Walking around in Kawagoe: 川越散歩
Writer: Ichibay
執筆：いちべー
On December 23, I went to Kawagoe City. At the location where the defunct Kagamiyama Brewery was operating before, there are some buildings with whitewashed walls, which used to be used by the company as facilities of sake brewing. These premises have been converted to a commercial establishment named Koedo Kurari. In this sophisticated place, you can eat food at the restaurant or enjoy shopping.
12月23日、川越に行く。旧鏡山酒造跡地は、元の酒蔵の建物を改造した、小江戸蔵里（くらり）という商業施設が出来ていた。食事や買い物ができる、しゃれた感じの場所だ。
I think, already having the beautiful street flanked by kura buildings and other old buildings and the Kashiya Yokocho (Confection Side-street), Kawagoe will be more interesting city due to the start of its operation of Kurari.
いいね～、菓子屋横丁や、蔵の町の他に、またまた、川越が楽しくなる要素が増えたではないか。
Well, I thought I would visit Kurari at the next chance, and I headed for Cafe Elevato. This cafe is often used as a meeting spot for us when we come to Kawagoe. Two friends of mine were already having coffee or tea when I enter the restaurant.
だが、蔵里には、また、別の機会にゆっくり来ることにしよう。この日は、とりあえずカフェ・エレバートに向かった。ここは、川越に来た場合、なんとなく仲間うちの待ち合わせ場所的なスポットになっている。ここで、すでにお茶をしていたkisaさん、苺ちゃんに合流。
I ordered some vegetable chips and pastrami and draft beer, Coedo Beer Kyara, which was Kawagoe's beer I enjoyed after a long time. Naturally, the friends also ordered beer and we enjoyed drinking each drink.
そこで、私は、パストラミなんちゃらと野菜チップス、それに、COEDOビール伽羅の生大ジョッキを注文。久々に味わう川越のビールで喉を潤す。必然的に、kisaさんと苺ちゃんも、それぞれ、ビールの紅赤、漆黒といった種類を注文。
Then, we moved to Kamonrakuza, a direct selling sake shop of Koedo Kagamiyama Shuzo. There, I purchased Kagamiyama Junmai Shiboritate Nama (pure rice, just-pressed, unpasteurized sake).
その後、小江戸鏡山酒造の醸ん楽座（かもんらくざ）に移動し、例の酒造巡りのスタンプラリーのスタンプを獲得。ついでに、鏡山純米のしぼりたて生を購入。
Around this time of the year, several types of just-pressed, unpasteurized sake including junmai ginjo and junmai are displayed and sold in the refrigerator. In the same refrigerator, there were bottles labeled as "Mutoka Nama Genshu," but I wondered what difference was between "Muroka Nama Genshu" and "Shiboritate." So, I asked the shop clerk about the difference. She answered that "Muroka Nama Genshu" was made from rice harvested last year. I thought this meant that the sake was made at the end of last year or early in this year and aged until this winter. However, I was wrong.
今の時季、醸ん楽座では純米吟醸や、純米のしぼりたてが、冷蔵庫内に並べられて販売されている。同じ冷蔵庫内には、無濾過生原酒などもある。「無濾過生原酒」というのは、しぼりたてとどう違うのだろう？とふと疑問に思って店員に聞いた。「無濾過生原酒」は去年の米で作った酒だという。といことは、昨年度の醸造年度の酒かと思ったが、どうもそういうことでもないらしい。
When I was asking further details about the sake, a worker of this brewery happened to come in the shop, and kindly gave me a clear explanation.
店員さんに、いろいろ突っ込んだ質問をしていると、そこに、丁度、蔵の人がやってきて、いろいろ説明してくれた。
He explained that they kept rice harvested in the autumn of last year in their refrigerator and used it in this autumn to make this sake. Koedo Kagamiyama Shuzo is a very small brewery and they do not have a sufficient refrigerating installation, and they do not age winter-made sake over the summer season until the next autumn. A small microbrewery has its own challenges to overcome, which larger companies do not have.
昨年の秋に収穫された米を冷蔵庫に保存しておき、この米で、今年の秋に仕込んだものだとのこと。小江戸鏡山酒造は、小さな蔵で冷蔵設備も不十分なので、冬に造った酒を冷蔵庫で熟成させて一夏越して出荷するようなことはやっていないらしい。小さな蔵は、いろいろ大変なのだね。
Then, my friends, who were all women, headed for a kimono shop Tsuruya, while I decided to have a sole walk along the Taisho Roman Yume Dori Street and Crea Mall, since I was not interested in shopping in the kimono shop very much.
ここで、女衆は着物のつるやさんに、向かっていったので、私は一人、大正浪漫夢通りからクレアモール方面を散策してみた。
On the Taisho Roman Yume Dori Street, I was interested in a coffee shop. This coffee shop named Taishokan serves home-roasted coffee. From the outside, I saw two women in decent white-and-black uniforms were working in the coffee shop, which has an old-fashioned atmosphere.
大正浪漫夢通りでは、そこにある喫茶店が気になった。大正館という自家焙煎の喫茶店だ。外からちらと覗くと、ちょっとメイドっぽい服装の女性従業員が２名ほど働いている。古風な大正の香りの漂う店である。
I came in the coffee shop and ordered Ishigama coffee. There were a few customers and I could enjoy a cozy time. The home-roasted coffee was nice. Above all, a warm smile of a waitress made me relaxed. After killing some time there, I got out of the coffee shop and started walking toward the Crea Mall.
中に入って、石窯コーヒーというのを注文する。客もそんなに多くなく、ゆっくりとくつろげるいい喫茶店だ。自家焙煎のコーヒーが旨いし、なにしろ女性店員の笑顔がいい。しばらくここで時間をつぶすと、クレアモールの方にまた歩き出す。
I got to the kimono shop Tsuruya and stayed there for a short time, and then moved to Cafe Pachanga. It was around three o'clock, when the Christmas gathering of kimono lovers was just about to start.
着物のつるやさんにちょっと寄り道したあと、ちょうど３時頃に一軒家カフェパチャンガに到着した。３時から、着物でのクリスマスパーティーがあったのだ。
執筆：いちべー
On December 23, I went to Kawagoe City. At the location where the defunct Kagamiyama Brewery was operating before, there are some buildings with whitewashed walls, which used to be used by the company as facilities of sake brewing. These premises have been converted to a commercial establishment named Koedo Kurari. In this sophisticated place, you can eat food at the restaurant or enjoy shopping.
12月23日、川越に行く。旧鏡山酒造跡地は、元の酒蔵の建物を改造した、小江戸蔵里（くらり）という商業施設が出来ていた。食事や買い物ができる、しゃれた感じの場所だ。
I think, already having the beautiful street flanked by kura buildings and other old buildings and the Kashiya Yokocho (Confection Side-street), Kawagoe will be more interesting city due to the start of its operation of Kurari.
いいね～、菓子屋横丁や、蔵の町の他に、またまた、川越が楽しくなる要素が増えたではないか。
Well, I thought I would visit Kurari at the next chance, and I headed for Cafe Elevato. This cafe is often used as a meeting spot for us when we come to Kawagoe. Two friends of mine were already having coffee or tea when I enter the restaurant.
だが、蔵里には、また、別の機会にゆっくり来ることにしよう。この日は、とりあえずカフェ・エレバートに向かった。ここは、川越に来た場合、なんとなく仲間うちの待ち合わせ場所的なスポットになっている。ここで、すでにお茶をしていたkisaさん、苺ちゃんに合流。
I ordered some vegetable chips and pastrami and draft beer, Coedo Beer Kyara, which was Kawagoe's beer I enjoyed after a long time. Naturally, the friends also ordered beer and we enjoyed drinking each drink.
そこで、私は、パストラミなんちゃらと野菜チップス、それに、COEDOビール伽羅の生大ジョッキを注文。久々に味わう川越のビールで喉を潤す。必然的に、kisaさんと苺ちゃんも、それぞれ、ビールの紅赤、漆黒といった種類を注文。
Then, we moved to Kamonrakuza, a direct selling sake shop of Koedo Kagamiyama Shuzo. There, I purchased Kagamiyama Junmai Shiboritate Nama (pure rice, just-pressed, unpasteurized sake).
その後、小江戸鏡山酒造の醸ん楽座（かもんらくざ）に移動し、例の酒造巡りのスタンプラリーのスタンプを獲得。ついでに、鏡山純米のしぼりたて生を購入。
Around this time of the year, several types of just-pressed, unpasteurized sake including junmai ginjo and junmai are displayed and sold in the refrigerator. In the same refrigerator, there were bottles labeled as "Mutoka Nama Genshu," but I wondered what difference was between "Muroka Nama Genshu" and "Shiboritate." So, I asked the shop clerk about the difference. She answered that "Muroka Nama Genshu" was made from rice harvested last year. I thought this meant that the sake was made at the end of last year or early in this year and aged until this winter. However, I was wrong.
今の時季、醸ん楽座では純米吟醸や、純米のしぼりたてが、冷蔵庫内に並べられて販売されている。同じ冷蔵庫内には、無濾過生原酒などもある。「無濾過生原酒」というのは、しぼりたてとどう違うのだろう？とふと疑問に思って店員に聞いた。「無濾過生原酒」は去年の米で作った酒だという。といことは、昨年度の醸造年度の酒かと思ったが、どうもそういうことでもないらしい。
When I was asking further details about the sake, a worker of this brewery happened to come in the shop, and kindly gave me a clear explanation.
店員さんに、いろいろ突っ込んだ質問をしていると、そこに、丁度、蔵の人がやってきて、いろいろ説明してくれた。
He explained that they kept rice harvested in the autumn of last year in their refrigerator and used it in this autumn to make this sake. Koedo Kagamiyama Shuzo is a very small brewery and they do not have a sufficient refrigerating installation, and they do not age winter-made sake over the summer season until the next autumn. A small microbrewery has its own challenges to overcome, which larger companies do not have.
昨年の秋に収穫された米を冷蔵庫に保存しておき、この米で、今年の秋に仕込んだものだとのこと。小江戸鏡山酒造は、小さな蔵で冷蔵設備も不十分なので、冬に造った酒を冷蔵庫で熟成させて一夏越して出荷するようなことはやっていないらしい。小さな蔵は、いろいろ大変なのだね。
Then, my friends, who were all women, headed for a kimono shop Tsuruya, while I decided to have a sole walk along the Taisho Roman Yume Dori Street and Crea Mall, since I was not interested in shopping in the kimono shop very much.
ここで、女衆は着物のつるやさんに、向かっていったので、私は一人、大正浪漫夢通りからクレアモール方面を散策してみた。
On the Taisho Roman Yume Dori Street, I was interested in a coffee shop. This coffee shop named Taishokan serves home-roasted coffee. From the outside, I saw two women in decent white-and-black uniforms were working in the coffee shop, which has an old-fashioned atmosphere.
大正浪漫夢通りでは、そこにある喫茶店が気になった。大正館という自家焙煎の喫茶店だ。外からちらと覗くと、ちょっとメイドっぽい服装の女性従業員が２名ほど働いている。古風な大正の香りの漂う店である。
I came in the coffee shop and ordered Ishigama coffee. There were a few customers and I could enjoy a cozy time. The home-roasted coffee was nice. Above all, a warm smile of a waitress made me relaxed. After killing some time there, I got out of the coffee shop and started walking toward the Crea Mall.
中に入って、石窯コーヒーというのを注文する。客もそんなに多くなく、ゆっくりとくつろげるいい喫茶店だ。自家焙煎のコーヒーが旨いし、なにしろ女性店員の笑顔がいい。しばらくここで時間をつぶすと、クレアモールの方にまた歩き出す。
I got to the kimono shop Tsuruya and stayed there for a short time, and then moved to Cafe Pachanga. It was around three o'clock, when the Christmas gathering of kimono lovers was just about to start.
着物のつるやさんにちょっと寄り道したあと、ちょうど３時頃に一軒家カフェパチャンガに到着した。３時から、着物でのクリスマスパーティーがあったのだ。