若若女将とお墓参りに行ってきます。
Our Misaki preparing to go the family grave to pay O-Bon respects.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.
お盆のお墓参りへお出かけGoing to pay respects at the family grave
August 13, 2008: Uncategorized
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東京テレビ、有難う！
August 13, 2008: Uncategorized
東京テレビの「男はつらいよ」記念トラベル番組の中で亀清の取材もありました。今晩に放送されたので見た親戚から「よく映っていたよ！露天風呂と若女将の食事の案内と若旦那の夜景ツアー、良かったよ！」と言う声を頂きました。そして、放送された最中に「今、テレビを見ているけど予約をしたい」と言うお電話も。やはりテレビの力がすごいですね。
Tokyo TV aired a special travel program tonight that featured Kamesei Ryokan. We heard from a relative that watched it that they showed our outdoor bath, Mari's serving the meal, and my Obasute Night View tour. We even received a call during the broadcast by a viewer wanting to make a reservation. That shows you how strong the power of TV is! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Tokyo TV for choosing Kamesei for their program!
夏休みで子供連れのお客様が多いSummer Vacation = Lots of Guests with Kids
August 12, 2008: Uncategorized
満車？
今朝に亀清のロビーを見れば驚きました：ベビーカーは何と４つが駐車してありました。（まあ、１つは我が美咲ちゃんの）。やはり夏休みと言う事で子供連れのお客様が多い訳です。亀清の雰囲気はさらに「アットホーム」に。
I was a little surprised this morning when I looked at our lobby and saw 4 baby strollers parked. (Well, one of them is our Misaki's.) You can definitely tell it's summer vacation -- a lot of our guests are here with their children. Kamesei's 'at-home' feel is becoming even more so!
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
若若女将と川越駄菓子Our Misaki with Kawagoe 'Dagashi'
August 11, 2008: Uncategorized
吹き戻し遊び
先週に泊まった森田様からこの川越の駄菓子を頂きました。我が娘が大喜び。森田さんが亀清旅館の伝統的な良さを気に入っていただいた様でこの伝統的な駄菓子を送っていただきました。有難うございました！
（注：他のお客さんから最近に言われましたが、「青い目の若旦那はいいけど、亀清の本当のスターは若若女将の美咲ちゃんだ！」と。その訳でもないですが、美咲ちゃんの写真をまた提供いたしますので宜しくお願い致します。）
We got a gift in the mail from a guest, Morita-san, who stayed at our inn last week. She sent us traditional 'dagashi' sweets and toys from Kawagoe. Our daughter Misaki enjoyed playing with the toys. Apparently Morita-san enjoyed Kamesei Ryokan's traditional feel enough to send us these traditional 'dagashi'.
(Note: One of our recent guests commented that it's nice Kamesei has this American innkeeper, but the real star is their daughter, Misaki. So, here is another picture of her!)
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
川越のおもちゃ
次の姨捨スイッチバック列車Next Obasute Switchback Special Train
August 10, 2008: UncategorizedＪＲのコネからお聞きしましたが、次の姨捨スイッチバック列車が１０月２４日（金）と２５日（土）に行うそうです。今回はお昼も夜（夜景！）もやるそうです。ＪＲのＨＰを見たが明細がまだ出ていないそうです。明細を手に入ればすぐにお知らせいたします。
My special contact at JR told me the next Obasute Switchback Special Train is scheduled for Friday and Saturday October 24th and 25th. This time, there will be afternoon AND evening (=Night View!) runs, and the train will be pulled by.... a steam engine! JR still doesn't have details on their website yet, but as soon as I get them I will present them here.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
夏の暑い日々が続くAnother hot summer day
August 9, 2008: Uncategorized
Misaki at the water fountain
今日はまた夏らしい暑い日です。亀清の浦にある中央公演に娘を連れて行きました。ブランコで遊んだけど滑り台が熱すぎた。遊び終わったら、水を飲んだ。これが一番楽しかったかもしれない。信州のお水が冷たくて美味しい！
Today is another hot summer day. I took our daughter to the park behind Kamesei. We played on the swings but the slide was too hot. Then we stopped for a drink at the park's drinking fountain. That was probably the funnest part.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
友達と信州そばEating Soba with Friends
August 8, 2008: Uncategorized
Mikaちゃん、来てくれて有難うね！
信州と言えば、そば。しかし、実を言うと、信州のそばが他より美味しいかどうか、それより信州の自然の環境の中で食べるのは美味しいではないかと思います。今日は遠くから来た友人のご家族を連れて、この蕎麦屋さんに行って来ました。どっかな田舎の農家に見えるでしょう。実は、戸倉駅前の「萱」と言うレストランです。この渋い雰囲気の中で食べる信州そばが最高！
Nagano is famous for its soba (buckwheat noodles). However, to be honest, I'm not sure if Nagano's soba is better than anywhere else. What I can say is eating soba in Nagano's natural setting makes the noodles taste better. Today we had some friends come from afar, and we took them to this soba restaurant. It looks like the inside of some ancient farm house somewhere in the boonies, right? Actually, it's 'Kaya', a soba restaurant inside an old sake brewery in front of Togura Station. And eating noodles in this classic setting was fantastic!
仲良くで中庭を見るGazing at the Naka-Niwa garden together
August 8, 2008: Uncategorized
我が若若女将と、お客様の斎脇さん達の長男が亀清旅館の中庭を楽しく見ていました。可愛い姿で庭の鯉や亀達を見ていました
Our daughter and the Saiwaki's son stopped to gaze at our Naka-Niwa garden together. They were so cute, watching the pond's koi and turtles swim around.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website
鶴亀がなじんできた。Our Turtle-Crane has come into shape
August 7, 2008: Uncategorized
亀を見つけますか？
亀清旅館の露天風呂の庭に「亀」はいくつかあります。その１つはこの写真の中です。見えますでしょうか？大きい石が頭、そして手、足と尻尾の石も。体は青い植物で出来ている。縦に刺している石ともみじとススキが「鶴」のイメージです。その植物は去年の１０月に植えつけられたばかりなのに、もうなじんできたようです。鶴のススキは特にすごいおい！正確の名前はハチジョウシマススキです。もみじはベニシダレモミジ “タムケヤマ”です。
Kamesei Ryokan's open air bath has several 'turtles', one of which is in this picture. Can you find it? The large rock to the upper left is the head, then there are rocks for the front and back legs and the tail, and the body is made up of lots of green plants. The vertical rocks and Japanese maple and pampas grass symbolize a crane spreading its wings. The crane-turtle combination are a symbol of good fortune in Japan. Ours was planted last October, and the plants have really taken a liking to their new home.
(Scientific names for the maple and grass are:
Acer palmatum var. matsumurae cv. Ornatum
and
Miscanthus sinensis. condensatus Hack.)
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
ガーデナーの岡田さんのＨＰはこちらClick here for our Gardener, Okada-san, website
迷惑のお返し：スイカ This is what I get for inconviencing a farmer: a watermelon
August 6, 2008: Uncategorized
Gift watermelon
日本のおもてなしの心はすごいです。私は一生をかけても「おもてなし」を完璧に出来ないと思います。
今日はいい例です。久しぶりにお昼の「田毎の月」の棚田を車で通ったら、畑で働いていた叔父さんのトラックが道をブロックしていました。遊びに来ていただけの私達が仕事している農協の方にトラックを移してもらうのはまずいと思いながら、おじさんが畑から降りて移動しに来てくれた。そして、「あっ、テレビで出たよね」と言ってくれて、トラックの後ろからスイカを出して、下さりました。まあ、感心しますよ。逆にアメリカだったら、トラックの後ろから何を出すか怖いですよ。
The Japanese people tend to be some of the most welcoming people in the world. Today was a great example. I took our van for a drive through the Obasute terraced rice paddies, and part-way through a farmer's truck was blocking the road. I didn't want to inconvenience the farmer, who was working, to move his truck for us, who were just playing. But he came down out of the field to move it for us. When he saw me, he said, "Oh, you were on TV!" And he went around to the back of his pickup and pulled out a ... watermelon, and gave it to us. How considerate! If this were the States instead, I'd be afraid to guess what he'd pull out of the back of his pick-up!
