js6 Snowy vista

In early January 2007, we had a fair dump of snow. Coming from a non-snowy environment in Australia, it was always a pleasure to wake up to the gentle silence of fresh snow. We would draw the curtains in the lounge room and marvel. I have to say, its not so much fun to live with on a regular basis, especially if I was driving into the countryside for work or trudging off to get groceries. Through the window and across the road is a house that was empty for much of our time in Mukogaoka. We never really knew why though, on the one occasion it was occupied, we had all sorts of headaches with parking.

JS5 Our view from the bedroom

Upstairs we had two bedrooms, one housing a homemade three-quarter bed. It was 10 cms too high, an odd contrast to the futons that customarily graced the other room. The photo looks out to the mountains in the rough direction of Moshi, with the prefectural hospital in the background and the 'new' town of Tomagaoka spilling like ivy down the hillside in its wake.