この間、私の憧れている先輩に厳しい事を言われました。旅行読売と言う雑誌で、この青い目の若旦那の紹介と言う取材が来ているけど、私の顔より亀清旅館の伝統的な良さをPRしたいという悩みを話してみました。そうすると、先輩が、「亀清はタイラーの顔しかないからどんどん出した方が良い」と言われてしまいました。つまり、亀清旅館は古くてボロボロでサービス・人間の良さで勝負するのしかないと。
痛い！亀清の建物・施設はそんなにひどいか？手造りの露天風呂もあるし、板長の料理の評判が温泉の中でTop 3に入るし、そして、亀清の建物の古さ、この木造の温もり、渡り廊下と離れ風のお部屋、中庭や露天風呂の周りの雑木林やあちらこちらの坪庭、それが亀清旅館の強みだと信じています。その強みの磨かなければならない所は沢山あるけれど、うまく磨く事によってタイラーの顔が二の次になると思いたいです。
先輩の厳しい言葉を繰り返せるように、亀清旅館の改善を頑張ります！
と言う事で、最近のPRを紹介したいと思います。
９月２日に先に書いた旅行読売の雑誌が発売される予定です。タイラーの顔が思い切り出るやつ。
そして、実は昨日に放送された地元の朝日長野放送と新潟のテレビ局のコロボレーションの番組、「セイン＆ボビー 気まま旅 愛がいっぱい信越物語」に亀清旅館が紹介されました。これも、タイラーの顔が出たけど、私の手造りクッキーのお茶菓子や、手造りの露天風呂、そしてうちの板長の料理も紹介されました。
３つ目の取材は、今度新潟県の「懐かしい建物が、気になります」と言うテーマの雑誌、「Carrel」が明日に亀清旅館の建物を取材しに来ます。９月の雑誌に出るそうです。私の顔の写真も撮るそうですが、今回は亀清の昔ながらの木造の建物やお風呂、庭がメインです。
亀清旅館の「顔」の進化のなりつつだ！
The other day, I asked one of my mentors here, an innkeeper from another ryokan, for some advice about a media inquiry. Nation-wide travel magazine Ryoko Yomiuri had called about featuring me in a column of their magazine. I was concerned that I was becoming too much of Kamesei Ryokan's "face" when I want the focus to be on our inn's warm wood construction, the baths, the gardens, our chef's cooking, etc. The other innkeeper told me bluntly that Kamesei's buildings, gardens and cooking aren't strong enough to be selling points -- all Kamesei has IS Tyler's face.
Ouch! Are our facilities really that bad? I for one believe are classic style, with the 'watari-roka' passageway taking you back to the detached guest rooms, with tsubo-niwa pocket gardens throughout, is Kamesei's strong point. A lot of polishing work still has to be done, but if done well, it will make for an strongly attractive inn. I want Kamesei to bigger than just me, the American innkeeper. His words are encouraging me to work harder to polish up our facitlities to put the recognition on the inn instead of me.
Anyways, the Ryoko Yomiuri magazine article about me will come out in their September 2nd issue. Some other recent media coverage about Kamesei have been a little more to my liking. Last night, local television station ABN showed a program featuring two "talents", Bobby and Thane, traveling around Niigata and Nagano. They featured our inn on the show -- not just me but the home-made cookies we serve with the tea and the hand-made outdoor bath, as well as our chef's meal.
And tomorrow, a culture / lifestyle magazine called "Carrel" from neighboring Niigata Prefecture will come to interview us and take pictures of our inn. While there will likely be some mention of me in the article, the focus is on traditional Japanese-style ryokans. That magazine will come out on September 20th.
So more and more, Kamesei's traditional building and the gardens are attracting more recognition -- this is a step in the right direction!
ABNの番組紹介はこちらClick here for info on the ABN tv program.
新潟雑誌 Carrel Magazine from Niigata
