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Tourism Survey and ... Ninjas!

以前にも書きましたが、我々NInJAプロジェクトの仲間が有志で民間レベルでこの長野地方に来る海外からの旅行者にアンケートを実施するようになっています。アンケートが出来上がりましたので協力してくれる清泉女学学院の生徒達と今日、練習しました。メンバーの宮下さんが本物の戸隠忍者で忍術の演奏もしてくれました。新聞の記者も地元のテレビも来てくれて、段々と進んでいます。

As previously mentioned, the NInJA Project group of volunteers that I belong to is preparing to do a survey of foreign travellers coming to the Nagano City area. The survey has been completed, and yesterday we held a practice with the Seisen Women's College students that will be assisting us with the survey.
Miyashita-san, an actual Togakushi ninja and a fellow member of the Project, did a ninjutsu performance for the class, and a couple of newspaper reporters as well as a local TV crew came, too. We are getting closer and closer to making the survey a reality!

Click here for the website of NInJA ProjectのHPはこちら

お客さんから注意事が来ました：亀清旅館にお風呂のマナーが悪い外国人客がいるって噂が広がっている事。

なるほど。亀清旅館のお客さんは約１０％が海外からです。言い換えれば、９０％が日本人です。その９０％の全員はお風呂マナーが良いって事でしょうか？まあ、シャワーかけっぱなしの下で酔っ払って寝ちゃった日本人客さんの話などは別の問題として・・・

亀清旅館では、日本の温泉旅館の代表として海外からお泊りになるお客さんに日本の温泉文化をなるべく教えます。｢これは１００％自然な温泉のお湯なので、不自然な物は入れないでください。シャンプーは無し。石鹸は無し。タオルは無し。水着も無し。｣など、いつも説明します。｢タオルを巻いて入っちゃいけないの？｣と言われますが、｢駄目です」とはっきり教えます。(その代わりに、家族風呂のお時間をなるべく作ってあげています。）

シャワー文化の人たちは日本の温泉文化に慣れるのにどうしてもハプニングが行います。この間は一人のお兄さんがスリッパーを履いて浴場に入ったのを見ました。｢そうか、スリッパーも無しと言わんとあかんか｣と思いました。でも、マナーが悪いという噂を広がる必要はあるか、私に疑問です。

そう外国人アレルギーの方に私からの注意事：日本政府観光局は訪日外客人数の２０１０年目標が１，０００万人です。(２００８年に８，３５１，９００人まで伸びたが、２００９年は減っちゃったからその目標が難しくなちゃった。）２０１６年の目標がその２倍：２，０００万人です。
２，０００万人になると、日本の宿泊施設の泊まる人の約２０％が外国人になる。５人に一人が外国人という訳。そろそろはお互いの文化に慣れる必要はあるのではないかと思います。

One of our guests cautioned us that he heard a rumor: Kamesei Ryokan's foreigner guests have bad onsen manners.

Hmm. 10% of our guests here at Kamesei are foreigners. In other words, 90% of our guests are Japanese. Do all of those 90% have good bath manners? Before I go into the story of how a drunk Japanese person fell asleep with the shower running on him all night, let me explain something.

We see ourselves as a representative of Japan's onsen ryokans to our guests. For some of them, we will be the only ryokan they will ever experience. So we try our best to explain onsen "culture" to them. For example, we tell all of our guests that the onsen is 100% natural mineral water, and that nothing unnatural is to go in -- no soap, no shampoo, no towels, no bathing suits. "What, I can't wrap a towel around me to soak in the bath?" "Nope!" On the other hand, we try to accommodate as best as possible by providing a private bathing time.

However, when you have people coming from a shower culture, there will always be happenings along the way as they adjust to Japan's onsens. The other day, I spotted one guy wearing his slippers into the bath area. I guess I'll also have to say, "No slippers, either!", too.

But I really wonder if the extent of these happenings really justify spreading a rumor about bad manners.

In fact, I have some words of caution to the people that spread such rumors. The Japana National Tourism Organization's 2010 goal for number of foreign visitors to Japan is 10,000,000 people. (The figure reached 8,351,900 in 2008, but dipped in 2009 so the goal is in danger.) But the goal for 2016 is double that: 20,000,000 people. That would mean about 20% of lodgers in Japan would be foreigners. In other words, 1 out of every 5 people staying in places like ryokans would be from overseas. So to people with a foreigner "allergy", I suggest they get used to foreign customs.