杏の里をお客様に案内 Taking guests to see the apricot blossoms

2008.04.16: 季節 Seasons
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Anzu no Sato Sketch Park

「杏の里」の花、特に上の方、はまだ満開です。今日は常連のお客様、佐藤さん達、を連れて、ご案内いたしました。戸倉駅の裏の天狗パークの桜の道を通って、地元の人達しか知らない近道で杏の里を上から入りました。杏も桜も、この時期はマジックのように。
I took some guests to go see the apricot blossoms at nearby Anzu-no-Sato (Apricot Homeland). The Satoh's are regular guests of ours. We took the road that goes through the cherry trees of Tengu Park (behind Togura Station) and went on the short cut that only the locals know about. The Apricots blossoms were still in peak form, and the cherry blossoms were so beautiful, too -- what a magical time of the year.

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website



Anzu close-up


Meet Bono, Hakuba Innkeeper and Model Trainer

2008.04.15: その他 Miscellaneous
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Engineer Bono-san

以前に「長野インバウンドサミット」の事を書いたので今日はその関係で白馬に行って来ました。そこの参加者の一人がこのBonoさんでした。Bonoさんの宿にお邪魔させて頂きました。モデルトレインがあるって聞きましたが、こんな多きいいセットだと知りませんでした。亀清では機関車トーマスの木造のセットを作っていますが、大きさ的にはこの２０分の一です。Bonoさん、これからも宜しくお願いいたします。
In previous posts, I've mentioned about the Nagano Inbound Summit. Today, I went to Hakuba for a meeting there. One of the participants was Bono-san. Afterwards, we checked out his inn and played with his cool train set. Thanks for your hospitality, Bono-san.

Bonoさんの宿のHPはこちらClick here for Bono-san's website.

長野インバウンドサミットの詳しくはInfo on the Nagano Inbound Summit





夜桜は綺麗ですが、朝桜も綺麗！Cherry Blossoms in the Morning

2008.04.14: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada
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上山田温泉の中央公園の桜

桜は夜のライトアップが最近にはやっていますが、朝日の光で一番綺麗ではないかと思います。亀清旅館の裏の中央公園の桜です。今週末（４月１８日、１９日）は戸倉上山田温泉の女将の会の提供で屋台が出る予定です。花見へどうぞ！
It's a sort of fad to have cherry blossom 'illumination' festivals at night now, but I think the blossoms are at their prettiest in the early morning light. Pictured are the 'sakura' in Chuo Park behind our inn.





春の花の露天風呂

2008.04.13: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan
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初春の露天風呂

亀清旅館の露天風呂の初春です。あちらこちらで植物が冬眠から出てきています。何が出てくるか、何が咲いてくるか、お楽しみですね。
This is Kamesei's outdoor bath's first spring. Already some new growth is sprouting in the garden. I can't wait to see what plants and flowers come out.
亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan's website.



One of my favorite flowers: Elephant Ears


ピンクの時期 Pink Season

2008.04.12: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada
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亀清旅館の裏の中央公園の桜がほぼ満開

信州って、主には２シーズン：グリーンとホワイトです。しかし、雪が解けてから新緑が入るまでの間がどちらかというと、ブラウンになってしまいます。そのしかし、グリーンが始まる直前に、一時的にピンクになります。梅に杏に桜に桃に。戸倉上山田温泉のあちらこちらがピンクの花びらできれいになりました。
Nagano has 2 main seasons: Green and White. But after the snow melts, and before the spring leaves start to grow, it ends up being pretty Brown. However, just before the Green season starts, we have a brief Pink season thanks to the flowering trees blooming -- plum, apricot, cherry, peach, etc. Around our onsen town, there are spots of pink all over the place.



桜のようこそ


新戸倉のサッカー場もさくら


Olympics, Dalai Lama, and Hooligans北京五輪とダライ・ラマとフーリガン

2008.04.11: 日米関係Culture Shock
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Free Speech for Tibet

The Olympic Torch Relay is scheduled to come to Nagano on Saturday April 26th. If I can wiggle out of a ryokan assoc. meeting that morning, I want to take my sons and go cheer on the torch. Of course, I will also take a Tibet flag in honor of the Dalai Lama and his peace movement. He touched down in Narita on his way to my hometown of Seattle, and commented that he supports the Beijing Olympics, but also supports Freedom of Speech for Tibet. Meanwhile, today's Yomiuri newspaper headline talks about the Japanese Government using anti-Hooligan laws to keep out torch protestors. Should we be worried about Freedom of Speech in Japan as well?
4月２６市に五輪聖火が長野に来る予定。息子達を連れて、応援しに行く計画を立ている。チベットの旗を持って。ダライラマが成田経由で私の地元のシアトルに行きまして、「北京五輪を支持するが、チベットの為に言論の自由も」と仰ったそうです。賛成です。差し当たっては、今日の読売新聞の大見出しによると、聖火抗議者の入国を断る為にフーリガン法を使うそうです。日本での言論の自由が心配！
注：北京五輪聖火リレー/長野のHPのリンクの為にタイトルをクリック





Challenging Cameron

2008.04.10: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan
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Dropping Cameron off at Togura Station

We had the pleasure of having Cameron from Australia as our guest for 3 nights. I usually don't blog about guests, but Cameron stands out. He certainly kept us on our toes with his numerous tricky requests, but fascinated us with talk of his work on the UN Draft on Torture. Keep up the good work!

Cameronさんはオーストラリアから来まして、３泊もしてくれました。普段はブログに宿泊客の事あまり載せないけれども、Cameronさんは特別です。国連の拷問に対する文書を書いた人です。





戸倉上山田温泉の周辺にも杏！Apricot Blossoms near Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, too!

2008.04.09: 温泉タウン戸倉上山田 Onsen Town Togura-Kamiyamada
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Anzu now blooming in Togura Kamiyamada

千曲市の杏の里が杏で有名ですが、実は戸倉上山田温泉から歩いて５分のところにも杏の山地があります。千曲川沿いという綺麗な場所で、その独特な可愛い色だ咲いてきています。ここの杏も今週の土曜日１２日辺りが満開ではないかと思います。この時期は花見の楽しみが沢山あります！
The apricot blossoms at Anzu no Sato across town are famous, but here at Togura Kamesei Ryokan we have lots of trees, too. And the setting along the Chikuma River with the mountains in the background is spectacular.





千葉から杏の里に From Chiba for the Apricot Blossoms

2008.04.08: 季節 Seasons
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Yoga & Anzu

千葉間からこのヨガのグループがあんずの里を見に来ました。今朝は天気は雨だったけれども、遠くから態々来ましたので私が連れて行きました。一昨日に見た時より多少咲いていました。週末（１２日当り）が満開ではないか。
This group of yoga practioners came all the way from Chiba Prefecture to see the apricot blossoms. So even though it was raining, I drove them to Anzu no Sato (Apricot Homeland) to see them. The blossoms were coming out a bit more than when I saw them 2 days ago. I think the peak will be this weekend, around Saturday the 12th.
亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan webiste.



雨のあんず


Kamesei Ryokan Turned into a Ninjutsu Dojo亀清旅館が忍術道場に？

2008.04.08: 亀清旅館 Kamesei Ryokan
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Learning Ninjutsu

Thanks to the inspiration of a Ms. Wain and her beau from Denmark, Kamesei Ryokan's lobby turned into a ninja dojo this afternoon. They had mentioned wanting to go to see Togakushi's ninjas, and were disppointed when I told them they were still closed for the winter. But then I remembered that I had met a real-life Togakushi-School ninja last month. I gave him a call, and Miyashita-sensei came and taught an authentic ninja lesson for us. You, too, can train with him -- just contact us and we'll set it up!
デンマークから来た二人は忍者に興味があった。私が最近に知り合った戸隠流忍者の宮下先生を呼んでみました。亀清のロビーでお出かけ忍者体験コースをやってくれました。本格的で感動しました！興味のある方はどうぞ、ご連絡を下さい。



Spritually centering ourselves


Learning the characteristics of the ninja katana


the real deal


Bettina was ready with her ninja socks (?)