“サトリの森” ～ Forever

Japan is a volcanic country .  So I went through lots of earthquakes since I was a child. But the earthquake which occurred on the 11th of March was the biggest one I ever had. First the news announced that the level of the earthquake was 3 in Tokyo. But all of people who lived in Tokyo didn't believe it. Later Japanese government announced it was level 5. At the time when the earthquake occurred, I was outside with my girls, Satori and Leila.  We had just come back from a walk.   Then the ground we stood on started shaking suddenly. And I saw the trees and the houses shaking and twitching just after I heard a big sound like ka-boom. It didn't stop.  The ground shook nearly for a few minutes. I was a little bit scared, but I tried to be calm at once because I found Satori became nervous when she felt something was wrong through my attitude and the shaking ground. Leila started barking, too. As all you know,  the earthquake and the tsunami destroyed some

  Spring has come!  Last year of this month,  Papa Gordon and Mama Susan visited us in Japan. We had a nice time.   It feels like just a moment ago  ;-) But.......  who would have imagined such a tragic catastrophe would happen the next year? Continued..... (Sorry, my husband who dearly cares about me said that I should go to bed because it is too late to keep staying up ;-)   So I will finish my blog tomorrow.  I promise!! )

It was incredibly hot this summer in Tokyo. They were sitting next each other and waiting for autumn to come. Satori was hot!! Even Leila was hot, too!! But.... Finally autumn has come.   The beautiful view of Cosmos flowers  at the Showa-kinen Park   Visiting Nasu-area silence Turning red and yellow  In a ropeway gondola Enjoying dinner at a pension (What is 'pension'? For reference) http://izu-sakuraya.jp/plj-e/index.htm   The pension in daytime The pension we stayed at night                                                                 I loved the atmosphere at night because the pension is the only house around the area.   The house stood out in the darkness.   And I love the front door. I thought it would be nice to have the kind of door in the picture above for our house in USA. I dropped a gentle hint about the door to Satolela papa, but he neither sai

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