発売は１月５日の小学館「DIME」という雑誌に亀清旅館の紹介も載る予定です。厳しい経済状況の中で積極的に頑張っている宿の特集だそうです。是非、お楽しみに。
The issue of Shogakkan's DIME magazine coming out on 05-Jan will have a feature on ryokans that are making positive progress despite the harsh economic conditions. One of the inns to be featured is Kamesei Ryokan. Keep your eye out for it!
DIMEのHPはこちらClick here for DIME's website
Murakoshi-san nailing down the roof
天気予報によると、これからは天気が崩れるそうです。それに合わせた訳でもないですが、今日は２つ目の露天風呂の工事で屋根の完成が出来ました。本とは屋根を付けずにオーペンにしたかった。去年作った露天風呂はそのようにして、夜は温泉に入りながら星の光も浴びれる状態です。非常に好評です。でも、今回のお風呂はヒバで出来た木のお風呂なので太陽に弱いです。というわけで、今回は屋根が必要となりました。
The weatherman calls for rain soon. Just by coincidence, we finished the cover over our 2nd outdoor bath today. Originally, I had wanted to do without a roof. The outdoor bath we built last year is open, so at night you can bathe in the starlight while soaking in the onsen water -- very popular with the guests. However, this outdoor bath is made of yellow cedar, and wood ages quickly in direct sunlight. Hence the cover.
亀清の玄関で柱磨き
２つ目の露天風呂の完成を向かって先日は屋根の為の柱を磨きました。夜中に。何とかクリスマスまでに仮オーペンしたいわけです。
柱は以前に頂いたヒバの丸太です。薪ストーブの為の薪として頂きましたが、ちょうど良い柱になると思いました。燃やさないで、キープしておきました。ちょうど良かったです。この新しいお風呂もヒバですからマッチしています。
今回に使うことに当たって、まずは皮を剥いて、そして温泉のお湯で洗いました。手伝ってくれている大工さんの村越さんが塀に取り付けました。
As the construction of our 2nd outdoor bath winds down, last night I prepared the columns for the roof. By last night, I mean the middle of the night. With all the meetings I've been going to, that was the only time I could do it.
Last spring, I received several yellow cedar logs to use as wood for our stove. After seeing them, though, I thought they were in good enough shape to be used for columns. So I kept them instead of burning them.
They're coming in handy now, as they match our new bath which is also made out of yellow cedar. I stripped their bark, then cleaned them using onsen water. Then Murakoshi-san, the carpenter who is helping us out, installed them.
Mari and Misaki shopping at Unno-Machi
昨日は亀清の若女将を若若女将と一緒に上田市の海野町商店街でクリスマスの買い物してきました。日本のこういう昭和のころに流行った商店街は大手のお店の競争で苦しんでいます。海野町の商店街は色々なイベントをやって、にぎやかにしています。靴屋さんや祭り用品屋の祭屋や、それぞれの店の店員さん達は親切できちんとしたサービスしてくれた。これからも頑張ってください！
Yesterday, I went Christmas shopping with Kamesei's junior proprietress and junior-junior proprietress. We went to Ueda City's Unno-Machi shopping arcade. These types of Showa-era shopping districts have really fallen on hard times in Japan, as the big-box stores have gained in popularity. What the shops here lack in convenience and selection, they make up for with kind and knowledgeable shopkeepers, making shopping fun. In particular, the shoe shop and the festival goods store, Saiya, had 'genki' owners. Here's to Unno-Machi's success.
海野町の商店街HPはこちらClick here for Unno-Machi shopping arcade website.
祭屋仲よしのHPはこちらClick here for Matsuri-ya's website
2つ目の露天風呂の準備が続いています。内湯から露天風呂へ行く壁に新しいサッシを付けてもらいました。大きい引き戸です。今まではすだれがかかってあったサッシの壁で内風呂が暗くて狭く感じました。この新しい戸で中が大分広く感じて、明るくなりました。クリスマスまでに仮オーペンを目指して、頑張っています。
We are continuing to make progress on our 2nd outdoor bath. Today we had the wall in between the indoor bath and the outdoor area replaced by a huge sliding glass door. Up until now, the glass wall had to be covered in bamboo blinds, making the indoor bath feel narrow and dark. With the new door, it opens up the room and makes it so much brighter.
We are trying to have an initial grand opening of the bath by Christmas -- wish us luck!
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
Kitamori-san putting the final touches on Kamesei's new cedar bath
リビングトマト社の北森さんが三重県から亀清旅館の新しいお風呂の本体を態々持ってきてそして設置してくれました。1x1.8mの大きさで北米のヒバで出来ました。物凄く綺麗なお風呂なのでヒバの香りも最高です。温泉の何でもやの村越さんも取り付けの手伝いしてくれました。いつも感心しますけど、この戸倉上山田温泉の皆の助け合いの気持ちが素晴らしいです。取り付けの途中で、私と村越さんが抜かしてもらって、町興しの会議に出ました。自分の宿も、周りの町も、改善、改善！の戸倉上山田温泉。
Kitamori-san of Living Tomato came all the way from Mie Prefecture to deliver and install Kamesei's new outdoor bath. It is a 1x1.8 meter bath made of North American yellow cedar. It looks spectacular, and the cedar scent is fantastic.
Our town's handyman, Murakoshi-san, was on hand to help out with the installation. I'm always amazed at how everyone in this town tries so hard to help everyone else out. Murakoshi-san and I had to pull out of the install half-way through to go to a civic improvement meeting. That's what Togura Kamiyamada is like -- everyone trying to improve their own place while helping out with the town as a whole.
リビングトマトのHPはこちらClick here for the website of Living Tomato.
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.
All the way from Mie in a K-Truck
Assembly
Attaching the bottom
今朝は寒かった！どのぐらい寒い？お客様の車の一台は札幌ナンバーになちゃったぐらい！（ごめんなさい、アメリカ人ギャグ。）
It was sooooo cold this morning. How cold was it? It was so cold, one of our guests' cars' license plate changed to a Sapporo (Hokkaido -- Japan's northernmost and coldest island) plate. Sorry -- American joke.
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.
1252mの冠着山の上半は夕べの嵐の雪から白くなりました。戸倉上山田温泉は標高７４０ｍ前後なので雨だけでした。周辺の山々が冬景色になって、とっても綺麗です。
During last night's storm, it rained down here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, elevation around 740m. But the snow level shows on 1252-meter Kamuriki Mountain -- the top half is dusted in snow. Winter scenery has come to Nagano!
美咲ちゃんも腹話術に夢中
今日は千曲国際交流協会の年末パテぃーでした。エンタテインメントとしては上田市からの腹話術師、Hiro Tackeyさんでした。長野県でこんな人物がいはって、嬉しいです。腹話術を生で見るのは初めてでした。尚且つ、Tackeyさんは色んな言語が喋れて、感心しました。
Our Chikuma Int'l Exchange Assoc. held its year end party today. For entertainment, we got to see a ventriloquist from Ueda City, Hiro Tackey. This was my first time to see a ventriloquist in real life. Tackey-san trained some in America, too, and is multilingual.
Tackeyさんの披露をYouTubeで見ればここをクリックしてください。To see Tackey-san's act on YouTube, click here.
城山の善光寺別院から見た戸倉上山田温泉の夜景です。姨捨駅から見る善光寺平の夜景の方が広くて綺麗ですが、こうやって見れば戸倉上山田温泉の夜景も魅力的ですね。千曲川の手前の方に戸倉温泉街と上山田温泉街が見えて、大正橋と万葉橋の向こうに新戸倉温泉があって、右手に坂城町の光も。
温泉街から車で4分、又は歩いて20分ぐらいです。
This is the view at night of the lights of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen from the Zenkoji Betsuin Temple on Jyo-Yama (Joe Mountain?). The view from Obasute Station of the lights of the Zenkoji Plain is more impressive, but the lights of our onsen town are pretty, too. From the temple you can see the main streets of Togura Onsen and Kamiyamada Onsen on the near side of the Chikuma river, then Taisho and Manyo Bridges, Shin (New) Togura Onsen on the far side, and the lights of Sakaki Town to the right.
The temple is a 4 minute drive from the Onsen, or a 20 minute (steep) walk.
