先週末にBJリーグの富山グラウジーズというプロのバスケットボールのチームが長野県にExhibitionの試合をやりました。夜は亀清にお泊りになった。長野県にもプロ・バスケットのチームが出来るように努力している「長野県ｂｊリーグ参入協議会」が富山のチームを呼びました。
もちろん、子供のころからず～っとバスケットをやっていた私が応援します。信州にもプロのバスケットを！

Last weekend the Toyama Grouses professional basketball team of the bj League played an exhibition game in Nagano. After the game, they came to Kamesei Ryokan to spend the night. A group of businessmen have put together an organization to promote bringing professional basketball to Nagano. Me having hooped from my childhood on, of course I'm in favor of a local pro team.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, "Grouses? What kind of name is that for a hoops team?" And, "Can't 'Basketball Japan' come up with a better acronym?" Valid questions. And I'm not sure what the answers are. All I can suggest is maybe Pro Basketball Japan -- PBJ. But then that would get me hungry for sandwiches...

Anyways, we thank Coach C.J. and the players for coming to Kamesei.

長野県ｂｊリーグ参入協議会のHPはこちらClick here for info on bringing pro hoops to Nagano.

昨日は松本で長野県の「観光シナジー研究会」に参加してきました。行政と大学と我々民間の約４０人がお互いにどういうコラボレーションができるかと、観光客がもっと長く滞在して楽しんで頂けるかとの意見交換でした。
そこで、車山高原の方と行き会って、聞いたら、霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲは今、ピークだそうです。このごろは花が鹿で大分やられたけど、今年は電気の塀で防げたので高原の表面が真っ黄色になっているそうです。７月いっぱい咲く予想です。
霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲは見た事がまだなければ、ぜひ、お勧めです。信州の七大旬の自然だと（勝手に）思っています。
日本人は何でも「三大何とか」を付けるのは好きですよね。例えば、戸倉上山田温泉の近くの姨捨駅は「日本三大車窓」となっています。つまり、電車の窓から見る景色が綺麗だと。我々欧米人は逆に「七大」が好きかもしれません。
従って、この欧米人の「信州七大旬の自然」のリストを発表させて頂きます：

＊森「杏の里」の杏の花
＊高遠の桜
＊上高地の新緑
＊鬼無里の水芭蕉
＊辰野の蛍
＊霧ヶ峰のニッコウキスゲ
＊戸隠鏡池の紅葉

皆さんはどうですか？自分の「七大」を教えてください。

Yesterday I went to Matsumoto for a Nagano Prefecture Tourism Synergy Research Meeting. About 40 people from various government agencies, universities, and businesses gathered to discuss ways to get tourists to spend more time enjoying our prefecture.

One of the guys I met there was from Kurumayama. He said the nikko-kisuge day lillies in Kirigamine are in bloom now. Recently, deer have been eating a lot of the flowers. This year, though, thanks to lots of electric wire fencing, the hills of Kirigamine are carpeted in yellow flowers. The blooms usually continue through the end of July.

If you've never seen the nikko-kisuge of Kirigamine, I highly suggest it. Their yellow blossoms cover the highlands -- an amazing sight to see. In fact, I would say it's one of Nagano's top seasonal wonders.

People in Japan have a habit for picking the "Top Three" Whatever. For example, nearby Obasute Station is one of Japan's Top Three Best Views from the Train Window. (It's true -- I couldn't make that up if I tried.) Us Westerners, on the other hand, tend to choose the Top 7 of whatever (except for David Letterman and his Top 10 Lists). For example, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, etc.

So I hereby announce Nagano's Seven Natural Wonders (as chosen by Yours Truly):

*The Apricot Blossoms in Mori "Anzu no Sato"
*Takato's Cherry Blossoms
*Early Spring in Kamikochi
*Skunk Cabbage Flowers in Kinasa (which means "Village Without an Ogre" -- and I couldn't make that one up if I tried, either)
*Tatsuno's Fireflies
*Kirigamine's Nikko-kisuge day lillies
*Autumn Leaves at Togakushi's Kagami-Ike (Mirror Pond)

That's my list. What about yours?

霧ヶ峰・車山高原の詳しくはこちらClick here for details on Kirigamine and Kurumayama

先週に英字新聞「Japan Times」に松代の象山地下壕の特集がありました。第二次世界大戦のころに天皇さまが隠れる場所としてできたトンネルは現在、地震のセンサーの設備地として使われている事。
そのセンサーは５月２５日の北朝鮮の原爆テストを感じたと書いてあった。
まあ、この記事は信州の戦争「遺産」のPRしてくれて、嬉しいですが、松代地下壕の大事なストリーが抜けていました。工事の時に、「およそ述べ３００万人の住民および朝鮮人の人々が労働者として強制的に動員され１日３交替徹夜で工事が進められました。食糧事情が悪く、工法も旧式な人海作戦を強いられ、多くの犠牲者を出した。」（松代地下壕の正式パンフから）
気象庁精密地震観測質は見れないけど、トンネルの一部は見学ができます。戦争の遺産、そのころの辛さや苦しみが感じれます。お勧めです。

松代象山地下壕　入壕料：無料　午前９時～午後４時まで　休み：第三火曜日と年末年初 Tel c/o長野市観光課026-224-5042

Last week, the Japan Times had an article about the Matsushiro Zozan Tunnels -- the underground shelter that was built at the end of WWII to be used as an emergency military headquarters. The article talked about how the tunnels are now used as a seismological observatory and how the sensors detected North Korea's nuclear test on May 25th.

While I'm glad the J.T. is doing some publicity on one of Nagano's WWII heritage sites, I'm disappointed they missed one of the main stories about the tunnels. An unknown number of people, many of which were Korean, lost their lives in the construction of the tunnels.

Matsushiro is a fascinating little town. It still has many buildings representing its samurai heritage, a unique style of pottery ("Matsushiro-yaki"), important Warring States-era battle site (Kawanakajima), a peaceful, pastoral setting with Nagano's main 'yama-imo' farming, bicycle friendly country roads (free bicycle rental at Matsushiro Station), and the sad WWII history of the Zozan tunnels. One of the passages is open to the public daily from 9am to 4pm (except the 3rd Tuesday of the month and from 29-Dec to 03-Jan).

Japan Times article here.

長野インバウンドサミットの仲間と一緒に、昨日は諏訪市で集まりました。２つなエクスカーションそして「パワー・ランチ」で諏訪地方を体験しながらいい情報交換・交流が出来ました。
１つ目のエクスカーションは真澄の酒倉の見学でした。海外担当のキースさんが親切に長野県の代表が出来る真澄の酒を説明して、工場を案内してくれました。キースさんの熱心さが伝え割れましたので私も真澄のファンになりました。
そして、社長のボス（?）、Kumiさんが真澄のコンセプトを説明してくれました。普通な酒倉は酒の作り方に集中するけど、真澄では消費者はどうやって真澄の酒を楽しむかという事も考えている。お店の中はいかに酒の楽しみ方を高めるか、そして販売店で真澄に合う酒のカップや県内も県外ものおつまみを扱っている。
２つ目のエクスカーションは御柱ミニ体験でした。下諏訪町木遣保存会の小松さん（akaミスター御柱）が諏訪市の新しく出来た御柱体験公園を案内してくれて、御柱の流れを説明して、木遣を教えていただきました。地元の伊藤さん（B&BめぐハウスZuKu)は外国人向けの英語説明もくれました。
柱の大きさは印象的でしたが、小松さんの木遣が一番の思い出になりました。周りから響いたぐらい。
エクスカーションの間、真澄で弁当を食べながら(Kumiさん、お味噌汁が美味しかった!）、長野県のインバウンドの人たち１１人と情報交換しました。諏訪の伊藤さんが地元の外国人をVolunteer Guideとして育っていく事業や、松本の清風荘の「浴衣を着て松本城散策」、南信州観光公社のエコ体験実例などなど、外国人観光客が長野県をさらに楽しめるようにの努力を聞いて、感心しました。これからはここでも詳しく紹介していきたいと思っています。
最後で諏訪大社下社秋宮を見学しました。なんとなくその周辺の雰囲気が好きです。「決めた。下諏訪ファンになった」と言ったら、仲間が上社を見てから決めるべきだアドバイスをくれました。仕方がない、また来なきゃ。
I met up with some of my fellow "Nagano Inbound Summit" participants for a meeting in Suwa yesterday. We did 2 'excursion' tours with a power lunch in the middle.
The 1st excursion was a tour of Masumi Sake's brewery. Their Export Manager, Keith-san, graciously showed us the facilities and explained Masumi's sake production. His enthusiasm for sake and Masumi was impressive -- I think I've become a Masumi-fan, too.
The owner's boss (?), Kumi-san, proceeded to explain Masumi's sake "concept". Most sake brewers just concentrate on how to make sake -- Masumi also focuses on how to enjoy sake. Their sake-tasting room provides the proper ambience for guests to properly enjoy Masumi's sake, and their gift shop has everything from sake cups to a wide variety for local and other foods to complement their sake.
The 2nd excursion was to see Suwa City's new "Onbashira Experience Park". The park just opened last weekend and features two pillars of the same size as that will be used in next year's once-every-seven-years Onbashira Festival. An important component of the festival is the Kiyari, a traditional work song. We were fortunate to have Komatsu-san of the Shimo-Suwa Kiyari Preservation Society come and lead us in a chant. Another local, Itoh-san of B&B Megu House ZuKu, provided English explanation. Seeing the massive pillars was impressive, but hearing Komatsu-san's (aka Mr. Onbashira) chant reverbrate off the far away buildings was most memorable.
In between the excursions, we met over bento at Masumi (compliments to Kumi-san for her miso soup!) and shared info on recent Inbound-related activities. Itoh-san gathering local foreigners to be volunteer guides, Seifuso in Matsumoto organizing a "Wear a Yukata to Matsumoto Castle" event, Minami-Shinshu Kanko Corporation's successful eco tourism, and so much more. I hope to introduce some of these activities here in this blog.
It was impressive to hear everyone's efforts to make Nagano Prefecture a more enjoyable place for tourists from overseas.
At the end, some of us stopped at Shimo-Suwa's Aki (Fall) Shrine. I was really enthralled by the area, and announced I had become a fan of Shimo-Suwa. One of my buddies said I should wait until I've seen the shrines at Kami-Suwa before deciding. I guess that means I'll have to come back to Suwa again soon!

リンクLinks:

真澄 Masumi

御柱 Onbashira

B&B めぐハウス　Meg House ZuKu

南信州観光公社 Minami Shinshu Kanko Kosha

始めて長野に来た時に、信州の歴史と伝統で感心しました。最初は上田市に住んでいましたので上田城、上田獅子、昔からのそば屋さん（「刀屋」は３００年の歴史がある・・・自分の国より歴史が長い！）、国分寺の八日堂祭り、等々。
その１つは上田紬。個人的に上田紬の模様が大好きで触り感覚も好きです。物凄く憧れています。
今は亀清旅館のある部屋を改造している最中です。「紬」と言うコンセプトで。その勉強を込めて、上田市上塩尻にある小岩井紬工房に行って見ました。味のある歴史的の建物の工房を見学させて頂きまして、織り方をご親切に説明していただきました。販売コーナーも見させて頂きました。昔からの模様は意外にモダンに感じて、吃驚しました。
そして、小岩井工房で自分の手で上田紬を織る体験も出来ると分かって、早速今月末の予約を入れておきました。楽しみにしています。

When I first came to Nagano, I was impressed by the prefecture's long history and rich tradition. I first lived in Ueda City, and got to see and know such historical things as Ueda Castle, Ueda Shi-Shi, soba shops that have been run by the same families for generations ("Katana-Ya" has been in existence for over 300 years -- that's longer than my own country!), Kokubun-Ji Temple's Yokado Festival, and so much more.
One such area of Ueda that impressed me was "Ueda Tsumugi", the traditional silk weaving traditionally used for kimonos. Ueda's style dates back over 300 years and is regarded as one of the top 3 weaving styles in Japan. It was reknown in Kyoto for its sturdiness and beauty.
Ueda Tsumugi owes its existence to the area's silk industry (Nagano Prefecture has traditionally been Japan's largest producer of silk). It's influence can be felt in Shinshu University's School of Fiber which continues to research and develop better varieties of silk. I personally love Ueda Tsumugi's patterns and coloration, as well as its texture.
In Ueda City's Shiojiri neighborhood, there is a studio that continues to make Ueda Tsumugi. It is called Koiwai Tsumugi Kobo, and we went there yesterday for a tour. The building is impressive with its historical construction, and it was amazing to see how Tsumugi is woven. We found out they offer mini lessons and I signed up for one for the end of July. I'm looking forward to making my own bit of Ueda Tsumugi.

夕べは田沢温泉の帰りで旧坂井村（現在、筑穂久村）を通って、ちょうど蛍祭りが行われていた。夜８時から蛍達が出てきて、川の辺でぴか～としながらうろうろしていました。お月様が出てきたときに満月で田んぼに反射して、綺麗でした。
坂井ほたる祭りは７月の頭で道の駅「まんだらの圧」の裏です。

Last night, on the way back from Tazawa Onsen, we drove through the old Sakai Village (now part of Chikuhoku Village) and happened upon their Firefly Festival. It was a quaint little setting with fireflies glowing along a little stream surrounded by rice fields. When the moon came up, it reflected off the fields, creating a magical scene.
Sakai's fireflies come out in the beginning of July, and the festival is held at the Mandara produce stand.

温泉旅館をやっている私達も他の温泉街に行ってお風呂に入るのは大好きです。今日は田沢温泉に行ってきました。

田沢温泉で旅館は３件しかない小さな温泉で、江戸時代の建物、雰囲気が残っています。石畳の細い道に２，３階建ての木造の宿、歴史を感じさせる松の木、絵になるような温泉街。
旅館組合青年部で知り合った若旦那、宮原Kenさん（今は、県部長として頑張ってくれている人）の宿、ますや旅館のお風呂に入らせて頂きました。私が大好きな木の造りで迷路のよう長い廊下を通ってお風呂場まで行く。お湯はまあ、田沢温泉がぬるいと言う噂を聞いていましたので噂通り、ぬるかったです。源泉が３８℃だそうです。その分で長く入れました。露天風呂に入りながら、青空や周りの松や竹を見ながらゆっくりくつろげました。
信州の自然、江戸時代の建築・・・田沢温泉は良かった！
（戸倉上山田温泉から車で約４５分。）

Our family runs an onsen ryokan. So what do we like to do on our days off? Go see other ryokans and take an onsen bath, of course! Today we went for a drive to Tazawa Onsen.

Tazawa is a small onsen with only 3 inns in operation. But the narrow cobblestone street is lined with 2~3 story wood buildings, many built in the Edo era, with manicured pine trees giving the town a classic feel.

We went to Masuya Ryokan for our bath. The innkeeper, Ken Miyahara is actually the leader of the prefecture's Junior Ryokan Association. His inn has the type of construction that I just love -- warm wood with long corridors running along the outside of the building, all in a confusing web of passageways.

As for the onsen water, well, I had heard that Tazawa Onsen is only lukewarm. And sure enough, with the onsen source being only 38C, the baths were quite a bit cooler than ours. But that meant we could enjoy a nice, long soak. The outdoor bath was especially enjoyable, with views of the blue sky above and pine trees and bamboo on the hillside next to the bath.

Tazawa Onsen -- blessed by Nagano's wonderful nature and featuring classic Edo-era architecture. It makes my list of Cool Japan.

(Tazawa Onsen is about a 45 minute drive from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.)

田沢温泉のますや旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Masuya Ryokan in Tazawa Onsen.

お父さん達の皆様、今日はおめでとうございます。父の日で家族と何か楽しい事ができましたか？
私達はドライブで戸隠に行ってきました。我が家族の戸隠「定番」が美味しいそば＠山口屋、忍者遊び＠忍法センター、奥社へのハイキング（途中の杉並木で自然の力が物凄く感じられます）。
今回の戸隠旅はいつもより深く体験が出来ました。(一時は深過ぎる！）まずは奥社の隣の植物園に始めて入ってみました。奥社への道が人で込んでいる訳でもないけれど、その道から離れて、植物園に入ったら、その緑と静かさで感動しました。葉っぱを通っている風と鳥の鳴き声だけでした。あとは思い切り静か。と自然。更に信州・戸隠のファンになりました。
それから日に入りの鏡池を見ました。戸隠山と西岳が雲と遊んでいて、それが池で反射して、とっても綺麗でした。つまとふたりで「あぁ、ロマンチックだな」と思ったら、ブッシャッ！次男のKenちゃんが鏡池におっこしちゃった。
子供は１人で止めるべきだと思っちゃった。と言うのは冗談！
そのハプニングのあと、ズボンとパンツ無しのKenちゃん（だって、小学生の為に着替え用のズボン何て持って来なかった）も込めて、皆で今度、本物の忍者体験をしました。また後日に詳しく書きますが、戸隠で毎週の日曜日の夜７時から３時間の稽古が行うので誰でも参加が出来るってお聞きしまして、ただ、本物だからけがしてもおかしくないってお聞きしました。前から気になっていたので今日は思い切って、やってきました。そして、体中が思い切って、痛いです。

最高な父の日でした。

A special Congratulations to all of you Dads out there on this Father's Day. I hope all of you spent a fun day with your families. We sure did here at the Lynch household -- we went for a drive up to Togakushi.
Our Togakushi trips tend to follow this formula: delicious soba noodles at Yamaguchi-ya, ninja fun at the Ninja Center, and feeling the power of mother nature among the massive, ancient cedar trees lining the path to Okusha Shrine.
This time, however, we immersed ourselves a little further into the Togakushi experience (a bit too literally at one point). After ooh-ing and aah-ing at the Okusha cedar trees, we decided to check out the Nature Reserve next to it. We had never been into the actual reserve before. The path towards Okusha isn't exactly crowded with people, but it was amazing that just leaving the path and entering the reserve brought us to a world of lush greenery and intense stillness. Only the sound of the wind through the leaves and the birds chirping could be heard. The quietness of the woods and marshes was powerful. Once again, we were amazed by Togakushi and became even bigger fans of Nagano.
After stopping for icecream, we drove over to Kagami-ike (Mirror Pond) to watch the sun set over Togakushi Mountain. Togakushi and its western peak seemed like they were playfully streaming their fingers through the high clouds that were drifting by. The scene was beautifully reflected in the lake surface. My wife and I were just thinking how romantic of a setting it was, when all of the sudden, Splash! Our #2 son, Kenny, had fallen into the pond.
Maybe we should have stopped after the first child. Just kidding!
After that little "happening", we took bare-bottomed Kenny (who would have thought we'd need an extra pair of pants for an elementary school kid!) and the other kids for a real-life, hard-core Togakushi Ninja training. I will write more about that a later time, but let's just suffice it to say that it was the real thing, and my entire body is in pain as a result.

Today was one of the best Father's Days ever!

東京の商談会で一番インパクトがあったのは諏訪の御柱祭りの小松さんでした。最後で一緒に写真に一緒にポーズしてもらいました。御柱は来年の４月～６月中旬の予定ですが、その準備は既に進んでいるそうです。
御柱に観光客も体験できるコースもあるそうで、情報が入り次第またお知らせしたいと思っています。

At the sales meetings in Tokyo, the most memorable person was Komatsu-san of Suwa's once-every-seven-years Onbashira festival. The next festival is scheduled for April to mid-June 2010.
I asked him to pose with me for this picture. He explained that the men of Suwa put their lives into the festival. Each time, rumor has it that some people die celebrating the festival. The participants certainly put their lives at risk bringing the massive logs from the nearby mountains down to the Suwa Shrines. The logs are moved through a series of ceremonies, including down precipitous cliffs and through freezing cold rivers, climaxing in a ritual standing-up of the logs.
Komatsu-san said they have explanations in English and other languages available. When I get them, I will post them to this blog.

我々欧米人の中で、松本市内で一番人気なのは勿論、松本城です。さあ、その次に人気があるのはどこでしょうか？松本の外国人を受けている宿の１つの情報では、「JUM」日本浮世絵博物館だそうです。
今日はインバウンド（海外旅行者の誘客）関係の仲間と松本で会議を行いました。せっかくだったから、JUMでやりました。そうすると、酒井館長が特別に案内して頂きました。どうして浮世絵が欧米人に馴染みやすいか、日本人（及び納豆）のルーツ（驚くぐらいに国際的）、うんと奥深い話を分かりやすく、親切に説明してくれました。
その後、今の展示会（テーマ：広重２の「東京の人気スポット」）のスライドショーを見せて頂きました。説明は酒井さんでした。本人が出来ない場合は録音された案内を聞きながら見るのも可能だそうです。１８６０年代の江戸を当時のポップカルチャー（＝浮世絵）で見ると非常に面白かった。御茶ノ水の水がお茶に使えるぐらいに綺麗だったとは今思うと、笑っちゃう。新宿の滝を見ている旅行者の中で、欧米人も１人いました。（これはダブル吃驚：新宿に滝？そして、欧米人観光客？江戸時代のインバウンド！）
JUMは松本ICから２，３分（歩いて約１０分）です。松本城を見てから、JUMで浮世絵の世界に入るのはお勧めです！

Matsumoto's top attraction is, of course, the castle. But among foreigners, what is the city's #2 most popular spot? According to one innkeeper who caters to guests from abroad, it is JUM, the Japan Ukioye Museum.
Today I met up with some of my fellow Inbound colleagues in Matsumoto. We are working on projects to make Nagano friendlier and more accessible to travelers from abroad. Anyways, since we were meeting in 'Moto, we decided to hold the gathering at JUM. The curator, Sakai-san, graciously offered to give us a talk about the museum. He went into some fascinating subjects about why Westerners fancy ukiyoe, the roots of the Japanese people (as well as natto -- both are surprisingly international), etc.
Then Sakai-san narrated a slide show on the museum's current display, works by Hiroshige from the 1860's on popular spots (of that time) in Tokyo. Ukiyoe was THE pop-culture art of the period, and seeing scenes of Tokyo in ukiyoe prints really brings the era alive. It's amazing to see Ocha-no-mizu in a snow scene, and even more amazing to hear that the river was so clean its water ('mizu') was used for making tea ('ocha'). Another fun scene was of tourists sightseeing at a waterfall in Shinjuku. This scene was surprising for 2 reasons -- first, a natural waterfall in Shinjuku?!?!; second, one of the tourists was obviously a foreigner -- "Inbound" back in the 1860's!
Sakai-san offers his talks in English, Japanese, or an English-Japanese mix. If he isn't available to talk in person, his narration is recorded and can be played back while watching the slide show.
JUM is located about a 10-minute walk from the Matsumoto Interchange, which is accessible by highway bus from downtown Matsumoto. So if/when you visit 'Moto, after seeing the castle, lose yourself in the ukiyoe world at JUM!

Click here for the website for JUMのHPはこちら

松本のジャパニーズ・イン・グループのメンバーが清風荘です。着物着付けやお茶会の体験が出来る宿です。HPはこちら。Ryokan Seifuso in Matsumoto is a member of the Japanese Inn Group. They offer courses in wearing kimonos and Japanese tea ceremony for their guests. Click here for their website.