鶴岡通訳案内士の会 CHAT CHAT / National Licensed Local Guides Tsuruoka, Japan

07/03/2026

Hands-on cooking experience! 🐟✨

As part of our study program, we visited a fish processing lab to learn about the local fishing culture, regional fish species, and how they are being branded for high-end restaurants.

Due to recent climate change, new types of fish are now being caught off the coast of Tsuruoka. At this lab, staff from the Yamagata Prefectural Government are researching how these fish can be utilized so that local fishermen can maintain a profitable and sustainable livelihood.

It was a great opportunity to learn how science, food culture, and local industry come together to support coastal communities.

We even made cookies using fish powder, rice flour, and safflower oil! They’re healthy not only for people, but also for dogs and cats 🐶🐱

Such a fun and unique hands-on experience!

#全国通訳案内士
#おいしい魚加工支援ラボ

20/07/2024

On July 15th, the annual festival called "Hanamatsuri" was held at the summit of Mt. Haguro in the precinct of Sanjingosaiden Shrine.

This festival is held every year on July 15th to pray for a good harvest without disasters during the rice flowering season.

The highlight of the festival is the parade of huge lanterns with hanging artificial flowers.

The crowds try to reach the flowers to grab one when it's tilted over their heads. It is said that those who are lucky enough to get a flower will receive blessings from the deities and be granted a bountiful harvest!

12/02/2024

The summit of Mt. Haguro in the dusk of a winter evening.

The ground is covered with snow, and the shrine building is surrounded by a snow fence.

Although it was already closed for the day when we arrived, we could still feel the sacred atmosphere in the silence.

20/01/2024

Very nice article about Tsuruoka City is now on Tokyo Weekender website! It talks about the only Black Madonna statue in Japan and some western style architectures from 19th century. The link is in the comment section👍

Tokyo Weekenderに鶴岡市の英語の記事が掲載されてます。日本で唯一の黒いマリア像や、擬洋風建築のことなど丁寧に書かれてます。
リンクはコメント欄から。

12/01/2024

/////Feel free to share this with SAKE lovers!/////

Sanno Sake Festival is going to be held on Saturday, January 27th and Tickets for Sake tasting event are now on sale!


2pm: The ritual to offer the newly brewed sake to the shrine starts at Sanno Hie Shrine, Tsuruoka City. (10 min walk from JR Tsuruoka Station.)

3pm: Sake tasting event starts in front of Sanno Yume Hotto, a two-storied building on the shopping street. (100m from the shrine.) There will be a jazz concert and rakugo performance, too!

Enjoy Sake with locals!

04/11/2023

豪華クルーズ船ダイヤモンドプリンセス💎の酒田寄港がありました。たくさんの外国人ゲストが訪れ、庄内各地の観光スポットを楽しんで行かれました。私たちも通訳案内士として、庄内の素晴らしい魅力をお伝えすべく、頑張って来ました😉❤️‍🔥

#ダイヤモンドプリンセス #酒田港 #酒田 #クルーズ船 #庄内地方 #鶴岡 #観光 #全国通訳案内士

11/09/2023

(English follows Japanese)

8月下旬、猛暑の中、スイスからのお客様を含む御一行様をガイドしました。致道博物館、刺し子、鶴岡カトリック教会など、庄内の豊かな文化をご紹介しながら私自身そのすばらしさを再認識するツアーでした。

・刺し子は身近にあるものですが、馴染みのない海外の方からみると芸術作品でもあり、その深い歴史背景も興味津々でした。
・日本では鶴岡カトリック教会にしかない黒いマリア像と畳敷きの教会の内部も感激していました。
・下池いっぱいに咲いていた蓮の花、これだけ咲いているのも他では中々みることができない光景のようです。

お昼も菜ぁ、アルケッチャーノでいただき、庄内を満喫していただけたのではないかと思います。

Welcomed a group of gentlemen including a guest from Switzerland in late August.

This tour helped me rediscover the rich culture of Shonai as I guided them to the Chido Museum, Tsuruoka Catholic Church, Sashiko Embroidery shop and more.

Highlights from the tour are
・Sashiko artisanship and its history
・The only Black Madonna statue in Japan
・Blooming Lotus flowers in Shimoike pond

And also the lunch we had at Naa and Al-che-cciano were very delicious, too!

17/08/2023

(英語のあとに日本語あり)

Another Haguro guide on a sunny and muggy day in Tsuruoka.

The national treasure Five-Storied Pagoda is now under repair and it's surrounded by scaffolding. Too bad that you can't see the whole view but let's put it this way, the repair is only done once every 20-year, so you are lucky to see it!

羽黒でアメリカからのお客様のガイドをしてきました。
蒸し暑い日の2446段上り下りはきつかった！

国宝五重塔は修復工事のため足場に覆われて全景を見ることはできません。が、20年に一度の工事と考えれば、この姿を見れるのも珍しい体験かもしれませんね。

11/08/2023

(English follows Japanese)
インバウンドのお客様より、仏教に関心があってハスの花を見たいというご要望あり、大山下池に蓮の花の刈り取りを見に行ってきました。

今年は上池ではなく下池の方がよく咲いているとのこと。
その場で花と葉っぱも直売しているので、ちらほら毎年買いに来られる方がいらして、「また来年の～」と言って帰っていきました。

近隣の田んぼの水量と池の水量にも関係があり、水量によってハスの育ちも違うそうです。水量が少ない時は水底まで日が射すので育ちが早く、逆に水量が多いと育つのに時間がかかります。
ほとりあの方にお話をきいたら、江戸時代から続く浮草組合さんだけがハスのを刈り取る権利があり、世襲制だそうです。現在は文化継承の意図の方が強いとのこと。毎年行われているこの作業、是非続いていって欲しいです。

Blooming lotus flowers in Oyama Shimoike Pond.

There was a request from an inbound customer who was interested in Buddhism and wanted to see lotus flowers, so here I am, checking how they are blooming.

In this pond, lotus flowers and leaves are being harvested every year on August 10th and 11th to be offered to Buddhist alter for Obon rituals. Anyone can buy them directly on the spot.

The Ukikusa Association, which has been around since the Edo period, has the exclusive right to harvest the lotus here. The association keeps hereditary system, and its purpose nowadays is to pass on the culture.

02/08/2023

02/08/2023