温泉旅館をやっている私達も他の温泉街に行ってお風呂に入るのは大好きです。今日は田沢温泉に行ってきました。

田沢温泉で旅館は３件しかない小さな温泉で、江戸時代の建物、雰囲気が残っています。石畳の細い道に２，３階建ての木造の宿、歴史を感じさせる松の木、絵になるような温泉街。
旅館組合青年部で知り合った若旦那、宮原Kenさん（今は、県部長として頑張ってくれている人）の宿、ますや旅館のお風呂に入らせて頂きました。私が大好きな木の造りで迷路のよう長い廊下を通ってお風呂場まで行く。お湯はまあ、田沢温泉がぬるいと言う噂を聞いていましたので噂通り、ぬるかったです。源泉が３８℃だそうです。その分で長く入れました。露天風呂に入りながら、青空や周りの松や竹を見ながらゆっくりくつろげました。
信州の自然、江戸時代の建築・・・田沢温泉は良かった！
（戸倉上山田温泉から車で約４５分。）

Our family runs an onsen ryokan. So what do we like to do on our days off? Go see other ryokans and take an onsen bath, of course! Today we went for a drive to Tazawa Onsen.

Tazawa is a small onsen with only 3 inns in operation. But the narrow cobblestone street is lined with 2~3 story wood buildings, many built in the Edo era, with manicured pine trees giving the town a classic feel.

We went to Masuya Ryokan for our bath. The innkeeper, Ken Miyahara is actually the leader of the prefecture's Junior Ryokan Association. His inn has the type of construction that I just love -- warm wood with long corridors running along the outside of the building, all in a confusing web of passageways.

As for the onsen water, well, I had heard that Tazawa Onsen is only lukewarm. And sure enough, with the onsen source being only 38C, the baths were quite a bit cooler than ours. But that meant we could enjoy a nice, long soak. The outdoor bath was especially enjoyable, with views of the blue sky above and pine trees and bamboo on the hillside next to the bath.

Tazawa Onsen -- blessed by Nagano's wonderful nature and featuring classic Edo-era architecture. It makes my list of Cool Japan.

(Tazawa Onsen is about a 45 minute drive from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.)

田沢温泉のますや旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the website of Masuya Ryokan in Tazawa Onsen.

お父さん達の皆様、今日はおめでとうございます。父の日で家族と何か楽しい事ができましたか？
私達はドライブで戸隠に行ってきました。我が家族の戸隠「定番」が美味しいそば＠山口屋、忍者遊び＠忍法センター、奥社へのハイキング（途中の杉並木で自然の力が物凄く感じられます）。
今回の戸隠旅はいつもより深く体験が出来ました。(一時は深過ぎる！）まずは奥社の隣の植物園に始めて入ってみました。奥社への道が人で込んでいる訳でもないけれど、その道から離れて、植物園に入ったら、その緑と静かさで感動しました。葉っぱを通っている風と鳥の鳴き声だけでした。あとは思い切り静か。と自然。更に信州・戸隠のファンになりました。
それから日に入りの鏡池を見ました。戸隠山と西岳が雲と遊んでいて、それが池で反射して、とっても綺麗でした。つまとふたりで「あぁ、ロマンチックだな」と思ったら、ブッシャッ！次男のKenちゃんが鏡池におっこしちゃった。
子供は１人で止めるべきだと思っちゃった。と言うのは冗談！
そのハプニングのあと、ズボンとパンツ無しのKenちゃん（だって、小学生の為に着替え用のズボン何て持って来なかった）も込めて、皆で今度、本物の忍者体験をしました。また後日に詳しく書きますが、戸隠で毎週の日曜日の夜７時から３時間の稽古が行うので誰でも参加が出来るってお聞きしまして、ただ、本物だからけがしてもおかしくないってお聞きしました。前から気になっていたので今日は思い切って、やってきました。そして、体中が思い切って、痛いです。

最高な父の日でした。

A special Congratulations to all of you Dads out there on this Father's Day. I hope all of you spent a fun day with your families. We sure did here at the Lynch household -- we went for a drive up to Togakushi.
Our Togakushi trips tend to follow this formula: delicious soba noodles at Yamaguchi-ya, ninja fun at the Ninja Center, and feeling the power of mother nature among the massive, ancient cedar trees lining the path to Okusha Shrine.
This time, however, we immersed ourselves a little further into the Togakushi experience (a bit too literally at one point). After ooh-ing and aah-ing at the Okusha cedar trees, we decided to check out the Nature Reserve next to it. We had never been into the actual reserve before. The path towards Okusha isn't exactly crowded with people, but it was amazing that just leaving the path and entering the reserve brought us to a world of lush greenery and intense stillness. Only the sound of the wind through the leaves and the birds chirping could be heard. The quietness of the woods and marshes was powerful. Once again, we were amazed by Togakushi and became even bigger fans of Nagano.
After stopping for icecream, we drove over to Kagami-ike (Mirror Pond) to watch the sun set over Togakushi Mountain. Togakushi and its western peak seemed like they were playfully streaming their fingers through the high clouds that were drifting by. The scene was beautifully reflected in the lake surface. My wife and I were just thinking how romantic of a setting it was, when all of the sudden, Splash! Our #2 son, Kenny, had fallen into the pond.
Maybe we should have stopped after the first child. Just kidding!
After that little "happening", we took bare-bottomed Kenny (who would have thought we'd need an extra pair of pants for an elementary school kid!) and the other kids for a real-life, hard-core Togakushi Ninja training. I will write more about that a later time, but let's just suffice it to say that it was the real thing, and my entire body is in pain as a result.

Today was one of the best Father's Days ever!

東京の商談会で一番インパクトがあったのは諏訪の御柱祭りの小松さんでした。最後で一緒に写真に一緒にポーズしてもらいました。御柱は来年の４月～６月中旬の予定ですが、その準備は既に進んでいるそうです。
御柱に観光客も体験できるコースもあるそうで、情報が入り次第またお知らせしたいと思っています。

At the sales meetings in Tokyo, the most memorable person was Komatsu-san of Suwa's once-every-seven-years Onbashira festival. The next festival is scheduled for April to mid-June 2010.
I asked him to pose with me for this picture. He explained that the men of Suwa put their lives into the festival. Each time, rumor has it that some people die celebrating the festival. The participants certainly put their lives at risk bringing the massive logs from the nearby mountains down to the Suwa Shrines. The logs are moved through a series of ceremonies, including down precipitous cliffs and through freezing cold rivers, climaxing in a ritual standing-up of the logs.
Komatsu-san said they have explanations in English and other languages available. When I get them, I will post them to this blog.

我々欧米人の中で、松本市内で一番人気なのは勿論、松本城です。さあ、その次に人気があるのはどこでしょうか？松本の外国人を受けている宿の１つの情報では、「JUM」日本浮世絵博物館だそうです。
今日はインバウンド（海外旅行者の誘客）関係の仲間と松本で会議を行いました。せっかくだったから、JUMでやりました。そうすると、酒井館長が特別に案内して頂きました。どうして浮世絵が欧米人に馴染みやすいか、日本人（及び納豆）のルーツ（驚くぐらいに国際的）、うんと奥深い話を分かりやすく、親切に説明してくれました。
その後、今の展示会（テーマ：広重２の「東京の人気スポット」）のスライドショーを見せて頂きました。説明は酒井さんでした。本人が出来ない場合は録音された案内を聞きながら見るのも可能だそうです。１８６０年代の江戸を当時のポップカルチャー（＝浮世絵）で見ると非常に面白かった。御茶ノ水の水がお茶に使えるぐらいに綺麗だったとは今思うと、笑っちゃう。新宿の滝を見ている旅行者の中で、欧米人も１人いました。（これはダブル吃驚：新宿に滝？そして、欧米人観光客？江戸時代のインバウンド！）
JUMは松本ICから２，３分（歩いて約１０分）です。松本城を見てから、JUMで浮世絵の世界に入るのはお勧めです！

Matsumoto's top attraction is, of course, the castle. But among foreigners, what is the city's #2 most popular spot? According to one innkeeper who caters to guests from abroad, it is JUM, the Japan Ukioye Museum.
Today I met up with some of my fellow Inbound colleagues in Matsumoto. We are working on projects to make Nagano friendlier and more accessible to travelers from abroad. Anyways, since we were meeting in 'Moto, we decided to hold the gathering at JUM. The curator, Sakai-san, graciously offered to give us a talk about the museum. He went into some fascinating subjects about why Westerners fancy ukiyoe, the roots of the Japanese people (as well as natto -- both are surprisingly international), etc.
Then Sakai-san narrated a slide show on the museum's current display, works by Hiroshige from the 1860's on popular spots (of that time) in Tokyo. Ukiyoe was THE pop-culture art of the period, and seeing scenes of Tokyo in ukiyoe prints really brings the era alive. It's amazing to see Ocha-no-mizu in a snow scene, and even more amazing to hear that the river was so clean its water ('mizu') was used for making tea ('ocha'). Another fun scene was of tourists sightseeing at a waterfall in Shinjuku. This scene was surprising for 2 reasons -- first, a natural waterfall in Shinjuku?!?!; second, one of the tourists was obviously a foreigner -- "Inbound" back in the 1860's!
Sakai-san offers his talks in English, Japanese, or an English-Japanese mix. If he isn't available to talk in person, his narration is recorded and can be played back while watching the slide show.
JUM is located about a 10-minute walk from the Matsumoto Interchange, which is accessible by highway bus from downtown Matsumoto. So if/when you visit 'Moto, after seeing the castle, lose yourself in the ukiyoe world at JUM!

Click here for the website for JUMのHPはこちら

松本のジャパニーズ・イン・グループのメンバーが清風荘です。着物着付けやお茶会の体験が出来る宿です。HPはこちら。Ryokan Seifuso in Matsumoto is a member of the Japanese Inn Group. They offer courses in wearing kimonos and Japanese tea ceremony for their guests. Click here for their website.

ニュースでは新型インフルエンザの情報が多いです。長野県ではまだかかった人がいないけれども、既に影響があります。今週から千曲市に中国からの留学生が来る予定でしたが、インフルエンザが流行らなくなるまで中止になった。他では国際会議などが中止になっているのもあるらしいです。
長野県は受身で待っているだけではなく、積極準備している。知事からの知らせはここ。
そして、ジャパニーズ・イン・グループのメンバーの中で、お客さんにマスクの無料提供などの動きがある。こうやって皆でこの新型インフルエンザに負けないで、頑張りましょう。
Swine Influenza has been in the news headlines so much lately. Even though there are no cases (yet?) in Nagano, it still has effected us. Our town was scheduled to host a group of exchange students from China this week, but they canceled the trip until the swine flu epidemic is over.

Canceled seminars, canceled exchange study groups … this flu is having a huge impact on tourist #’s.

Some organizations here in Japan are trying to be proactive and make the best of the situation. On the Japanese Inn Group internal mailing list, there was mention of inns catering to foreigners to offer free masks, advise guests to wash hands, and provide handwipes at lobby PC’s.

Also, Nagano Prefecture isn't just sitting back and waiting. It is actively making preparations. Here is an announcement from the governor in English.

善光寺の七年に一度の御開帳はどう記念すべきでしょうか？アサヒビールのようにマーケティングで生かして、特別な御開帳ラベルを作っていますが、御開帳＝ビール？亀清旅館では、善光寺の奥深い文化の中で座禅もあるって気付いて、御開帳限定の座禅プランを提供しています。周りに他にも、善光寺の文化、進行、歴史を生かしている行事があります。いくつかは下記です：

善光寺大門・西方寺の大チベット祭
５月７日から１１日まで写真展、映画、落語（有料）、踊り、マンカラ、などなど。詳しくはhttp://www.saihouji-nagano.com/2009.html

「善光寺地震と稲荷山」講演
５月９日（土）午後２時～　千曲市稲荷山の蔵し館
１６２年前の御開帳のときの7.4mag.地震で善光寺街道にある稲荷山宿場で旅人１２１人、村人１８２人が善光寺地震で死亡した。郷土史家の宮澤芳巳さんが語る。詳しくは稲荷山街並み委員会長の高村さん(Tel 090-9666-0852) 参加費２００円。

善光寺信仰－流転と遍歴の勧化
@長野県立歴史観
戦国時代や江戸時代など、善光寺の長い歴史を紹介する展示会。詳しくはhttp://www.npmh.net/kikaku/frame.html

What is the proper way to venerate Zenkoji Temple's once-every-seven-years Gokaicho event? Asahi Beer seems to think it's marketing gimmick, as they have slapped a big Gokaicho emblem on their beer bottles.
Here are some other Gokaicho related events -- perhaps not as fun as beer but likely to be much more memorable.

Wind of Tibet Festival
@ Saihouji Temple, Zenkoji
Tibetan Buddhist monks have their own way of celebrating Gokaicho, with traditional dancing, a colorful mancala, even a Rakugo demonstration (in Japanese, nominal fee). From May 7th to 11th. More info here.

"Zenkoji Earthquake and Inariyama" Lecture
@ Kurashikan in Inariyama, Chikuma City
During the Gokaicho event 162 years ago, as many pilgrims were passing through to Zenkoji, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit. In Inariyama, one of the closest post towns to Zenkoji on the feudal Zenkoji Road, 182 villagers and 121 travellers lost their lives. At this lecture, there will be a talk about the effect of the earthquake on the town (in Japanese, but with explanatory visuals).
Cost is 200 yen; Contact is Takamura-san, 090-9666-0852 or feel free to contact us here at Kamesei.

"Zenkoji Faith: Pilgrims and Devotions" Exhibit
@ Nagano Prefectural Museum of History, Mori, Chikuma City
Zenkoji Temple is open to all believers and its immense scale it testament to the faith and devotion of its supporters, many who make a pilgrimage at least once in their life. The prefecture's official history museum takes this opportunity to make a chronology of that faith. If you ever wondered what all the buzz is about Zenkoji and Gokaicho, this is a great place to find out.
More info here (in Japanese).

夕べ、東京からの帰りの新幹線から浅間山を見たら、噴煙も出ていました。日の入りの光で、でかい浅間山の火山の動き、新幹線の速度で、凄く感動的でした。

Last night, on the Nagano Shinkansen coming back from Tokyo, around the Karuizawa area you could see Mount Asama with a cloud of volcanic ash rising from its peak. The whole scene was impressively dynamic -- massive Mount Asama showing signs of volcanic activity, with the ash cloud dark against the sunset-tainted orange sky, all while flying at 260 km/h in the "Asama" Nagano Shinkansen bullet train -- human and natural forces at work.

題名の河童と忍者とつけばと鬼はどういう関係？皆の2009のシーズンの始まりの時期です：

河童・上高地　Kappa * Kamikochi
今年は雪が少なくて、上高地までの道はノーマルタイヤーで既に通れますが、正式的のオープンは4月27日です。その月曜日に第41回　上高地開山再が行います。スイスホーン（？！）で盛り上がります。
The Kappa (water sprites) of Kamikochi officially come out of their hibernation on the 27th of April every year. This year, the snowfall in the Alps has been less than average, and the road to Kamikochi is already snow-free. Kamikochi will hold its 41st annual official "Opening of the Mountains" festival, complete with Swiss horns, on Monday the 27th.

上高地の情報はこちらClick here for info on Kamikochi

つけば Tsukeba Fish Shacks
戸倉上山田温泉の代表のつけば(川魚専門料理の小屋）「正村つけば」は20日(月)からスタートする予定と言う知らせが来ました。川魚が苦手な方が多いかもしれないけど、川沿いの小屋で取立てのはやと鮎を食べるのは最高！
正村つけばは午前10時から午後10時まで夏までやっています。つけばコースは2000円～3000円です。ご予約は亀清旅館にてでどうぞ。

Even people with the strongest aversion to river fish should be able to appreciate eating just-caught fish served in a Tsukeba river shack along the shores of the Chikuma River. Togura Kamiyamada Onsen's main Tsukeba, "Shomura", opens for business this season on the 20th of April, and will serve "haya" and "ayu" prepared in various ways in their multi-course meal (prices 2000~3000 yen per person). Shomura will be open from 10am to 10pm until mid summer. You can make reservations through Kamesei.

正村つけば Shomura Tsukeba Tel (080)5109-8901

忍者・戸隠 Ninjas * Togakushi
戸隠の忍者達の冬眠が終わりました。4月18日から戸隠忍法センターの本年度スタートでした。戸隠流忍術の資料館や手裏剣道場、忍者屋敷など、大人も子供楽しめる。
Togakushi's ninjas came out of their winter hibernation on the 18th of April. That's when the Togakushi Ninja Center opened for business for the year. At the Center, there is a ninja artifacts hall, a shuriken range, and a ninja fun house, where you go through the building finding the secret doors from room to room.

詳しくは忍法センター Ninja Center Tel(026)254-2395

鬼：鬼押し出し Oni * Oni Oshi Dashi
浅間山の鬼は忍者や河童より冬眠が短いせいか、3月から鬼押し出し園が既にシーズン・オープンしていました。鬼押し出しは火山の世界、この地球らしくない世界、本当に鬼の世界です。軽井沢から簡単なアクセス。
An Oni is a Japanese ogre. On the flanks of Mt. Asama is an area that looks like a bunch of volcanic matter was pushed out of the mountain by an oni, hence the park's name, "Oni Oshi Dashi". It is a fascinating example of geological forces at work. The park has been open since March -- apparently that's when the oni hibernation ended.
Easy access from Karuizawa.

鬼押し出し園のHPはこちらClick here for the Oni Oshi Dashi website

Inboundの営業で、白馬へ行ってきました。外国人を誘客するのに、白馬に来ているオーストラリアなどからのスキー客という近道があるのではないかと。
というわけで、今日は久しぶりに白馬に行ってきました。改めて、白馬村から見えるアルプスの素晴らしさに感動しました。本当に自然に恵まれている。そして、やはりオーストラリア人の影響で色んな個性のあるお店がある。お昼はこのUncle Steven'sで食べました。さすが白馬、Funkyなお店です。
白馬のFunkyな、個性のあるお店のガイドブックもあります。白馬へ行けば是非、手に入れてください：白馬のEssential Guide.

Today, I went on a sales trip to Hakuba. I am hoping to share the traditional Japanese onsen ryokan experience of Kamesei with others from overseas. One short cut is to try to appeal to the Australian and other foreign skiers that flock to Hakuba in the winter.
It had been a little over a year since my last trip to Hakuba, and once again, I was mesmerized by how huge Hakuba Mountain and the Japanese Alps are when viewed from the base at Hakuba Village! Hakuba is truly blessed with outstanding nature.
Hakuba is also blessed with a wide variety of funky shops and restaurants. I had lunch at Uncle Steven's, a Tex-Mex joint. With cool restaurants like Uncle's, I can see why Hakuba is popular for apres ski also.
If you go to Hakuba, make sure to pick up a copy of the Hakuba Essential Guide. It is a great list of Hakuba's funky offerings.

Uncle Steven's website is here.

Essential Guide publisher, Hakuba Tourism's website is here.

会議で松本に行ってきました。ランチミーティングだったので浅間温泉で松本名物の山賊焼きを食べ、（別の文章参照）、自転車専門店（また別の文章参照）に行った。そして、会議が終わって、亀清に戻る前に松本城に寄りました。その前の日に泊まったお客さんから「松本城の桜が咲き出したよ」と聞きました。天気がちょうど晴れたし、雪をまだかぶっている北アルプスも見えたし、とにかくカメラを持って行ってみました。
そうすると、「この為に信州に来ました」のような経験でした。暖かい春の日で、地元の人たちも観光客も、子供連れ、じちゃん・ばちゃん、色んな人が散歩したり、絵を書いたり、歌を歌ったり、昼寝したり、（私みたいに）写真を撮ったりしていました。その格好いいカラスの色のお城と真っ青のお空にピンクの桜の花に白いアルプスの景色が期待した以上に綺麗でした。なおかつ、ところどころに隠れた美しい景色もあった。でかく黒いお城の前に真っ白な白鳥が泳いでいるとか、お城の門が桜の木のフレームになっている所など。私が特に気に入ったのは堀の壁の硬い石とやわらかい桜の花の合わせ。
機会があれば、今の時期の松本城がまた最高です。
I had to go into Matsumoto for a meeting at Asama Onsen. It was a lunch meeting, and I was treated to Matsumoto's specialty, "sanzoku-yaki" (see separate entry). We also stopped by the bicycle specialty shop there (also see separate entry). After the meeting, I scooted over to Matsumoto Castle. A guest the previous day had said the castle's cherry blossoms were starting to bloom. Plus the sky was clear, and the Alps still had snow, so I figured it would be a beautiful sight.
I wasn't disappointed! There were all kinds of people -- locals, tourists, families with kids, grannies and grandpas; all doing all sorts of things -- strolling, singing, napping, taking pictures (like me). The magnificent crow-black castle, the brilliant blue sky, the pink blooms of the cherry trees, and the touch of white on the Alps all made for spectacular scenery for photographing. But it was the beauty in the details that struck me. A white swan gracefully swimming with the black castle in the background. A grand cherry tree perfectly framed by one of the castle's gates. And what I really liked was the scene of the delicate cherry blossoms set against the massive boulders making up the walls of the moats. It was one of those, "This is why I came to Nagano" moments.