What's so special about Ueda ? 長野大学から上田周辺観光について国際情報 International Information about Ueda Area Tourism From University

Issue No. 1 January 2010

[History] The park was the palace of the in ancient times. As we all know, the Tokugawa clan, later ruler of , attacked twice, but was repelled by the Sanada clan, who ruled the Ueda region at that time. So the Sanada clan are the heroes of the Ueda. In order to commemorate Yukimura Sanada, every year the local people hold some festivals to commemorate him. The park is famous as a historic castle park [Cherry festival] In Ueda Castle Park there are about 1000 cherry trees. Every year people all over Japan come to Ueda Castle Park to see the cherry trees flower in April. They call it “festival of a thousand cherry trees.” They eat and drink under the cherry trees. There also are performances by local people; they sing and dance to welcome the tourists. [Maple festival] And in November, some maple trees turn red and some turn yellow. The maple festival comes in fall. The castle is covered by the red and yellow maple trees, there are many performances to celebrate the maple festival. For example you can try to wear the suit of armour of the Sanada clan to experience their heroic manner. [ Ueda City Museum] In this museum, you can see a lot of documents about the history, folk customs and nature of Ueda after the Middle Ages. The characteristic collection of this museum is the armour of the Ueda ruler in each dynasty, and the documents about the way of raising cicada. Reference:http://museum.umic.ueda.nagano.jp/hakubutsukan/gaiyou/gaiyou.html [Kanae Yamamoto Memorial Art Museum] The museum is named after an artist called Yamamoto. He is an artist of western painting. And he guided the famer art campaign in the age of Taisho (大正). In order to commemorate him the local people built the Kanae Yamamoto Memorial Art Museum. Yamamoto’s art painting and wooded handicraft art are collected in this museum. Reference:http://museum.umic.ueda.nagano.jp /kanae/kinenkan/kinenkan.html © Wang Pai/Photos by Wang January 2010 1

Park at Shinano-Kokubunji Ruins （信濃国分寺史跡公園）

This is a historic national interest. It is near Kokubunji Station. The Kokubunji temple was described in an imperial edict proclaimed by Emperor Shomu in 741(Nara Era) as “a temple with a pagoda which is a symbol of the nation. Thus the site should be chosen and maintained eternally” complying with this edict. The finest site had to be chosen in each province for Kokubunji temples and in the province of Shinano it was Ueda city. As the result of excavations from 1963 to 1971, the existence of a middle gate, main hall, lecture condor, pagoda, monks’ living quarters, and earthen wall called “Tsuiji-bei” (築 地塀), nuns’ living quarters, document archive and north gate have been confirmed or can be assumed.

Manyo botanical garden (万葉植物園) Manyo Syu（万葉集） is the oldest poem book in Japan. Plants that are mentioned in the poetry are planted here in the park. You can see ancient poems and plants. You can understand what ancient people thought when they looked at plants. In fall, colored leaves are very beautiful.

Bag Wisteria (カバンの藤) In spring, wisterias bloom. There are wisteria trellises. It is called, "wisterias of the bag" because a banker brought seedlings in bags from his hometown in the past.

Ueda Municipal Shinano-Kokubunji Archaeological Museum (上田市立信濃国分寺史跡博物館 ) There is an archaeological museum of Shinano Kokubunji in the park. The museum facility was built in the park in 1980. (Opening hours: A.M.8:30~P.M.5:00. Closed days: every Wednesday, holidays and December 29 ~January 3.) © Ayaka Kaneko /Photos by Kaneko January 2010 2 Park and Wooded Area in Ueda Kogane Zawa (黄金沢) and Shinden Park (新田公園)

(Kogane Zawa and cherry trees) (A small ground)

Kogane Zawa Kogane Zawa is a stream. People living in Ueda think it is an important place. It runs from Mt.Taro in the northern part of Ueda. “Kogane Zawa” originates from yellow ironstones. Those were gotten around here in the past. Those look like gold. In Japanese, “kogane” means “gold.” In spring, we can enjoy looking at cherry blossoms there. It is one of the popular cherry blossoms places, but people who are not living in Ueda do not know it is a cherry blossoms place. People have lunch and talk with family under the trees when the cherry blossoms are at their best in full bloom. There is a small ground when we climb up the hill. Children enjoy playing baseball or dodge ball there because Kogane Zawa is beside an elementary school. Students at the school enjoy the cherry blossom with classmates there, too. (Kogane Zawa Stream)

3 In the photo below is the elementary school and the “flower road” that the students made. We can see beautiful flowers. In summer, children come to the stream to play in the water. There are small crabs in the water. Senior citizens keep themselves cool by reading books and talking with friends in the shade of cherry trees. The leaves turn yellow in autumn. The landscape is so beautiful. Children collect fallen leaves, and enjoy cooking sweet potatoes in small fires made with the leaves. In winter, the stream freezes over. Kogane Zawa becomes a dangerous place in winter because it is wet and slippery. We must be careful, but the snowscape is mysterious. When it snows, white color is everywhere.

Shinden Park Shinden Park is near Kogane Zawa.There are benches and playground equipment. Parents and children come there on fine days. Then, children play on the playground equipment, and parents enjoy talking with other children’s parents on the benches.

I think Kogane Zawa and Shinden Park are connected with lives of people in Ueda City.

(Elementary school and flower road)

How to get there: We can go straight up from Ueda station. You will find the elementary school on the right side after walking about 30 minutes.

(Shinden Park) ©Ayaka Kaneko/Photos by Kaneko January 2010 4 Nagaike Park (長池公園)

Nagaike Park is next to Ueda Sozokan. It is a big park. There are a gate ball area and a water place. The park was built in 1986. The land at the park was reclaimed from a reservoir. The name of the reservoir was “Nagaike,” so the name of this park is Nagaike Park. Many events are held by Ueda Sozokan here. So, a lot of families come to enjoy the activities. For example, we can look up at the starry sky and see shooting stars in the park at night. In the gate ball place, elderly people enjoy playing gate ball. Gate ball is a popular sport among the elderly people.

Gate ball area

The name of the water place is Seseragi Hiroba. In summer, water flows and makes an artificial waterfall. Children play with water. Children play on the playground. It’s a big playground. There are slides and swings. Their mothers enjoy talking with other mothers on the benches. Seseragi Hiroba (せせらぎ広場)

There are a library and a planetarium in Ueda Sozokan. We can read books and see stars there. There are seminars and personal computer classes, too. The planetarium in Ueda Sozokan is beautiful. It changes the story by the season. It is interesting. The planetarium is open on Saturday and Sunday. (See information about the Sozokan by Li Xiaochen on page 6.)

Playground The park is seven minutes by car from Sugadaira IC. There is a parking area. You can also take the Bessho Line from Ueda Station to Akasaka Station. When you get off at Akasaka Station, You can walk to Ueda Sozokan from there in ten minutes. (See the map on page 6.)

© Ayaka Kaneko/Photos by Kaneko January 2010 5 Ueda Sozokan On the first floor of the Sozokan, there is a culture hall on the left. The culture hall exhibition room is a place where films, music, drama and other things are shown. The room can accommodate 500 people. On the right, there is a material room for folk customs. The room displays items from the life of people in Ueda city between the Tayisyou (大正) Era and the Syowa (昭和) Era. On the second floor, there are an art museum and a community hall. The art museum displays some pictures and carvings. The community hall has two rooms. Both of them are meeting rooms for research, study or other things. There are a hearing and viewing room for seeing films and studying on the third floor. Next to it, there is a library. You can read books there or borrow some books. Behind the library, there is a study room. I always go there to study on the weekend.

(Sozokan Entrance) (Behind the Sozokan)

There is astronomy dome in the fourth floor. The room can accept 120 people. The starlit sky of the four seasons can be projected in the room. There are a science experimentation room and a computer room in this floor. Next to the main building, there is a gymnasium. The gymnasium can be used by citizens. But before using the gymnasium, you must reserve it at least 10 days before. Beautiful Nagaike Park is next to the Sozokan.

Ueda Sozokan （上田創造館） Open: A.M.9:00~P.M.10:00. Closed December 29 ~January 3 If you go there by train, you can take the Bessho train line and get off at Akasaka Station If you go by car, you can take route18 and there is sign for the Sozokan on the road. Ueda Sozokan is next to Nagaike Park(長池公園). (See information about Nagaike Park by Ayaka Kaneko on page 5.) References: http://www.area.ueda.nagano.jp/sozokan/ http://museum-dir.jst.go.jp/20-903/20-903.htm ©Li Xiaochen/Photos by Li January 2010 6 Tyousou (超誓) Temple

Tyousou temple is not too big, so you cannot find it quickly. My apartment is near the temple. But, I did not find it in the beginning. One morning, when I was still in bed, I heard the

ring of the bell. The bell was in the temple. So I found the temple finally. Sometimes, you can hear the ring of the bell when people strike the bell. In the age of Muromachi Bakufu,（室町幕府 1336～1573）the 12th shogun was Asikaga Yosiharu.(足利義晴) His vassal wasTyousou(超誓道俊,改名前は浦和式部大輔道俊). When he lived in the Kabatake (神畑) district of Ueda City in , he carved the Amitabha（阿弥 陀尊） After he died, the hermitage and clay figure were ruined by wind and rain. So, in 1568, the villagers there built a temple to protect them. The temple was called Tyousou. In the history of Japan between the middle ages to modern times, the warrior class controlled the country. Lots of warriors fought for control of the highest power of Japan. In 1336, Asikaga Takauji built the Muromachi Bakufu. In1792, all of the temple was burned. In1843, the temple was rebuilt. Today, behind the temple is Terashita Station of the Bessho train line. The origin of the station’s name came from the temple. It means “below the temple.” Near the temple is the public hall of the Kabatake district.

You can take the Bessho train line and get off at Terashita Station.

Reference: http://webcse.pit-nagano.ac.jp/presotsu2007/a2/tera/tyoukei.html http://www.asama.ne.jp/t_journal/tera/f70.htm © Li Xiaochen/Photos by Li January 2010 7 Green Park

Green Park is in Shioda near Uedahara. Last year I went there for the first time and I thought it is the best place of Ueda City for markets. As there are many different shops and businesses, people can find what they need easily, and it is not necessary to search in different places.

In Green Park, the popular shop, a 100 yen shop, DAISO, is in the corner. People can find there different kinds of kitchen goods, foods, decoration goods, gardening goods, etc., which have the price of 100 yen .Some other kinds of goods are also available there. These kinds of goods are priced as 200 yen, 300 yen or more. There are different designs of goods, so that you can choose your preferred designs. It is a very convenient and cheap shop.. HOME BAZAR is another shop. There are many different kinds of goods as in DAISO. But it is not a 100 yen shop. I think it is a rather cheap shop compared to others. The products are also good quality. For example, there are dresses in different designs. There is AOKI for men’s wear. Many different styles of suits and clothes are available. HEIANDO is the book shop which is located at the corner of Green Park next to Daiso. In HEIANDO there are different kinds of books like course books, magazines, comics, informational books etc. There are also CDs and DVDs, too. There are some restaurants and hair salons next to HEIANDO and also AUTO SERVICE. As most people drive cars, they need services like changing tires in summer and winter, car washing, etc. at an economic price. These services can be fulfilled in AUTO SERVICE in Green Park. There is a Gasoline Stand outside Green Park, so people can get gasoline for their vehicles there easily. So, Green Park is the very convenient place for people living in Ueda City. © Shakya Sulochana/Photos by Sulochana January 2010 8

I found the shop by accident. One day I took the train to go home and when I was waiting for the train in Ueda Station I felt a little hungry. Then, on the first floor, on the left side of the escalator, I found a small soba shop. I was so happy to find it and I ate one kind of the sobas. To my surprise it was very delicious. So I want to introduce this special shop to everyone. If you are interested in it, go and eat it!

The name of the shop is Chikuma Soba [ちくま そば処]. It is too small to accommodate more than 10 people. The owner of the shop is very friendly and when I was eating she talked a lot with me. According to what she told me, I know that the small shop has been there for 13 years and the sign of the shop is “rokumonsen” (六文銭). This is the sign of the Sanada clan. is the hero of Ueda, in order to commemorate him, you can see the 六文銭 everywhere in Ueda. And the shop’s main management idea is also based on that. It means that you can eat the delicious soba for only one coin.

“Sweet taste” is the main feature of this soba shop. And on the wall of the shop there are a lot of plaques signed by a lot of famous people in the local area.

The shop is so small that many people who live in Ueda may not know it. But if you want to know more about the Japanese food culture, I think it is really a very good place to go.

© Wang Pai/Photos by Wang January 2010 9 Oyaki Oyaki is a traditional food which is similar to a steamed bun. The flour is made from wheat, and it is filled with vegetables, fruit, adzuki beans and other things. In many areas in Nagano, the weather is too cold and the landform is too steep to plant rice. However wheat is very easy to plant in Nagano. In the old times, the technology for agriculture was less advanced than today. In Nagano, there were a lot of areas where farmers planted wheat. The food which was made from wheat flour was very common in the old time. Today, Oyaki is a well-known local food in Nagano. Oyaki is connected with the local agricultural production. The food needed to make Oyaki comes from the local farmers. I want to introduce the shop which sells Oyaki as an example of connecting with local business. The shop is called Oyaki studio of the Roman group in the Syokusayikan. The Syokusayikan is a direct sale place in where people sell vegetables, fruit, rice ,flowers and other things. The Syokusayikan is in Sugadaira IC in Ueda City. All of food in the Syokusayikan comes from the local farms. The Roman group was built by women who want to contribute their power to the local agriculture. In Ueda city, there is a bridge named Roman. Roman means dream in German. The Roman group used this idea; they had a dream that they wanted to promote the local agriculture. How to make Oyaki First, put the wheat, water, baking powder, sugar together and then knead them. Second, tear the kneaded wheat off one by one. The size of torn wheat is about the size of an egg. Open it and add an ingredient in the amount that you can wrap up. At last, steam the Oyaki. The time of steaming the Oyaki must be according to the ingredient. If the ingredient is vegetables, you must steam the Oyaki about 14 minutes. If the ingredient is fruit or adzuki bean, you must steam the Oyaki about 12 minutes. In this shop, there are Oyaki filled with vegetables, dried strips of radish, apples, miso and eggplant.

Reference: http://www.city.ueda.nagano.jp/hp/ht/norin/2005022215 4702376.html

© Li Xiaochen/Photos by Li January 2010 10 Indian Restaurants in Ueda

Restaurants are the place for eating and drinking and people enjoy different kinds of food and drinks. As it is not possible making different tastes at home, people go out to have fun in the restaurants. It is very possible to have foods from different countries in the different restaurants. And the staffs manage the systems to serve foods according to the guests` orders. Mostly busy people, tourists, travelers and sometimes those people who arrange together to meet for their fun and enjoyment go to have a good lunch or dinner or have a drink in the bars in the restaurants.

In Ueda City, there are many kinds of restaurants and bars, buffets, etc. For instance, Chinese restaurants for Chinese meals, Sushi Ondos and Khappasushi for Japanese traditional foods, Indian restaurants for Indian foods, especially curries and Naan. When we say “Indian foods,” people first image naan and curry, then parathas, samosas etc.

In Ueda City, I found four Indian restaurants: Anondo, Jaipur, Masala and Aram restaurants. Jaipur restaurant is the oldest one, whereas Masala, and Anondo have been open for four or five years, and the Aram just opened in Bypass street on the way to Sugadaira IC. Here, I am introducing Anondo and Aram Indian Restaurants.

ANONDO RESTAURANT Anondo restaurant is on route18 near Bypass 141. It is the restaurant with a buffet. As the prices are very economical for lunch and dinner, (800Yen and 1300Yen respectively), most of the people enjoy the buffet. People could taste the four different kinds of curries (Vegetable, Chicken, Seafood, and Beans), raw vegetables salad, rice and naan. At last they serve a special Indian milk tea called “CHAYA”. It`s a real delicious taste of India.

ARAM RESTAURANT

The speciality of Aram restaurant is Bengali foods. Here in this restaurant people can enjoy the good taste of Bengali foods such as Biryani, Kabab, Chicken Tikka, Parathas etc. And people also can choose vegetarian or non vegetarian lunch and dinner menu for a reasonable price.The lunch menu is a set of vegetarian or non vegetarian curry, naan or rice, Soshar rita or green salad and a drink. The dinner menu is the same as lunch, but papad, chicken tikka, chat and kabab are also included.

© Shakya Sulochana/Photos by Sulochana January 2010

11 NLC （Nagano Language College 長野外語カレッジ） My School

I came to Japan for further study of Japanese Language. I studied Japanese Language for one and half years in Nagano Language College which is located in Ueda-City.

Nagano Language College is located in Chuo, Ueda City, and is a 15 minute walk from JR Ueda Station. Nagano Language College is a part of ISI (International Study Institute) groups. More than 10 foreign countries’ people have been studying Japanese language.

The purpose of NLC is to assist foreign students to prepare for further study in Universities, for vocational trainings, and for work. There are many students who study Japanese well and are later admitted in different universities all over Japan. Some also could get work in Japanese companies.

NLC makes a good effort for all students not only for the studies but also for part time job, so that students can easily live in Ueda. And the school also takes care of students in such a way that all students are as their children.

I am very impressed that the school is like a family. I think, it is great to have such a school in Ueda. This school makes Ueda an attractive place for people who want to learn Japanese language and culture in Japan. The students at this school are increasing.

NLC is playing a great role with Ueda citizens by organizing the cultural exchange programs for students and citizens. So that Japanese citizens and students can talk and interact easily with each other. I think I am very lucky to have had a great chance to study there.

専門学校 長野外語カレッジ 386‐0012 長野県上田市中央 3‐5‐18 電話番号 0268‐23‐7220 Website: www.isi.ac.jp/nlc/

© Shakya Sulochana/Photos by Sulochana January 2010 12

Nagano University was built in 1966. It was situated in Nagano prefecture Ueda City Shimonogo Township. It is a private university. At Nagano University students can study in 3 faculties―the Faculty of Social Welfare, the Faculty of Tourism and Environmental Studies and the Faculty of Business Information. In every faculty, student autonomy, small classes and cutting edge equipment provide an environment which fosters effective study.

[Library] The library has 2 floors. The first floor has Reading Room shelves, AV Corner and Regional Library. About 140,000 books and 1200 kinds of Magazines are collected in this library. On the 2nd floor there are reading rooms and group study rooms. On weekdays the opening time is 8:30～21:00. On Saturday it is opened from 8:30 to 15:00. Sundays and Holidays it is closed.

[Canteen] The canteen was remodeled and reopened. The menu is richer than before but also as cheap as before. The design of the entrance to the canteen is a cocoon. The design comes from the time in history when Ueda City was famous for its silk industry and silkworms. There are 344 seats. If you sit on the new wood deck terrace, you can eat while feeling the beautiful nature.

[International Center] The International Center is working for the overseas students who study in Nagano University. The staff members of the International Center do their best to help the overseas students not only about study but also about life.

Nagano University Website: http://www.nagano.ac.jp/

© Wang Pai/Photos by Wang January 2010 13 About Us… The students who contributed to this issue are studying Tourism, Environment, History, Information and Media and Management. Many of them are preparing for international careers. Some of them are international students from outside of Japan. All of them are combining their study and experience with communication skills in more than one language. This pamphlet is a project of Prof. Simmons upper level English students at Nagano University. English is only one part, students are applying research skills to study local and international culture, history and business and they are using their communication, presentation and design skills in order to contribute to the Ueda community through information that helps you experience “our” Ueda.

Messages from the Authors 李小臣 Li Xiaochen (Faculty of Social Science) I have lived Ueda city for two years. I will graduate from Nagano University next month. At that time, I will leave Ueda City. Now I want to say I like Ueda city because I know it. Ueda city is not a big place, but it is a natural place. The people of Ueda city are not too busy, they are very friendly. So, if you want to relax, welcome to Ueda City. Wang Pai (Faculty of Business and Information) I came to Ueda in March this year, At first I thought it was just a common town which is quiet and small. But while living in Ueda, I found many interesting places. For example, the Castle Park. But at that time I didn't know who Sanada Yukimura was. By visiting the Castle Park I learned the history about Sanada Yukimura, the hero of Ueda. I think it is very meaningful if you can learn something while you are traveling. So, in order to make Ueda known to more people, I worked with Professor Simmons and my classmates, and we wrote about some interesting places and things. Thank you for reading the pamphlet.

Ayaka Kaneko (Faculty of Tourism and Environmental Studies) I was born in Ueda an I have lived in Ueda. I discovered some unknown scenery in Ueda. I overlooked it because until now I thought it was usual, and in my view it is very beautiful. My theme is “Parks and Wooded Areas of Ueda”. I think, parks and wooded areas are strongly connected with living people. There are many parks in Ueda. So, I want living people to use parks. I want to visit parks that I haven’t gone to yet.

Sulochana Shakya (Faculty of Business and Information) Ueda City is a peaceful town full of nature’s beauty, surrounded by hills and flowing rivers. Ueda is a famous place for historical sites like Ueda Castle and historical temples such as Kitamukhi Khan, Anrakuji and Bessou , etc. There are also many other special things which make Ueda city attractive, even though such places are not popular for sightseeing, but they are very necessary for daily life, including for tourists and foreign students. I want the people to visit Ueda not only for popular things but also to understand these special things.

See our translation project from July 2009 – cooperation with Ueda City (Tourism Section) (2009, spring semester, Nagano University, English VII students– Ayaka Kaneko and Li Xiaochen participated) English site : http://www.ueda-cb.gr.jp/s-wars/index-e.html Chinese site: http://www.ueda-cb.gr.jp/s-wars/index-c.html 14 International Information about Ueda Area Tourism January 2010 Issue No. 1 It’s easy to find the famous places to see when you visit a new place. Sometimes it is not so easy to find your way to the home town of the people who live in the place. We want to try to introduce you to the Ueda people’s home town. Places which are not famous can be very interesting, and even the famous places have a special meaning for each visitor. The information here will tell you a little bit about the Ueda that is special to us.

Contents Ueda Castle Park 1 Park at Shinano Kokubunji Ruins 2 Kogane Zawa and Shinden Park 3 Nagaike Park 5 Ueda Sozokan 6 Tyousou Temple 7 Green Park 8 The Soba Shop 9 Oyaki 10 Indian Restaurants in Ueda 11 Japanese Language School (NLC) 12 Nagano University 13 About Us 14

Nagano University Faculty of Tourism and Environmental Studies Shimonogo 658-1, Ueda City 386-1298 Nagano, Japan http://www.nagano.ac.jp/ http://www.nagano.ac.jp/faculty/kankyo/index.html

Compositions by students in English VIII with majors in Tourism-Environment and Business-Information. Photos: Back cover photos by Kaneko Front cover lower photo by Wang Front cover upper photos by Simmons

© M. Simmons (and English VIII Students) [email protected]