先日の若女将と若若女将との飯山巡りドライブで、菜の花以外にも目的がありました：高橋まゆみ人形館。

２２年４月にオープンした人形館に全国各地から大勢の観光客が訪れています。まゆみさんの独特な人形つくりは田舎のおじさん・おばちゃんの表情・雰囲気そっくりです。

人形館の展示場は思ったより狭いですが、一つ一つの人形の顔、展示の背景を見て、ゆっくり楽しめる。

そして、人形館の周りはまた私が好きな街の雰囲気で、伝統的な建物が沢山ありました。特に、仏壇通り。飯山は仏壇生産で知られているって聞いた事があったが、この仏壇通りは今回で初めて見ました。良く考えたら、当たり前の事ですが、日本でこういう商店街があるのは最初、驚きました。お神輿を売っている店もありました。祭り男の私には興味深い所です。

仏壇通りと人形館を出て、飯山の町の中と周辺を回りました。また面白い現象がありました：畑で働いている農家のおばさんや、町に歩いていたおじさんとかの姿を見て、まゆみさんの人形の感化はどこから来たか、分かる様な気がした。

Besides seeing the nanohana flower fields, our drive to Iiyama had another purpose: to see the Mayumi Takahashi Doll Museum.

Opened just in April of last year, the museum has attracted visitors from all over Japan to see Mayumi-san's unique dolls that adroitly depict the type of country bumpkins one is apt to see in Iiyama's backroads.

The museum itself has surprisingly little display space, but that is more than compensated by the enjoyment that can be had from looking at each individual doll's expression and composure, especially in relation to the background displays.

The doll museum is set in a neighborhood filled with the type of traditional Japanese buildings that I love. Especially impressive is 'Butsudan-dori (street)'. A Butsudan is a Buddhist altar that most families in Japan have in a prominent place in their houses. I had heard that Iiyama is a major manufacturer of Butsudan, but I wasn't aware that there was a whole street of Butsudan shops! I guess it makes sense, though, to have a Butsudan shopping district here in Japan.

There was an interesting phenomenon that came out of seeing the doll museum. Driving around the town and in outlying farming areas afterwards and seeing the old ladies bent over in the fields or the old gentlemen walking along the back streets, I started to get a sense of where Mayumi-san got the inspiration for her dolls!

Mayumi Takahashi Doll Museum
2941-1 Iiyama Oaza, Iiyama City
Tel (0269)67-0139
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (Apr-Nov); 10:00-16:00 (Dec-Mar)
Closed Wednesdays
600 yen for adults, 400 yen for middle and elementary school students

高橋まゆみ人形館のＨＰはこちら。Click here for the Mayumi Takahashi Doll Museum website

信州の代表的な花見は色々ある：高遠の桜、あんずの里の杏、戸隠・鬼無里の水芭蕉、等など。

今日はそのもう一つを始めてみました：飯山の菜の花。

写真ではよく見ましたが、自分の目では初めてその黄色い花の畑と千曲川・北信五岳の背景を見ました。

亀清の若女将と若若女将と三人でドライブで行きましたが、「菜の花公園」が素晴らしかった。写真だけじゃ菜の花畑の良さが分からない。もちろん、花の甘い香りもあるけど、公園で菜の花迷路があって、入り込めば不思議な感じになる。

飯山の菜の花公園では４月中旬から５月上旬の間、８００万本が咲くそうです。その最中のゴールデンウィーク（５月３日～５日）に「菜の花祭り」が行って、千曲川に菜の花私船など、沢山の楽しみがある。

今年は春先の温度が低かったせいか、菜の花は１週間ぐらい遅れている。（ＧＷに行った皆さんは少しがっかりした様）

Nagano has numerous headlining flower shows: Takato's cherry blossoms, Anzu no Sato's apricot blossoms, the the pure white 'mizubasho' (unfortunately named 'skunk cabbage' in English) of the Togakushi and Kinasa highlands above Nagano City, and so many more.

One other is that of the 'nanohana' blossoms in Iiyama, which I saw for myself for the first time today. (Nanohana also has an unfortunate name in English: rapeweed. Forgive me as I stick to the Japanese name, nanohana, which has a much more elegant feel.)

I had seen pictures of the fields filled with yellow flowers with the Chikuma River and Nagano's 'five northern peaks' in the background. But pictures don't do the flowers justice. For one thing, seeing them in person means you can enjoy the sweet scent of the flowers wafting on the breeze.

And for another reason, Iiyama's main nanohana park, called simply enough 'Nanohana Park', has a nanohana maize allowing you to immerse yourself in the field amongst the plants bursting with yellow color.

My wife and daughter and I went for a drive today to Iiyama and thoroughly enjoyed the nanohana show. The plants normally bloom between mid April and early May, with special events scheduled from May 3rd to the 5th coinciding with Japan's Golden Week holiday. This year, however, the blossoms are about a week later than usual.

菜の花公園の詳しくはこちらClick here for more info (in Japanese) on Iiyama's nanohana.

ゴールデンウィークの連休2011年は終わりました。皆様はどう過ごされましたでしょうか?ちゃんと休まれましたか?

亀清旅館にとっては、ＧＷ連休がピークな時期のはずですが、今年は東北被災の中の自粛ムードで不安でした。しかし、お陰様で連休の直前で予約は沢山入りまして、賑やかになりました。

お越しになった皆様に連休中の観光スポットを聞きました。結果は下記です：

人気＃1：　善光寺
「牛に引かれて善光寺」と言いますが、今年はその牛が相変わらず忙しかった様です。戸倉上山田温泉が善光寺に一番近い温泉地で昔から「精進落しの湯」となっています。

人気＃2：　戸隠
去年からパワースポットブームが始まって、今年もそのブームが続きそうです。奥社の駐車場があふれていて、そば屋さんに長い列、なおかつ今年は雪がまだ大分残っていて、辛い所もあったようです。しかし、訪ねる時間を少しずらせば、浦の道を使えば、静かなパワーも体験できます。私達にアドバイスを聞いてください!

人気＃3：　安曇野
ＮＨＫの朝連続ドラマ「おひさま」のお蔭で、「わさびアイスを食べて来たよ」と言うお客様は多かったです。マップやロケ情報は喜んで教えますのでお問い合わせをどうぞ。
(お勧めのロケ地：山口家。下記の地図参照）

人気＃4：　茶臼山動物園
今まではマイナーでしたが、今年は篠ノ井イヤーのお蔭か、スター動物のレッサーパンダの新しい施設が出来たお蔭か、子供連れのお客さんの何組かが茶臼山動物園へ行きました。

人気他：　松本城、小布施、べーなすライン、温泉めぐり、花めぐり、等など、皆様はいろんな信州の楽しみ方しました。

So, how was your Golden Week holiday? Did you get out and play? We survived GW2011 okay here at Kamesei. Normally, GW is peak season for ryokans like us, but this year was shaping up to be a quiet one with everyone holding back on leisure post-3.11. However, thankfully, we ended up getting a rush of last minute bookings and filled up.

Anyways, I asked all of our guests what sightseeing areas they're hitting in Nagano, and below is a list of the most popular spots:

#1: Zenkoji Temple
There's a legend about being pulled by an ox to Zenkoji -- that ox must have been busy this spring because a good number of our guests made a pilgrimage there either before or after coming to our inn.

#2: Togakushi
Ever since last year, Togakushi has been experiencing a boom in visitors thanks to being recognized as a 'power spot'. The boom is continuing. Guests reported overflowing parking lots, long lines for the soba shops, and -- snow! We can give tips on how to avoid the congestion -- just ask us!

#3: Azumino
NHK's morning 'drama', Ohisama, takes place in Azumino, leading to a number of people checking out the locations that appear in the show. Again, we have plenty of maps and brochures showing Ohisama spots, including the historic Yamaguchi Residence (see map below).

#4: Chausuyama Zoo
Popular with families that brought their kids. The lesser panda display was redone last year, perhaps leading to the popularity.

Matsumoto Castle, Obuse and many other places were also popular. And we have great brochures on all of them -- use Kamesei as your information center.

高原の雪が解け始まると、電車・バス会社の時刻表も変わります。戸倉上山田温泉⇔戸隠と地獄谷の予定表をグリーンシーズンに更新しましたので提供します。

注：戸隠は去年に続いて、パワースポットブームで、特に奥社の駐車場があふれて止まれない場合がございます。バスが長野駅から出ていますので気楽でいいかもしれません。同じバスが善光寺にも寄るですから牛に引かれてのついでの戸隠訪ねに便利!

注：地獄谷野猿公苑はスノーモンキーで知られているけど、雪なくてもお猿が温泉に入っているし、可愛いし、これから赤ちゃんも生まれるので楽しみがまた増える。グリーンシーズンの地獄谷もお勧めです。

As the snow in Nagano's highlands starts to melt, the train and bus schedules are adjusted for the green season. I have updated the schedules connecting Togura Kamiyamada Onsen with Togakushi and Jigokudani for post-white season.

Note: Togakushi has been undergoing a 'power spot' boom from last year resulting in overflowing parking lots. If you go, taking the bus from Nagano Station may actually be more convenient. Feel free to use this schedule.

Note: Jigokudani's snow monkeys are cute even when there's no snow. They still soak in the onsen baths in the summer, and the new babies will be born soon so you'll be able to enjoy seeing the little fur balls running all over the place. Hopefully this schedule will make sense out of the bus and train options.

地震・津波・原子問題があっても、ただ胡坐をかいてテレビ見っぱなしだけじゃ…　やらなっきゃいけない事をやっちゃう！　今日は以前から予定していた３つな大事な会議があって、長野市と松本市へ出かけました。もともと電車で行く予定だったので、ガソリンの節約になってなお良かった。

長野駅と松本駅の途中で、北アルプスが見えてきました。雄大な山々でホッとしました。

自然の力はすごいですね。地震や津波の様な恐ろしい面もあるけど、力があるからこそ感動的です。

Even with the earthquake / tsunami / nuclear radiation problems, life goes on. Rather than just wallowing in sadness and watching the gloomy news on TV all day, we gotta go on with the things that we need to do. Today, I had 3 important meetings to attend in Nagano City and Matsumoto City so I did a bunch of train travel and made some good progress. It's good I did take the train instead of driving -- gas is getting scarce due to people hoarding it.

On the train ride from Nagano Station to Matsumoto Station, there are some spectacular views of the Japanese Alps. Seeing the magnificent mountains somehow helped to lift my psyche.

Mother Nature's power is amazing. That same power that made these mountains moved the earth last week and created the tsunami. Awe and respect.

長野市の篠ノ井地域に茶臼山動物園があります。割りと広い動物園でキリンさんに餌をやる体験などの特徴がある。斜面の位置から善光寺平や菅平の山々が見れて、素晴らしい眺めもある。そして、代表の動物はレッサーパンダ。茶臼山動物園は子供連れの家族やカップルさんたちに人気スポットです。

実は、去年はレッサーパンダ達の「レッサーパンダ森」という新しいホームが出来ました。さらに近く見れるし、実際な木を登ったりする自然な風景になっています。

この頃はテレビで東北関東地震の辛いニュースばかり。気分転化を兼ねて、今朝はお客さん達を送ってから娘と二人でミサに行ってそして茶臼山動物園に行きました。ライオンさんの怖い存在、キリンさんの感動的な背の高さ、ウランウータンのひょうきんな表情、とにかく楽しい一日でした。

単純に楽しい一日。

キリンさんやゾウさんの顔を見る限りで、地震の心配はなさそうでした。帰る時に、偶然で園長の方と会って、地震の話が出ました。「動物に影響は？」と聞いたら、チンパンジーとウランウータンだけだと。チンパンジーはイライラし、ケージの中で走り出した;ウランウータンは頭にブランケットをかぶったそうです。やはり、人間にいちばん近い動物には自信がつらかったんだ。

Located in Nagano City's Shinonoi district, Chausuyama Zoo is a popular spot for families with kids as well as couples. It's a fairly large zoo and features such unique things to experience as giraffe-feeding. Its location on a hill above the city provides a fantastic view of the valley below as well as the Sugadaira mountains in the distance. And Chausuyama Zoo has some celebrity animals -- the lesser pandas.

In fact, last year the lesser pandas moved into a much more expanded home. Now you can see them up close and they have real trees they can climb.

The last couple of days, there has been nothing but distressing news on TV about the M7.9 earthquake in northeastern Japan. I was in the need for a change of pace, so after seeing off our guests this morning, I took our daughter to go to mass, followed by a trip to the Chausuyama zoo. We were awed by the height of the giraffes, cowered by the imposing presence of the lion, and bemused by the funny faces of the orangutans. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

A simple enjoyable afternoon.

Gazing into the faces of the giraffes and elephant, there was no trace of worry over the earthquake. But on the way out, we ran into the head zookeeper. I had to ask -- were the animals affected? He said the only ones were the chimpanzees and orangutans. The chimps got anxious and ran around their cages; the orangutans even put blankets over their heads. So the animals closest to us humans were traumatized.

茶臼山動物園のHPはこちらClick here for Chausuayama Zoo's website.

志賀高原での会議後、渋湯田中温泉の「よろづや」と言う長野（日本？）を代表できる旅館に泊まりした。朝の露天風呂の様子です。

この湯気と言え、行燈と言え、贅沢な広さの露天風呂…これはジャパンだ！

After the recent ryokan junior association meeting at Shiga Kogen, we all spent the night in Shibu Yudanaka Onsen at Yorozuya, one of Nagano's (Japan's?) best ryokans.

This is a picture of the open air bath outside of Yorozuya's nationally renowned Momoyama bath. With the steam raising up and the andon lanterns -- this is Cool Japan!

よろづやのＨＰはこちら。Click here for Yorozuya's website.

「信州」と言えば、「自然」。

「自然」と言えば、志賀高原！

志賀高原は冬のスキーにしても、夏のハイキングにしても、その大自然を感動しながら楽しめます。長野県の中でも、立派の山と深い森、そして地獄谷のスノーモンキーを始め沢山の動物、鳥、獣が沢山います。

志賀高原の自然との触れあい方を詳しく説明するのは：
長野県・志賀高原自然保護センター志賀高原の蓮池地区にある98センターの中です。山と人の歴史、木の種類、動物情報はもちろん、ハイキングコースの紹介もある。志賀高原の自然を楽しみ始まる時に、寄ってみる価値があると思います。

同じ建物中にオリンピック記念館もあります。1998年の冬オリンピックのＡｌｐｉｎｅイベントが志賀高原で行われました。そのころからの聖火、ピンバッジなどのアイテムが沢山展示してあります。そのころからの五輪の迫力を再度感じれます。

昨日は長野県旅館青年部の理事会で行ってきましたので初めて両館を見ました。興味のある方は是非！

（ちなみに、その時に初めて雪専用の車に乗ったのでおまけにその写真も）

詳しくはＨＰへ

People come to Nagano from far and wide to enjoy its natural beauty. And within Nagano, it doesn't get much better than Shiga Kogen. With its majestic mountains and deep forests, not to mention the famous snow monkeys and other wildlife, Shiga Kogen's wilderness is sure to delight your senses and instill a sense of awe.

Whether it is skiing in the winter, or hiking in the 'green season', Shiga Kogen is full of ways to get out and enjoy nature. In fact, the highlands are so extensive, it is hard to know where to start. Luckily, inside the 98 Center at Hatsuike Pond there is the Nagano Prefecture Shiga Kogen Nature Conservation Center. Its displays show the various types of flora and fauna that can be found in Shiga, as well as descriptions of human interaction with the mountains over the years. A three dimensional map gives you an overhead view of the area and an idea of where the various areas are in relation to each other. The center also contains a wealth of information on hiking trails and how best to enjoy the mountains.

In the same building as the Nature Center is the Olympic Memorial Hall. Shiga Kogen was the host of several alpine events during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Memorabilia from the events is on display in the hall. Here you can relive the excitement of the Nagano Games.

Yesterday I attended a Nagano Ryokan Junior Association meeting at Shiga Kogen and got to see the Nature Center and Olympics Hall for the first time. I also got to ride a special snow taxi -- just one of the many ways to enjoy Shiga Kogen.

女の子の皆様、ハッピーひな祭り！我が家族の姫様、美咲ちゃんと今日、お祝いしました。亀清旅館のロビーに飾ってある雛人形と一緒にポーズ！

この機会で、周辺のひな人形情報を提供したいと思います。

ぶらり北信濃ひな巡り
長野電鉄の屋代から湯田中までの中心した雛人形巡り。スタンプラリーの開催の上に、人形作家高橋真由美の新作人形リレー店が行います。会場及び真由美さんの人形店の予定は下記です：

１．松城町
３月３日ー３月９日　松代まち歩きセンター
松代焼のオリジナルひな人形も

２．須坂市
３月１０日ー３月１６日　蔵の町観光交流センター
田中本家博物館のひな祭りは２月１８日ー４月４日まで

３．山ノ内町
３月１７日ー３月２１日　楓の館

４．千曲市
３月２２日ー３月２５日　屋代駅ウェルカムステーション
はにわねんどと言う地元の粘土で出来た創作ひな人形
開催中は「はにわびなをつくろう」と言う体験も。詳しくはウェルカムステーションへ。Tel(026)272-3223

５．小布施町
３月２６日ー３月３０日　栗庵風味堂

６．中野市
３月３１日ー４月３日　中野陣・県庁記念館
中野ひな市は毎年３月３１日と４月１日に行います。土びなを集まっている人たちは大勢で来ます。

最後はおまけに東信のひな情報：
第６回坂城古雛まつり
２０１１年２月１９日ー３月３１日
坂木宿ふるさと歴史館　Tel(0268)82-4193

Happy Girls Day to all you young (and young at heart) ladies out there. Here is our daughter Misaki posing with the Hina Dolls displayed in Kamesei's lobby. I'd like to take this opportunity to pass on some information about a few of the area's many Hina Doll related events.

'Burari' Northern Nagano Hina Tour
This is an event involving various Hina Doll displays along the Nagano Dentetsu Railway from Yashiro Station to Yudanaka Station. Besides a 'stamp rally', the event features a travelling 'relay' display of new dolls by local popular doll artist Mayumi Takahashi. Relay dates and locations are as below:

1. Matsushiro Town
3/03-3/09 Matsushiro Machi Aruki Center
Original Hina Dolls made of local Matsushiro-yaki pottery will be featured.

2. Suzaka City
3/10-3/16 Kura-no-machi Kankou Koryu Center
To be held in conjunction with the Hina Doll Festival at Tanaka Honke Museum.

3. Yamanouchi Town
3/17-3/21 Kaede no Kan

4. Chikuma City
3/22-3/25 Yashiro Station 'Welcome Station'
Also on display will be Hina Dolls made out of 'haniwa nendo', a local clay. One day during the event, participants will be able to make their own clay dolls. Contact the Welcome Station for more info: tel(026)272-3223.

5. Obuse Town
3/26-3/30 Kurian Fumido

6. Nakano City
3/31-4/03 Nakano Jinya & Kencho Memorial Hall
Don't miss the 'Hina Ichi (Market)' festival. It takes place every year on March 31st and April 1st, and features clay dolls painted by local artists in a tradition that has been handed down over hundreds of years. People come from all over the country to add to their tsuchi-bina (clay doll) collections.

Finally, one more local Hina Doll event:
6th Annual Sakaki Kobina Festival
2011 Dates: 2/19-3/19
Features historical Hina Dolls displayed in the Sakakijuku Furusato History Hall, Tel(0268)82-4193.

日本の４７都道府県はそれぞれの県歌がある中、長野県の「信濃の国」が一番親しまれたと言われています。なお、その歌が本になりました。本と言うか、手ぬぐいと言うか、

手ぬぐいの本だ！

本を開けば手ぬぐいになる。

長野県民の皆が覚えている歌詞も載っているし、信州の代表するイメージもフルカラーの絵も：県獣カモシカ、県木しらかば、県花りんどう、県鳥らいちょう、そしてお蕎麦、リンゴ、雪猿、温泉

中心に雪猿がりんご風呂に入っている絵も！

スノーモンキーがあって、ポイント高いですね！

問い合わせ先：
分かりません。多分所々で売っているでしょう。取り敢えず、この戸倉上山田温泉の衣料品屋さん「べに屋」で１５００円で販売しています。Tel(026)275-1249

Japan's 47 prefectures all likely have an official Prefecture Song, but Nagano's "Shinano no Kuni" is probably most loved by its people. It's sung by every school kid and danced to at every Bon Odori festival, so practically all Nagano-ites have the lyrics memorized.

Now "Shinano no Kuni" has been made into a book. Or, is it a tenugui bandana? Actually, it's a tenugui book -- a book that opens out into a tenugui.

The 'book' has the beloved lyrics to the Shinano no Kuni song, and features representative drawings of Nagano: serow (the prefectural wild animal), birch trees (the prefectural tree), gentian (prefectural flower), ptarmigan (prefectural bird) as well as soba noodles, apples, snow monkeys (high points for that!) and onsen. One of the drawings is of snow monkeys in an apple onsen bath slurping soba. Well, minus the soba.

Where to Purchase:
I don't really know. I suppose these Nagano tenugui books will be available at various stores throughout the prefecture. One place for sure is where I bought it: Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's clothing shop 'Beniya' where it's being sold for 1,500 yen. Tel(026)275-1249