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台風18号のせいで、午前中は地元の電車が走らなかったし、ここの上山田小学校が休みでした。しかし、周辺の山が守ってくれたようで、上山田は損害が無かった。心配だったりんご農園も大丈夫だったそうです。

子供達は休みだったのもあって、上田市に連れてきました。
以前に上田の昭和ころからのアーケード、海野町に行きましたが、今回は更に歴史のある江戸時代からの柳町に行きました。柳町がもっと古いのに、海野町ほどさびていないと言うのは不思議でした。やはり、江戸時代の石畳の道や木造の建物は味がある。そして、町の人々の努力のお陰で、その何百年前からの味が今日にも伝われる。
柳町の代表の店の一つはルヴァンというパン屋さんです。自然酵母の利用（不自然な酵母はある？）と言うこだわりのお陰か、おもみのあるパンでこの欧米人の口にとっても合いました。そして、パン屋さんの建物はまたすごいですよ。戸隠の忍者屋敷のパン屋さんの版って感じ。所々に面白い隅があって、色んな楽しいオブジェもあって、とっても良かった。
上田城に行く観光客が多いですが、もうちょっと足を伸ばせばこの柳町にも簡単に行ける。お勧めです!

Due to Typhoon Melor, our local train stopped running this morning, and Kamiyamada Elementary School closed for the day. Thanks to the surrounding mountains, however, the storm didn't hit Kamiyamada very hard. Our area apple orchards fortunately escaped without much damage.
Taking advantage of the kids' day off, I took them to Ueda City. I had been to Ueda's Showa-era shopping district Unno-Machi before. Today we explored Ueda's Edo-era district, Yanagi-Machi. Despite being older by several hundred years, Yanagi-Machi seemed to have more vitality than its Showa-era counterpart. I think it's due to the charming feudal period stone slab streets and classic wooden buildings. Thanks to the efforts of the townspeople, the neighborhood retains much of its historical character.
And Yanagi-Machi's crown gem is definitely the Levain breadshop. Not only is their bread fantastic, but the building is amazing. They pride themselves in using "natural yeast" (is there such a thing as unnatural yeast?) and I'm not sure if that's the reason or not, but the rich texture and full flavor of the bread certainly pleased this westerner's palatte. But the building, oh the building! It reminded me of the ninja fun house in Togakushi with all of its mesmerizing nooks and crannies, let alone the interesting objects and nicknacks throughout the place.
Many tourists go see Ueda Castle. From there, it's an easy walk to Yanagi-Machi -- I highly suggest it.

注：亀清旅館・戸倉上山田温泉から車で約30分、戸倉駅から上田駅まで電車で約12分。
Note: Approx. 30 minutes by car from Kamesei Ryokan; or about 12 minutes by train from Togura to Ueda Station.

上田の観光地北国街道柳町のHPはこちらClick here for Yanagi-Machi's website.

パン屋さんのルヴァンのHPはこちらClick here for the website of Levain.