The future is here
全国の旅館青年部の臨時総会の為に今日はまた東京へ行きました。臨時総会前に青年部の皆が国会議員さんへの陳情活動しました。私には国会議員の事務所へ行くのは初めてでした。ちょうど管vs.小澤の選挙の日でしたから、皆さんの緊張を感じました。
我が青年部の選挙もその日でした。地元の森晃さん（野沢温泉さかや旅館）が全旅連青年部長を目指したが、残念でした。森さん、おしかったですね。
さて、そういう訳で、ついでに赤坂でちょっとうろうろしました。うろうろしている時に、ある看板の表紙が動いていました事を気付いて、良く見たら、タッチスクリーンの案内看板でした。なおかつ、「Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ」のボタンを押せば全部が英字に切り替えた。凄い！これは便利だ！地元の人にも、日本人観光客にも、外国人観光客にも便利だ。将来的にこういう看板が増えるのかな？
（ちなみに、もう一つ「すごいな」と思った理由があった: 普通な道路の普通な壁に普通に置いてあった事。日本は治安が良い国だな。アメリカだったら、こういう看板は絶対にいたずらされちゃう。悲しい…）
Japan's Junior Ryokan Association held a national meeting in Tokyo today so once again I had to ride the Nagano Shinkansen in to the capital. This time, though, was a bit special -- us innkeepers paid a visit to our lawmakers in the capital. It was my first time to visit their offices. Today happened to be the Kan vs. Ozawa election. You could feel the tension in the air! It was also election day for our Junior Ryokan Association. Akira Mori from nearby Nozawa Onsen (Sakaya Ryokan) was in the running but came up just a tad short. Too bad, Akira-san!
Anyways, that explains why I was in Tokyo today. I had a bit of time, so I checked out the Akasaka streetscene. As I was walking, a sign caught my eye -- because it was moving. It was a digital touchscreen guide. Maps, restaurant locations, all kinds of cool info. It even had an "English" button to show everything in English. Way cool! And convenient! Not only for locals, but for tourists, Japanese and foreign alike. I hope signs like this become more prevalent in the future.
As a side note, something else that surprised me about the sign was that it was located on a regular road, situated on a regular wall, with no special indications or anything at all. Like it was totally normal. Back in the States, if you stuck a sign like that on some side street, it wouldn't last a day before getting vandalized...
下記の写真は石郷岡修宏様の提供です。
At the AJRA meeting
The Nagano Delegation
