亀清旅館の露天「１００年風呂」の庭にこんなに綺麗なユリが咲いています。庭師の岡田さんに聞いたら、小鬼百合だそうです。ただ、岡田さんが植えた花じゃないらしいです。雑木の庭の中で沢山の綺麗な植物があるけど、このユリは鳥が種を運んでくれたかな？

小鬼百合。自然なプレゼント。亀清のお風呂にお入りになる皆様はどうぞ、楽しんでください。

In the garden around Kamesei Ryokan's "100-Year Bath" outdoor onsen, this beautiful orange and black-spotted lily is blooming. According to our gardener Okada-san, it is a "Ko-oni Yuri", or "small ogre lily". The scientific name is Lilium leichtlinii Hook. f. var. tigrinum (Regel) Nichols. Perhaps in common English it could be called a tiger lily.

Okada-san planted so many beautiful trees and plants in the garden around the 100-Year bath, but he admitted that this lily wasn't one of them. Apparently a bird must have carried the seed here.

So our tiger lily is a gift from nature, for all of our guests here at Kamesei Ryokan to enjoy.

亀清旅館のChef武井の懐石料理で夏の人気あるお鍋：
高原野菜と信州ポークに特製梅ソース

菅平のレタスがまた出始まりましたので、その人気の夏鍋が戻ってきました。

しゃきしゃきしている菅平の新鮮なレタスの味と触感が最高です。ぜひ、食べてみてください。

Kamesei Ryokan's Chef Takei introduced a new summer hotpot to his kaiseki-style dinner last year: Nagano-raised pork with what we call 'Highland Veggies' -- greens raised in Suga-daira and other high-altitude plateaus here in Nagano.

With Suga-daira's lettuce crop's harvest just starting, once again Chef Takei has started offering this special summer 'nabe' hotpot.

Crispy fresh lettuce and delicious local pork with a specially-made original 'ume' plum sauce. Come and taste our summer 'nabe' again!

春先の代表の花は櫻の様に、
梅雨の代表の花は紫陽花だと、
日本に来てうんと感じていますが、如何ですか？

亀清旅館のそれぞれの庭にいろんな種類のアジサイが咲いています。昔からのと、庭師の岡田さんが選んで植えたの、両方が今、見頃です。

一部を紹介します。

As cherry blossoms represent the start of spring,
Hydrangeas are the representative flower for Japan's rainy season,
or so I have felt ever since moving to Japan.

Here in Kamesei Ryokan's many gardens, we have a plethora of varieties of hydrangeas in bloom right now. Some have been here since the gardens were originally installed, and some are recent additions by are gardener, Okada-san.

I would like to introduce a few.

客室「末広」の前の坪庭にこの芸術的な赤とピンクのアジサイ。
In the pocket garden in front of guestroom "Suehiro", this artistic red and pink hydrangea.

「千歳」の前の坪庭に真っ白の「アンアベル」。廊下を超えて反対側の坪庭にも続いている。

In the pocket garden in front of "Chitose", these creamy white "Annabelle" hydrangeas. They are repeated in the garden on the other side of the walkway, too.

渡り廊下の横に青い系と赤い系の紫のアジサイ。

Reddish and Blueish-purple hydrangeas next to the watari-roka passageway.

中庭の池の隣に深い青い色の紫陽花。

Deep blue hydrangeas next to the koi pond in our naka-niwa (central garden)

中庭にこんな芸術的な紫のアジサイ。

Also in the naka-niwa central garden, these artistic purple hydrangeas.

客室の前に切り取ったアジサイの生け花。

Hydrangea cut-flowers displayed ikebana-style in front of one of the guestrooms.

戸倉上山田の採りたて杏：　ご自由にどうぞ。

亀清旅館のお客様の為のおもてなし。ここでしか食べれない味、この時期でしか体験できない尼酸っぱさ。

亀清旅館から、ご自由にどうぞ。

Fresh picked Togura Kamiyamada apricots, "Help Yourself".

We at Kamesei Ryokan are offering our local apricots free for our guests. Come taste these tart tangy apricots and enjoy the flavor of the season.

Free, here at Kamesei Ryokan.

６月下旬と７千月上旬は戸倉上山田で杏狩りの時期です。
森「あんずの里」が日本一の杏生産地で杏狩りはもちろん、ジャム作りの体験もできる。亀清旅館のお客さんで毎年その為に来るリピーターがいます。

そして、もっと近く、戸倉の若宮地区（亀清から自転車で約１０分）にも、千曲川の側に杏畑があります。その生産者の紹介は出来ますので気楽で、宿から近くで杏狩りは出来ます。この間はフィンランドからのお客さんと一緒に,うちの子供達も連れて行きました。採りたての杏が尼酸っぱくて、美味しい！

Here in our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada, late June and early July means apricot picking time. 25 minutes away by car is the Mori "Apricot Village" which is the largest apricot producing area in Japan. Not only do several orchards offer u-pick, but you can also learn how to make apricot jam and sauces. Several of our guests here at Kamesei Ryokan come every year to make jam.

Even closer, Togura's Wakamiya district has several apricot orchards right along the Chikuma River. We can introduce one of the growers for our guests that want to try their hand at picking fresh apricots. Recently we had a couple from Finland stay with us. Our kids came along and we took them down to the orchard. Fresh apricots right off the tree have such an intense tang to them!

戸倉の杏「杏宝園」Togura Apricot Orchard Kyohoen

先日は亀清旅館の「紬」テーマの庭、客室「松風」の坪庭、の咲いている花の説明をしました。今度はもう一つな、繭のイメージを表現する白い花が咲きだしました:

ホタルブクロ

初夏の蛍の時期で咲く花です。ちょうど今は松風の庭に沢山咲いています。

庭はこういう理由で楽しいですね。一つ一つの季節を教えてくれる。

The other day I posted an entry describing the flowers that were blooming in our silk-themed garden for guestroom "Matsukaze". A new flower has started to bloom, and it too has a shape reminiscent of a silk worm's cocoon:

Campanula punctata Lam. (Spotted Bellflower)

In Japanese, the flower is known as "hotaru-bukuro", or firefly pouch. It blooms in early summer, the same time that fireflies come out and light up the night.

That's what I like about gardens -- they really impart a sense of the season.

亀清旅館の客室「松風」は「紬」というテーマで少しずつ帰っています。お庭はお蚕さんを表現する白い花が沢山あるし、お蚕さんが食べる桑の木もある。ちょうど今は色んな珍しい花が咲いています。庭師の岡田さんに来てもらって、説明してくれました。

Our gardener Okada-san stopped by to explain the flowers blooming in the garden he built for our guestroom "Matsukaze". The garden's theme is "Tsumugi" (silk weaving) and features plants with white flowers (like coccoons) as well as a mulberry shrub. Now I can explain to our guests the names of the various flowers!

「紅玉の木の下に咲いている黄色い花は何ですか？」と、客室「末広」にお泊りになったお客様に聞かれました。

亀清旅館の庭師、岡田さんは派手な花より「知っている人が知っている」の様な花が好きです。私もお陰様でいつも勉強になっています。今回は2年前に作ってもらった「紅玉」のテーマの坪庭に咲いてきた花の事でした。

岡田さんに聞いたら、黄華錨荘（きはないかりそう、学名は Epimedium koreanum）でした。wiblio.jpによると、英名は無いとはっきり書いてありますが、それこそ調べました。「妖精の翅」とか「司教の帽子」、そしてもっと面白いのは「助平なヤギの草」と、色んな名前があるそうです。亜細亜では性欲漢方として使われているそうです。伝説の由来によると、ある農家は黄華錨荘を食べた雄ヤギが雌と遊びだしたのを見たそうです。

庭師の岡田さんはどういうつもりでこの客室の庭に植えたか分かりませんが、黄華錨荘は確かに珍しい花です。これからお客様に聞かれたら、ちゃんと答えられるようになりました。（問題は、答える勇気があるかどうか！）

"What's that yellow flower blooming at the foot of the apple tree?" One of our guests staying in Kamesei Ryokan's guestroom 'Suehiro' asked me lately.

Our gardener, Okada-san, prefers subtle plants as opposed to showy ones. He seems to pick flowers that only real gardening aficianados would be familiar with. This yellow flower turned out to be no different: Epimedium koreanum.

When I researched it in a Japanese encyclopedia, it rudely said there is no English name for the flower. Luckily I stumbled upon a website dedicated to epimedium, and learned it has a variety of unusual, imaginative names in English: "Fairy Wings", "Bishop's Hat", and, most provacative, "Horny Goat Weed". Apparently the plant is used as an aphrodisiac herb. According to legend, a farmer noticed his goats would get frisky after grazing on the flower.

I'm not sure what our gardener Okada-san intended by planting epimedium in the pocket garden for this guestroom, but now if a guest asks, I can say what the flower is. I'm just not sure I have enough guts!

Epimedium website

亀清旅館の中庭のボタンが咲きだしました。この写真をFBに載せたら、「庭ポルノだ」というコメントを頂きました。確かに、濃い紫色の牡丹の花と雨の後の飛び石をこうやって見ると、セクシーですね。

私どもが亀清のそれぞれの庭を毎日見ていますが、飽きません。時期によって、天気によって、庭の顔が変わります。

お庭、お湯、お料理、私どものおもてなし。これが亀清旅館でございます。

The peony in Kamesei Ryokan's naka-niwa central garden just started to blossom. I posted this picture on Facebook and one of my buddies commented "Garden-porn". When looking at the deep purple of the peonies, and the after-the-rain wet look of the stepping stones, I can see how the garden could be called sexy.

We here at Kamesei never get tired of looking at the various gardens. They always show a different face with the changes in the season as well as the weather.

Gardens, Onsen baths, our chef's meals, our friendly service; These are the things that make Kamesei Ryokan what we are.

亀清旅館Kamesei Ryokan

いよいよゴールデンウィーク2012年の始まり。これからは子供連れのお客様で我が亀清旅館が賑やかになります。お子さん達が喜ばれるように亀清の玄関にでかい鯉のぼりを飾りました。彩で良いですね。

日本に引っ越す前にシアトルの家でもボイズディーの為に鯉のぼりを飾った。周りの皆は意味がきっと分からなかったでしょう。でも、日本の楽しい習慣だと思って毎年飾りました。

今度は亀清で生活で思い切りでかい鯉のぼりを飾れて、嬉しいです。

Golden Week 2012 has finally started! Throughout this holiday period, Kamesei will be welcoming many guests with children. So our inn will be blessed with pitter patter of little feet. In honor of GW's Boys Day, we put up our huge koi-nobori carp streamers in our driveway. Hopefully all the kids that will be coming this week will enjoy the colorful streamers.

When we were living back in Seattle, we often decorated the front of our house with carp streamers. Probably none of our neighbors knew the significance, but I did it anyways because I like Japan's Boys Day tradition.

Now that we are here in Japan, we go all out with these huge streamers. Enjoy Golden Week, everyone!