つもありました：
長男のアンディー君が戸倉上山田中学校に、
長女の美咲ちゃんが上山田小学校に、
入学しました。
(二男のケネス君は小学校5年生になった。）
段々と成長する亀清の家族♪

(ちなみに、美咲ちゃんのランドセールの色はカラフルで可愛いでしょう。昔は男子が黒、女子が赤だったらしいけど、今年の上小に入学した女子で赤は一人しかいなかった。お相撲の褌は昔に全員が黒だったところで今は様々の色って事と一緒。日本と言う国も成長して来たね。）

Our family here at Kamesei Ryokan celebrated two school commencements on April 4th:

Andrew entering Togura-Kamiyamada Middle School,
and Misaki entering Kamiyamada Elementary School.
(Our middle son, Kenneth, is now a 5th grader at Kamiyamada Elementary.)

Our family is growing up!

(As a side note, elementary school students in Japan get a 'landsel' backpack as a 1st grader, and use it for 6 straight years. Back in the days, boys had black ones, and girls red. But as the color of Misaki's backpack indicates, the trend today is for a wider variety of colors. In fact, only 1 girl in this year's Kamiyamada Elementary 1st grade class had a red one. It reminds me of how all the sumo wrestlers used to all wear black fundoshi loincloths, but now each has a different color. Japan as a country is also growing up!)

森「あんずの里」あんずまつりなう！　天皇陛下も来る！ Apricot Blossom Festival Now! The Emperor to Come, too!

2013.04.04: 季節 Seasons

Apricot Blossoms in Bloom!

杏の花の可愛らしい薄いピンク色、
春晴れの青空、
遠くの雪をかぶっている北アルプスの白い色

信州の長くて寒い冬を我慢する価値がありました。

千曲市森地区、日本一のあんずの里のあんずまつりは本格的に行われています。

小学校の入学した美咲ちゃんをお祝いで連れて、4日に二人で花見しました。まだ７分咲きでしたが、４日と５日の晴れで週末を向かってきっと満開になるだろう。

２０１３年のあんずまつりは４月２１日までの予定で、
注目のライトアップは4月12日(金)～14日(日)　18：00～21：00で場所があんずの里スケッチパーク。

今年はビッグニュースで何と天皇陛下もあんずまつりに来ることとなっています。Yahoo!ニュースにも載っていますが、４月中旬にお越しになるそうです。

あんずの里の花を見たい皆様には是非、今年が最適です。天皇陛下にも会えるかも！

The soft pink of the apricot blossoms,
The clear blue of the spring sky,
The white of the snowcapped Japanese Alps in the distance...

Chikuma City's Mori "Apricot Village" Apricot Blossom Festival is in full swing.

Our daughter Misaki just entered elementary school, and as a reward I took her for a drive to Mori to see the apricot blossoms. They were about 70% in bloom, but with warm weather predicted for the 4th and 5th, they should be in full bloom for the weekend.

The 2013 Apricot Blossom Festival is scheduled to continue through April 21st with the light up at Sketch Park to take place on the evenings of the 12th through the 14th.

And this year, Japan's Emperor and Empress are scheduled to make a visit. Yahoo! News reports the two will come in mid April.

So for all of you that have been wanting to come see the famous Mori apricot blossoms, this is the year -- you may meet the Emperor, too!

あんずまつり情報 Official Apricot Blossom Festival News

天皇陛下のあんず花見情報 News on the Emperor's Visit to Chikuma City

With snow-covered Takatsuma and the Japanese Alps in the background

Apricot Blossoms -- perfect for a stroll

Don't Forget the Apricot Soft Ice Cream あんずソフトもお勧め！

亀清の貸切露天「しなの風呂」が千曲市の代表に？！ Kamesei's "Shinano-buro" Family Bath as Chikuma City's Face?

2013.04.03: メディア Media

Chikuma City's new official brochure, with a coverphoto of an onsen bath that looks familiar...

千曲市観光協会の新しい通年パンフが出ました。表紙は四季に合わせて4つの写真:
紅葉の長楽寺、
雪景色の姨捨「田毎の月」棚田
森「日本一あんずの里」の杏の花
そして、一番でかくのは戸倉上山田温泉のある旅館の露天風呂と庭。

あれっ？我が亀清旅館の貸し切り露天「しなの風呂」じゃないですか？

亀清のお風呂が千曲市の代表のお風呂？！

勿論、嬉しいけれども吃驚しました！
この写真実体はいつ撮られたか、
そしていつの間にか表紙に載ったか、
不思議でしょうがない。

特に、私が観光協会のこのパンフを作成する委員会に入っている…　偶々欠席した会議で決められたのかな？

という事で、市の新しいパンフが出ましたので何方かご要望があればお送りしますのでどうぞ、ご連絡を下さい。
そして、千曲市の代表のお風呂をこれからもしっかり守って行きます！

Chikuma City's Tourism Bureau released the newest Guide Book brochure for the city. The cover has 4 pictures representing our city's four seasons:
Fall leaves at Choraku-ji Temple,
Snow-covered terraced rice fields at Obasute,
Apricot blossoms from Mori "Apricot Village"
and, a outdoor bath and garden of one of the ryokans in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.

Hey, wait a minute,

That's Kamesei Ryokan's new outdoor family bath, "Shinano-buro"!!!

While of course I'm elated our bath was chosen to represent the city on the cover of the brochure,
I'm a bit surprised as to who/what/when the picture was taken, and how our bath's picture got chosen for the cover. Especially as I am on the committee that makes the brochure. I missed one meeting, and that must be when the decision was made.

Anyways, we now have the new brochures available for anyone that is interested, and we will now work doubly hard to make the best out of Kamesei's Shinano-buro, now that it represents the entire city!

亀清旅館がオール讀物にばれた Kamesei's Secret is out to All Yomimono

2013.04.02: メディア Media

Great Essay by Mayumi Yamazaki-san in the April 2013 issue of All Yomimono

温泉エッセイストの山崎まゆみさんは2月に亀清旅館に泊まりに来て頂きました。その時に一緒に食事も取れて、二人で温泉のことなど色んな話で盛り上がった。その時にまゆみさんは少し含み笑いしているかなと感じました。文藝春秋の月刊「オール讀物」4月号で分かりました：　その話からまゆみさんの頭の中でエッセーが生まれて来ていた。

と言う訳(？)で、今月のオール讀物に「温泉のひみつ～青い目の若旦那」というストーリが載っています。「祈りを込めて作られた風呂」とか日本旅館のおもてなし「マジック」など、面白い話ばかり。「私がそんなきつい事を言ったっけ？」と言う部分もあるけど、でも全体的にまゆみさんがこの青い目の若旦那の思いをうまく表現してくれました。

嬉しい限りです♪

Back in February, onsen essayist Mayumi Yamazaki-san came and stayed at Kamesei Ryokan. It was such a pleasure to be able to host her, and the two of us had some great conversation about onsens and life and working on promoting our various projects. At the time, I sensed something else was going on in the corner of her lips when she smiled. Now, thanks to the April issue of The All Yomimono magazine, a sort of monthly Readers Digest in Japan, I realized what was going on: An idea for a magazine article was taking shape in Mayumi-san's head.

Hence this story entitled: "An Onsen Secret: The Blue-Eyed Innkeeper". Mayumi-san wrote about several episodes in my life here as an American proprietor of a traditional Japanese inn, such as building an outdoor bath by hand in honor of Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen's over 100 years of history, and how a ryokan's 'omotenashi' service comes across as magic. Some of the things she mentioned strike me as being a bit severe, but overall she did a great job of capturing the essence of my life here.

Mayumi-san, thank you for the great essay!

オール讀物 All Yomimono

ラブラブばら祭り予報　Scent of Romance: Sakaki Rose Festival

2013.04.01: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada

2013 Sakaki Rose Festival

戸倉上山田温泉の隣の坂城町にさかき千曲川バラ公園があり、毎年はばら祭りが開催される。２０１３年の予定の情報が入りましたのでお伝えします:

2013年坂城町ばら祭り
6月1日(土)～6月16日(日)
さかき千曲川バラ公園
250種・2000株は千曲川沿いのバラ公園でその甘い香りと美しい姿を楽しめる。

地元ねづみ大根のおしぼりうどんや
地元チョコレート工場「ロビーニア」さんの美味しいチョコなどの屋台もある。

私と磨利ちゃんのお勧めのデートスポット：　坂城ばら祭り

Neighboring Sakaki Town is home to a wonderful rose garden that features an annual rose festival. The dates for 2013 have been announced, as follows:

8th Annual Sakaki Rose Festival
June 1st to the 16th, 2013
Sakaki Chikuma River Rose Garden
250 varieties and 2000 plants fill the air with their lovely scent.

There will be several booths set up including one serving the local specialty "Oshibori Udon" and one selling sweets from the nearby Lobenia Chocolate Factory.

The Sakaki Rose Festival is one of Mari's and my favorite outings for a date -- highly recommended!

さかき千曲川バラ公園 Sakaki Chikuma River Rose Garden