温泉タウン戸倉上山田にも「銀座通り」があります。上山田温泉の本通りと戸倉温泉の本通りをつなぐ小道です。昔は足袋屋さんがあったぐらい、何でも買い物ができた通りから名前が来ているそうです。現在では主に饅頭屋さん、信州味噌蔵、甘露煮屋さんで今もにぎわっています。
その銀座通りのお正月の習慣は餅つき大会。数年前に始まったが、しっかり根付いてきた。今年はうちの二男、ケネス君もつきました。
やはり、銀座通りの餅つき大会に参加しないと、新しい年は始まらない。
In Tokyo, you'll find the original "Ginza" shopping district. Here in our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, we also have a Ginza, the side street that connects Kamiyamada Onsen's main street with that of Togura Onsen. In the past, there were all kinds of shops for locals to get their necessities -- even a tabi sock maker. Nowadays, the main shops are a miso maker, manju cake maker, and fish shop. It's still our town's main shopping street, but on a much smaller scale.
The shops here put on an annual Mochi Pounding event at the beginning of the year. The tradition only started a few years ago, but has become a regular fixture. Our number two son, Kenny, was old enough to do some pounding this year.
