戸倉上山田温泉の町興しの行事で浅草の芸者、紗幸さん（歴史上の初めての外国人芸者）と戸倉上山田温泉のコラボレーションが行いました。新しい芸者がなかなか少ないと言う問題と旅館側と芸者側の誤解に対して、昨日は若い女性三人が１日芸者体験をやり、今朝は紗幸さんと芸妓組合と旅館組合のシンポジウムでした。こういう話し合いの継続が出来るので私も全面的にサポートしております。温泉旅館の文化もそうですが、芸者文化も大事にしなければならない！そう言う気持ちで私が紗幸さんをこの温泉に紹介しました。
As part of our on-going projects to revitalize Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, Sayuki-san, a geisha from Asakusa (and Japan's first foreigner geisha) came to do a colloboration with our town's geisha guild. In order to address the problems of too few new geisha and the misconceptions between the innkeepers and the guild, yesterday had 3 young ladies try out being geisha for a day, and this morning we had a symposium with Sayuki-san, innkeepers, and the geisha guild. To me, it's important to work hard to protect the culture of Japan's onsen ryokans (which is one of the main reasons I came to Kamesei), but equally as important to maintain Japan's geisha culture, too. That's one of the reasons I introduced Sayuki-san to this onsen.

この青い目の若旦那が長野テレビ局ＮＢＳの「８１市町村応援サイト」の「エリアブログ」、千曲市の代表として選ばれました。月１回なペースで千曲市の自慢のブログを書くことになりました。第一回は「姨捨駅」です：

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日本の諺、「灯台下暗し」の様に、千曲市の一番自慢が出来る所は市民があまり行かない所：姨捨駅からの夜景です。百回以上、我が宿のお客さんに夕食後で「姨捨夜景・伝説ツアー」に私が連れて行っております。駅のホームからの一目で見える善光寺平の夜景は勿論綺麗ですが、他の楽しみも沢山あります。

日本人は「三大」何とかが好きなので、姨捨駅は「三大車窓」となっています。夜のその善光寺平の光りを見れば納得は出来ると思います。お昼は棚田や千曲川の眺めもうんと綺麗です。
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あとはスイッチバックの事や「田毎の月」の棚田や姨捨山の伝説について書きました。

詳しくはＮＢＳのＨＰへ

http://www.i-nagano.com

(Nagano TV Station NBS selected me to be the representative for Chikuma City for their website promoting Nagano's 81 villages, towns and cities. Once a month I will be submitting a blog entry on 'The Pride of Chikuma'. Sorry, Japanese only.)

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

亀清旅館は今日と明日、年一度の夏休みで～す！子供達を連れて、家族でお出かけです。信州の反対側の立山・黒部ダムアルペンルートへ。
その途中、麻績村の「香舎」と言う電車（貨車？）の形のレストランでおそばと定食を。上田市に夢ハウスという本物の電車車両があるそばレストランの次に面白い鉄道テーマのレストラン。子供達は大喜び！（お父さんも）
Today and Tomorrow, we are closing Kamesei Ryokan for our annual summer vacation. We piled the kids in the car, and are taking off for the other side of Nagano Prefecture, to Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route.
On the way, we stopped in Omi Village at this restaurant named 'Kasha' for lunch. Kasha is a synonym for train car, and the building is shaped like one. Our kids enjoyed the train theme. (Their dad did, too!)

千曲市観光協会の毎週金曜・土曜催行「姨捨夜景ツアー」仁得点が付かれました：
①地産・千曲産の杏ジャム（味噌蔵たかむら）
②姨捨夜景の絵葉書（姨捨サービスエリア）
お１人１０００円です。問合せはどうぞ、亀清旅館へ。

ちなみに、亀清なりの「姨捨夜景・伝説ツアー」をお客様によくサービスしております。このごろは善光寺平の夜景がさらに綺麗です：あちらこちらに夏の花火も見えます。夕べは篠ノ井の花火が見えました。音が届くないほどの距離でしたが、遠くから見たら綺麗でした。

Our town's Obasute Night View Tour has 2 new special promotions: A free sample of local apricot jam and a free postcard from the Obasute Service Area. Tour cost is 1,000 yen per person and runs every Friday and Saturday night.

Here at Kamesei, we also provide "Obasute Night View / Legends Tour", for free, with yours truly as the guide. Last night's tour was extra special: in addition to the normal pretty lights of the Zenkoji Plain, we could see in the distance the fireworks from Shinonoi's summer festival.

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

私達家族が模型電車のファンなので久しぶりに上田の夢ハウスの蕎麦屋さん（レストランの中で特急あずさの本物の電車がある！）に行ったら、このモデルトレーンショーの知らせがありました。鉄道オタクの皆様に報告いたします。

Our family loves model trains. Last week, when we stopped at Yume House soba shop in Ueda (they have a real JR train inside their restaurant), we saw this announcement for an upcoming train show. So I'm passing on the info here for all of you fellow model train fans.

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

トレーンショーの詳しくはこちらClick here for info on the train show

夢ハウスのＨＰはこちらClick here for Yume House website

梅雨の雨のお陰で亀清の「１００年風呂」露天風呂の庭が段々と深緑になってきています。上山田温泉の歴史を感じながら庭の自然度を楽しみながら温泉の良いお湯をごゆっきるおは入り！
Thanks to the rains of this year's rainy season, the garden of our "100 Year Bath" outdoor bath has become lush with green. Come soak in the mineral waters of Kamiyamada Onsen while taking in the natural beauty of our garden and enjoying the historical theme of the bath.

JR篠ノ井線の姨捨のトリプルスイッチバックを体験できる「スイッチバック街道」特別列車が7月5日（土）と6日（日）に長野駅10：19分初で走ります。

詳しくはこちら

お泊りは是非亀清に。夜は姨捨夜景・伝説ツアーが我が特徴です。

JR is running a special train this weekend, July 5th and 6th, departing Nagano Station at 10:19am. It will run the triple switchback around Obasute Station.

雨が降っても露天風呂には入れるか？と良く聞かれます。特に、こういう梅雨の時期に。入り口に傘を準備しておりますのでご利用して頂けたら雨の中でも楽しんで頂けます。

Some people ask if they can use our outdoor bath in the rain (particularly like now, during Japan's rainy season). We have these traditional 'kasa' hats by the entrance, so feel free to use them and enjoy our outdoor bath even in the rain.

亀清旅館の露天風呂の庭が深緑で青々・生き々してきました。やぐらとの合わせで上から取った写真です。

Kamesei's outdoor bath's garden has entered its deep green stage, and is fully leafed and and full of natural energy. Here is a picture of the bath with the garden and the 'yagura' hot spring well derrick, taken from above.

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

ミシュランの編集の方に戸倉上山田温泉の芸者の件、もう１つ聞かれたのは宴会の時に何が行うのかと。下記のように返事しました。
The Michelin editor asked a 2nd question: What takes place at a banquet with Geisha. Following is the response I prepared:

*What kind of entertainment do Geisha provide at banquets?

Traditional Song and Dance: Usually the Geisha begin their entertainment with songs performed on the banquet room’s stage. There will typically be three ladies: one playing the shamisen and singing, one playing the taiko drums, and one dancing. They generally play two or three songs, such as ‘Chikuma Ko-Uta’, a collection of short songs about the Chikuma River which runs through the middle of our onsen. The flow of the river is poetically linked to love and romance in the lyrics of the songs. Another song is ‘Kapore’, which is an energetic song that raises the spirits of the audience.

Entertaining Conversation: After performing a few songs, the Geisha will then move around the room making conversation with and pouring beer for the guests. At these banquets, the guests are seated on the tatami mat floor and have individual tables called ‘o-zen’. The o-zen are often arranged in a u-shape with everyone facing the center. The Geisha would be in the center and greet each guest one-by-one, top off his glass of beer and make fun, facetious conversation.

Parlor Games: Depending on how the banquet progresses, sometimes the Geisha will engage in parlor games with the guests. The games are often set to shamisen and song. One typical game is a version of rock-paper-scissors with an Oba (grandmother), Tora (tiger) and rifleman. The Rifleman beats the tiger but is subservient to the Oba. The tiger in turn can eat the Oba. In this game, the loser has to drink a glass of beer. Another game is ‘Hide the Flower’ with the Geisha hiding a flower decoration under one of three tea cups and the guest has to guess which cup. Whoever loses has to drink more beer.

In short, if you arrange for a Geisha to come to a banquet, you can expect to be enjoy their traditional song and dance and to be entertained with their charming conversation and fun drinking games, creating a relaxing, pleasurable atmosphere for you and your fellow guests.