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亀清の一番古い建物は中庭の奥にある２階建ての、上が大広間、下は客室と中広間のある建物です。７０年前ぐらいに隣の坂城町の宿場から移築されたそうです。元々は置き屋だったと言われています。

１００年近くの歴史のあ建物、なおかと置き屋だった、きっと色んなストリーがあるでしょう。

今は本当に久しぶりに大広間の建物を取り返っています。床の一部に腐れがあったから私がまた大工さんに変身して、修理しました。

その時に大広間の畳無い床は初めて見ました。いろんな不思議がありました。

２ヶ所に四角い板があって、きっとお茶会の為の釜の跡でしょうと。

もう１ヶ所は取っ手が板の表面にありました。そして、良く見たら、蝶番が近くにあった。何かの扉?明けれるかな?取っ手を手にして、持ち上げてみたら、ちゃんと開けました。何か宝物が隠れているかなと思ったら、空間でした。

私にとってはこの建物実態が宝物です。この宿ののれんを守って行きたいですね。建物のストリーが次の世代に伝われるように。

Kamesei Ryokan's oldest building is the 2-story structure across from the naka-niwa koi pond. The top story houses our big banquet room, and the bottom floor is a guest room and a smaller banquet room. Apparently this building was originally in neighboring Sakaki Town and 70 years was disassembled and relocated here to its present location. And supposedly, the building started out as an 'okiya' geisha house.

You know that as a building that's been around for near a century and has a history of being a geisha house, it must have its share of stories to tell.

Right now we are having the tatami mats in the big banquet room replaced. Part of the subfloor had some rot damage, so I put on my carpenters hat and fixed that section.

This was the first time I've ever seen the subfloor with the tatami mats off. The floor was a patchwork of wood planks, with a few quirks here and there.

In 2 places there were squared-off sections. My guess is that tea ceremonies were held here and this is where the pots were heated by coals.

In another place, there was a handle set in the face of a plank. After a closer look, I realized there were hinges nearby. Hmm, a hatch? Could it open? I lifted the handle and tried pulling the hatch up, and, it opened just as smoothly as could be. I was hoping there would be a hidden treasure underneath, but the space was empty.

In my mind, this whole building is a treasure. I hope I can maintain our inn so the building can tell its stories to the next generation.

新聞のインタビューに亀清旅館のお料理を聞かれました。Ｃｈｅｆ武井の料理は評判がとにかく良いです。業界で認められているじゃらんネットの口コミで、夕食は5点満点の中の4.8～4.9です。お客様が喜んで頂いているのは確かです。

その理由は?またはどんな料理か?と記者さんに聞かれました。色々考えましたが、非常に表現し辛いです。

「これだ!」と言う代表の一品もないし、

旬の物そして地元の食材を生かしているけど、どの宿でもそれをやっているし、

豪華な花や飾りつけは特にしていないし、食器は普通だし、決してプレゼンテーションでポイントが高い訳じゃない、

さあ、その秘密は何でしょうか?

一つなヒントは飛び込みのお客さんとよくあるハプニング：
夕食の準備は間に合わない場合が多いです。だって、冷凍庫から出して、電子レンジで温まる様なお料理じゃないから。

もう1つなヒントは良く「絶品」と言われている冬で出す鮎の煮浸しです。板長は3日間をかけて調理している。そのお蔭で、軟かくて骨まで食べれるようになる。今は番茶付けの山女ですが、この一品はまたファンが多いです。

とにかく、板長は一品一品に手をかけています。そして、定番の物は嫌がる。天ぷらは基本的に出していない。茶わん蒸しは色々と板長の手作り鶯豆腐などの珍しい物が入っていて、「びっくり茶碗」と呼ばれています。

このアイディアー料理はお客様に感動を与えている；それが高い満足度の原因だと思います。

During a recent interview by a newspaper reporter, I was asked to describe Kamesei's meals. Our man in the kitchen, Chef Takei, is a culinary wizard, and his meals create many a happy guest. In Japan's leading internet reservation system 'Jalan', our dinners are currently rated 4.8-4.9 on a 0.0-5.0 scale by guest reviews.

But how to describe our meals -- that's not easy to do. Chef Takei uses seasonal ingredients and sources the majority of the ingredients locally, but then again, so do most other chefs. And the meals rely on the strength of all the various dishes rather than putting emphasis on one stand-out plate.

Perhaps one way to describe the meals is by way of explanation: Many times we have walk-up guests asking for a room for that day, and they are disappointed when told we can provide a room and breakfast but dinner can't be prepared in time. The reason is our chef's meals aren't something taken out of the freezer and warmed in a microwave oven. One of the dishes in fact is prepared over a series of 3 days -- the ayu river fish that our chef slowly simmers in sake and other seasonings making it soft enough to eat the whole fish, even the bones. Our guests often comment they have never tasted anything like it.

Chef Takei's tendency to avoid the 'orthodox' and be creative in his combination of ingredients as well as his pain-stakingly detailed preparation are the keys to the popularity of his meals. If you are interested in trying Japan's 'kaiseki'-style dinner, you will be in for a treat here at Kamesei.

外の温度が急に夏の様になってきまして、そのお蔭かどうか分かりませんが、亀清旅館の中庭の池に住んでいる亀２匹は冬眠からしっかり出て、あちらこちらに遊んでいます。一匹は置物の亀の上にも上った!

亀清の看板動物ですのでお越しになれば中庭で探してみてください。

Temperatures outside have climbed to summer-like highs. I'm not sure if that's the reason or not, but the 2 turtles that live in Kamesei Ryokan's koi pond have definitely come out of hibernation and are playing all over our naka-niwa garden.

One of the turtles even climbed up on the little turtle figurine we have by the pond!

If you come to Kamesei, try seeing if you can find one of the turtles in the pond.