Summer show-off
亀清の最近に植えなおした坪庭を良く見たら、この青い花が綺麗に咲いている。ガーデナーの岡田さんによると、日本の夏の花を代表する「桔梗」だそうです。この伝統的な昔ながらの日本旅館に日本の花がやはり一番合うよね！
Our most recently re-done tsubo niwa garden has this showy flower blooming now. According to our gardener, Okada-san, it is a Japanese bellflower, a summer-blooming flower native to Japan. It's a great match for our traditional Japanese inn!
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
Shrine shrouded in Zeldova trees
いつも思いますが、日本の神社の作りが美しいです。戸倉上山田温泉から車で１５分ぐらいに武水別神社があります。先日は久しぶりに見ました。そして、裏側から入りました。周りのでかいケヤキの木のの緑の葉っぱと神社の建物の細かい木造の合わせがうんと綺麗でした。
昔は戦いの神様だったので、信玄も謙信も来ているようです。現在は交通安全の神様だそうです。えらい変わりましたね。
I've always been impressed by the beauty of Shinto shrines in Japan. One such shrine is about 15 minutes away from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen by car: Takemizuwake Shrine in Yawata, Chikuma City. I went there for the first time in a long time a couple of days ago, and was amazed by the detailed woodwork of the main building.
This shrine was traditionally dedicated to a god of war, and was visited by many major samurai warriors. Nowadays, it's dedicated to safe driving. That's a big change!
武水別神社のＨＰはこちらClick here for info on Takemizuwake Shrine (Japanese only)
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
Kamuruki Summit Camp
長野に引越ししてきて良かった理由の１つは周辺にキャンプが出来るところが沢山ある事です。いきなりキャンプしたいと思えば、出来ちゃう。夕べは正にそうでした。息子達を連れて、テントと寝袋をしょって、戸倉上山田温泉の裏の１２５２ｍの冠着山の頂上でキャンプした。（登山口は温泉から車で１５分、そして歩いて２０分で頂上に到着）。朝に早く起きたら、千曲川の谷の雲海の上からのご来光がちょうど見えて、夢のような世界でした。
One of the things I like about Nagano is being able to readily go camping. There are mountains all around us, so if you decide at the last minute to go camping, it's very easy to do. Like our sons and I decided to do last night. We packed our tents and sleeping bags, and drove to the Mt. Kamuriki (1252m) trailhead (about 15 minutes by car from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen), walked the 20 minutes to the top, and camped out. We woke up early in the morning, and were treated to the dream-like scene of the sun rising over the cloudy Chikuma River valley.
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
ご来光 Sunrise
雲海 Sea of Clouds
頂上からの眺めView from the Summit
sunrays
登山口trailhead
千曲市の皆様、ご迷惑をかけいます。
今週は千曲市会議員の選挙の応援活動をやっています。もう１人の若旦那のサポートです。私が始めて日本に来た時に、選挙車がうるさくて迷惑だと言う印象を受けました。まっさか私はこうやって乗るようになると思わなかった。。。
All this week I am helping out one of my fellow ryokan owners in his campaign for city council. When I first came to Japan, I thought these campaign sound trucks were obnoxiously loud. I had know idea that one day I would be riding in one!
千曲市がこんなに広いんだ！（休憩所）
Ahh! Gelato!
暑くなってきました！見事に、戸倉上山田温泉にジェラート屋さんがあります：ラヴニール。息子達と行って来ました。冷たくて美味しい！
It's starting to get hot out. Thank goodness, there is a gelato shop here in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen: L'Avenir. I took our two sons there. The gelato was refreshingly cold!
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
ラヴニールのＨＰはこちらClick here for L'Avenir website
廊下の壁を綺麗に
亀清の廊下の壁が大分傷んでいました（我が息子達の影響もあったかもしれません）。今日は来るその業者に頼んで、塗り壁を落としてクロスを貼りなおしてもらいました。話を聞くと、洋紙を重ねって貼るけど日本は防火関係で紙は端を合わせて貼るそうです。壁クロスにも日米関係だ！
The walls of Kamesei's main hallway have gotten pretty beat up (due in no small part to our rambunctious sons). Today, we had a pro come in and take off the applied wall and put on wallpaper. He told me that Western Wallpaper was applied with the edges overlapping. In Japan, though, that's considered a fire hazzard, to the paper here is designed to be applied with the edges lined up with each other. Even in wallpaper, East and West differ!
Look, purple rice!
亀清旅館の売店で紫米を売っています。クロスロードと言う身体障害者の為の施設が作っています。古米の一種で普通のお米にちょっとだけ入れたら全部が紫になります。
そこまで私が分かっていました。この間は近場の田んぼで、いつもの緑色の中で紫の色もあって、びっくりしました。考えてみれば、紫米の稲も紫だと言うことが当たり前です。でも、始めた見ると驚きますよね！
At our little sales counter here at Kamesei Ryokan, we sell Purple Rice. A local facility for mentally impaired people produces it. It's an ancient strain of rice, and when you add a little bit with normal rice when you cook it the whole thing turns purple.
That much I knew. The other day, I happened to see a rice paddy nearby that, among the normal green rows, had some dark purple rows, too. If you think about it, it makes sense that purple rice would have purple stalks, but it was still surprising to see it for the first time!
親戚からこの赤いユリを頂きました。そして、違う親戚から頂いた松代焼きの花瓶で飾りました。ユリの元気な色と松代焼きの落ち着いた色の合わせがなかなかいいですね。亀清旅館のあちらこちらに旬の花が飾ってありますので見においでやス。
One of our relatives gave us these red lilies, and we placed them in this Matsushiro-style pottery vase that was given to us by another relative. The vibrant colors of the lilies provide a sweet contrast to the subdued auroraborealis-like colors of the Matsushiro-yaki.
Seasonal cut flowers are displayed here and there throughout Kamesei -- we hope you come and take a look!
亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website
Campaigning to the fireflies (don't ask...)
この１週間は千曲市会議員の選挙の応援活動をやっています。アメリカの大統領の選挙みたいに何年間かからなくて良いけど、その代わりにＣａｎｄｉｄａｔｅの名前を皆に認識してもらうのに１週間しかないと言うのは逆に短すぎない？どちらが良いかとは言えません。取り敢えず、応援活動を頑張ってまいります。
All this week I will be helping out with a colleague's campaign for City Council. I'm glad the campaign process doesn't take months like it does in the U.S. (or years as in the case of the presidential election), but Japan's campaing limitations are way too short. If you only have 1 week to get your name out, you're forced to use the obnoxious campaign sound cars. I can't say which system is better. But I don't have time to worry about it -- I have to get out there again and campaign!
New roof at Chorakuji
週末にお客さんを連れて姨捨の長楽寺によりました。ひとつな建物の屋根がずっと工事中でしたが、今回に見たら工事が完成でした。萱の屋根の材料や技術者がほとんどない中で、こんな素敵な屋根が出来たのは大したものだ！周辺の姨捨駅でＪＲの特別スイッチバック列車を見に来ていた人たちに長楽寺にも足を運んでもらいたかった。
Last weekend I took a guest to see the Chorakuji Temple. One of the buildings' roofs had been under construction for the longest time, but is now finally finished. The thatched roof is spectacular, especially considering thatch is hard to come by, as well as carpenters who know how to do it.
There were lots of people at nearby Obasute Station taking photos of JR's special Switchback train -- I wish some of them had come to see Chorakuji, too.
Moon Viewing Temple Chorakuji
