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Chikuma City's new official brochure, with a coverphoto of an onsen bath that looks familiar...

千曲市観光協会の新しい通年パンフが出ました。表紙は四季に合わせて4つの写真:
紅葉の長楽寺、
雪景色の姨捨「田毎の月」棚田
森「日本一あんずの里」の杏の花
そして、一番でかくのは戸倉上山田温泉のある旅館の露天風呂と庭。

あれっ？我が亀清旅館の貸し切り露天「しなの風呂」じゃないですか？

亀清のお風呂が千曲市の代表のお風呂？！

勿論、嬉しいけれども吃驚しました！
この写真実体はいつ撮られたか、
そしていつの間にか表紙に載ったか、
不思議でしょうがない。

特に、私が観光協会のこのパンフを作成する委員会に入っている…　偶々欠席した会議で決められたのかな？

という事で、市の新しいパンフが出ましたので何方かご要望があればお送りしますのでどうぞ、ご連絡を下さい。
そして、千曲市の代表のお風呂をこれからもしっかり守って行きます！

Chikuma City's Tourism Bureau released the newest Guide Book brochure for the city. The cover has 4 pictures representing our city's four seasons:
Fall leaves at Choraku-ji Temple,
Snow-covered terraced rice fields at Obasute,
Apricot blossoms from Mori "Apricot Village"
and, a outdoor bath and garden of one of the ryokans in Togura Kamiyamada Onsen.

Hey, wait a minute,

That's Kamesei Ryokan's new outdoor family bath, "Shinano-buro"!!!

While of course I'm elated our bath was chosen to represent the city on the cover of the brochure,
I'm a bit surprised as to who/what/when the picture was taken, and how our bath's picture got chosen for the cover. Especially as I am on the committee that makes the brochure. I missed one meeting, and that must be when the decision was made.

Anyways, we now have the new brochures available for anyone that is interested, and we will now work doubly hard to make the best out of Kamesei's Shinano-buro, now that it represents the entire city!

Great Essay by Mayumi Yamazaki-san in the April 2013 issue of All Yomimono

温泉エッセイストの山崎まゆみさんは2月に亀清旅館に泊まりに来て頂きました。その時に一緒に食事も取れて、二人で温泉のことなど色んな話で盛り上がった。その時にまゆみさんは少し含み笑いしているかなと感じました。文藝春秋の月刊「オール讀物」4月号で分かりました：　その話からまゆみさんの頭の中でエッセーが生まれて来ていた。

と言う訳(？)で、今月のオール讀物に「温泉のひみつ～青い目の若旦那」というストーリが載っています。「祈りを込めて作られた風呂」とか日本旅館のおもてなし「マジック」など、面白い話ばかり。「私がそんなきつい事を言ったっけ？」と言う部分もあるけど、でも全体的にまゆみさんがこの青い目の若旦那の思いをうまく表現してくれました。

嬉しい限りです♪

Back in February, onsen essayist Mayumi Yamazaki-san came and stayed at Kamesei Ryokan. It was such a pleasure to be able to host her, and the two of us had some great conversation about onsens and life and working on promoting our various projects. At the time, I sensed something else was going on in the corner of her lips when she smiled. Now, thanks to the April issue of The All Yomimono magazine, a sort of monthly Readers Digest in Japan, I realized what was going on: An idea for a magazine article was taking shape in Mayumi-san's head.

Hence this story entitled: "An Onsen Secret: The Blue-Eyed Innkeeper". Mayumi-san wrote about several episodes in my life here as an American proprietor of a traditional Japanese inn, such as building an outdoor bath by hand in honor of Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen's over 100 years of history, and how a ryokan's 'omotenashi' service comes across as magic. Some of the things she mentioned strike me as being a bit severe, but overall she did a great job of capturing the essence of my life here.

Mayumi-san, thank you for the great essay!

オール讀物 All Yomimono