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これからは夏休みで亀清旅館が子供連れのご家族などでにぎやかになります。その直前で、私達の夏休みで約４００ｋｍのドライブの旅をしてきました。前から気になっていた日本三大名泉の下呂温泉に１泊してきました。途中で飛騨大鍾乳洞に寄って、洞窟を冒険した。下呂に入ったら大雨に当たって、町を見ない（見れない）で直接で宿へ行きました。

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夕食が５点満点の神明山荘に泊まりました。囲炉裏で鮎や飛騨牛を頂きました。美味しく頂きました。物凄く美味しく頂きました。「５点満点の夕食は何だろう」と最初に思った。だって、うちの板長の料理は4.6~4.7点です。戸倉上山田温泉の中でトップ３か４に入っている。５点は何か知りたい方、神明山荘に行ってみて下さい。期待しておいて下さい。がっかりは絶対しない。保障（？）します。
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次の朝は下呂温泉の町をぶらぶらしました。足湯に入ったり、温泉卵のソフトアイス（！）を頂いたり、温泉歴史観を見学したり、最後は駅の近くの幸の湯と言う銭湯に入った。残念ながら、下呂のパンフに写真が必ず載っている川沿いの噴泉池という露天風呂はやっていなかった。ちょっとがっかり。またいつか入りに行きなおさんとあかんやナ。
下呂を出て、飛騨高山に寄った。子供達に高山の古い町並みを見せたかった。その為に飽きない方法は決まっている：人力車！引っ張り屋（？）の説明が上手で詳しい事！下手なガイドより百倍ぐらい良かった。子供達も喜んだし。お勧めです。（ちなみに、若女将はお昼で飛騨牛をまた食べたかったので、せっかくだったから飛騨琢磨と言うレストランで大変お世話になりました！）
帰り道の途中で本来なら上高地に行きたかったけど、時間が無くて代わりに白骨温泉に行ってみました。子供達がそのミルキーの、もごれば体が見えなくなる白いお湯でびっくりしました。そして、自分と若女将が「やはり、温泉はこれだ！信州の温泉はいいよね！」と。
幸せに疲れた４００kmの旅だった。

From here on out, Kamesei will be inundated by families with kids on summer vacation. Before the action hits, we went on our own little summer vacation -- a 400km drive. We decided to head over to neighboring Gifu Prefecture to check out Gero Onsen, said to be one of Japan's Top Three Onsens (along with Arima Onsen outside of Kobe and Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma Prefecture on the other side of Nagano).
Along the way, we stopped to spelunker at the Hida Dai-Shonyudo caverns to ooh and aah over the stalagmites and stalactites. Most of the rock formations had spiritual-sounding names like "The Ear of Buddha". For a tourist trap, it was pretty cool -- definitely not OSHA-approved (lots of narrow spots to duck through) and the operators seem to be making efforts to make improvements to the facilities.
After the caves, we made it to Gero, but hit it during a rain squall so went straight to the ryokan. We chose Shinmeisansou mainly because it was a small, family-run inn. But also, their dinners are rated a perfect 5 out of 5.

NOTE: If you want to experience a perfect dinner, check out Shinmeisansou. To give you an idea, our chef's dinners are rated a 4.6~4.7, good enough to be in the top 3 or 4 from all 37 of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's inns. At Shinmeisou, we feasted on fresh ayu (sweetfish) on skewers as well as Hida-gyu beef grilled on an irori hearth, and so many more delectables. You'll just have to come and experience it yourself. You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it.

The next morning, we went into the onsen town and putzed around -- the foot baths, the Charlie Chaplin statue (!), the onsen museum, and then across the river to...not the outdoor bath that's pictured in all of the brochures (it was closed due to high river level) but to a plain old sento public bath. Hmm. I guess we'll have to try going back again someday. (Not another 400km?!?!)
After leaving Gero, we stopped at Hida Takayama. I had been there about a month ago, and really wanted to show our kids the classic street scene that has been preserved in its original Edo-era style. And what better way to see the town (and keep the kids entertained), than by rickshaw. The Puller (?) gave a splendid talk about the town and was amazingly knowledgeable -- much better than any guide I've ever seen. Seeing Takayama by rickshaw -- highly recommended.
Finally, on the way back home and back in Nagano Prefecture we wanted to show the kids Kamikochi but ran out of time. So instead, we made a side trip to Shirahone Onsen. Our kids were amazed by the milky water and how their bodies 'disappeared' into the white onsen. Mari and I were just thankful to finally get to soak in a real onsen -- what a wonderful welcome back to Nagano!

飛騨大鍾乳洞のHPはこちらClick here for the Hida Caverns website.

飛騨高山の美味しい飛騨牛のレストラン：飛騨琢磨 Hida Steak Restaurant in Takayama: Takami

飛騨高山の人力車のHPはこちらClick here for the Hida Takayama Rickshaw website.

白骨温泉の日帰り施設：楳香庵 Shirahone Onsen bathhouse Baikoan