亀清旅館の庭師、岡田さんは顔を出してくれて、それぞれの庭をチェックしてくれました。冬の雪が殆ど解けて、春先の様子を見てくれました。そして、所々に、春の動きを見つけました。「100年風呂」露天風呂の雑木林庭にヒマラヤユキノシタやワラビ、客室の庭の去年に植えた紅玉の葉っぱ、亀清の庭がちょっとずつ起きてきています。岡田さんの写真をここで提供します。

Our gardener, Okada-san, stopped by to inspect how Kamesei Ryokan's garden survived the winter. The last of the snow has pretty much all melted away, and the garden is starting to wake up from its winter nap. Okada-san saw signs of spring here and there throughout the garden, such as the elephant ear flowers and the "warabi" wild flower in the garden around our 100 Year Bath outdoor bath, as well as new growth on the heirloom variety "kogyoku" apple tree he planted for us last fall. Here are some pictures that Okada-san provided.

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

千曲市の森将軍塚と長野県立歴史観の間に、古墳時代のムラが再創作された。科野のムラと言います。茅葺屋根の建物は５,６件があって、ムラの儀式の場も復元されて、小さな川も流れて・・・昔、昔、何千年前の昔の風景になっています。今日はお客様の送迎の途中で見まして、雪が少し残っていて綺麗でした。帰りは寄って、写真を撮りました。２件の小屋の茅葺屋根の中から煙が出ていて、いい雰囲気でした。
偶然、亀清旅館の違うお客さんとそこで行き会いました。森の将軍塚に入っていたそうです。すいていましたと仰いました。これだけな素敵な資料館と、復元された古墳時代のムラがって、人が少ないってもったいない。
In between the Nagano Prefectural History Museum and the Chikuma City Mori Shogunzuka Museum is a collection of recreated prehistoric buildings, the Shinano Village. There are 5 or 6 thatched roof dwellings and storehouses, as well as an elevated ceremonial building, all with a small stream running along side. With the covering of snow, it all makes for a mystical site -- you feel like you've slipped back through time. I spotted the village while taking some guests to their homes, and stopped by on the way back to take some pictures. Two of the buildings had cooking fires burning inside. It was ethereal to see the smoke stream through the thatched roof.
Just by coincidence, some other Kamesei guests were there, too. They had gone to see the Mori Shogunzuka museum. Apparently there weren't many people in it. What a shame that more people don't come and enjoy the wonderful museum and this fascinating little village.

科野のムラは亀清旅館・戸倉上山田温泉から車で約２０分；屋代駅から歩いて約２０分。The Shinano Village is about 20 minutes from Kamesei by car, or about a 20 minute walk from Yashiro Station on the Shinano Railway line.

科野のムラのＨＰはこちら。The Shinano Village website is here.

駅のキオスクでお弁当を買ったら、お姉さんからチョコを頂いちゃって、
温泉のパン屋さんに行ったら、スイーツにハートの形の飾り、
我がお客さんにアメリカ式のハートキャンディー・・・

皆さん、ハッピーバレンタインズディー！

A gift of chocolate from the kiosk lady at the station,
Heart-shaped toppings on the sweets at the local bakery,
Giving our guests here at Kamesei Ryokan American-styled heart candy

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

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

亀清旅館と戸倉駅の間の送迎で、よく通る道です。この桜の並び木が好きです。今年の冬の雪はいつまで続くでしょうかと思ってしまいます。しかし、この桜の木を見ると、あと２ヶ月で花が咲く事を考えたら、よし！この寒さを我慢するぞ！

Whenever I drive our guests between our inn and Togura Station, I usually drive down this road. I like it because it is lined by cherry trees. The way this snowy winter is continuing, some days I wonder if it will ever end. But when I see these cherry trees, I realize that in just two more months, they will be in full bloom. So all we have to do is bear with the cold a little while longer, and we'll be rewarded with the beautiful cherry blossoms.

亀清旅館の裏にある中央公園にそり遊びにピッ足しな丘があります。先日の雪に今日の青空で最適なそり遊び状態でした。今朝は我が子供達が近所の子供と一緒にたっぷり滑りました。あまりにも楽しそうだったので、私も作務衣のままでチャレンジしてみた。自分の子供のころを思い出しました。やはり、雪遊びに子供の笑顔が似合います。日本とアメリカ、共通ですね。
途中でお手々が冷たくなった美咲ちゃんと一緒に亀清に戻って、ホットチョコレートを飲みました。子供のころからの良い思い出・・・

In Chuo Park behind Kamesei Ryokan, there is a little hill that is just perfect for sledding. With the recent snow, and today's warm sun, it was perfect conditions for sledding. Our kids spent the morning playing in the snow with some of the neighborhood kids. It looked like so much fun, I took a turn on the sled, too, wearing my 'samue' traditional Japanese work clothes nonetheless. It brought back great childhood memories. There is something about playing in the snow and children's smiles -- they go together so well.
Our little Misaki's fingers got cold, so I brought her back to Kamesei and helped warm her up with a cup of hot chocolate. Ahh, more fond memories from childhood...

今日の雪はすごい量です。戸倉上山田温泉の全体が真っ白になりました。場所によって１８ｃｍも積もりました・・・この冬で一番積もった。子供が亀清の裏の中央公園でそり遊びしている間、お父ちゃんは雪かき。終わったら、皆が中に戻って、薪ストーブで暖めて、お母さんの作った美味しいおうどんを食べた。

静かな冬の日です。

Today's snow really piled up. The whole town here of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen in blanketed in white. In some places, the snow was 18cm deep. While the kids went sledding at Chuo Park behind Kamesei, Dad got to shovel the entrance. Afterwards, we all came back in, warmed up by the wood burning stove, and ate Mom's delicious udon.

It's a quiet winter day here.

夕べは志賀高原から降りて、南向けで戸倉上山田温泉に戻ったら驚きました：温泉の方は雪が積もっていました。普段は長野市より北、そして山の方に雪が降ります。聞いたら、今回の雪は上（かみ）雪だった。雪は上と下があるのって、知らなかった。
まあ、この雪のお陰でお客様中庭やそれぞれの部屋の庭に雪景色の提供は出来ました。尚且つ、露天風呂はまた雪見風呂になりました。
お庭に雪が多少に残りそうですが、道の方はすぐ解けましたので運転はご安心して、信州の雪景色を見に来てください！

Yesterday as I was coming down from Shiga Kogen Heights and returning south to Togura Kamiyamada, I was surprised to find our onsen town covered in snow. Usually the areas to the north of Nagano, especially the mountains, get more snow than here in Togura Kamiyamada. However, today's snow was "Kami" snow. Kami means up, referring to the direction of Tokyo. Snow coming from the opposite direction is called "Shimo" snow.
Regardless of which direction it came from, the snow sure made our koi pond and tsubo-niwa gardens pretty. It also turned our outdoor bath into a snow-viewing bath. Our guests today enjoyed the beautiful scenes.
The snow will probably stick around in the gardens for a while, but it has already melted from the roads, so driving is fine. Come up and see our winter scenery!

来週から春子ちゃんが来るらしいけど、今は冬将軍。

寒いです。

どのぐらい寒いかというと、亀清旅館の中庭の池が凍りました。初めてですよ！池に井戸水を使っています。そのお陰で、夏は割りと冷たい、冬は割りと暖かい。普通は凍らないです。でも、夕べは半端じゃない冷えました。

この寒さの中で、夕べは姨捨夜景・伝説ツアーに行きました。私はそのツアーを何百回やっておりますが、夕べは下降一番寒かったです。

まあ、その分で温泉に入るのは余計に気持ちいい！

Next week, Lady Spring is rumoured to make an appearance, but this week it's been Winter Shogun.

It's cold!

How could is it? Kamesei Ryokan's naka-niwa koi pond froze. It has never frozen before! We use well water for it, so it stays relatively cool in the summer, and is usually relatively warm in the winter. But with this cold snap, it actually froze over!

Last night, some of our guests wanted to go on the Obasute Night View tour. Of all the hundreds of times I have taken people on the tour, last night was by far the coldest!

At least with this cold, it makes soaking in the onsen bath that much more enjoyable.

今朝は起きて、外を見て、「あっ、また雪掛けだ！」
四年前の冬のように、毎朝の雪掛けは何週間、何ヶ月間ずっと続ければ、飽きちゃうだろうけど、今の所で楽しいです。なぜなら、長男も最近に手伝っているのもあるけど、それより私は雪景色の庭が大好きです。特に、日本の庭園に雪景色が合う。庭師の皆は雪がかぶせる時の見た目を考えて、庭を造るのでしょうか？
そして、特にあちらこちらに庭がある亀清旅館に雪景色が似合う。お客さんが喜んでくれるし、写真機を取りに行って、写真はぱちぱち撮る。「今朝も雪景色を手配しておきました」と私が冗談に言います。
是非、日本の冬の美、雪景色の長野の自然においでやす。

This morning when I woke up and looked outside -- More snow! I suppose if I had to shovel snow every morning for weeks and months on end like the winter 4 years ago, I would get sick of the white stuff. But for now, I am enjoying it. Not only is our older son, Andy, starting to help with the shoveling, but I really like the look of our gardens covered in snow. I wonder if the gardeners who build traditional gardens keep in mind how they look when covered in snow when they build them. Kamesei Ryokan has gardens here and there throughout our inn, so every where you turn you can see another view of a garden covered in white. This is definitely one of the prettiest times of the year at Kamesei and here in Nagano.

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.

12月31日と1月1日はたった24時間の違いだけですけど、この切り替えはいつもと違って、31日にその一年間にお世話になった皆様に「有難う」と。毎日に言えば良いけど、なかなか・・・　それこそ、その12月31日の「有難う」は重い。
そして、1月1日になってしまえば、今度はその同じ相手に「おめでとうございます！」と。今だに何が「おめでとう」か、よう分からへん。
その中で、私にとってのお正月のイメージは下記です。皆様のはどうですか？
あと、2009年でこのブログで付き合ってくれた皆様、有難うございました。2010年にも宜しくお願い致します。

December 31st and January 1st are just two normal old days. However, especially here in Japan, they represent something much deeper. On the last day of the year, you thank all of your associates for their help throughout the year. I guess it would be more appropriate to thank them everyday during the year, but we never seem to do so. That makes the December 31st 'Thanks' ever so important. Then the calendar changes a day, and you find yourself telling those same acquaintances, "Omedetou" which means "Congratulations". I still don't quite understand why everyone goes around congratulating each other on the first of January, but that is the tradition.
Following is a picture collage of my impression of New Years in Japan. And for all of you who read this blog during 2009, I want to pass on my appreciation and look forward to continuing the relationship into 2010.

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.