About fifty years ago on a cold winter day, the grandfather of the current
proprietor of "Ryuusenkaku" was walking in the mountains of Arima
when he suddenly spotted a den of snakes rolled up in coils. The grandfather
thought, "Snakes are supposed to be hibernating in the middle of winter.
This must mean that there is a hot spring here!"
He dug a hole at that place where he had seen the snakes and a bountiful
quantity of hot water gushed from the ground like a spring. He decided
to build a Japanese inn on that spot, and had wanted to name the inn "Snake
Spring Inn" in honor of the snakes, but all of his family members
were adamantly against it saying, "That's a frightening name; it has
a bad meaning."
Finally, having been discouraged from his first choice, the grandfather
began thinking of something similar to a snake that brings good luck and
dwells in the heavens. He decided on a dragon and named the inn "Ryuusenkaku,"
or Dragon Spring Inn. No one knows quite when it happened, but sometime
after that, the symbol of the inn changed from a dragon to an adorable
seahorse. Incidentally, at the foot of the mountain on which Ryuusenkaku
was built with its excellent view, there is a river called "Snake
Valley River" flowing through the gorge.
From now and forever, we would like to continue with the grandfather's
thoughts by preserving and nurturing Motoyu Ryuusenkaku and not forget
the "Two Gods and Three Crows" or the "Three Patrons of
Arima" as we strive for the continued prosperity of Arima Onsen. |
