ゆるきゃらは広まり過ぎ？信州だけでも１００＋　Yuru-Kyara Explosion: 100+ In Nagano

2013.01.06: 日米関係Culture Shock
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100+ Nagano Yuru-kyara

お正月の新聞で「長野県のトップ１００ゆるきゃら」の紹介を見つけました。千曲市は屋代商店街のヤシロウが載っていた。この戸倉上山田温泉の「温泉まんじゅサン」はこれからデビュー？

とにかく、ゆるきゃらは最近、広まり過ぎない？どこまでが良いＰＲ化、どこまでが自己満足か、疑問がございます。もっと効果のあるＰＲ活動・町興し運動があるのではないかと思いますが。長野県だけで１００＋？全国で何万個があるでしょう。
この間、県観光課の主催の公園で、講師が県は一生懸命「アルクマ」と言うＰＲキャラクターを宣伝しているけど、
県内では結構馴染んできて、愛されてきたようだが、
県外の皆は知らないと
言う結果となっていると仰った。
ＰＲキャラクターの目的は長野県に訪ねる人数を増やすのであれば、意味がないと、はっきり言われました。
私の経験でも、亀清のフロントにアルクマくんの人形を置いてありまして、唯一「可愛い」と言ってくれるのは県内のお客様。
多過ぎるって、どれぐらい？

Japan is undergoing a "Yuru-Kyara" boom lately. A hybrid of 'cute' and weird, these "Loose-characters" seem to be popping up everywhere. Over the New Years holiday, our local newspaper had an article featuring over 100 such characters from Nagano Prefecture alone.

Shich begs the question, How many is too many?

Chikuma City's unofficial character, Yashirou of the Yashiro Business District made the list, but Onsen Manju-san from our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada has yet to make its debut apparently.

But I am starting to wonder, how important are these Yuru-kyara? At one seminar I attended sponsored by the Prefecture's Tourism Association, the speaker mentioned how much money the Association spends on promoting its PR character, Arukuma-kun, yet no one from outside the prefecture recognizes it. Arukuma-kun has become popular with people here in the prefecture, but if his purpose is to attract visitors to Nagano then he is a failure. That matches my experience here at Kamesei. We have a Arukuma-kun doll at our front desk. The only people who comment on it are locals.

Rather than spending money and energy on something that makes one feel good, perhaps it would be better to put effort into something that has more practical effect.

アルクマ君（マイＨＰもある？！）Arukuma (with his very own dedicated website?!)
ヤシロウ Yashirou





上山田の芸子さんのお正月挨拶 New Years Greetings from the Kamiyamada Geisha

2013.01.05: その他 Miscellaneous
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In Kamesei Ryokan's lobby

上山田の芸子さん達はお正月の挨拶で、亀清旅館に来てくれた。清掃様なお着物を着はって、素敵なお正月の姿でした。

芸子さんを憧れる私のような欧米人には忘れられないひと時。戸倉上山田温泉だからこそできる経験。

今年も、温泉芸者さんたちを宜しくお願いします。

Some of the geisha from our onsen town Togura Kamiyamada came to Kamesei for their official New Years greeting. They made quite a sight all dressed up in their formal kimonos.

Being able to meet real-life geisha is definitely one of the benefits of living here in Togura-Kamiyamada.





亀清旅館のロビーで餅つき大会の復活 Bringing back Mochi-Tsuki to Kamesei Ryokan

2013.01.04: 季節 Seasons
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餅つきの準備は無事に出来て、1月3日の朝に亀清旅館のロビーに餅つき大会を開催しました。お客さんにも参加して頂いて、楽しく美味しく出来た。
上山田神楽保存会の皆が集まって頂いて、まずはロビーで獅子舞。そして笛のリズムに合わせて、三人制度の餅つき。東京とかイタリアなどからのお客さんも参加して、国際的でした。
でも、一番喜んだのは恐らく女将社長。何十年振りの餅つきで、嬉しかった様。
これで道具を揃えたので、来年に是非また挑戦したい。
With the Mochi Tsuki preparations successfully completed, we held a Mochi pounding event at our lobby here at Kamesei Ryokan on the morning of January 3rd.
First, the members of the Kamiyamada Shishi Lion dance troupe performed a New Years lion dance. Then, accompanied by there flutes, we did a 3-person Mochi pounding. Some of the guests, including people from as far away as Tokyo and even Italy participated in the pounding.
It was a great success, but I think the person who was the happiest was Mari's mom. Apparently they used to hold such events at the inn decades ago. She was glad to see the tradition brought back after all those years.
Now that we have all the equipment, I'm looking forward to doing the Mochi making again next year.



Mochi-Pounding in the Mist


Kneading the mochi for a guest-pounder from Italy


餅つきの奥深さに感動 Amazed at the Depth of the Mochi Making Tradition

2013.01.03: 日米関係Culture Shock
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Murakoshi-san and Kurihara-san helping steam the Mochi rice.

日本のお正月習慣、餅つき。
私の出会いは大学を卒業してから上田市で生活した冬。お正月で大手スーパーで買い物をしたら、入口で人が集まって盛り上がっていた。あっ、噂の餅つきだと分かった。勿論、私も参加してみた。まあ、単純な習慣だなと思った。

このお正月亀清旅館の玄関にある昔からの臼を使って、何十年ぶりに餅つきを挑戦する様になった。従って、私は餅つきの準備の段階から始めて経験した。杵(ハンマーじゃなかったんだ)の手配、臼の準備(水を前持ってかけといて、吸い込ませる)、蒔きを炊く釜の購入、餅のトッピングの準備、そして打つ前の餅米を蒸す。意外に奥深い。今回は色んな先輩に助けて頂いて、準備は無事に出来た。

もう、餅つきのは単純じゃないって事、よく分かりました。

Mochi (sticky rice) -Tsuki (pounding) is an age-old New Years tradition here in Japan. My first experience was back when I lived in Ueda City after graduating college. During my first winter here, I went to a shopping center around New Years. At the entrance, a bunch of people were gathered and were making an exciting commotion. As I went to check it out, I saw the Mochi-pounding in action, and realized that was the legendary Mochi-Tsuki.

Of course, I tried my hand with the hammer and helped pound. My first impression was the whole thing seemed a bit simple.

For this New Years, we at Kamesei decided to make use of the antique mochi-pounding mortar, and do a Mochi-Tsuki event for our guests. Hence, for the first time, I experienced the process from the beginning stages. Procuring the 'kine' hammers, prepping the 'usu' mortar by soaking its bowl with water, buying the wood-burning pot set, using it to pre-steam the Mochi rice. Fortunately a couple of guardian angels from our neighborhood came and coached me through the process. Our Mochi prep was a success!

I no longer consider Mochi-making to be 'simple'!





Happy New Years 2013! ２０１３年にてハッピーニューイヤー！

2013.01.01: 季節 Seasons
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明けましておめでとうございます！
亀清旅館はこの時に、下降１年間にお泊りになった皆様にお礼として年賀状をお送りします。今回はテレビの取材やら、友人が海外から遊びに来てくれた事やら、色々とバタバタしていて遅れましたが、
亀清旅館の２０１３年の年賀状に使った写真はこれです。
写真の内容を説明します:

（一年分の思い出の感謝）
手作り客室庭　（客室「弥生」の庭に滝を作ってみた）
もっとメディア（写真はＮＨＫの「千曲川紀行」取材で田中洋次と。他は地元ラジオＦＭ長野、２回、地元雑誌「住マイル」）
滝シャワーツアー　（オプショナルツアーを増やしたくて、夏の暑さに対応して戸倉上山田温泉から車・ハイキングで約２０分の滝シャワーツアーを計画中）
客室改造　（今年度はさらに２ヶ所のトイレ改造の予定）
長野トップ１００温泉調査　（友人が長野県のトップ１００温泉を紹介する英語の本を書いていて、私が一生懸命手伝っている）
長野アルプス登り　（信州は自然で恵まれて、夏は子供達を連れて白馬でトレッキングしてきた）
地元の農園を深くに　（農家さん達と良くなって、なるべく地元の食材を生かせるように）
亀清のおもてなしの２人　（若旦那と若女将の１７回目結婚記念日）
上山田の果実　（杏、葡萄、リンゴ、果実狩り豊の上山田）
貸切風呂の庭に静かのオオバナエンレイソウ　（しなの風呂の庭の植物が馴染んできた。）

Happy New Year from all of us at Kamesei Ryokan to all of you.
Here at Kamesei, it has become our New Years tradition to send out greeting cards in thanks to all of the guests who stayed at our inn in the previous year. This year's card features this picture collage. Explanation as follows:
　
Thanks for a Year’s Worth of Memories.

Hand-made guestroom garden (Guestroom 'Yayoi' with a new, hand-made waterfall in its garden)
More media (with NHK's Yohji Tanaka for their Chikuma River Travels program),
Waterfall tour (a tentative new optional tour we hope to provide for our guests in the summer)
Guestroom improvements (with 2 more guestrooms scheduled to be remodelled this fiscal year)
Researching Nagano’s Top 100 Onsens (helping a buddy write a book about Nagano Prefecture's many great onsens)
Climbing the Alps (last summer our family took advantage of Nagano's majestic mountains and climbed the Hakuba Range)
Deep into local farms (connecting with the local farmers to provide fresh produce for our guests)
Kamesei’s friendly duo (Mari and I celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary)
Kamiyamada’s fruits (apricots, grapes, apples -- fruit picking at its best)
Quiet trillium for our Shinano bath (our new private onsen bath's garden is starting to come into its full shape)





信州の冬の思い出作り 戸隠でスノーシュー Wintertime memory-making in Nagano: Snowshoeing at Togakushi

2012.12.30: 長野に来る理由 Reasons to Come to Nagano
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Misaki and the cameraman leading tour snow shoe tour at Togakushi.

子供達の冬休みの最初の日。
大学の頃の友人が海外から遊びに来てくれていた。
テレビ朝日の取材もあって。
よし、長野の冬はどう楽しむか。

私たちは冒険したのは戸隠森林植物園でスノーシュー。

去年の冬にも家族で行ったので、特に子供達がその自然の中の雪遊びがだいすきだった。今回も、うちの子供達そして友人の子供達は大喜び。

信州の冬の雪遊びが最高！

It was our kids' first day of winter vacation.
And one of my best friends from college was here visiting with her husband and kids.
And we had TV Asahi following us to shoot footage for an upcoming show.

So what to do for a wintertime outing in Nagano?

We decided to go snowshoeing at the forest reserve at Togakushi.

Our family had done that once last winter, and our kids in particular loved that type of snow play in the wilderness.

This time, too, our kids along with my friend's daughters, had a blast exploring the forest through the deep snow.

Nagano's wintertime is full of memory-making adventures!

戸隠森林植物園Togakushi Forest Reserve





松之山流の町興し まんま Matsunoyama-style: Manma

2012.12.29: 青い目のおもてなし This American’s Omotenashi
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Manma's office

旅行会社が地元のオプショナルツアーを販売してくれない時はどうすれば良い？松之山温泉の場合、自分たちで旅行会社を作っちゃった。旅館は8軒がお金を出し合って、「まんま」という旅行会社を立ち上げて、地元のガイドさん達と連携を取って、美人の森スノーシューツアーなどを好評で売っています。すでに黒字を出しているそうです。
先日はこの戸倉上山田温泉の若旦那達と2年に一度の研修会で松之山温泉に連れて行った理由の一つはまんまという町興し成功事例を皆に見せたかった。私達も更に努力せいへんとあかん。

What do you do if travel agents refuse to sell your town's optional tours? Well, if you are Matsunoyama Onsen, you create your own travel agent! 8 local inns pooled their money together and set up Manma. In conjunction with some local guides, Manma has been successfully selling snowshoe and other tours, and is even turning a profit.
The other day, my fellow junior innkeepers from Togura Kamiyamada made a study trip to Matsunoyama. One reason I took everyone there was to show them Manma. We have a lot of work to do still for our onsen town.

Manma





長野トップ100温泉　（県外版）　三代薬湯・松之山温泉 Nagano Top 100 Onsens (Neighborly Edition): Matsunoyama Onsen

2012.12.28: 長野に来る理由 Reasons to Come to Nagano
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Chitose's famous Tsukimi no Yu bath at Matsunoyama Onsen

長野県のトップ100温泉の調査の難し所の一つは県境を少し超えたら良い温泉もあるのです。長野県はもちろん、温泉で恵まれている国だが、山の一つの違いだけで周辺に他にも、例えば群馬の草津や万座、岐阜県の奥飛騨温泉、富山県の宇奈月温泉、新潟の赤倉温泉の様な本格的な温泉があります。先日長野県の栄村を超えて、新潟県の松之山温泉に行ってみてきました。

松之山温泉は日本三大薬湯の一つです。湯質は塩っぽいで油の臭いがする、特徴的なお湯。（入ってみたら、その「三大薬湯」の事は納得しました！）そして、新潟・長野のこの辺は「雪国」と呼ばれています。今回行ったのは正に雪の世界で、途中の大雪の中の運転で「この先は何があるのだろ」と言う不安でしたが、山奥にこんなに本格的な温泉があって、嬉しかったです。
今回はこの戸倉上山田温泉の旅館青年部の2年に一度の研修会で行って、泊まったのは全国レベルで活動なされている若旦那、柳さんの宿、「ひなの宿ちとせ」に泊まった。松之山温泉を代表できる「月見の湯」のお風呂に入らせて頂きました。大雪の中の屋根付きの露天風呂。日本の温泉文化はやはりいいね！

松之山温泉は我が戸倉上山田温泉から約100㎞、車で約2時間15分です。松之山の代表のイベント、「むこ投げ・すみ塗り」奇祭は毎年1月15日です。それを見てから、長野県の冬を代表して、同じ1月15日に行う野沢温泉の火の祭りも見れます。

In researching Nagano Prefecture's Top 100 Onsens, one thing that I've realized is that several outstanding onsens are being left out because of the arbitrary line made up by the prefectural border. Literally just one mountain away from Nagano are such famous onsens areas such as Kusatsu and Manza in Gunma Prefecture, Oku-Hida in Gifu, Unazuki in Toyama, and Akakura in Niigata. The other day, I went for the first time to one other such neighboring onsen: Matsunoyama in Niigata.

Matsunoyama Onsen is known as one of Japan's Top 3 Medicinal Onsens, and it's mineral waters have a strong salt taste as well as a mild oilly aroma -- definitely unique enough to justify its Top 3 designation to me.

This area of the Niigata/ Nagano border is considered to be Snow Country, and it certainly lived up to its billing the day I went. Driving through thickly falling snow, we were a little nervous that there would be something worthwhile at the end of the road.

And we were not disappointed. I went with my fellow junior innkeepers from our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada and we stayed at the inn of Yanagi-san, active on the national junior innkeepers association. His inn, Chitose, features "Tsukimi no Yu", an outdoor bath with a hefty roof over it. Practically embedded in deep snow, this one bath seems to represent the best of all of Matsunoyama Onsen.

Matsunoyama is approximately 100km from our onsen town, Togura-Kamiyamada and is approx. 2 hours and 15 minutes by car. Or by train, 25 minutes to Nagano Station and then almost 2 hours on the leisurely JR Iiyama Line to Tsunan Station.
Matsunoyama is also famous for its 'Muko-nage, Sumi-nuri' festival held annually every January 15th. Sons of neighboring towns who have taken local lasses away in marriage (= 'Muko') are thrown ("nage") off a hill, then everyone takes charcoal ("Sumi") and rubs ("nuri") it on everyone else. With a little bit of planning, this festival can be enjoyed in conjunction with Nagano's most famous winter-time festival, Nozawa Onsen's fire festival, held on the evening of January 15th.

ひなの宿ちとせChitose