“サトリの森” ～ Forever

The last day of our trip, we visited Kamikochi area which we had enjoyed two years ago . Kamikochi is one of the most scenic spots in Japan. Dogs are allowed with you only till Kappa Bridge spot. So it's better to leave them at the cottage or inn at which you are staying. Last time when we visited there, we thought that it would be nice to own land like this in the USA. And this time, we felt the same as we did last time.   We started walking from Taisho-Pond.  Then we headed for Myojin-Pond, but unfortunately we couldn't make it because we were running out of time to go back to the pension(a kind of small inn) where Satori and Leila were waiting. I will show you the pictures.  Maybe less words are needed to explain how beautiful it is.   Tisho Pond(starting point)  Tashiro Pond  Azusa River How clear it is!! Lingering snow over Azusa River And you will encounter many unique flora.  The trace which a well-or

Last year, we visited Shirakawa village, which is registered as the World Heritage in Japan. There is another World Heritage village near there. It takes about 15 minutes from Shirakawa village. There are not so many houses as Shirakawa has. So it took only 30 minutes to look around. But it was HOT , HOT , HOT again. Satori was always trying to walk in the shade. But eventually she found a nice way to cool down. This is a farm ditch. The water was really cool. She really loved it. Isn't she cute? After bathing, she seemed happy. The next day, we visited a water fall. "Zengoro no taki" (Mr.Zengoro's water fall) Contrary to the village, we enjoyed being splashed by the water. The area was wonderful for a stroll. We enjoyed the amazing ways the old trees grew. The trees and plants there were very unique. We never see such flora in Tokyo. We walked around as we imagined how those trees created these shapes. After a long walk,

Satolela papa, Satori, Leila & I enjoyed our annual summer trip from July 22nd through July 28. In Japan, it is said that the weather is going to be sunny for a week after the rainy season is over. It was over on July 19 this year. Yes, it was right! The weather was perfect during our trip. It was cool at the camp site where we always stayed, but some places we visited at the time were really hot. Hot! Hot! On the second day at the camp site, we visited a ranch. It was our second time to visit there. That's called "Kiso-uma no sato" , which means "The Home of the horses of Kiso" . Japanese "Kiso" horses are pastured. Kiso horses are originated from Kiso area in Japan. They have become rare in Japan. The horses used to be considered a part of family for Kiso people. But few people need them for their daily lives anymore. They have dark mane, just like Japanese hair. In fact, we wanted to do blue berries picking . But as yo

After Satolela papa's parents left, Satolela papa and I thought we had such productive days with his parents, indeed. Besides we found out we noticed something new about them. In the case of me: When we went to Kyoto, we dropped by a hotel for lunch. We sat in the chairs at the lounge, and watching a girl who worn a pretty Japanese kimono was been taken a picture in the yard of the hotel. There were two mute swans swimming in the pond. Mama Susan said quietly, "I want mute swans like those." Suddenly I, whom Satolela papa calls "city girl" , felt like slapping my cheek to wake me up and shouted in my mind as I was relaxing and watching the swan swimming. "WHAT?" and tried to listen to carefully what she said again. Speaking of wanting the swans, a few days ago, she said that she wanted to keep peacocks , especially a white one in their yard. "Joking.....right?" When I heard of it at the first time, generally