杏の花の可愛らしい薄いピンク色、
春晴れの青空、
遠くの雪をかぶっている北アルプスの白い色

信州の長くて寒い冬を我慢する価値がありました。

千曲市森地区、日本一のあんずの里のあんずまつりは本格的に行われています。

小学校の入学した美咲ちゃんをお祝いで連れて、4日に二人で花見しました。まだ７分咲きでしたが、４日と５日の晴れで週末を向かってきっと満開になるだろう。

２０１３年のあんずまつりは４月２１日までの予定で、
注目のライトアップは4月12日(金)～14日(日)　18：00～21：00で場所があんずの里スケッチパーク。

今年はビッグニュースで何と天皇陛下もあんずまつりに来ることとなっています。Yahoo!ニュースにも載っていますが、４月中旬にお越しになるそうです。

あんずの里の花を見たい皆様には是非、今年が最適です。天皇陛下にも会えるかも！

The soft pink of the apricot blossoms,
The clear blue of the spring sky,
The white of the snowcapped Japanese Alps in the distance...

Chikuma City's Mori "Apricot Village" Apricot Blossom Festival is in full swing.

Our daughter Misaki just entered elementary school, and as a reward I took her for a drive to Mori to see the apricot blossoms. They were about 70% in bloom, but with warm weather predicted for the 4th and 5th, they should be in full bloom for the weekend.

The 2013 Apricot Blossom Festival is scheduled to continue through April 21st with the light up at Sketch Park to take place on the evenings of the 12th through the 14th.

And this year, Japan's Emperor and Empress are scheduled to make a visit. Yahoo! News reports the two will come in mid April.

So for all of you that have been wanting to come see the famous Mori apricot blossoms, this is the year -- you may meet the Emperor, too!

あんずまつり情報 Official Apricot Blossom Festival News

天皇陛下のあんず花見情報 News on the Emperor's Visit to Chikuma City

今年の冬は長くて、寒くて、長くて…

春はいつ来るかな？

戸倉上山田温泉の周辺で一番注目されている春の花は森「日本一あんずの里」の杏の木です。３月２３日に花咲き様子を見に行きました。春よ来いと思ったら、

まだつぼみでした。

平成２５年の森「日本一あんずの里」のあんずまつりは４月６日～４月２１日の予定。

This has been a long and cold and, did I mention, long winter here in Nagano.

When will Spring come?

Our main spring flower event for Togura Kamiyamada Onsen is the Apricot Blossom Festival in nearby Mori. On the 23rd, I drove over to see if there was any sign of spring coming.

But the apricot trees still just had buds, no flowers.

The 2013 Mori Apricot Blossom Festival is scheduled for April 6th to the 21st.

亀清旅館のそれぞれの客室を信州に特化したテーマに少しずつ変えています。
客室「千歳」はこの戸倉上山田温泉から車で２５分の森地区「日本一あんずの里」の記念で、
庭に杏の木を植えました。

４月６日から２１日までの予定のあんずまつりはこの辺の春の一番楽しみですが、この戸倉上山田温泉は森と違っては北向きの斜面ではないし標高は少し低いお蔭か、亀清の杏の木は早く咲きました。

この春休みは客間「千歳」にお泊りになるお客様はこんな綺麗な杏の花を楽しんで頂けます。

Here at Kamesei Ryokan, we are slowly re-making each individual guestroom around Nagano-based themes. For "Chitose", in honor of nearby Mori "Apricot Village", we had our gardener plant an apricot tree in the room's pocket garden.

Mori's orchards will be holding their annual Apricot Blossom Festival from April 6th through the 21st. But unlike Mori's north-facing slope, Kamesei's apricot tree faces the south and we are at a bit lower elevation, so our tree has blossomed ahead of the ones in Mori.

Guests that stay in "Chitose" this spring vacation will be able to enjoy the pretty blossoms on our apricot tree.

あれっ？亀清旅館のロビーに杏の花が飾っているけど、

杏はもう咲いてきましたか？

いいえ、実は杏農家の杏宝園さんから剪定物の枝を頂きました。温かい部屋と保管したら、花がこんなに綺麗に咲いてきました。せっかくだから、週末のお客様が楽しんで頂けるようにロビーに飾ってみました。

本番のあんずまつりは千曲市の森「杏の里」及び杏宝園さんの千曲川沿いの杏畑は４月６日から４月２１日まで。今年こそ、その幻の薄いピンクの杏の花を是非、見に来て頂きたい！

Hey, aren't those apricot blossoms there in Kamesei Ryokan's lobby in full bloom? Have the trees started flowering already?

Well, actually, local apricot orchardist Kyohoen kindly gave us some branches that they trimmed. We kept them in a warm room, and they bloomed. So we are displaying them in our lobby for this weekend's guests to enjoy. Kind of a pre-apricot blossom festival.

The real festival takes place in nearby Mori "Apricot Village" from April 6th to April 21st. Kyohoen's orchard here along the Chikuma River just north of our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada will be in bloom the same time.

杏宝園 Kyohoen

亀清旅館の貸切露天「しなの風呂」の庭に節分草が起きてきました。雪が解けて来て、外の風は少しでも春の温かさが乗って来ました。

戸倉上山田温泉の周辺の皆が森地区「あんずの里」の杏の花が咲くのを楽しみにしています。市からの最新情報では４月６日当たりから咲き始まる予報です。特にこの冬が寒くて長く感じましたのでその杏の花が咲く季節がどれだけ嬉しい事！

しかし、信州の花は杏だけではない。この節分草から初めて、杏、さくら、桃、りんごの木が次から次へ咲き、水芭蕉やツツジ、ボタンなど様々の花が信州を彩りしてくれる。

その中で、この節分草のお花は特に有難い。戸倉駅の上の戸倉キティーパークに節分草の自生地があって、大勢の花ファンやカメラマンが身に来る。希少植物になっている節分草の可憐なセツブンソウは本当に貴重な花。亀清旅館の庭師、岡田さんが貸切露天「しなの風呂」の庭を作った時に節分草も植えてくれました。今年はこんな丈夫に咲いてきました。嬉しくてうれしくて！

春よ来い♪

Kamesei Ryokan's "Shinano-Buro" family bath has a garden that features several rare flowers, including the delicate 'Setsubunsou' Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Maxim.) Satake et Okuyama. This morning, I took a peek and was delighted to see that the precious little flowers have risen out of the ground and blossomed.

Everyone here in our area of Nagano is really looking forward to our area's main flower event, the apricot blossoms in nearby Mori "Apricot Village". Latest prediction is that they will bloom starting around April 6th. The blossoms will have special meaning this year, as this winter has been especially cold and long here in our onsen town, Togura-Kamiyamada.

But the apricot blossoms are just one of many spring flowers in Nagano. Following the apricot blossoms are cherry, peach, and apple blossoms. And for flowers, there are the creamy white skunk cabbages, pastel azaleas and brilliant peonies to look forward to.

But first, the quiet, pretty little setsubunsou. Above Togura Station in Togurajuku Kitty Park is a grouping of naturally occurring setsubunsou. Flower enthusiasts and photographers come from far and wide to see and take pictures of them.

And at Kamesei Ryokan, our gardener Okada-san planted some setsubunsou when he built the garden for our new private outdoor bath, the 'Shinano-Buro'. I'm glad to see the flowers are blooming again this spring.

Spring is Coming!

ハッピーガールズディー！

このひな祭りの日から亀清旅館のロビーに雛人形がお客様をお迎えします。

地域によっては雛人形を３月３日まで飾るようですが、冬が長く春が遅れる信州では旧暦のカレンダーで３月３日から一か月間で飾ります。

世界中の娘さん達が自信を持って強くて優しいプリンセスになる様にお祈りしております。

Happy Girls Day from Kamesei Ryokan!

March 3rd is Girls Day in Japan, and families across the country celebrate by displaying Hina Dolls of a princess and prince and their entourage.

Kamesei Ryokan's Hina Dolls are on display in our lobby to greet guests as they arrive.

We wish that all young girls grow up as strong and kind princesses full of self-confidence and loving hearts.

亀清旅館のロビーに薪ストーブがあり、その為に毎年のこの時期で薪を集める。と言う訳で一年ぶりに薪割をやりました。

これからは近所のりんご農園から剪定物を頂く予定。切ったり割ったり小屋に積んだりする作業は大変だが、
ロビーの薪ストーブのやわらかい暖かさを楽しんで頂くお客様の顔を見れば、「よし、頑張ろう！」となる。

Kamesei Ryokan's lobby features a wood burning stove. Every year at this time, one of my jobs is to prepare firewood for burning in our stove in the following winter.

Cutting, chopping and stacking firewood is a tough job.
But seeing our guests enjoying the soft heat from our lobby's stove makes all the sweat and sore muscles worth it!

この冬は雪景色が続きそう。亀清旅館の中庭はまた白くなりました。この美しさを見るのは飽きない。特に我が宿はこの中庭を始め、離れ風の部屋の小庭や所々の坪庭、「100年風呂」と「しなの風呂」の2つの露天風呂の庭、雪がかぶればまた格別に綺麗になる。特に、100年風呂は屋根がないので、雪が降る時に入ると顔にちらちらと…

亀清旅館：　雪景色の合う宿！

How can one ever get tired of seeing a beautiful winter scene like this? This year has seen a lot more snow than usual, so we have been treated to these type of crystal white scenes a lot. Kamesei Ryokan, with its nakaniwa central garden (pictured), the small gardens of the hanare-fu semi-detached guestrooms, pocket gardens throughout, and the gardens for our two of our outdoor baths, all of these gardens make for a naturally beautiful setting for when it snows. And you can't beat soaking in our 100-Year Bath as the snowflakes fall on your face.

Kamesei Ryokan -- perfect for enjoying snowy scenes.

亀清旅館の周り、この戸倉上山田温泉、千曲川、周辺の山々も雪景色で綺麗です。写真は佐良志奈神社の入口の風情です。

Not just our inn, but our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada and the Chikuma River as well the surrounding mountains also look extra beautiful when it snows. Pictured is the entrance to Sarashina Shrine. It reminds me of the novel "Snow Falling on Cedars" whose setting is close to my hometown of Seattle.

秋から冬のここまで、亀清旅館のＣｈｅｆ武井はデザートで手製のアップルパイを作っていた。地元の上山田産のりんごと一つな隠し味で、人気なデザートでした。

しかし、りんご農家の在庫がなくなり、春が近づいてきて、この戸倉上山田温泉で皆が楽しみにしているのは春先の杏の花。近くの森地区は「あんずの里」と呼ばれて、日本一杏生産です。その農村的な村は４月の頭となると、全体的に薄いピンクの色となる。そして、６月に杏の実が出来る。

従って、Ｃｈｅｆ武井はデザートとして、杏仁豆腐に切り替えた。上に手製の杏ジャムをかけている。プディングの中に杏の種からの粉、上に杏の実からのジャム。言わば、「親子杏仁豆腐」。

これを見ると、冬はそろそろ終わって、杏の時期がそろそろ始まる感じする。

From last fall and until this point in the winter, Kamesei Ryokan's Chef Takei has been making apple pie for dessert. Using apples from local Kamiyamada orchards and adding a secret ingredient, the dessert has been a hit with our guests here at Kamesei.

However, the local orchardists have come to the end of the season's supply. In addition, we are fast approaching the apricot blossom season. Our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada is 20 minutes away from Mori "Apricot Village", Japan's #1 growing area of apricots. In early April, the entire Mori valley will be covered by the light pink apricot tree blossoms. And the fruit will be ripe and ready to pick a few months later, in June.

In anticipation of the apricot blossoms, our chef has switched to Annin Pudding for dessert. It is a creamy almond tofu pudding that historically uses powdered apricot pit centers. Chef Takei tops the pudding with a dab of apricot jam. Part of the pit, part of fruit -- it's like a parent-child version of Annin Pudding!

亀清旅館のＣｈｅｆ武井のメニューは季節と一緒に変わります。この寒い冬から桜や杏の花が楽しみ春に切り替わる中で、山の方は山菜が雪の中から出始まっている時期です。

2月の上旬の亀清旅館・Ｃｈｅｆ武井のメニューは下記です。

Kamesei Ryokan's Chef Takei changes the menu for his kaiseki-style dinner as the seasons change. As we are transitioning from cold, snowy winter and looking forward to the cherry and apricot trees blossoming in the spring, the 'sansai' wild mountain vegetables are starting to awake under the snow.

Chef Takei's menu for early February reflects the changing of the seasons.

旬の物　山菜のウルイ酢味噌和 Vinegar Miso-flavored Urui (young Hosta montana)
酢の物　佐久鯉南蛮漬け　Spicy Nanban Seasoned Saku Carp
サラダ　生湯葉サラダ　Salad with Yuba (tofu skin)
蒸し物　びっくり茶碗　Surprise Chawan egg custard
つくり　かじき、甘海老、タコ　Kajiki tuna, shrimp, octopus
焼き物　鮎煮浸し　Stewed Grilled Ayu River Fish
台の物　茸鍋Mushroom Hot Pot with Pork
蓋物　　甘鯛豆腐の蒸し物 Steamed Amadai (horse-head fish) with Tofu*
揚げ物　信州サーモン唐揚げ風 Shinshu Salmon Fried, Topped with Onion Sauce
お椀　　ワタリガニ味噌汁　Miso Soup with Watarigani (Swimming Crab)
香の物　野沢菜　Nozawana and other pickled vegetables
水皿　　隠れ味アップルパイと杏ジャム　Secret Apple Pie with Apricot Topping

*Soon to change to 筍の田楽　Broiled Miso-filled Bamboo Shootに直代わります。