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Classic railcars at Togura Station

この間のお客さんは面白い理由で戸倉上山田に来た：
しなの鉄道の湘南カラー169系の電車の為。

私は毎日の様にお客さんの送迎で戸倉駅でそのオレンジと緑色の車両を見ていましたが、どれだけ貴重か知りませんでした。1960～80年代にこの色の電車は日本全国に走っていたが、現在はこのカラーが唯一見えるのがここのしなの鉄道だそうです。

戸倉上山田温泉:　温泉らしいお湯、千曲川と周辺の山々の自然、伝統的な温泉宿と工夫したお料理、

そして、湘南色の169系の電車。

来る理由は様々ありますね♪

Recently we had a guest who came to Togura Kamiyamada for an interesting reason:
To see the "Shonan" color scheme Shinano Railway train.

I had seen the orange and green colored cars every time I came to Togura Station to pick up guests, but didn't realize how rare they are. Apparently from the 1960's to the 80's, this color car could be seen all over Japan, but today the only place they exist is here in Nagano, on the Shinano Railway.

So there you have it, come to our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada for the mineral water, for the scenic views of the Chikuma River and the surrounding mountains, for relaxing ryokans and gourmet food ...

... and rare, nostalgic trains!

しなの鉄道　会いたかった！169系希少なな湘南カラー

Perhaps this fall, the Obasute terraced rice fields will once again reflect the harvest moon!

戸倉上山田温泉の近くの姨捨の棚田は「田毎の月」って、お月様が田んぼ毎に映る事で有名です。しかし、お月様が田んぼに映るとは、田んぼにお水が入っている必要がある。従って、５月の田植えの時期。

しかし、一番綺麗なお月様が…　中秋の名月。

昔は棚田の側の長楽寺で秋にいくつかの田んぼを早く収穫して、水を入れ直したという言われがある。最近はそんな贅沢な事があまり考えられない。

その中で、今年は特別かもしれない。戸倉上山田と姨捨は１市２村の合併で千曲市となり、今年が合併１０周年となる。市の観光課の情報によると、その記念イベントで、姨捨の棚田のある農家団体が田んぼ何枚かに秋月に合わせてお水を入れ直す計画しているそうです。

取り敢えずは計画中だそうですが、詳しい情報が入ればまた報告します。まだ冬が終わっていないのに、既に秋を楽しみにしています。

Nearby our onsen town of Togura-Kamiyamada are the famous moon-reflecting terraced rice fields of Obasute. In order to reflect the moon, the fields need to have water in them. That means May, when the fields are flooded for planting. However, the prettiest moon is the fall Harvest Moon.

According to legend, the temple next to the fields, Choraku-ji, used to arrange to have certain paddies harvested early in the fall, and to re-fill them with water, just to enjoy seeing the reflection of the harvest moon in them.

Of course, in today's modern age, it's impractical to re-flood the fields in the fall.

But this year may be special. The onsen area and Obasute are now part of Chikuma City after being merged together 10 years ago. According to the city's Tourism Bureau, a group of Obasute farmers are planning on re-flooding some fields this fall in celebration of the city's 10th anniversary.

As we get more details, we will be sure to pass them on. But for now, even though it is still winter, we are already looking forward to this autumn!