Thanks to the inspiration of a Ms. Wain and her beau from Denmark, Kamesei Ryokan's lobby turned into a ninja dojo this afternoon. They had mentioned wanting to go to see Togakushi's ninjas, and were disppointed when I told them they were still closed for the winter. But then I remembered that I had met a real-life Togakushi-School ninja last month. I gave him a call, and Miyashita-sensei came and taught an authentic ninja lesson for us. You, too, can train with him -- just contact us and we'll set it up!
デンマークから来た二人は忍者に興味があった。私が最近に知り合った戸隠流忍者の宮下先生を呼んでみました。亀清のロビーでお出かけ忍者体験コースをやってくれました。本格的で感動しました！興味のある方はどうぞ、ご連絡を下さい。

日本舞踊のグループが泊まってくれたお陰、この珍しい見事がありました：草履１５足！
You don't see this every day: 15 pairs of zori sandals. We had the pleasure of hosting a group of ladies who practice Japanese traditional dance. They all came to our inn wearing kimonos, hence the sandals.
Click here for Kamesei Ryokan website.亀清旅館のHPはこちら

亀清旅館の看板動物、中庭の池の亀達、が冬眠から思い切り起きて、今日も太陽の光りを浴びてあがって来ていました。元々５匹がいましたが、２匹がどこか逃げました。太陽が出てきたら時にいらっしゃれば、亀清の亀と出会いが出来る！
Our namesake animals have officially come out of hibernation. The turtles from the koi pond in our naka-niwa garden were out sunbathing today. We originally had 5 turtles, but two of them ran (?) away.
亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

カレンダーは何って書いてあるか分からないけど、今日はガーデニング時期の始まりでした。亀清のガーデナー岡田さんは亀清の庭改善を始めてくれました。取り敢えず、離れ風の部屋と部屋の間の坪庭の下準備をやってくれました。
I don't care what the calendar says, today is the first day of Gardening Season. Our gardener, Okada-san, came to start the improvements on our inn's gardens. He started with one of the pocket gardens inbetween guest rooms.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

湯気が多いせいか、雨が降ったあとの露天風呂はなんとなくいつもより「温泉らしい」様な雰囲気です。

Maybe it's because of the extra steam coming off of the bath, but our outdoor bath has an extra special feel after the rain falls.

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

毎日雪が続いている中で冬がまだ終わりそうでもない。。。と思ったら亀清の中庭の池を見たら、亀清の看板動物の亀が太陽を浴びに上がっていました。この写真じゃ見えないと思いますが、許して下さい。もっと近く撮りに行ったら亀が逃げちゃうから。自分自身でどうぞ、見に来てください。:)
With snow still falling every day, the end of winter is nowhere in sight... Until now! This morning, the turtles in our Nakaniwa garden's pond were coming out of their winter sleep to poke their heads up and catch some sun rays. You can't really see them in this picture, but I couldn't get a closer one because the turtles swim away if you approach them. So if you want a closer look, you'll have to come and see them in person! 🙂
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

亀清旅館の女性達が人形遊びで盛り上がっています。特に、事は１１ヶ月の美咲ちゃんもいます。しかし、私が思いますが、美咲ちゃんより大人の女性の方が楽しんでいるかもしれません。まあ、とにかく、ハッピーひな祭り。
All the ladies of Kamesei Ryokan are having fun playing with dolls, in the honor of the Hina Festival. This year is special as it's the first one for our daughter, Misaki. I have a hunch, though, that the adult women are enjoying this more than Misaki... Anyways, I wish everyone a Happy Hina Festival.

島崎さん達の子供にデザートを作る約束しました。夕食後、皆さんが亀清のロビーの薪ストーブで集まって、アメリカ風の機械でポップコーンを焼きました。子供さん達は機械のハンドルをぐるぐると回したりして手伝いながら、楽しんで頂きました。良い思い出ができたかな？機会があれば、是非また起こし下さい。

島崎様から頂いたコメント：「楽しいひと時を過ごさせて頂きました。食事も美味しく、部屋も綺麗でししたので、大変満足でした。我が家は、畑でポップコーン用のもろこしを栽培するくらいのポップコーン好きなのです。なので、デザートのポップコーンは子供たちにとっては何よりうれしかったと思います。」

I promised to make a dessert for the Shimazaki Family kids after their dinner tonight, so I had them gather around the lobby wood stove, and brought out our old-fashioned popcorn maker, and popped them a bunch of popcorn. The kids took turns cranking the handle and helping make the popcorn, too. We all had a lot of fun!
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

今度は亀清旅館が「ゆこゆこ」と言う旅行雑誌に登録する予定です。その写真撮影の為に中村さんが見えました。撮影の途中で我が娘の美咲ちゃんが邪魔しましたの写真取られました。美咲ちゃんも雑誌に載るかな？ゆこゆこはwww.yukoyuko.netです。
The staff member for YukoYuko, a travel magazine came to take photographs for Kamesei's upcoming listing. Halfway through the session, our daughter Misaki came to play, and got her picture taken, too.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website.

We just got an e-mail back from Paul-san, visiting from the Netherlands to go skiiing. In between trips to Hakuba and Niseko, he stayed with us here at Kamesei. According to his message, 'Looking back though I really think that my time in your Ryokan was the highlight of the trip!' Thanks for the compliment, Paul-san!