Christmas time

Usual apologies for not posting here more often. ( Does anyone even believe that anymore? ) 

The snow has started to fall lately and I've spent the last few days getting my boots soaked by either shovelling the snow or by collecting somewhat wet firewood. ( tarps can only cover so much ) 

As I type it's actually snowing quite a bit with a lot of wind to help it out. 

 This is all we have at the moment, but the picture doesn't do it justice. But at least it's not the three feet we got last year,

Summers over!

I can't believe it's already the 23rd of September. August just flew right by and now September is doing the same. Soon enough I'll be wading through a foot of snow just to go to the cottages out back.  That seems a ways off though. The weather has been steadily getting colder lately but nothing so drastic as to suddenly snow. Though I do find myself needing my hoodie lately.

I can't tell if it was quite as busy this year as it was last year, or if I have just gotten used to the summer rush and was better able to cope with it. Either way, it is behind us now and I'm looking forward to having a bit more free time to explore this beautiful town I call home. I still don't trust myself to use the trains alone so I'm relegated to staying near home but for now that's all I need as the surrounding area offers some beautiful views. 

That's all for now.  I'll end it with the usual promise of more frequent updates. 

Bryan.

Summer time is here again.

Well the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. That must mean that summer is officially here! Like clockwork every one seems to flock to Karuizawa around this time of year so you can imagine just how busy we get here. 

Today though, I had enough time to go for a short walk and snap some pictures of the area surrounding our Pension. These are just some of the sights you can see if you come and stay with us this summer! 

 I really like this tree. It's really tall and some one had to climb pretty high just to prune back those branches.

 I also quite enjoy the roads leading up to our Pension. Nature can be quite relaxing when you're finally out in it. 

 This tranquil little lake is actually just a minute walk from our front door. It's not that big and you can't swim in it but it sure is nice to just take in and stand around. Especially when the fireflies show up.

 This creek is just a few minutes away by foot. There are some small fish sometimes so it's kind of fun to sit back and try to count them.

 Just some random flowers I saw on the side of the road. If any one knows the name of them please let me know.

 Mt Asama is kind of hard to miss in Karuizawa and is almost always putting off a cloud of smoke. No eruptions yet since I've been here though. 

 A rather nice view of the many tree filled mountains that surround us. Every way you look you see lush green tree covered hill tops. 

That's all the pictures I have for now but if you really want to see more than why not come to Karuizawa? We're not that far from Tokyo, only about an hour via Shinkansen and there's always something to do. 

Anyway, that's it for me for now. Hopefully see you soon!

Strange weather lately

May certainly was a strange month for weather.  We had boiling hot days,  thunderstorms,  random downpours and even a hailstorm!
June is at least staying consistent,  albeit horribly so.  It's been cold and wet making it kind of unpleasant to be outside.  However,  being the proud Pacific North Westerner I am,  I'm not letting it so me from going out. Even if it is just to take out the garbage. 

Golden Week

Well,  another Golden Week has come and gone. This time around I survived a lot easier due to the fact that the 29th fell on a Tuesday,  effectively making Golden Week only one long weekend instead of two.

Karuizawa is showing the signs of spring time now and not just with a lot of rain.  Flowers are blooming and even the birds have built their nest in our bushes again; though I have to give our neighbour, Hotel Wellies, the lions share of the credit for that due to their constant diligence in maintaining a veritable smorgasbord of bird feed.

Things are slowing down again as we get ready for the best season this summer.  I like to think of this time of year as the calm before the storm,  because before I realize it,  it will be almost unbearably hot out and we will be running at full capacity again. 

Test test

This is a test....

Bryan seems having some troubles to use blogger....

My apologies

It's been quite a while again.  I haven't been the most busy person in the world but I've been running into a few obstacles when it comes to updating this blog. 
The first one is that most of the pictures taken to be used here are on some one else camera and sometimes that can take a while to get them emailed to me.  As most of what happens here would greatly benefit from photographic evidence,  I have felt that not using pictures would be a disservice to those that read the blog.
Mostly however,  the main obstacle preventing me from posting, is my desire to post original content.  Being that every thing that I go see or do is as part of a group,  coupled with the pictures scenario,  it almost always appears on the main page first.  I don't want to turn this blog into something that just reposts what has been seen on our main page. 
With that in mind,  please be patient with me as I try to find something that I can use for just the blog itself. 
Thank you for your patience. 

Bryan.