若若女将:将来は太鼓?Will Misaki Play Taiko in the Future?

2008.08.23: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

Little Drummer Misaki

若若女将の美咲ちゃんの最近の好きな遊びが亀清のロビーに太鼓をたたく事。意外に上手です。将来は地元の冠着太鼓に入るかな?

Our daughter Misaki's favorite things to play with now are the taiko drums in our lobby. She's got surprisingly good rhythm. Maybe someday whe will join our town's Kamuriki Taiko group.

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website





亀清のロビーにシカゴジャズ演奏A Chicago Jazz concert in Kamesei's Lobby

2008.08.20: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

Sax and Trumpet performance at Kamesei

シカゴから来たDavisさん達を駅に迎えに行ったら、面白い形の荷物を持っていました。中身はサクソホーンとトランペットでした。頼んでみたら、亀清のロビーで演奏してくれました。お客様の皆が大喜び。(うちの子供達も;長男のAndyがピアノを弾いて、一緒にジャムした。)
When I picked up the Davis' at the station, I noticed they had some odd-shaped bags. Inside were a saxophone and a trumpet. I asked if they'd be interested in performing in our lobby, and they happily agreed to do so. And what a performance it was. All of our other guests gathered, and we got to enjoy some real Chicago Jazz. Our kids really liked it, especially our oldest son, Andy. He got to jam with them on the piano.





夏休みで子供連れのお客様が多いSummer Vacation = Lots of Guests with Kids

2008.08.12: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

満車?

今朝に亀清のロビーを見れば驚きました:ベビーカーは何と4つが駐車してありました。(まあ、1つは我が美咲ちゃんの)。やはり夏休みと言う事で子供連れのお客様が多い訳です。亀清の雰囲気はさらに「アットホーム」に。

I was a little surprised this morning when I looked at our lobby and saw 4 baby strollers parked. (Well, one of them is our Misaki's.) You can definitely tell it's summer vacation -- a lot of our guests are here with their children. Kamesei's 'at-home' feel is becoming even more so!

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website





若若女将と川越駄菓子Our Misaki with Kawagoe 'Dagashi'

2008.08.11: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

吹き戻し遊び

先週に泊まった森田様からこの川越の駄菓子を頂きました。我が娘が大喜び。森田さんが亀清旅館の伝統的な良さを気に入っていただいた様でこの伝統的な駄菓子を送っていただきました。有難うございました!
(注:他のお客さんから最近に言われましたが、「青い目の若旦那はいいけど、亀清の本当のスターは若若女将の美咲ちゃんだ!」と。その訳でもないですが、美咲ちゃんの写真をまた提供いたしますので宜しくお願い致します。)

We got a gift in the mail from a guest, Morita-san, who stayed at our inn last week. She sent us traditional 'dagashi' sweets and toys from Kawagoe. Our daughter Misaki enjoyed playing with the toys. Apparently Morita-san enjoyed Kamesei Ryokan's traditional feel enough to send us these traditional 'dagashi'.
(Note: One of our recent guests commented that it's nice Kamesei has this American innkeeper, but the real star is their daughter, Misaki. So, here is another picture of her!)

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website



川越のおもちゃ


仲良くで中庭を見るGazing at the Naka-Niwa garden together

2008.08.08: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

我が若若女将と、お客様の斎脇さん達の長男が亀清旅館の中庭を楽しく見ていました。可愛い姿で庭の鯉や亀達を見ていました

Our daughter and the Saiwaki's son stopped to gaze at our Naka-Niwa garden together. They were so cute, watching the pond's koi and turtles swim around.

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website





お風呂温度チェックChecking the Temperatures of the Baths

2008.08.03: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

お風呂タイム!41℃

夏で外の気温が大分高くなりました。そのせいか、亀清旅館のお風呂の温度もこのごろ、暑く感じています。窓を開けて空気を通していて、なるべく対応しております。でも、人それぞれなので悲しい事はこの間のお客さんが「暑くて結局は入れなかった」と言う残念なコメントが入りました。今日も外の温度が30℃より上がっているので気になっていましたからお風呂の温度を計りました。結果は:
小さい内風呂:41℃
大きい内風呂:40℃
露天風呂:39℃
他の温泉地の45~46℃と比較すればまだ入りやすい温度ではないかと思います。入る瞬間は暑く感じるかもしれませんが、入ってしまえば大丈夫と思います。特に、露天風呂ですね。皆様、どうぞ、お入りになってください!
With it being summer, the outside temperature is climbing. Maybe that's to blame for our onsen baths feeling a little hot. We try to cool the baths down a bit by keeping the windows open and letting air circulate. But we received an unfortunate comment back from one guest who said she never was able to get in because it felt so hot. Today's temperature is in the 30's (C), so with concern, I checked the baths' temperatures, with the following results:
Small Indoor Bath: 41C
Large Indoor Bath: 40C
Outdoor Bath: 39C
Those temperatures are a lot more reasonable to handle than the 45~46 C of some other onsens. Our baths may feel hot to the touch, but after you get in and soak, the temperature should feel soothing. I hope everyone can come and enjoy our baths!

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website





亀が逃げようとしている Runaway turtle

2008.07.17: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

Go! Go! Turtle Go!

女将社長の「あっ!」と言う声で飛んで行ったら、中庭の池から逃げた亀が亀清の廊下を歩いていた。お風呂へ行こうとしていたかな?

Our Okami-san screamed, and I went to go see what happened. It turned out one of our turtles from the naka-niwa garden koi pond had escaped and was walking down Kamesei's corridor. Maybe making a break for the mineral bath?

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website





上山田温泉は本格的なお湯!Kamiyamada's Onsen is the real thing!

2008.07.16: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan

healing waters

日本は全国的に温泉があるけど、その中で「なんちゃった」のもある。上山田温泉は硫黄泉で香りも感覚も温泉らしいお湯です。この間、それの証拠が出来る例がありました。
週末に91歳のお客様が来はって、足が弱い為にロビーからお部屋までは車椅子でした。でも次の日にお帰りになった時にお部屋から歩いてきました。「車椅子は?」と聞いたら、温泉のお陰で歩かれましたと。
もう1つなお客様は珍しいアレルギーがあって、調べたら上山田のお湯の成分が良いと、泊まりに来ました。そうすると、朝に私が布団上げしに行ったらお客様が寝坊していました。聞いたら、普段はアレルギーのせいで夜は2時間おきで起きるけど、温泉のお陰でぐっすりと眠れた。おまけに2泊延長も!
上山田のお湯は何でも効くとは言いませんが、本格の温泉だと自信を持って言えます。

上山田温泉の効能はここ

Japan is blessed with onsens all over the country. However, many are of questionable quality. Togura Kamiyamada's is a sulfur hot spring, and is the real deal. We recently had a couple of guests who exemplified just how good our onsen is.
Over the weekend, we hosted a 91-year old lady who had to be wheelchaired from the lobby to her guest room due to weak legs. However, the next morning, she walked to the lobby. I asked about the wheelchair, and she said that thanks to soaking in our mineral bath, her legs felt good enough to walk!
Another guest had a rare allergy. Her research said our onsen would be good for her condition, so she came to stay the night. The next morning when I went to put away her futons, she was sound asleep. Apparently her allergy usually causes her to wake up every two hours, but thanks to our onsen she didn't wake up at all. She even decided to extend her stay 2 nights.
We don't say that Kamiyamada Onsen is a cure-all, but we can say with certainty that it is the real deal.

More on Kamiyamada Onsen's effects here.