夕べは戸倉上山田の裏にある城山を見たら、びっくりしました：「戸倉上山田+温泉マーク」の看板が光っていました。我が温泉のシンボルは３．１１以降、ずっと暗かった。震災関係の節電もあったが、LEDに切り替える工事も入りました。

工事は先月の夏祭りまで間に合う予定だったが、遅れたせいかまだ暗かった。そして、昨夜はテストしていたらしいので、久しぶりに光っていました。工事が早く完成して、我が温泉のシンボルが復活するといいね。

Hollywood has its famous sign on the hills above the town. Here in our onsen town, Togura Kamiyamada, we have a sign with our town's name in kanji on Jo-yama, the hill behind us. But since the March 11th disaster, the sign's lights have been dark. Partially due to saving electricity in the disaster's aftermath, but also to allow for construction to switch the lights over to LED.

Last night, the workers must have been testing it, because the sign was lit up. I hope the testing is completed soon so we can have our town's symbol back in operation!

全ての道はロマに通づると言いますが、北信の場合は全ての道は長野市へ通づる。特に、善光寺さんが中心。善光寺と権堂、その主の商店街。

上山田温泉の夏祭りの元となる「勇実獅子」はその中心となる権堂から分けてきました。上山田もそうだし、篠ノ井地区、松代地区、皆の獅子は元々権堂からだそうです。

今日は「信濃井イヤー」に合わせて、「獅子の祭典」が篠ノ井で開催された。篠ノ井から2機、上山田の勇実獅子、権堂からの勢獅子の４機が集まりました。私は上山田の獅子に２年ぶりに中に入りまして、うんと楽しませて頂きました。そして他の獅子も見れて、感動しました。

それぞれの獅子は特徴がある。皆は頭、本体、そして櫓がある。上山田の勇実獅子の頭が重い（３５kg）と思ったら、他の獅子は６５kgもあって、三人で支える頭もあった。その三人は足をそろって踊る事もある。口が開く頭もあった（上山田のは開かない）。そして、櫓は驚きました。篠ノ井の２機とも、スポンサーが付いたお蔭で宮大工の手で豪華な作りだ。

親戚の獅子の集まり。それぞれ誇りを持っている獅子。歴史と伝統はものすごく感じました。

最後の打ち上げは４機がそろって、チュチュした。（その時、上山田の獅子の頭は誰が入っていたでしょう?）

You know the saying "All Roads Lead to Rome"? Well, here in northern Nagano, it's more like "All Roads Lead to Zenko-ji", the temple around which Nagano City was built. The temple and its main shopping district, Gondo, are at the heart of our region.

Kamiyamada Onsen's summer festival originated with the arrival of a shi-shi lion given from Gondo. Shinonoi, Matsushiro and other nearby towns all have shi-shi lions that originated from Gondo. Today, Kamiyamada's Isami Shi-Shi, Gondo's Kiyoshi Shi-Shi,and two from Shinonoi had a sort of family reunion in celebration of 'Shinonoi Year'.

I myself participated and for the first time in 2 years, got to be inside the lion. That was a lot of fun, but it was an honor to be able to see the other shishi. All have the lion head and the body pulling a 2-story cart with musicians below and geisha ladies performing on the top. But beyond that, each one is very unique. I thought Kamiyamada's lion head was heavy at 35kg, but the others were 65kgs and are carried by 3 people (ours is carried by one person at a time). In some cases, those 3 guys coordinate their leg movement in a choreographed dance -- way cool! I was surprised to see some of the lions have mouths that open. But the biggest shock was seeing the decorative carts from Shinonoi. Kamiyamada's is rather plain by comparison -- the others apparently had benefactors that payed for traditional craftsmen to create beautifully detailed and elaborate roofs.

Seeing the 4 shi-shi together, each with their own characteristics and sense of pride, really gave me a feeling of the history and tradition involved.

For the grand finale, all 4 lions came together and, err, rubbed noses. (Guess who had the honor of being inside Kamiyamada's lion's head!)

この８月は戸倉上山田温泉で東北応援vs．射的との計画をしています。

我々戸倉上山田温泉の旅館が旧上山田町の姉妹都市、岩手県山田町の支援で「東北応援プラン」をずっと提供しています。私が連携のチャリティーイベントを担当しています。第一ラウンドは５月は母の日にお母さんたちの為に花のコサージュ、と父の日は千曲サイクリングクラブと一緒にファミリーサイクリング。

そして、第２ラウンドはこの８月は戸倉上山田温泉の射的屋さん４件と取り組んだ射的散策。我々旅館で５００円で射的共通券を販売しています。内２００円は義援金。目玉イベントは８月１０日に「旅館青年部と勝負」の射的大会。無料宿泊券が当たります!射的屋さん達は通常、夜しかやっていませんが、その日だけは特別で１６；００～１８：００で営業しますので、その時間帯で射的大会が行います。

詳しくはどうぞ、亀清旅館にお問い合わせを下さい。

The Togura Kamiyamada Ryokan Association has been running a special promotion to support the areas affected by the 3.11 disaster. In conjunction, we have held a series of charity events, with Yours Truly being the man in charge.

For Round 1, we had flower corsages for Mother's Day and a bicycle ride with the Chikuma Cycling Club for Father's Day.

So far for Round 2, we are hooking up with the 4 shateki stands in town. Shateki is a cork gun target shooting game. Throughout the month of August, we ryokans will be selling shateki tickets for 500 yen, with 200 yen to be donated to the relief effort. And as a special event, the 4 shateki stands which are usually open only at night, will be open in the afternoon on Wednesday August 10th for a shateki contest, onsen guests vs. us ryokan junior association members. You can win a free stay at one of our inns!

For more info, feel free to contact us here at Kamesei Ryokan.

この戸倉上山田温泉の周辺になぜか馬が多いです。旅館仲間の上山田ホテル次男俊樹さんはポニー２頭を飼っているし、薪ストーブ仲間の村越さんは大きい馬１頭を最近に飼い始めて、森地区の知り合いは立派な馬車を作って、馬を飼い始まったそうです。

これだけ馬が多いならば、馬に乗りたくなっちゃいます。

それで、良いニュースがあります。ここから車で約１５分の上田市半過地区に乗馬クラブが出来ました。HANGA馬乗りクラブ（090-8723-2722/石井さん）は毎日08:00-17:00で騎乗料は3,000円から。

馬が好きな皆様にお勧めです。この夏休みは馬乗りはいかがでしょうか？

Here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, for some reason we have a lot of horses. My buddy from Kamiyamada Hotel, Toshiki-san, has 2 ponies he keeps right here in town. Another buddy, Murakoshi-san, has a huge horse he keeps on the other side of the river. And another acquaintance in Mori built a fabulous horse carriage and reportedly has acquired some horses, too.

With all of these horses around, I have been feeling an urge to go horseback riding.

Fortunately, a horse club has opened up in Ueda City's Hanga district, a short 15 minute drive from here. HANGA Horse Riding Club (Tel# 090-8723-2722, Ishii-san) operates daily 08:00-17:00 and offers horseback riding from 3,000 yen.

This summer, come to Togura Kamiyamada and enjoy horseback riding along the way!

戸倉上山田温泉に射的屋さんは4件もあります。長野県の中でこんなに射的屋さんが多いのは、恐らくここだけ。

私は友達が遊びに来れば、射的によく連れて行きます。特に、子供連れの友達。皆が喜ぶ。

こんなに喜ばれている遊びはもっともっとPRしたいと思っていました。そのために、8月からは旅館青年部で射的大会を計画しています。まずは温泉街の射的屋さんを紹介するパンフを作りました。温泉の写真屋さん、富岡さんに協力して頂いて、写真撮影及びパンフのデザインをやって頂きました。写真の「さくら」はうちの娘と旅館仲間のところの子供達。

これからは戸倉上山田の旅館の皆さんが印刷して、お客さんに提供します。お越しになるお客様の喜びにつながると望んでいます！

Here in onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, we are fortunate to have 4 shateki places. Shateki is basically a carnival-like game of target shooting using a cork-gun. And no other onsen resort town in Nagano has as many shateki joints as we do here.

Whenever a friend comes to visit, I often take him or her to go do shateki. Especially if they have kids. And everyone really has fun doing it. Our kids love shateki, too.

So I've always wanted to do something to better promote such a fun activity. And starting in August, the ryokan junior association and I are planning a shateki-related event. But first we had to make a brochure with information on the 4 shateki places.

I enlisted the help of Tomioka-san, our town's photographer. He took the photos and designed the pamphlet. And our daughter and the kids from another inn helped out by being the models in the pictures.

I've forwarded the brochure data to all of the inns for printing, so now us inns will be able to guide our guests to go and enjoy shateki!

今日は会議で長野市・善光寺の近くに行っていました。街をちょっと歩いたので、よく見たら商店街に花火師の店がありました。お店の窓に色んな花火が展示してあって、一つは中身が見せられた。

花火実体があんなにきれいで、玉の中もきれいって、納得です。

花火と言えば、戸倉上山田温泉の千曲川花火大会が近づいています。毎年8月7日に開催されます。北信・東信の中で一番大きい夏の花火大会です。

長野県のHPの説明によると、

「この大会の自慢は、なんといっても迫力ある花火の音！この迫力の秘密は、戸倉上山田温泉一帯の地形にあります。
千曲川を挟むように両側に山が迫っており、その間には幅約2kmの空間しかありません。その狭い空間で打ち上げる花火の音は、周囲の山々に反響して、腹の底にズシンと響きます。」

Today I was in Nagano City near the venerable Zenkoji Temple. While walking the streets in the area, I came across a shop that makes and sells professional-grade fireworks. They had some huge ones displayed in the shop's window. One of them was showing a cross-section.

Fireworks sure are beautiful as they are lit and illuminate the night sky. So it is no wonder that the insides of them are so pretty, too!

Seeing the fireworks shop reminded me that our onsen town Togura Kamiyamada's big Chikuma River Fireworks Display is coming up -- August 7th. It is the biggest summer time fireworks festival in northern Nagano. Not only are the fireworks visually appealing, but the sound reverbrating off the surrounding mountains is also very exciting.

戸倉上山田の千曲川花火大会の詳しくはこちら。Click here for info on Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's Chikuma River Fireworks Festival

戸倉上山田温泉に小さな本屋さんがあります:　西澤書店。もちろん、一般の雑誌と本を販売しているけど、信州に特化した本は沢山そろっています。観光ガイドや山登り、山野草など、信州の何か知りたいなら、西澤書店できっと良い本があります。場所はかめ乃湯通りです。

In our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, there is a quaint little bookshop called Nishizawa Shoten. While they have the regular assortment of popular books and magazines, they also feature a large selection of books and guides about Nagano Prefecture. From sightseeing guidebooks to mountain climbing and wildflower guides, you are certain to find what you are looking for here. Located on Kame no Yu Dori street.

上山田温泉の夏祭りの最初の日は何回も着替えながら、次から次へ飛んで回り。

朝は布団上げ、お会計と見送り＠亀清旅館　(作務衣）
水天宮のお祈り＠水と緑と潤いのある公園　(ワイシャツにお神輿の法被）
ついでに下駄供養＠同じ公園　(ワイシャツに戸倉上山田の緑色の法被）
お神輿の魂入れ　(お神輿法被に着替えなおす）
近所の１１区のお神輿担ぎ　(私物の青い色の祭り法被）
上山田お神楽保存会と獅子舞巡り　(お神楽の格好）
祭り若連の皆とご神体神輿　(白い短パンにお神輿の法被）

６回も着替えながら、長い一日でした。

アメリカで複数の役＝「複数の帽子をかぶる」と言います。日本の場合、複数の法被を着るって事ですね。

ちなみに、水天宮で行った神事の中で、今年は特別な祈りがありました。本来なら、水天宮の神事は２つな微妙な部分がある:　
生活や農業などに水が必要な一方、水の感謝するけど、
川が暴れて被災発生するもう一方で、水から守るとの祈りも。
3．11の津波で、「水から守る」との部分は特に大切に感じました。

この夏祭りでかける汗は東北の被災者の皆様への応援も入っています。

The first day of Kamiyamada Onsen's summer festival is always a bit hectic, including way too many changes of clothing.

This is how my day went:

Futon flipping and checking the guests out (wearing a 'samue' work outfit)
Water God ceremony at our town's main park (Omikoshi happi coat over dress clothes)
Geta sandal offering at the same park (Green innkeepers happi coat over dress clothes)
Omikoshi blessing (back to the Omikoshi happi coat)
Carrying our neighborhood's Omikoshi (my personal blue 'matsuri' happi coat)
The Okagura lion dance troupe procession (okagura garb)
The main festival omikoshi (white shorts and Omikoshi happi coat)

6 clothing changes made for a long, long day!

In the States, there's a saying about wearing multiple hats when doing more than one activity. In Japan, it should be wearing multiple happi coats!

By the way, this year's Water God ceremony had special importance. The ceremony always walks a fine line between thanking the god for supplying life-giving water, and praying from protection from that same water's destructive flooding potential. This year, the latter was especially pertinent in the aftermath of the 3.11 tsunami.

It is my hope that the sweat from this weekend's matsuri will also be for the betterment of the people that suffered in the 3.11 triple disasters.

週末の温泉夏祭りに向かって、準備が続いています。私は今年から獅子からお神輿の方の小頭になりました。

今日はお神輿の準備の作業でした。祭りの広場に移って、そして最後の仕上がり。祭りはいよいよ明日から!

Preparations for this weekend's onsen summer festival are reaching a feverish pitch. Starting this year, I switched from the giant shi-shi lion group to the omikoshi group.

For those of you not familiar with 'matsuri' (Japanese festivals), an 'omikoshi' is basically a portable version of an area's local shrine. It is carried around town, stopping at various places for a special blessing.

Sounds harmless enough, right?

Wrong! This is more X-Games material than some quaint cultural feature from National Geographic.

The omikoshi weighs upwards of a ton and is carried on the shoulders of 40, 50 even more people depending on its size. They usually process around town in a somewhat controlled manner. But when they return to the main festival site for the grand finale, all controls are cut loose. Multiple omikoshi are in action -- they taunt each other and often crash into each other, sometimes crushing the people carrying them. When the omikoshi spins around, the momentum sometimes gets going so fast, especially around the corners, that the carriers can easily fall and get trampled. That's not to mention the omikoshi getting out of control and crashing into the audience.

All of this is set to a rythmic chant of 'wasshoi', from the carriers, the handlers, the people watching, the taiko drummers encouraging everyone, and the ladies standing on top of the omikoshi urging the carriers on.

But before the wasshoi, there is the final preparation for the omikoshi, which I'm doing today. Here's looking forward to the festival!

戸倉上山田温泉にとっては、夏祭りが一年の一番大きいイベントです。毎年7月の海の日の連休で行います。祭りへ向かう準備、当日の汗、終わった後の片づけ、そしてまた来年に向かっての準備。

今は今年の祭りの準備の最中です。昨日は我々旅館青年部が担当する「下駄供養」の準備でした。

我らの宿にお泊りになるお客様が下駄を履いて浴衣のままで温泉街をぶらぶらする習慣です。一年間を通して、下駄が段々古くなる。その使われ切ったげたを集めて夏祭りの中心となる水天宮の横にオブジェのジャイアント下駄と合わせて、設置する。そして夏祭りの最初の碑にご来賓及び関係者に集まって頂いて、下駄供養を行います。

昨日は青年部の皆で温泉の旅館の全部を回って、古い下駄を集めて、温泉の真ん中の水と緑と潤いのある公園で準備しました。（OBの俊樹さん、ご協力を有難うございました！）

これで1年間のお客様のおお越しに感謝、感謝　！

Here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, our annual summer festival is the biggest event of the year. Everyone works hard on the preparations, puts in a lot of sweat during the festival itself, helps out with the clean-up afterwards, and then starts preparing all again for the next year's festival.

My fellow ryokan junior innkeepers and I are in charge of the geta sandal offering at the festival. Guests of the inns often wear the wooden sandals and go for strolls around town in their yukata robes. Over the year, the geta get worn down. So for the festival, we gather the worn out geta and place them in a mound next to the Suitengu (water god shrine). Then during the festival, we do a special offering of the geta in thanks for all the guests from the over the year.

Yesterday, the junior innkeepers and I went around to all of the inns and gathered the worn out geta. Then we piled up the geta with on ornamental giant sandal. Now we're ready to give thanks for all of our guests at the big festival this weekend.