４年間我慢しました。４年間ですよ。今に思うと、よく我慢しましたなと自分で思います。

何の話?

亀清旅館の「千歳」と「末広」の２つの客室の庭のことです。

「Ｂｅｆｏｒｅ」の写真を見ると、笑っちゃう。馬鹿でかいコンクリートのブロック塀に狭い、さびしい庭。季節感は全然なかった。

夏に私がそのブロック塀を壊して、光と風が通れる木の塀を作りました。そして、先週は庭師の岡田さんがその２つの庭を作りました。

岡田さんの庭のコンセプトの説明：

『信州の光と風を感じる果樹の庭』です。

「末広」は長野を代表する果物「リンゴ（紅玉）」を植えた『リン
ゴの庭』。
「千歳」は千曲市の春には無くてはならない「アンズ（大実）」を
植えた『アンズの庭』。

どちらも、この部屋を訪れたお客様が、窓を開けて風と光を感じ、
お部屋と庭の両方を楽しんでもらえると嬉しいな。
庭が明るくなれば、お部屋も明るくなり、空気も軽く、爽やかにな
ります。
庭の植物の成長と一緒に、毎年違った風景がお客様を迎えてくれます。

お庭の成長を楽しみにしてください。

Four years. I put up with them for four stinking, long years.

Put up with what, you say? With the sorry excuses of gardens for 2 of our guest rooms, Chitose and Suehiro. Looking back, I don't know how I did it. The "Before" pictures are soooo pitiful. Ugly tall concrete block walls and a couple of scraggly plants.

All of that has changed now. Over the past months, I demolished the concrete walls and built a wooden fence that lets in light and air. Then last week, our gardener, Okada-san, built two new gardens. The difference is like night and day.

The concept for the gardens is a Nagano Fruit Orchard. In Chitose's garden, he planted a heritage variety apricot tree, in honor of the nearby Mori "Apricot Village". In Suehiro, he planted an apple tree in honor of the many area apple orchards. And not just any apple tree, but kogyoku variety, a heritage type renowned for its tartness.

More pictures available at Okada-san's website:
詳しい説明と写真は岡田さんのＨＰをご覧ください。

千歳「杏」 Chitose's "Anzu" Garden

末広「紅玉」Suehiro's "Kogyoku" Garden

東京の英字タウン誌、メトロポリスから問合せがあって、亀清旅館はウィンタースペシャルに広告を出す事になりました。東京に住んでいる英語圏の皆がこの寒い冬に亀清の温泉に暖まりに来るように、尚且つ、スノーモンキー（地獄谷の野猿公園）や信州のスキー場（白馬、野沢、志賀高原）に近い事もＰＲしたいと。その為に書いた文章は下記です。

Tokyo free weekly magazine Metropolis contacted us about their upcoming Winter Special. We worked out an arrangement for them to feature Kamesei, in hopes of getting English speakers living in Tokyo to come this winter to warm themselves in Kamesei's onsen. Also, we're letting them know that we are central to a lot of Nagano's winter wonderlands: Hakuba, Nozawa, Shiga Kogen, and of course the snow monkeys.

Here is the text we prepared for the magazine:

Experience the heart and soul of Japan this winter and make Kamesei Ryokan your base for exploring Nagano. Our traditional Japanese inn features a soothing onsen hot spring bath. Enjoy the gentle heat of our wood stove and the warm wood construction of our lobby. Kamesei Ryokan features gardens throughout and spacious 10 tatami mat guest rooms where you can relax while lounging in a yukata robe.

Both main onsen baths have outdoor baths as well, hand-built by our proprietor. One is wood, made from yellow cedar. The other is a garden bath made of river stones, and is open to the winter sky allowing you to bathe in the starlight as you soak in the onsen water.

Gourmet Kaiseki-style dinners featuring local and seasonal ingredients as well as full Ryokan Breakfasts are available and are highly recommended in order to truly appreciate the ryokan experience. (Vegetarian meals available upon request.)

Our town of Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen is unique because it is an onsen town -- feel free to use our wooden geta sandals and walk around in your yukata. Browse the many local shops, soak your feet in the footbath, or wander down by the Chikuma River. Or hike up to the mountain castle on the hill behind our town, or rent a bicycle and ride along the Chikuma River. For dinners out, our guests enjoy a wide variety of restaurants.

Kamesei is located central to the best of Nagano: Jigokudani’s snow monkeys, spiritual Togakushi Mountain, magnificent Matsumoto Castle and the Japanese Alps are all popular day trips. We are also a little over an hour by car from Nagano’s top ski areas – Hakuba, Nozawa and Shiga Kogen. Make an onsen stop-over on your way to or from or between skiing.

Helpful itinerary planning for Nagano is gladly provided by our proprietor. Tyler is an American who would be happy to share insight into his adopted home here in the Japanese countryside. Night View tours, 5am Zazen Meditation, Thursday Night Lion Dance practices are just some of the complimentary "excursions" offered to our guests.

メトロポリスのＨＰはこちらClick here for Metropolis' website.

今週に庭作りで手伝いに来てくれた田中さんが東京の方で生け花もやっているようで、この素敵なのを作ってくれました。最初に作ってくれるって聞いたら、隅に小さなポットにちょっとした生け花を創造しました。見たら、こんなに素晴らしいのだった。
きっと、今週末のお客様が喜ぶでしょう。露天風呂に入りながら、田中さんの生け花を楽しんでいて・・・
田中さん、有難うございました!

This week, we have been hosting Tanaka-san while she's helping out building a couple of our gardens. Tanaka-san mentioned she does ikebana flower arrangement in Tokyo, and offered to make one to go with our yellow cedar outdoor bath. I had imagined a simple little arrangement in a small pot to go in a corner, and was surprised to see this magnificent creation! Our guests this weekend should be delighted to be able to enjoy this beautiful ikebana while soaking in the yellow cedar outdoor bath.
Tanaka-san, Thank You!

亀清の今年の改善目標は非常に大きい一歩を進んでいます。我が庭師、岡田さんが今週をかけて、「千歳」と「末広」の二つの客室の庭を造ってくれています。「庭付きの部屋」で売っているけど、これじゃ庭といえない!と言われたきかけで、この二部屋は庭を通じて「紅玉」と「杏」に変更・進化・改善します。庭がもう時期出来上がるのでまた写真を載せます。お楽しみに。

Kamesei's 2009 Improvement Plan is taking a huge step forward this week. Our gardener, Okada-san, is making the gardens for 2 of our guest rooms. The rooms' names, "Chitose" (a thousand years) and "Suehiro" (expansive future) mean everything ... and nothing. They could (and are) be names in ryokans anywhere from Hokkaido to Okinawa, let alone Nagano. Meanwhile, we've been promoting these rooms as having private gardens, yet small, neglected patches of greenery barely qualified as gardens. So with the garden makeover, we are changing these rooms to "Kogyoku" (a local heritage variety of apple) and "Anzu" (in honor of nearby Mori's "Apricot Village").

I will post pictures of the finalized gardens shortly, so stay tuned!

信州戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.

日本料理は松茸やきのこのお料理が世界一ではないかと思います。種類もたくさんあるし、松茸の難しい香りを行かせる土瓶蒸しとかはその微妙な香りをうまく生かせる。私もファンになりました。

我が武井板長がこの時期のメニューにこんなに美味しそうな松茸をホイル焼きや茶碗蒸しに使っています。リクエストがあれば、松茸の土瓶蒸しも出来ます。そして，おなべはこのごろ、塩田平のきのこのなべに切り替えました。板長の味付けはまた美味しいもの!

秋の楽しみの料理が来ました!

Japanese cuisine has to be the top in the world when it comes to mushrooms. Not only have they developed one of the widest variety of types of mushrooms, but they've managed to bring alive the subtle fragrances of the queen of mushrooms: Matsutake. Dishes such as "dobin-mushi" (steamed matsutake mushrooms in a soup served in a metal pot) really bring out the flavor.

Our chef has started using these delicious-looking matsutake mushrooms in several of our current menu's dishes, including one where he wraps them in aluminum foil and bakes them, as well as the chawan-mushi egg custard. And he just changed the "nabe" (pot dish) to his fall recipe using wild mushrooms from nearby Shioda-daira.

Fall delights waiting for you at Kamesei!

先日は亀清の古いパンフを紹介しました。今日はさらに古い紹介を紹介します。有限会社亀清旅館は57年前に１００ｍぐらい離れている所で設立しました。現在の場所は元々「長生荘」と言う旅館でしたので亀清旅館は途中で買い取って、移ったそうです。そのころは旅館の裏が田んぼだったようです。温泉街の端っこだったらしいです。今は完全に町の中になっています。
元々の建物に増築・増築、離れ風の部屋が出来、今のお風呂のある建物（亀清の唯一の鉄筋コンクリートの建物）、そしてこのの亡くなったお父さんが約40年前に写真の建物の手前に現在のロビーを設計して造りました。木造の高さをずいぶん取ったロビーです。亀清の自慢の顔です。当時は周りの皆が逆に木造の建物を壊して、何階建てのコンクリートの箱を作っていたようです。「その高さを取るなら、2階に分けて上に客室を作ればよい」と言われたようです。今になってみれば、この木野ぬくもりのある快適なロビーが宝物です。
時代が変わる、亀清旅館も変わる。昔ながらの良さを守りながら、改善して行って変わる。

A couple days ago, I put up some pictures of Kamesei's old pamphlets. Here are some even older pictures of Kamesei's predecessor, Choseiso. Kamesei was started as a company 57 years ago by our current "Okami" (my mother-in-law) and her mother. Kamesei originally started out at another location approximately 100 meters up the road. Then at some point, Kamesei bought the former Choseiso Ryokan and moved its operation here, the current location. The original building has been added on to and added on to, with the semi-detached rooms built as well as the building that houses the onsen baths (our only ferroconcrete building). Then about 40 years ago, my wife's father (who has since passed away), designed and had the lobby built. He had it build out of wood, with a cathedral ceiling-like grand space inside. Back then, most of the other inns in town were tearing down their wooden buildings and multi-story constructing concrete boxes. Looking back now, we are grateful Mari's dad built this spacious lobby with its warm wood construction.
As times change, so does Kamesei Ryokan. We try to preserve the goodness of its yesteryear charms while making improvements along the way.

信州戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちら
Click here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.

亀清旅館の25年前のパンフが出てきました。10年前のと、今年のおニューで造ったのと比較したら、時代の違いはかなり感じられます。一番目立つのは周辺vs。戸倉上山田温泉の紹介部分です。25年前はいわゆる「マス・ツーリスム」（団体旅行）の時代で会社や近所の仲間と有名なところに行って、記念写真を撮って、お土産を義理で買って、普通の生活に戻る前に温泉に泊まって、宴会でわいわいがやがやするというパターンでした。従って、25年前のパンフは周辺の地図が一番目立ちます。あれから日本の旅行文化も進化して来て、今は旅行する時に好きな人と好きなところへ好きな事をするという個人旅行が増えてきました。従って、亀清の新しいパンフに温泉が好きな上で来るお客さんにこの戸倉上山田温泉の魅力（足湯、射的など）を紹介しています。
これからは日本の旅行文化・亀清のパンフはどうやって進化するか、楽しみですね。

We recently discovered one of Kamesei Ryokan's pamphlets from 25 years ago. When comparing it with the one from 10 years ago and our brand new one, you can really feel the difference in the eras. Most noticeable is the emphasis on nearby tourist spots vs. our onsen town. 25 years ago, "Mass Tourism" was a hit -- busloads of mostly guys, going to a famous place, having their picture taken, buying the requisite souvenirs, and stopping at an onsen for a night of partying before returning to their regular lives. As a result, our pamphlet from 25 years ago features a map showing popular tourist spots in the area. Nowadays, Japanese travel culture is individuals going to places they want to see, with people they want to be with, to do things they want to do. As a result, our new brochure focuses on Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's attractions which appeal to our guests who come to immerse themselves literally and figuratively in 'onsen'.
It will be interesting to see how Japan's travel culture (and Kamesei's brochure) will evolve in the future.

信州戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.

亀清旅館の一番古い建物が大正時代から、隣の坂城村から移築されたと前からお聞きしました。今日、上山田の中島農園にぶどうを買いに行ったら、中島さんの90歳のおじさんと油を売った（?）。色々と話をしたら、中島おじさんがその移築の前の亀清の建物を知っていると分かりました。「坂城の駅前にあった。芸者さんのおきやだった。19歳の時に芸者さんの三味線と太鼓を聴きに行った事がある」と仰いました。

感心しました。歴史の本で読むより、中島おじさんのような「生きている歴史」と話した方が100倍ぐらい面白い。

今度は中島おじさんに亀清に来てもらいたいです。その建物は現在、亀清の大広間として使われていますが、移築前の様子を聞かせて頂きたいです。

I had heard before that Kamesei's oldest building dates back to the Taisho era (early 1900's) and actually was moved to its present location from neighboring Sakaki Town. Apparently it was disassembled, transported, and reassembled here to later become Kamesei Ryokan.

Today when I went to Nakajima Orchards to buy more grapes, I shot the breeze with 90 year-old Nakajima Ojisan. He mentioned that he had actually been inside the building while it was still in Sakaki. "It used to be across the street from Sakaki Station, and had been a geisha 'okiya' (parlor house). When I was 19 years old, I went and heard the geisha play shamisen and taiko."

Wow! It's so much more interesting to hear stories like that from someone like Nakajima oji-san, a "living history", rather than from a history book.

Someday I hope Nakajima oji-san can come to Kamesei and tell me more about what the building was like before being moved here.

先日は歴史家の大谷さんが亀清にお越しになりました。色々と話している最中で、大谷さんは「えっ、この花はどうしたの?」と驚きました。ロビーに飾ってあった黄色い花の事。庭師の岡田さんが露天風呂の庭から持ってきた；伸びすぎていてtrimしたけど捨てるのはもったいないからロビーで飾ってくれた。と説明したら、「その余裕に育っているかい?その場所を見せてください」と言われました。
女郎花と言う花だそうです。うんと珍しいらしい。歴史家の大谷さんいわく、芭蕉が更級（この辺の昔の名前）に来たときに女郎花を見て騒いだそうです。大恥ずかしい事ですが、私はそれまでにぜんぜん認識していなかった。私がここに引越ししたのはそろそろ四年がたちます。その間、色々と一所懸命勉強しているけど、この女郎花の事のように、習わなければならないことがまだまだ多いですね。
The other day, local historian Otani-san came to Kamesei. As we talked, in the middle of the conversation he stopped and asked where we got the yellow flowers that were on display in our lobby. I explained that our gardener, Okada-san, had trimmed them from our outdoor bath's garden and since it would be a wast to throw them away, he had us put them in our lobby's flower vase. Otani-san was shocked -- "You mean, you have this flower growing in your outdoor bath's garden?!?!" Apparently, Patrinia scabiosifolia "Gold Lace" is a rarity from old times. In his historical studies, Otani-san had found that the haiku great, Bassho, had seen the flower in his travels to this area and had written about it. And here I've been pretty much oblivious to it.
It's been almost 4 years now since we moved here, and in that time I've been actively trying to learn as much as possible about the area. But instances like this Gold Lace flower just go to show how much more I have learn.

大谷さんの「更科への旅」歴史シリーズが更級小学校のHPに載っています。＃１００が女郎花の事。非常に分かりやすい文章で私が興味深い内容です。頑張って、勉強します。
Otani-san's "Journey to Sarashina" series of historical essays is posted on Sarashina Elementary School's website. #100 is about Gold Lace. Very well-written and carefully researched essays -- they will be my new source for learning.

更級への旅のHP "Journey to Sarashina" Website

亀清旅館の９月のデザートは決まりました：雹ダメージの上山田ぶどうです。６月に上山田の辺で雹が降ったので周辺のぶどう畑やりんご園が困っています。出来上がってきた果実の味は素晴らしいけれど、見た目は規格外になります。亀清旅館はその応援でお客さんに事情を説明して、夕食のデザートでこの美味しいぶどうを出しております。昨日もぶどう畑に行って、農家さんから直接で買いに行きました。息子がぶどう狩りの体験も出来ました。自分で採ればさらに美味しく感じます。ぶどう狩りはいかがでしょうか？今は時期なので信州の自然を楽しんでいただけます。

For the month of September, our chef will be serving local grapes for dessert to our dinner guests here at Kamesei Ryokan. Back in June, the Kamiyamada area was hit by hail, and the grape and apple growers are having difficulty moving the fruit that is becoming ripe now. The grapes and apples taste great, but their appearance is off-grade. We at Kamesei Ryokan are working to support the farmers by serving our guests the hail-damaged grapes. After hearing the explanation of the situation, our guests have all been supportive, as well as enjoying the delicious, fresh local grapes.
Yesterday I went to the orchard again to buy more grapes directly from the farmer. Our son Andy got to pick some himself. Grapes seem to taste extra good if you pick them yourself. If anyone is interested in grape U-Pick, let us know and we'd be happy to introduce you to the farmers.

戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano