貸切露天「しなの風呂」の夏・秋はなマップ Summer/Fall Flower Map for Kamesei's Private Onsen "Shinano-buro"

July 22, 2012: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan
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亀清旅館の新しい貸切露天「しなの風呂」の庭に様々な花と植物、木が植えてあって、何が何かわかる様に庭師の岡田さんが花マップを作ってくれました。今度は夏・秋バージョンが出来た。

このマップのお蔭でどの花が咲いているか分かる。例えば、今はちょうど紫の花の植物は２つが咲いている:
タムラソウ　と　アサマフウロ

どうぞ、亀清旅館の新しい貸切露天「しなの風呂」と庭を楽しんでください。

Kamesei Ryokan's new private onsen bath "Shinano-buro" has a garden that features a wide variety of flowering plants and trees. Our gardener, Okada-san, made a flower map of the garden so our guests can keep track of what flowers when.

The Summer / Fall version just arrived, and just in time. Two plants with purple flowers are in bloom now:
Serratula coronata var. insularis
and
Geraniumu soboliferum

So come and enjoy Kamesei's brand new outdoor bath and its colorful garden this summer.




Geraniumu soboliferum


serratula coronata


どう変わるか飯山 How Changes Iiyama

July 21, 2012: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada
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Current Iiyama Station with the new bullet train station being built in the background

長野新幹線が金沢まで伸びる中で、長野駅の次は飯山市に駅が出来る。

新幹線の駅が出来ると、
海外の旅行者が増えるだろう。
皆さんは何を求めるか？

との事で、飯山の信用金庫に呼ばれて、講演会に参加してきました。

飯山市は新幹線の開通に向かって真剣だ。私も応援しています。

しかし、半年ぶりに飯山に行き美したが、新しい駅の工事が進んでいて、吃驚しました。

これからの飯山市はどう変わるか、楽しみです。

The Nagano Shinkansen (bullet train) is being extended to Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu (the main island). The station after Nagano Station will be in Iiyama City.

Iiyama anticipates an influx of foreign tourists with the opening of the shinkansen station. People there are concerned about how to best welcome the visitors from overseas.

One of the local banks their held a conference and called me in to give a speech on what Westerners expect when they come to Japan.

It was my first time to Iiyama in half a year. I was surprised to see how far along the new station's construction is.

It will be fun to see how Iiyama changes over the next few years.





戸倉上山田温泉のあじさい寺：　智識寺　Togura Kamiyamada's Hydrangea Temple: Chishiki-ji

July 20, 2012: 日米関係Culture Shock
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Hydrangeas lining the way to Chishiki-ji Temple's Thatched-Roof Historical main building

戸倉上山田温泉から車で５分、自転車で約１５分に智識寺がある。６月～７月にお寺の参道のアジサイが綺麗に咲いて、「あじさい寺」と言う別名。

今年は智識寺のアジサイは特に綺麗やって気がする。近場に行ったので行ってみたら、写真の様に紫陽花が並べて、彩に咲いていました。

その時に住職が挨拶してくれた。去年の４月から来ていて、若手の住職です。彼が来るまでは無人寺だったので国の重要文化財である秘仏、十一面観音の御開帳は年に一度だけだった。今は声をかければ、本堂を開けてくれるそうです。

本堂こそ、創建は1573年で国の重要文化財に指定されているそうです。茅葺屋根の建物で立派です。初夏の紫陽花の花と似合う。敷地内の木は秋になると赤や黄色に咲くのでそれはまた茅葺屋根の本堂と綺麗な合わせになる。

5 minutes by car or approximately 15 minutes by bicycle from our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada is the venerable Chishiki-ji Temple. It is also known as "Ajisai-dera", or 'hydrangea temple', due to the beautiful hydrangea plants that line the temple's main path.

Since I was in the area, I stopped by to check out the hydrangea flowers. This year the flowers seem to be especially colorful and abundant. I also got to meet the head monk. He's a young chap (not sure, but not even 30 years old?), and just moved to Chishiki-ji last year. Until then, the temple was un-manned, and its sacred image, an 11-faced goddess statue (a designated National Cultural Treasure) was only displayed once a year. Now, just knock at the office and if the monk is there, he will gladly show you the statue.

The temple's main building is also a registered National Cultural Treasure. The thatched roof building was built in 1573. Its magnificent wood construction and timeless beauty of the thatched roof contrast so beautifully with the colorful hydrangea blossoms. And again in the fall, the contrast with the autumn leaves is striking, too.

智識寺 Chishiki-ji





小鬼百合が露天「１００年風呂」に遊びに来た　Tiger Lily Visiting our 100-Year Bath

July 19, 2012: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi
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Tiger Lily gift from nature

亀清旅館の露天「１００年風呂」の庭にこんなに綺麗なユリが咲いています。庭師の岡田さんに聞いたら、小鬼百合だそうです。ただ、岡田さんが植えた花じゃないらしいです。雑木の庭の中で沢山の綺麗な植物があるけど、このユリは鳥が種を運んでくれたかな？

小鬼百合。自然なプレゼント。亀清のお風呂にお入りになる皆様はどうぞ、楽しんでください。

In the garden around Kamesei Ryokan's "100-Year Bath" outdoor onsen, this beautiful orange and black-spotted lily is blooming. According to our gardener Okada-san, it is a "Ko-oni Yuri", or "small ogre lily". The scientific name is Lilium leichtlinii Hook. f. var. tigrinum (Regel) Nichols. Perhaps in common English it could be called a tiger lily.

Okada-san planted so many beautiful trees and plants in the garden around the 100-Year bath, but he admitted that this lily wasn't one of them. Apparently a bird must have carried the seed here.

So our tiger lily is a gift from nature, for all of our guests here at Kamesei Ryokan to enjoy.





高原野菜のお鍋が戻った！ The Fresh Lettuce Hotpot is Back!

July 18, 2012: その他 Miscellaneous
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Lettuce and Pork 'nabe' hotpot is back for this summer

亀清旅館のChef武井の懐石料理で夏の人気あるお鍋：
高原野菜と信州ポークに特製梅ソース

菅平のレタスがまた出始まりましたので、その人気の夏鍋が戻ってきました。

しゃきしゃきしている菅平の新鮮なレタスの味と触感が最高です。ぜひ、食べてみてください。

Kamesei Ryokan's Chef Takei introduced a new summer hotpot to his kaiseki-style dinner last year: Nagano-raised pork with what we call 'Highland Veggies' -- greens raised in Suga-daira and other high-altitude plateaus here in Nagano.

With Suga-daira's lettuce crop's harvest just starting, once again Chef Takei has started offering this special summer 'nabe' hotpot.

Crispy fresh lettuce and delicious local pork with a specially-made original 'ume' plum sauce. Come and taste our summer 'nabe' again!





口コミ進化：　戸倉上山田温泉xじゃらんネット Guest Reviews Patterns: Togura Kamiyamada Onsen x Jalan-net

July 17, 2012: グルメFoodie
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Jalan-net rankings for our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada

私ども旅館経営者にとってはお客様からの口コミがうんと大事です。例えば、大手予約サイトじゃらんネットでの口コミを見れば、改善すべきなところの把握が出来るし、満足度を測る事が出来る。まあ、じゃらんの口コミに注意を払い過ぎたら危険ですが、重要な参考になる。

自分の宿の満足度を見るのに大事だし、周りの宿と比較するのも重要。戸倉上山田温泉・千曲市では宿泊施設31件がじゃらんネットと登録しています。時々そのトップ宿を見て、総合、夕食、朝食、接客、掃除、お風呂、お部屋の比較する表を作る。ちょっと気になっていた事があって、また作ってみた。

亀清旅館は相変わらず上の順位になっていて、安心しました。特に、接客と夕食の点数が高い。お風呂とお部屋も少しずつ上がってきています。露天風呂造りや客室改造の影響が出ています。

今回、一番驚いたのは口コミの数。トップ13軒の口コミの数は合計６３５件でした。前回の時、２０１０年２月１７日には全部で１３９５件もあった。約半分まで減りました。これはFacebookと他のSNSの影響だと思われます。口コミは相手を知っているSNSにシフトしてきた。一般の口コミは相手が知らない;書いた人がアホかもしれない。Facebookの場合はクチコミを書いた人がアホがどうかは分かる。

宿泊の業界も変わって行きますね。

Guest reviews are a key part to an innkeeper's business. They give you indications on things that need to be improved and measure your guests' satisfaction level. Here in Japan, leading reservation site, Jalan-net has a thorough Guest Reviews section that travelers and innkeepers alike use.

Not only is it important to monitor your own inn's reviews, but innkeepers should also compare their reviews to those of nearby inns. Jalan-net lists 31 properties for Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen and Chikuma City. From time to time, I make a chart listing the top inns and showing their overall score, dinner, breakfast, cleanliness, service, rooms, and onsen bath scores.

I was glad to see that Kamesei Ryokan once again came in at near the top in all of the categories. We got especially high marks in service and dinner.

The thing that surprised me the most with this year's tally was that the overall number of reviews has decreased dramatically: from 1,395 in February of 2010 to 635 now. That's almost half! More people are shifting their 'reviews' patterns to Facebook and other SNS venues. With a generic review, you don't know if the person writing it is an idiot or not. With Facebook, at least you know the person writing the review (and whether or not they are an idiot).

Our industry is a-changing!





卓球：旅館文化？ Ping Pong -- a Ryokan Essential?

July 16, 2012: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada
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Someday we'll have ping pong at Kamesei, too.

この間は家族とお出かけした所に卓球台があった。若女将と久しぶりに少しやってきた。楽しかった！（もちろん、勝たせました。）

そう言えば、温泉旅館の文化の中で、卓球もどこかで入っていますよね。浴衣のままで、懐石料理の夕食を食べてから、温泉に入る前に、ちょっと体を動かしたく、卓球がちょうどいい。

亀清旅館にもいつか卓球の部屋を作りたいと考えています。その内に出来るので、またお知らせします。お楽しみに。

On a recent outing with the family, the restaurant we ate at had a ping pong table. The wife and I played a match. That was the first time in a long while to play -- and we loved it! (Of course, I let her win.)

I seem to recall that ping pong often plays a role with onsen ryokans. Several inns we have stayed at in the past have had ping pong rooms. It's the perfect after-dinner activity, great for stretching your body after the gourmet dinner and before one last dip in the onsen bath -- and can be played wearing your yukata robe!

One day I want to make a ping pong room here at our inn, Kamesei Ryokan. I have just the room picked out for it. When I get it set up, come and play a game with me. Stay tuned!





千曲市会議員選挙ｘ新幹線駅　Chikuma City Election x New Shinkansen Station

July 15, 2012: 活動 Activities
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Election campaign -- tools of the trade

7月２２日の千曲市会議員選挙に向かって、今週はずっと選挙運動。旅館の仲間が出るので我々旅館青年部が応援で選挙カーに乗っています。きっと周りにいい迷惑となっているけど、この一週間を許してください。

今回の選挙の一番の議題は市長の押している新・新幹線の駅。長野新幹線に「新千曲駅」を作れば、人が来ると。

現在の長野新幹線の長野駅・上田駅間は33.2kmで12分です。その間に新駅を作るって、どう見ても短すぎる。まあ、それは別として、もっと大きい問題は玄関だけに馬鹿でかいお金をかけて、中身を改善しないと、誰も来ないよと。

一番良い事例はスイスのZermatt.それほど交通が不便な所がない。なのに、リピーター率がすごい。なぜかと言うと、中身の魅力。

同でしょうか？新幹線の駅は何十億円がかかるけど、その以前の問題があるのではないでしょうか？

All this week, Chikuma City is full of loud campaign cars circling all the neighborhoods -- Sunday is the City Assembly election. One of my fellow innkeepers is in the running so I have been helping out by riding in the noisy sound van and waving to everybody.

One of the hottest topics for this election is whether or not to build a new bullet train station on the Nagano Shinkansen line. Our mayor is pushing for it regardless of the fact that it would be built on one of the shortest sections of the track. There are only 33.2 kilometers between the current Ueda and Nagano Stations -- a 12 minute span at Shinkansen speeds.

Besides, it is questionable why enormous sums of tax money would be spent on access when so much work needs to be done to increase the appeal of our town first.

One good example is Zermatt, Switzerland. It is one of the most inconvenient places to go to on earth, yet has one of the highest rates of repeat visitors.

Our mayor has a "Build it and they will come" philosophy, but I think efforts need to be made to increase the reasons to come, first.





温泉夏祭りの良い思い出 Great Memories from the Onsen Summer Festival

July 14, 2012: その他 Miscellaneous
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海の日の連休はこの戸倉上山田温泉で「夏祭り」でした。

土曜日は下駄供養（この一年間で温泉にお越しになったお客様の記念）、近所のお神輿、お神楽の獅子笛、松明の行列、そして夜はご神体が乗っているでかいお神輿。

日曜日はお昼から勇実獅子と４つのお神輿の行列、最後は獅子、お神輿、太鼓、花火のフィナーレ。

今年はまた沢山の良い思い出が出来た。





戸倉上山田温泉夏祭りに初の温泉ショップ 1st Ever Onsen Shop at the Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Summer Festival

July 13, 2012: 季節 Seasons
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今週末、7月14・15日はこの戸倉上山田温泉の夏祭りです。この頃は沢山の新しい商品が開発されてきた。お祭りのお客様に販売する為には今年の祭りに初めての温泉ショップが開きます。ちょうど夏祭りの中心の場所、太鼓台の隣で14日・15日（夏祭り両日）に１１：００－２２：００から空いていますので是非、寄ってみてください。

＊新ゆるキャラ「おんせんまんじゅサン」グッズ
＊旅館青年部のオリジナルTシャツ
＊商工会婦人部オリジナルトートバッグ
＊若連の奥津神社お札
＊祭典のオリジナル手ぬぐい

This weekend July 14th and 15th is onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada's big summer festival. This year, for the first time ever, there will be an "Onsen Shop" set up selling some of the various goods that our town has developed recently. The shop will be located in the middle of all the activity, just to the side of the taiko stage, and will be open from 11am to 10pm on both days. Come and check out our town's funky merchandise!