シェフ武井の春先の一品： この時期を代表できる魚、鰆と、ちょっと先取りですが、湯葉竹の子(若い竹の子の先、湯葉のように柔らかい)に西京白い味噌グラタン。大体４月まで続く予定なので旬の味を是非、召し上がってみてください。
Kamesei Ryokan's Chef Takei has introduced a new seasonal dish for our current dinner line-up. It is a gratin potatoe dish with "sawara" (=sierra?), a white meat fish common this time of year, and bamboo shoot tips with a white miso sauce. He plans on offering it through April. Come and taste the season's flavors here at Kamesei.
お客さんの送迎の為に千曲市の裏・上の聖湖を通りました。冬で通るのは初めてでした。冬に凍るのだって聞いた事がありましたが、実際に自分の目で見ると、本当に凍るのやと驚きました。夏は暑い日に家族でよくこの高原に来て、この湖でボート乗り遊びします。冬になると、別な世界になります。信州の自然は良いですね！
On the way to pick up some guests for our inn, I passed Hijiri Lake which is located in the highlands behind our town. I'd heard the lake freezes in the winter, but this was my first time to see it with my own eyes. It just seems so strange to think that in the summer time, our family comes here to escape the heat from down in town, and we have fun with the paddle boats on this same lake. It's a different world in the winter. Nagano sure is blessed with beautiful nature!
聖湖は亀清旅館・戸倉上山田温泉からくねくねの山道で約３０分です。Hijiri Lake is approx. 30 minutes by a windy mountain road from Kamesei Ryokan / Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.
聖湖の詳しくはこちらClick here for more info on Hijiri Lake
今朝に起きたら、「雪だ！」と思いました。玄関と回りの歩道の雪掛けをしてから、「あっ、そう言えば、露天風呂がきっと雪見になっているだろう」と思って、この写真を撮りました。こうやって見れば、日本の温泉文化は本当に素晴らしいですね。
This morning when I woke up and looked outside, "Snow!" After I shoveled our entrance and the sidewalks, I wondered how our outdoor bath's garden looks like with this snow and went and took this picture. This is the essence of Japan's onsen culture -- rich, warm mineral water surrounded by the beauty of nature!
戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.
亀清の中庭に雪景色
雪が一日降りそうな日です。やっと雪景色って感じです。今日の午後は子供たちが亀清の裏の中央公園でそり遊びが出来るかな？ホットココアを準備しなくちゃ。
It looks it's going to be a snowy day all day today. The snow gives our garden a beautiful look. Maybe our kids will be able to go sledding in the park behind our inn this afternoon. I'd better get the hot chocolate ready!
戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano
成人式の日と言うことで、親戚のYumiさんが顔を出してくれました。着物の姿が綺麗で。
ちなみに、我々外国人にも似ているお祝いがあります。星人式と言います。（すみません、アメリカンギャグでした。）
とにかく、成人になる皆様、おめでとうございます。将来が明るくなるように。
Today is "Coming of Age" Day in Japan. All throughout Japan, 20 year olds gather and celebrate becoming adults. Our relative, Yumi, stopped by in her beautiful kimono after her celebration. Congratulations to all of you new adults, and may you have a bright future.
Andy working the Beetle stunt kite
日本のお正月の決まり：凧揚げ。天気は晴れていたしいい風があったので息子達を千曲川に連れて凧揚げしました。お正月で旅館の方が忙しかったから外の空気が吸えて、気持ちよかったです。ただ、その空気がもうちょった暖かかったら嬉しいです。耳が凍りそうでした。（ちなみに、アメリカは凧揚げの時期が大体6月です。日本はどうしてこんなに寒い時期でやるでしょうか？）
In Japan, it's tradition at New Years to fly a kite. It was a sunny day, and a nice breeze, so I took our sons down to the banks of the Chikuma River with our kite and sent that puppy flying with the birds. A hawk even soared in to get a closer look at our purple and gold kite.
After being so busy with our inn the last couple of days, it was a relief to go out and get some fresh air. I just wish that air were a little warmer -- I practically froze my ears off. (For the record, kite flying back in the States is usually a June endeavor. Why did Japan pick such a cold season for flying kites?)
戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちら。Click here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.
2つ目の露天風呂に試浴Andy, Kenny, Misaki taking a test soak in Outdoor Bath #2
(年賀状からの挨拶：）
皆様の暖かい応援を頂きまして2008年は亀清旅館にとりまして沢山の良い思いでの一年間でした。新しい坪庭、トイレ、そして、前年に造った男湯の「百年風呂」露天風呂の次に女湯にこのヒバの露天風呂も出来ました。2009年も皆様がお元気で、お風呂にお越し下さいます様にお祈り申し上げます。
(From our New Years Card greeting:)
Thanks to everyone's enthusiastic support, 2008 was another memorable year here at Kamesei Ryokan. New gardens, new toilets, and ... this new cedar bath! Now both main onsen baths have an outdoor one for all to enjoy in 2009!
玄関ドアの上の縄が７－５－３となっています。The ropes dangling over the entrance are in a 7-5-3 pattern. There must be some meaning behind the pattern...
ロビーのクリスマスの飾りを片付けて、代わりに玄関にお正月の為の飾りを付けました。松とか縄、白い紙、竹、それぞれは意味が深そうです。私がまだまだ勉強不足で取り敢えずは飾り付けの手伝いしました。
Today I put away all of the Christmas decorations in our lobby. In their place, we put up the decorations for New Years. The pine branches, rope, white zig-zag paper, bamboo -- I have to admit, I don't know the meaning of it all. There is so much to learn about Japanese culture. All I do is help put it up, and hope to learn the importance of each piece over time.
戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.
I'm Dreaming of a White Boxing Day (?)
今朝に起きたら、亀清旅館の庭と戸倉上山田の温泉街が雪景色になっていました。この冬の初めて。本当はホワイトクリスマスの為に、一日早くなって欲しかったのに。。。
When I woke up this morning, I was treated to the sight of Kamesei's gardens covered in snow. This was our first snow of the year here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen. It was beautiful, but I really wish it had snowed 1 day earlier, so we could have had a White Christmas.
普通は雪が降る前にタイヤー交換。。。 People usually change their tires BEFORE it snows...
今朝は寒かった！どのぐらい寒い？お客様の車の一台は札幌ナンバーになちゃったぐらい！（ごめんなさい、アメリカ人ギャグ。）
It was sooooo cold this morning. How cold was it? It was so cold, one of our guests' cars' license plate changed to a Sapporo (Hokkaido -- Japan's northernmost and coldest island) plate. Sorry -- American joke.
信州戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.
