美味しくみえるでしょう。
我々旅館若旦那達が１４日１５日の温泉祭りを向かって、及び町興しの行事で最近ちょっと疲れてきました。ストレス発散を含めて、今日は温泉の足風呂付のビールガーデンでバーベキューをやりました。若旦那らしい味の拘りも。
Lately, the other innkeepers and I have been busy with preparations for our upcoming festival as well as our various projects. In order to burn off some of that stress, we held a bbq at our onsen's beer garden.
コラボレーション
信州は自然で恵まれているので、その中で綺麗な所は名前通りの美ヶ原です。今日、家族で行ってみたら曇っていたにかかわらず、写真の様にツツジと白樺の合わせで驚くほど綺麗なところもありました。今度、晴れている日にもう一度行きたいです。富士山も見えるらしいです。亀清旅館から東京方面の帰りの途中の寄る所としてお勧めです！
Nagano is reknowned for its natural beauty, and one especially beautiful area is 'Utsukushi-ga-hara' (meaning 'beautiful field'). Our family went for a drive there this afternoon and even though it was cloudy, we were still impressed with sights such as this azalea and birch tree 'collaboration'.
美ヶ原高原美術館
In my hometown of Seattle, at the base of our town's symbol, the Space Needle, there is a fantastic artwork similar to this, 'Illiad-Japan'. So much movement and energy for a static piece. At the Outdoor Museum in Utsukushi-ga-hara, you'll find this and much, much more artwork by Japanese and international artists.
私のホームタウンのシアトルに、この｢イリアッド・ジャパン｣と似ている作品もあります。ここの美ヶ原高原美術館にこの作品及び世界中からの沢山の作品が見えます。
お互いの支えあい
この写真のメンバーが特別です。皆さんはマッサージ師です。そして、皆さんは目が不自由です。亀清のお風呂の真前の部屋がとっても便利だと言ってくれました。
This group of ladies is special. They are all masseuses. And, they are all blind. They enjoyed their stay here, especially the convenience of the guestrooms being right across the hall from the mineral baths.
露天風呂作り
That's me, working on demolishing the old swimming pool behind our inn to start work on a new outdoor mineral bath. I'm feeling pretty cool, in my Bosch 'Power Tools' t-shirt as I work the jackhammer. Given that this is Japan, probably no one around can read the shirt anyways. But I still feel pretty cool.
凸凹選手
県の調理司会青年部体育大会が松本で行われました。うちの板長に誘って頂いて、参加させて頂きました。最初はビーチバレーをやるって聞いて、｢海に行くんだ！｣と思っちゃった。ちょっとだまされたかな？
The Chefs association for Nagano Prefecture had their annual recreation day today at Matsumoto. Our chef invited (recruited?) me to play. At first, I heard we were going to play 'beach-volley', so I got my hopes up that we'd be going to the ocean. Instead, I found out that on this planet it means playing volleyball with a soft beachball.
準備しているところ
今週の土曜日の大会の向かって、町の消防団が一生懸命訓練しています。毎日朝５時から。頑張って下さい！我々アメ人が消防団を憧れますの応援しております。
Our local fire department outfit is getting ready for the big competition this coming Saturday. They practice every morning starting at 5am. In the States, firemen are much revered, so I enjoy rooting for our local guys. Good luck at the competition!
亀清旅館の露天風呂工事がついにスタートしました。この夏のビッグなプロジェクトです。どんなお風呂が出来るか、お楽しみに。
Construction on Kamesei Ryokan's outdoor bath has finally started. Pictured is my coach, Toshiki, starting the demolition of the existing swimming pool.
ツツジが終わりかけ、今度アジサイが綺麗に咲いてきました。ついでに梅雨の雨が降ってきました。アジサイの落ち着いた色が梅雨になんとなく合っています。
The hydrangeas have started to bloom as if to take the place of the azalea flowers that have started to decline with the coming of the rainy season. The subtle colors of the hydrangeas seem to match the feeling of the rainy season.
Hats and masks, everyone.
Back at my college, there was a gargoyle that wore a gas mask. It was the subject of many jokes, but now the jokes on me as today I got to see my son and his classmates wearing masks and hats for their walk to school. Helicopters flew overhead this morning and sprayed pesticides over the town. I'm not aware of any cases where towns do this to their residents back on my home planet.
