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Last weekend, it looked like Halloween in Downtown Seattle. We saw all kinds of creatures, all in town for SakuraCon (www.sakuracon.org), the biggest anime convention in the Pacific Northwest. We even saw a samurai walking up 5th Avenue. (He did look a little portly, though...) It just goes to show you that anime is as huge in the States as it is in Akihabara or Harajuku.
週末はシアトルのダウンタウンがハロウィーンのような雰囲気になっていた。というのは、仮装している人が沢山いました。でも、良く見たら、仮装の皆はアニメのキャラクターでした。SakuraConというアニメのコンベンションが行われた訳。コスプレーは原宿や秋葉原に負けないぐらいにアメリカにも人気！

From when I was a little kid growing up in Seattle, my parents had a cabin outside of Granite Falls. We would drive up there practically every weekend in the summer, and every time we would pass this interesting arch. I had no idea what it was, but then when I got into college and first visited Japan, I saw something similar at Shinto Shrines. I finally put 2 and 2 together, and realized there had been a shrine in Granite Falls, the Tsubaki Grand Shrine -- the first shinto shrine in North America. Check it out at www.tsubakishrine.org. The priest, Rev. Barrish, does an impressive "o-harae" ceremony.
シアトルで育たれた中で、親がシアトルから車で一時間ぐらい離れている山の方でちょっとしたキャビンがありました。行く度にこの門を通りました。そして、大学のころに始めて日本に行ったら同じような門を沢山見た。神社の鳥居だと分かってきたが、まっさかこのアメリカの山の方に神社があると？しかし、真さにそうです。「アメリカ椿大神社」へよこそ！www.tsubakishrine.orgにて。

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

If you take a bath at Kamesei, you will likely see a beautifully sculpted turtle above the onsen water spout. If you've wondered where he came from, this is it: Orcas Island Pottery. (www.orcasislandpottery.com) Mari and I visited there today, during our vacation from our vacation to Orcas Island. The place is a magical combination of Pacific Northwest island setting and gorgeous pottery. Many of the pottery makers use Japanese-inspired "Raku" style.
亀清の大浴場に陶芸の代わった亀があります。シアトルとカナダの間にあるオルカスという島で作られました。この素敵な場所でこの素敵な焼物が作られている。尚且つ、日本なりの「ラク」焼が人気。

Click here for Kamesei Ryokan website

Jimmy Hendrix, or "Jimmy Hen-chan" as he is referred to in Japan, happens to be really famous in Japan. He also happened to have come from my home town, Seattle. There is this statue of him on Broadway, so you can go and say "hi" to Jimmy if you visit. One of our guests recently was a big fan, so I promised I would take a picture and post it.
ジミーヘンドリックス（ジミーヘンちゃん）がシアトルの人だと御存知でしたか？ブロードウィー通りに行けば、この像が見えます。この間のお客さんに写真を撮って載せる約束しましたので、宜しくお願い致します！

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

Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are as popular in the States as in Japan, so we weren't surprised to see them in the toy aisle in Seattle. But what's up with all the Power Ranger action figures? Our son Kenny wanted to get Geki-Red. Can't we get as much Ranger stuff as we could possibly want when we get back to Japan? 🙂
ポケモンやユギオが日本と一緒にシアトルで人気だと知っていましたが、何とかレーンジャーのおもちゃも沢山あって、ビックリしました。我が息子が「欲しい」と騒いでいましたが、態々アメリカで買うことは無いじゃないかと。。。

This is where I studied Japanese -- the University of Washington. I took my family there today and, perfect timing, the cherry blossoms in the Quad were in full bloom. The classical buildings, the rich green lawn, the quaint brick pathways all make for a beautiful setting for the sakura trees, which were imported from Japan. There are probably settings in Japan as beautiful, but Hanami (flower viewing) is so much nicer here. In Japan, people put out hideous blue plastic sheets and hold loud drunken parties complete with obnoxious karaoke. It's called "hana yori dango" (more the party than the blossoms). Here you can actually enjoy the blossoms!
ここは私が日本語を習った所です：ワシントン大学です。桜がちょうど満開でした。そして、日本の花見と違って、目に激しいブルーシートが無い！

(First Report From My Trip Home to Seattle)
Patchwork quilting is popular in Japan as a way for people to create something original. Here in the original home of creating, America, quilts using Japanese kimono fabric and other traditional Japanese materials is gaining in popularity. My mother is an avid quilter, and enjoys collecting Japanese fabric and making quilts such as this one, 'Maru'. We have a couple of my Mom's wall hangings at Kamesei Ryokan, including one Hawaiian style quilt of some turtles (Kamesei's 'kame') hanging in front of the baths.
（シアトルの里帰りの第一リポート）
久しぶりに親の家に行ったら、母親がいま作っているキルトを見せてくれました。何と日本風！アメリカのキルトの世界の中で日本風な生地（着物など）がはやっているようです。亀清にも母親の作品が飾ってあります。お風呂の前に、ハワイイ風の亀（亀清の看板動物）の作品です。
Click here for Kamesei Ryokan website亀清旅館のHPはこちら

Kamesei Ryokan was proud to host a series of talks by Debito Arudo. This morning's was sponsored by the Chikuma Int'l Cultural Exchange Assoc. Approximately 20 people attended and heard about how Japan's population is becoming more international, and some of the dynamics that are resulting. On one hand, foreigners are increasingly contributing to Japan's society and economy, bringing desired effects to offset Japan's aging and shrinking population. On the other hand, foreigners are often villified in society.
In my own personal case, on one hand I am often complimented by people in town for working so hard to carry on the ryokan tradition here at Kamesei and my efforts to 'enliven' the town. On the other hand, there was a time I was refused an apartment here in Nagano simply because I was a foreigner. Of course similar prejudice happens in all countries, but here in Japan there are no laws against it. Yes, illegalizing discrimination doesn't make it go away, but that's of little comfort to someone who has been refused a basic human right like shelter.
After the talk, someone from Chikuma City Hall inquired about getting Debito-san back to give a talk to the city employees. I'm happy Kamesei was able to play a role in producing such positive results!
千曲国際交流協会の提供で、亀清旅館のロビーにArudo Debitoさんの講演が行いました。主の内容は日本の人口減少・高齢化問題に対して、外国人の増加が重要なのに、外国人は沢山の壁に当っている。自分の場合、亀清の若旦那として戸倉上山田温泉の仲間として受け入れて頂いているので色んな面で「町興し」に参加しています。しかし、以前は私が長野でアパートを借りるのに断れた事がある。もちろん、全世界に外国人差別があるけど日本の場合はそれに対する法律が無い。法律を作っても差別は消えないけれども、「衣食住」の「住」も断る事を許す事は？！？！
ところで、講演の後に市役所の方が今度、Debitoさんに千曲市役所のこの有利な講演をして欲しいと言い出した。亀清旅館が役に立てて、良かったと思います。