松井：九州の長崎まで来て、雪に降られるとは、とんだ番狂わせね。
佐々木：でも、寒天風呂に入りながら、雪が見られるなんて、こんな番狂わせなら歓迎だわ。
Ban-kuruwase
(Unzen no roten-buro ni haitte)
Matsui; Kyushu no Nagasaki made kite, yuki ni furareru to wa tonda ban-kuruwase ne.
Sasaki: Demo, roten-buro ni hairi nagara, yuki ga mirareru nante, konna ban-kuruwase nara kangei da wa.
(At an Unzen outdoor hot spring)
Matsui: To come all the way to Nagasaki in Kyushu and then to have it snow. What a surprise.
Sasaki: To be able to soak in an outdoor hot bath While it snows? I'll take that kind of surprise anytime.
* * *
Ban-kuruwase refers to a surprise, sometmng out of the ordinary, to when plans or ranks get confused or changed, to when someone who wasn't expected to wins or loses. For example, in sumo, this expression can be used when a higher ranked Wrestler is beaten by someone of lower rank and the order of the ban-zuke is upset. Kyo no sumo wa ban-kuruwase datta (Today's sumo was really surprising).
Because people think Unzen's Fugen Peak might erupt at any time it seems no one is visiting the hot springs in this area of Kyushu. People and businesses who cater to the onsen (hot springs) visitors are thus going through some pretty gloomy times even though only the Shimabara area is in significant danger. I'd wanted to take a trip to Kyushu for some time and so used the spring break to visit with a friend.
This was the first time for me to go on a so-called "group tour." The fee was ･25,000 for one night at the onsen hotel, three meals and transportation. On the way we would also stop at where they make and sell the famous Imari and Arita porcelain. My friend remarked that she thought the trip would prdbably be very popular.
On the day of the trip we were greeted by a big tour bus. Along with the driver there was even a tour guide.
As for the tour members, there were only six including us. The man from the tour agency: "This is such an inexpensive trip we thought for sure a lot of people would want to go. Okyaku-san ga kore shika inai to wa, ban-kuruwase deshita (To see so few customers is a real surprise)." It was so comfortable on the bus. Later, the six of us sat in a small Japanese-style room at a restaurant and had a wonderful lunch featuring various dishes of crab meat. We soon became good friends. The hotel we stayed at had expected a big tour group and quickly had to rearrange the tatami mat banquet room for our small group. The owner of the hotel:
"Konna ban-kuruwase wa hajimete desu (This is the first time to have things upset like this)." The man from the tour agency said that originally there had been30 people signed up for the trip but that two or three days before the scheduled date the agency was flooded with cancellations. In the end, only six people were left. "Yuki ga futtari, Fugendake ga funka suru nado no ban-kuruwase ga atta. (It snows. Fugen Peak erupts. Everything gets upset.)" As far as we were concerned, we had such fun, we thought it would be okay if they had such "surprises" all the time (konna ban-kuruwase nara, nan kai attemo ii) ! Group tours are worth trying every now and then- as long as even having as few as six members can be
called one.