御嶽山の噴火情報 Announcement Regarding the Volcanic Eruption of Mt. Ontake

2014.09.29: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi

木曽路の御嶽山は9月27日に急に噴火し、数十人の登山者が灰や落石で亡くなった様です。登山が大好きな私には悲しい事故です。
取り敢えず、長野県は御嶽山の直径4km危険区域を設定しました。木曽路の国道19号やJR中央線及び隣の伊那谷を通中央道は通常通りです。
戸倉上山田温泉・亀清旅館は御嶽山からの距離が90kmです。火山の影響が全くございませんので、ご安心してお越しになって頂けます。これからは紅葉の時期なので温泉の旅に最適です。お待ちしておりますので宜しくお願い致します。
Mt. Ontake in Nagano Prefecture's Kiso area had a volcanic eruption on Saturday 27-Sept. Several dozen climbers were killed by the ash and falling rocks. As an avid mountain climber myself, this news comes as quite a shock.
Nagano Prefecture has set up a 4-km radius danger zone around Mt. Ontake. Both Route 19 and JR's Chuo Line, the main routes along the Kiso Valley, as well as the Chuo Expressway one valley over, are all operating normally.
Here at Kamesei Ryokan and our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, we are 90km from Mt. Ontake and haven't experienced any effect from the volcano. We are coming up on the fall foliage season -- perfect for an onsen trip. We look forward to warmly hosting our guests as we always do here at Kamesei.





台風の様にSarahさんが松代に Typhoon-like Sarah-san Storms Matsushiro

2014.09.25: 活動 Activities

長野で活躍している欧米人として、私の大先輩のSarah Marie Cummingsがいます。25日は長野市松代地区の「夢空間」と言う町興しNPOの勉強でSarahさんの講演会が開催された。私は10月の同じ勉強会で講師として呼ばれていますので、どういう集まりかも含めて、Sarahさんのお話を聞く為に参加させて頂きました。

Sarahさんは小布施で町興しを全面的に動いていて、有名です。月一回の勉強会「Obusession」や小布施見にマラソンを立ち上げたとは知っていました。しかし、お話しを聞いたらびっくりしたのはもっともっと広い活動している事。作り酒や業界の中で木の桶を使う運動とか、小布施堂でお正月の餅つき大会"Mochivation"など、様々の運動なされて、感心しました。

更に感動したのは提案する度に反対声や出来ない理由が沢山出る訳。「非常識だ」との断りに負けないで、その壁を越えて毎回毎回形に出来たのはとにかく凄い。
一つの事例は見にマラソン。コースの途中で国道の橋があった。下は田んぼ。国道を渡るのは無理。田んぼの中を走る訳に行かない。
どう考えても駄目。
そこで、Sarahさんが思いついたのは、田んぼと国道の橋の間に足場を組んで仮設な橋を作る事。
毎年に仮設の橋を立てて、マラソンが終わったら取り外して、次の年にまた組んで…7年間続いたみたい。
そのうち、町が常設な橋を作った。
非常識が常識になった。

あんな可愛いらしい声でしゃべるSarahさん、尚且つ所々でおやじギャグも入れて、「台風」というイメージは浮かばない。しかし、Sarahさんはあまりにも色々なアクションを起こしていて、「台風娘」とも呼ばれているようです。「いつも反対されて、疲れないですか?」と聞いてみた。「皆がすぐに賛成すれば、逆に甘すぎたかと不安になる」と。
驚き!
感激!

Sarahさん、色々と学ばせて頂いて、有難うございました!

10月23日は今度、私の出番です。松代、宜しくお願いします。

Sarah Marie Cummings became famous while working for the sake brewery Obusedo. Matsushiro, a district in neighboring Nagano City, recently invited her to give a talk on ways to attract visitors. Since I am invited to be the guest speaker in October, and because I had always wanted to hear Sarah-san, I took the time to attend the talk.

I had known about her activism in Obuse with creating events such as the Obusession lecture series and the Obuse Mi-ni Marathon. But she explained about many of her other endeavors as well, such as getting the sake brewing industry to go back to using wooden casks, or having her company sponsor a New Years mochi-pounding event called, with Sarah-san's classic punny sense, "Mochivation".

What she kept coming back to was the need to make the unrealistic, real. One great example was during the planning for the marathon, the course needed to cross a busy national highway. It was at a section where the highway bridged a rice field. Everyone said it was impossible -- unrealistic. Her solution: to build a temporary bridge using scaffolding over the rice paddy and under the overpass. After the event, the scaffolding was taken down, then put up again the next year and taken down again. This went on for 7 straight years, until Obuse Town built a permant pedestrian bridge.

The unrealistic had become reality.

With her cutesy voice and plethora of Japanese-English puns, it was hard for me to picture her as the "Blonde Typhoon" that she has become to be called because of her supposedly overambitious activism. I asked her if she ever tires of people not agreeing with all of her proposals. Her answer: "To the contrary, if too many people agree, I start to wonder if my proposal was too bland."
Amazing!

Sarah-san, thanks for the inspiring talk!

On October 23rd, it will be my turn to hopefully inspire Matsushiro!

夢空間松代NPO Matsushiro Yume Kukan





信州人大賞: 青い目の若旦那受賞! Winner of the 'Shinshu-Jin' Prize

2014.09.17: メディア Media

青年会議所の長野県ブロック大会が9月15日に行われた。目玉イベントは「信州人大賞」でした。長野県に貢献している24人と団体が申請して、その内の五人が選ばれた。

私が中心で作った長野県旅館ホテル組合青年部の事業「ユニーク長野」のアプリを基にして申請してみた。しかし、他の皆さんの活動を見たら、確率が低いかなと心配でした。

その結果は?

発表の時に自分がもう4人と舞台に登りました!ユニーク長野の影響が認められたようです。

今年度はユニーク長野が長野県観光課国際室に取り上がれて、言語も項目も拡大になる予定。更に信州に貢献になる!

The Nagano Branch of the JCI held their annual meeting here in Chikuma City on Sept. 15th. The main event was the Shinshu-Jin Prize, a cash prize award given out to 5 people who contribute the most to Nagano Prefecture.

I was among the 24 people / groups who applied for the prize. The Unique-Nagano app that I worked on with the Ryokan Junior Association was the basis of my application.

Looking at the caliber of the other applicants, I figured my chances of being selected were pretty slim. But at the final presentation, I got to join 4 others on the stage.

This year, the prefecture's Tourism Dept. has taken the Unique Nagano project under its wings and will increase the number of entries as well as languages. So my contribution to the prefecture is bound to become even greater!

ユニーク長野 Unique Nagano





県民も、訪問者も、お猿も、信州地酒でカンパイ! Nagano-ites, Visitors, Even Monkeys, Kanpai with Nagano Sake!

2014.09.12: グルメFoodie

9月12日は「信州カンパイFES2014」! 県内の飲食店や宿で18:30に信州の地酒で同時乾杯!

この間は面白い地酒を見つけた。山ノ内町の玉村本店が作っている「雪猿Snow Monkey」の冷酒。おいら欧米人は温泉に入る地獄谷野猿公苑のスノーモンキーが大好きで、子の冷酒がちょうど良い!

September 12th is Shinshu Sake Kanpai FES 2014! In drinking establishments and inns throughout the prefecture, everyone will do a toast ('kanpai') with Nagano-made sake.

The other day, I discovered a funky sake brewed here in Nagano called "Yuki-saru (Snow Monkey)". It is brewed by Tamamura Honten near the world-famous Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park. People come from all over to see the monkeys blissfully soaking in their onsen bath. Now all those people have the perfect sake -- Snow Monkey!

信州カンパイFES Shinshu Kanpai FES

玉村本店 Tamamura Honten





りんご丸が亀清に 今日の駅前テレビ "Ringo-Maru" at Kamesei, on today's Eki-Mae show

2014.09.06: メディア Media

長野朝日放送(ABN)の土曜の朝番組「駅前テレビ」で、
ABNのキャラクター「りんご丸」が信州の各地の温泉宿を訪ねるコーナーがあって、9月6日は何と、我が亀清旅館の番です。

今回は亀清の貸し切り露天「しなの風呂」に入られましたが、あのでかいりんご丸はどうやって入ったか、お楽しみ…

Nagano Asahi Broadcasting (ABN)'s Saturday morning show "Eki-Mae Terebi" broadcast from in front of Nagano Station has a feature in which ABN's PR character "Ringo-Maru" visits different onsen inns throughout Nagano Prefecture. For Sept. 6th, it's Kamesei Ryokan's turn.

Ringo-Maru soaked in Kamesei's family outdoor bath, the Shinano-buro. How did that huge Ringo-Maru fit in our bath? Tune in to see!

駅前テレビEki-Mae TV