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It's all in the way you express it.

3日間連続の講演。頭がパンクしそう。今度は地元の商工会の主催で京都からのコンサルタント坂本　洋さんが来ました。

写真をよく見て下さい。4種類のメニューです。中華っぽい手書きのから英文付き、赤いハンコ付き、和紙の綺麗なのまで。

実は、内容は皆一緒です。しかし、手書きなのなら5000円ぐらいな価値しか感じないよね。綺麗なのは実物で、実は2万円のメニューです。

伝え方によって、価値観が全然違う。

「おそばです。」
と
「そば打ち歴20年の名人が打った10割そばです。」
もしくは
「美容に関心のある女性に食べてもらいたいそばです。」

伝え方によってターゲットが全然違ってくる。

さあ、我が亀清旅館はどんな方に泊まってもらいたいかと
考えないと駄目。

第一歩はお品書き作成だな。

坂本先生、良い刺激を有難うございました。

3rd Seminar in as many days -- my head feels like it's about to explode. This one was sponsored by our local chamber of commerce. Hiroshi Sakamoto came from Kyoto to give a talk on menus, and creative ways to express them.

Take a look at the picture. 4 menus, from a sloppy hand-written one that looks like it's from a Chinese restaurant, to a formal one with English translation and a red hanko stamp, on washi paper.

Actually, the menu contents are all the same. But whereas the handwritten one looks like a menu with a price of around 5000 yen, the real, formal one goes for 20,000 yen.

It's all in the way the menu is expressed.

Or, consider this:

"Soba Noodles"

vs.

"100% Buckwheat Flour Soba Noodles Hand-Made by a 20-Year Master Chef"

or, "Soba Noodles For Ladies Intersted in Beauty Care"

Depending on the expression, the target customer base is totally different.

So, what is Kamesei Ryokan's target customer base?

I think the first thing we need to do is to make a menu!

Sakamoto-san, thank you for your stimulating ideas!

The passionate owner of Seni Onsen, Kanai-san

今度は長野県観光課の主催で仙仁温泉の金井社長の講演。

長野県では伝説的な宿が多い中で、最も伝説的なのはこの仙仁温泉です。金井社長のお話を聞く機会がなかなかなくて、貴重でした。私達旅館・ホテルの経営者が金井社長口から出た一つ一つの言葉を慈しんだ。「お客様には潜在なニーズがある。自分達でも気づいていない。旅館はその深い心直しをする役割だ」とか。ものすごくヘビーなお話ししてくれました。

旅館の若旦那としてのお仕事は意味がある様に進んでいかないと駄目だと、思いました。

金井社長、有難うございました。

2nd of back-to-back-to-back seminars. This one was sponsored by the Nagano Prefecture Tourism Department. They had Kanai-san, the owner of Seni Onsen, give a talk.

Here in Nagano, we are fortunate to have many legendary inns and hotels. Of those, Seni Onsen is arguably the most-revered. Kanai-san does not often give interviews, so it was a unique opportunity to listen to his story.

And listen we did. The other inn proprietors and I hung on each and every word that came out of his mouth. "Guests have deep needs, so deep that they aren't even aware of them themselves. It is the role of us inns to attend to those needs and give healing to our guests' hearts and souls."

He really made me aware of the need to put meaning into my daily work as an innkeeper.

Thank you, Kanai-san!

仙仁温泉 Seni Onsen

The suave, sophisticated, and severe Watanabe-sensei

三日間連続のの講演の１つ目：　長野県旅館組合主催で経営コンサルタントの渡辺清一郎先生。ＢＳの読み方、銀行との対策、金融業界の最新の動き、等など。
亀清旅館は7年前に（私が後継ぎとして来たころ）借金が年間売り上げの約2倍でした。あれから露天風呂は3も作って、部屋や庭を少しずつ改造して、お陰様でお客様が増えてきました。同時に借金を順序に返して、今は借金と年間売り上げが逆転しました。
それでも、渡辺先生から注意点をたっぷり頂きました。県の旅館組合そして渡辺先生に感謝！

1st of 3 straight days of Seminars: ryokan business consultant Seiichiro Watanabe, sponsored by the Nagano Prefecture Ryokan Association.
Watanabe-sensei talked about Balance Sheet issues and how to deal with bank negotiations, as well as new developments in the financing industry.
When I first came to Kamesei Ryokan 7 years ago, the money we owed the banks was twice our annual revenues. Since then, thanks to building 3 outdoor baths and making improvements to the guestrooms and gardens, we've seen a gradual increase in guests. Meanwhile, we have been diligently paying back the banks. Now our debt and annual revenue figures are reversed.
Watanabe-sensei's talk still discussed many areas to be careful about. I am grateful for the Ryokan Association to sponsor the talk, and for Watanabe-sensei's knowledgeable advice.

戸倉上山田の商工青年部は我が亀清旅館で忘年会を開きました。自分もメンバーなので、参加させて頂きました。日本の「忘年会」の週間っていいですね。やはり、仲間と飲んで、盛り上がって、ワイルドになって、楽しむ必要がある。

このブログでいつも発信している様に、亀清旅館の宿つくり、戸倉上山田温泉の盛り上がり、長野県のインバウンド活動等々で真面目な日々がずっと続いています。今回の忘年会では思い切って、クレージーになりました。仕事は一生懸命だが、遊びも一生懸命。

The Togura-Kamiyamada Chamber of Commerce Junior Association held it's "End of the Year" party here at our inn, Kamesei Ryokan. As I am a member, I too participated. Japan's "Bonenkai" tradition is a great break from the daily rigamarole, and a time to cherish friendships.

In this blog, I write about my daily efforts running and making improvements here at Kamesei Roykan, as well as my efforts for our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada and Nagano Precture. This bonenkai, though, was a time to simply get a little crazy.

Getting a bit crazy at an "End of the Year" Party