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先日は八方尾根開発のお蔭で、八方尾根温泉そして八方尾根トレッキングの体験が出来ました。
私が白馬に行った日の天気が良かったので、ゴンドラとリフトに乗って1830mの八方池山荘まで行って、そこから約1時間トレッキングして八方池まで登りました。

伝説の八方池は2050mの標高で、雄大な3000m近くの白馬連邦が池の表面に移って、東は白馬村から遠くは浅間山までのパノラマ景色、足元に高山植物があって、本当にアルプスの大自然パラダイス。

私が行った日は八方池がまだ雪で被されていて、白馬連邦は雲の中で隠れていた。しかし、真夏の天気の良い日でその白馬連邦が池の写って、きっと夢の様な景色だろう。

亀清旅館から車で約1時間15分、そしてゴンドラ・リフトで約20分：　いきなりアルプスの高山メッカにいられる。

この夏は天気の良い日で長野の山の大自然の楽しんでみては？

The Happoone Development Company treated me to a trekking tour of Mt. Happoone the other day. I met Sejima-san and Nalini-san at one of the Happoone Onsen bathhouses in Hakuba Village's Happoone district. One gondola and two ski lift rides later, we were at 1830-meter Happo-Ike Sanso (Happo Pond Mountain Hut). And after a strenuous 1-hour hike we reached the legendary Happo Pond.

At 2060 meters, Happo Pond literally feels like it is in the heavens. Surrounded by 3,000-meter peaks on one side, and panoramic views of the Hakuba basin and beyond on the other, with alpine wildflowers scattered around at your feet, Happo Pond makes for a blissful experience. Here you can really feel the power and breadth of nature.

The day we went, the pond was still covered with snow, and the Hakuba Mountain Range was playing hide-and-go-seek behind some clouds. But we got peak-a-boo views of the massive Hakuba mountains on the way, and could certainly get a sense of the grandeur Happo Pond must offer when its snow covering is gone and the mountains are reflected in its surface.

Hakuba is a convenient 1 hour 15 minute drive from Kamesei Ryokan / Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen. With the guilt-enducingly easy 20 minute ride on the gondola and ski lifts, you too can be in alpine heaven.

八方尾根開発 Happoone Development

トレッキング後、山を下りて八方尾根の中心街に戻って、昼ごはん八方田舎料理「おひょっくり」さんにお世話になりました。温泉のお湯でゆでたおうどんとぶっこみシチューのようなおひょっくりを頂きました。トレッキングの疲れを無事に取り返った。
After trekking Happoone Ridge, we came back down to the Happo district of central Hakuba for lunch. I was treated to a hearty meal at "Ohyokkuri". Udon noodles cooked in onsen water and a thick stew known here as ohyokkuri (the namesake of the restaurant) filled me up after that strenuous trekking.
おひょっくり Ohyokkuri

私の長野県温泉巡りが続いています。今回は大町・白馬・小谷の温泉協会に呼ばれました。「欧米人が求めるおもてなし」と言うテーマの講演をさせて頂きました。

大町温泉郷は黒部ダム・アルペンルートに合わせて出来た割と新しい温泉郷です。最初の宿は1963年に出来、1971年のアルペンルートの全面開業に合わせて増えて、現在は宿が14件です。「自然発生」の普通な温泉地と違って、企画開発だった為1軒1軒の敷地面積が広くて良い（平均的に7000m2だそうです）。道も広いし、緑が多いし、お散歩や自転車則に最適。隣の鹿鳥川で遊べるし、雄大のアルプスを眺めれるし、自然と触れ合える場所。アルペンルートの長野玄関となっているけど、青木湖や安曇野、周辺に観光地が沢山ある。

大町のホテル・旅館14軒は様々の宿があります。11室のあずみ野河昌から170室の立山プリンスまで、高級の星野リゾート松延、カリスマ若女将が有名な旅館かしわ荘、ドイツアルプスの雰囲気の黒部観光ホテル、等など。日帰り施設の「薬師の湯」もある。

大町温泉郷のお湯は１０ｋｍ先の葛温泉からひぱっています。単純温泉（弱アルカリ性低張性高温泉）で源泉が66.3℃。

ここで紹介したいのはその薬師の湯と、私が今回にお世話になったホテル山田屋。

My 'research' of Nagano's top onsens recently took me to Omachi Onsen. The Omachi-Hakuba-Otari Onsen Association invited me to go and give a talk about what westerners expect when they come to Japan. I was happy to oblige but had an ulterior motive -- I wanted to find out more about Omachi Onsen.

Omachi Onsen is relatively new, having come into existence around the construction of the Kurobe Dam and the Tateyama Alpine Route in 1971. It's a planned onsen resort with spacious, wooded lots (average hotel lot size is 7000m2) and nice, wide lanes. Perfect for walking or cycling, with a tributary to the Takase River to play in and views of the grand Japanese Alps. Besides being the Nagano gateway to the Alpine Route, Omachi is also convenient to Aoki Lake and Azumino (famous for art museums and wasabi fields).

Omachi Onsen's 14 hotels offer a wide variety of accommodation. From 11-room boutique-like Azumino Kawasho to massive 170-room Tateyama Prince Hotel. In between is the posh Shoen (part of the Hoshino Resort chain), Ryokan Kashiwa-sou with the charismatic Sachie-san charming the guests, the German Alps-themed Kurobe Kanko Hotel, and more. There is also an onsen bathhouse for daytrippers, Yakushi-no-Yu.

The onsen water originates in Kuzu Onsen, 10km upstream where it comes out of the ground at 66.3C. The water is simple mineral water with low alkalidity and low osmotic pressure.

I'd like to introduce two of the onsen facilities, the daytrippers bathhouse Yakushi no Yu, and the ryokan where I stayed, Yamada-ya.

大町温泉郷Omachi Onsen

湯けむり屋敷「薬師の湯」は大町温泉郷のメインの日帰り施設。浅野忠太半端の時間で行ったのに、かなり混んでいて、人気があるお風呂のようです。内風呂の一つは源泉かけ流しだが、低めな温度（水風呂？）だったせいか、皆が循環されていた方に入っていました。露天風呂は広くて良いけど、アルプスが見れたらなお良いと思いました。尚且つ、岩風呂もあったが、夏じゃないとお湯はいってないそうです。入れなくて残念だった。
Yakushi-no-Yu is Omachi Onsen's main bathhouse. I went during an off-peak time on a weekday morning, but there were still plenty of bathers. It's a popular bathhouse. One of the indoor baths is pure onsen water but the temperature was so low, nobody was bathing in it. Instead, everyone was in the larger indoor bath which is heated and recirculated. The outdoor bath was spacious but would have been more enjoyable if it had a view of the Alps. The outdoor bath made of river rocks is apparently only operating in the summer, so unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy it.

薬師の湯Yakushi no Yu

ホテル山田屋は大町温泉郷に入って最初の宿。大きい（51室）宿の割りに家庭的なサービス。お風呂は内風呂が快適で良いけど、私はやはり露天風呂が好き。
Hotel Yamada-ya's owners provide surprisingly friendly service considering its size (51 rooms). The indoor bath was nice and spacious but I always like outdoor baths more.

ホテル山田屋 Hotel Yamada-ya

ちなみに、講演の時に大町の市長とお会いしました。牛越さんご自身が弓道をやっているようで、大町の「流鏑馬」祭りがお勧めだそうです。役場と確認したら今年の流鏑馬イベントは7月22日で10時から大町駅から行列が出発して、若一王子神社での子供流鏑馬が15時ごろだそうです。
During my talk, I had the privelege of meeting the mayor of Omachi. It turns out Ushikoshi-san is an avid archery fan. I promised to put the word out about Omachi's upcoming horse-back archery event, Yabusame. Officially called the Omachi Nyakuichi-Oji Festival, the main event will take place on Sunday 22-July this year (2012) with a procession to start at Omachi Station around 10am, winding up at Nyakuichi Oji Shrine around 3pm for the childrens' archery demonstration.

大町流鏑馬サミット（日本語）
Omachi Yabusame (English -- translation by Yours Truly)

小谷村の3つ目の温泉:

小谷温泉「山田旅館」

この2012年から457年前（1555年）に武田信玄で見付けられたと言われている小谷温泉。木造3階建ての本館は江戸時代に善光寺の宮大工さん達に作られた山田旅館。小谷温泉の大湯元。

457年湧き続ける。山のいで湯を守る。標高850ｍの山深いロケ。ナトリウム炭酸水塩化泉の温泉らしいお湯（お風呂場に数十年で溜まった成分のモニュメントがあり;本格的な温泉だと言う証拠）。

私は大好き。

友人のＰｅｔｅｒさんは全体のさびれていた雰囲気が残念に思った様だが、私にとっては歴史が感じて、気に入りました。本館の男女別の内風呂はダサいタイル、格好付けるコンクリートのクラウンモールディング、ミスマッチの煉瓦、アルミドア、まあ、統一感がないと言えばない。

しかし、良く見たら、お風呂にゆっくり入ったら、その湯質、その成分の溜まり方、狭い所にうまい具合に寝湯も打たせ湯もあって、とにかく「温泉だ！」って感じ。大好き！

新館にまた別な男女別の内湯そして露天風呂がある。湯口は木の樽で風情があって、露天風呂からの谷の眺めがまた落ち着く。

武田信玄の気持ちが分かる様な気がした。

Our 3rd onsen stop in Otari Village:

Otari Onsen 'Yamada Ryokan'

Samurai warlord Takeda Shingen is credited with discovering Otari Onsen in 1555. That's 457 years ago from now (2012). Yamada Ryokan's main building is a three-story wooden structure built in the Edo era by the temple carpenters who put together the venerable Zenkoji Temple. Yamada Ryokan is the designated "O-Yu" (primary bathhouse) of Otari Onsen.

The onsen water has been flowing on this spot for 457 years. Yamada Ryokan has been protecting this mountain onsen for all of those generations. And the chloride hydrogen carbonate onsen water high in sodium content is the real deal. There is an objet of encrusted carbonate that built up over decades -- proof that Otari Onsen's water is really mineral water.

I love it!

But where I felt the inn exuded history and onsen essence, my buddy Peter wasn't a fan of the overall rundown feel. Certainly the main bath in the original building was a mismatch of tacky tile, grotesque concrete crown molding, cold aluminum frame doors -- an interior decorator's nightmare. But on closer inspection, and a leisurely soak in the onsen water, you realize how soothing the minerals are, how strong they are with the carbon-encrusted lip of the pool, and what a clever use of space it is, with a Ne-yu (laying-down bath -- see the picture) and an Utase-yu (waterfall bath) all in the tight quarters.

Besides the indoor bath in the main building, the newer building features another pair of indoor baths (I like the wood barrel used for the onsen water source) adjacent to outdoor baths featuring a sweeping view of the forested valley.

I can understand why Takeda Shingen fell in love with this Otari Onsen.

山田旅館（日本秘湯を守る会ページ）
Yamada Ryokan (Secluded Baths of Japan page)