日経新聞は去年、｢行ってみたい駅」のトップ１０の中で、姨捨駅を２番として選びました。昨日の新聞で今度は｢月見」のトップ１０で、姨捨は何と１番として選びました！月見部屋付きの松本城の第９番より上でした。やはり｢田毎の月｣の姨捨棚田と｢月見堂」のある長楽寺が注目されています。

タイミング的にちょうどいいです。今年の姨捨観月際は今月の１３日(土）から１５日(月)までです。全国俳句大会や「さらしな・姨捨歴史の道を辿る」ウォーク、棚田農道道しるべ等、イベントたっぷりです。戸倉上山田温泉からシャトルバスも。

Last year, the venerable Nikkei Newspaper created a list of the Top 10 Train Stations to visit. Our favorite local station, Obasute, was listed as #2. The station is unique because it is on a Switchback. In days past, the steam engine trains couldn't make the steep grade and had to do switchbacks on their way up. Obasute Station is located on one, and even today you can see local trains literally backing into the station.
Obasute's station building itself is a cute, historical structure.
The view from the station is fantastic. During the day, you can see the Obasute terraced rice fields, famous for reflecting the full moon in each paddie ("Ta-Goto-no-Tsuki"). Some of the ancient haiku greats like Bassho and Issa came here just to see the moon reflecting in the rice paddies. At night, you can see the lights of the Zenkoji Plain, making for a spectacular night view. The view is so nice, in fact, that Obasute Station has been selected as one of the Top 3 "Views from the Train Window" locations in Japan.
And on top of all of that (literally) is Obasute Mountain, from the famous legend about taking the elderly ("Oba" means old lady) and throwing them away ("Sute") at the top of the mountain. Add all of that up, and you get the #2 station in Japan to visit.

That was last year. This year, yesterday's issue in fact, Nikkei made a new list: The Top 10 Places to View the Moon. And this time, Obasute was listed as #1!!!! The "Ta-Goto-no-Tsuki" rice paddies are getting some well-deserved recognition. Besides the moon reflections, just below Obasute Station is Chorakuji Temple. The temple has its own moon-viewing building, "Tsukimi-Dou". How cool is that?

The timing of this Moon Viewing Award couldn't be better. Coming up on September 13th through the 15th, Obasute will hold their 25th annual Moon Viewing Festival. There will be a haiku contest, a guided walk, special illumination at night of Chorakuji, and much more. Shuttle busses will provide access from our Onsen, Togura Kamiyamada.

姨捨観月際の詳しくはこちらClick here for info on the Obasute Moon Viewing Festival

JR東日本の特別列車、更科浪漫号、が姨捨のスイッチバックを走ります。10月25日(土)と26日(日)の午後、そして25日の夕方も予定しています。旧型客車+姨捨夜景、ダブル楽しみだ！(注：全車指定席）
JR East is planning a special event train, the Sarashina Roman, for Obasute Station's switchbacks. The train is scheduled to run on 25-Oct (Sat) and 26-Oct (Sun) in the afternoon, and the 25th in the evening. Riding in classic train cars while enjoying the night view from Obasute -- Double the Fun!
(Note: Seat Reservations Required)

JR東日本の信越本線開業120周年の記念でSLD51498が走ります。この機会でデコイチを乗ってみましょう！私も息子たちを連れて行きたいと思っています。全車指定席だそうなので予約はお早目にJRの緑窓へ。
JR is celebrating 120 Years on its Shin'etsu Line with a special running of a real steam locomotive. I'm planning on taking our sons for a trip -- how often do you get to ride a real steam engine train? Dates and times as per the chart. Contact JR to make a seat reservation.

NBSというテレビ局の千曲市代表ブログとして文章を提供しております。９月分は送信しましたのでその内、NBSのHPに載せられる予定です。９月に地元の波閉科神社の秋祭りが２３日に行う予定なので、その記念として上山田お神楽保存会のことについて書きました。全部を読むのに、NBSのHPで出るまで待っていただかなければなりませんが、一部だけは下記です：
「私が上山田お神楽保存会に入る直前に、戸倉から一人が入りました。「あっ、川の向こう側からだ！」と皆がびっくりしたようです。私が入ったら、「あっ、海の向こう側からだ！」そして、最近は歴史的に初めての女性は一人が入りました。上山田お神楽保存会、モダン的で伝統を守っている。千曲市の自慢です。」
TV Station NBS (Nagano Broadcasting) is having me contribute blog entries from Chikuma City for their website. I just sent in the entry for September. It's about the Kamiyamada Okagura (Lion Dance) Preservation Society, in tribute for their upcoming main yearly event: the Habeshina Shrine Autumn Festival (scheduled for 23-Sept.). You'll have to wait for the entry to come out on NBS's website to read the whole thing, but one part is as below:
Right before I joined the group, they had a new member from Togura. Apparently they were pleasantly surprised by having a member come from the other side of the (Chikuma) River. When I joined, they were even more surprised, as I came from the other side of the (Pacific) ocean. Now, as previously mentioned here in this blog, we have our first female member. Kamiyamada's Okagura group is protecting the past using very modern ways -- and is thus the pride of Chikuma City.

詳しくはＮＢＳのＨＰへ

http://www.i-nagano.com

姨捨駅までお客さんにお迎えに行きました。そのまま、姨捨の棚田（田毎の月で有名な棚田）を通りました。いつも、夜の姨捨夜景・伝説ツアーとして行っていますが、久しぶりのお昼の棚田でした。お米がだんだんと伸びていますのでその真緑の色がうんと綺麗でした。
I had to pick up some guests at Obasute Station today, and on the way back to Kamesei I took them for a drive through the Obasute 'Tagoto-no-tsuki' terraced rice paddies. I usually pass through them as part of our Obasute Night View tour, so it was nice to see them during the day for a change. And how beautiful they were, with their rich green color.

お客様に亀清旅館の露天風呂の庭を良く褒めていただきます。「とっても落ち着きます！」と言われます。雨の日はさらに落ち着かせる雰囲気になります。露天風呂に入りたくなりませんか？
Guests often comment on how relaxing the garden around our outdoor bath is. On rainy days, the garden takes on an even more relaxing ambience. Do you feel like taking a soak?

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

夕立の大雨の後、勇気のあるお客様を連れて、姨捨夜景・伝説ツアーにご案内いたしました。雨のお陰で空気が綺麗になりましたので今晩の姨捨の夜景が普段よりもちかちかしていました。
After the evening showers (actually, more of a typhoon-like downpour), I took some brave guests out to see the night view from Obasute Mountain. Thanks to the rain, the air was really clean, so the lights of the night view twinkled even nicer than normal.

夏の良い天気の日に脱衣室から露天風呂へのアプローチはドアを最近に開けておいています。そうすると、皆様がもっと気楽に露天風呂へ行って頂けます。ドアが開いていると、脱衣室から露天風呂の中庭も眺めれます。良い雰囲気ですよ。皆様、どうぞ、お入りください。

On these nice summer days, we have been leaving the doors open between the changing room and the outdoor bath, giving a clear approach to the bath. This way, our guests can also enjoy the outdoor bath's garden from the changing room. Please, come and enjoy our bath!

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

ＪＲのコネからお聞きしましたが、次の姨捨スイッチバック列車が１０月２４日（金）と２５日（土）に行うそうです。今回はお昼も夜（夜景！）もやるそうです。ＪＲのＨＰを見たが明細がまだ出ていないそうです。明細を手に入ればすぐにお知らせいたします。

My special contact at JR told me the next Obasute Switchback Special Train is scheduled for Friday and Saturday October 24th and 25th. This time, there will be afternoon AND evening (=Night View!) runs, and the train will be pulled by.... a steam engine! JR still doesn't have details on their website yet, but as soon as I get them I will present them here.

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

亀清旅館の露天風呂の庭に「亀」はいくつかあります。その１つはこの写真の中です。見えますでしょうか？大きい石が頭、そして手、足と尻尾の石も。体は青い植物で出来ている。縦に刺している石ともみじとススキが「鶴」のイメージです。その植物は去年の１０月に植えつけられたばかりなのに、もうなじんできたようです。鶴のススキは特にすごいおい！正確の名前はハチジョウシマススキです。もみじはベニシダレモミジ “タムケヤマ”です。
Kamesei Ryokan's open air bath has several 'turtles', one of which is in this picture. Can you find it? The large rock to the upper left is the head, then there are rocks for the front and back legs and the tail, and the body is made up of lots of green plants. The vertical rocks and Japanese maple and pampas grass symbolize a crane spreading its wings. The crane-turtle combination are a symbol of good fortune in Japan. Ours was planted last October, and the plants have really taken a liking to their new home.
(Scientific names for the maple and grass are:
Acer palmatum var. matsumurae cv. Ornatum
and
Miscanthus sinensis. condensatus Hack.)

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

ガーデナーの岡田さんのＨＰはこちらClick here for our Gardener, Okada-san, website