Autumn & Onsens

Woof! A long time since the last blog. I must be slacking. My excuse is I've been enthralled with the Japanese Autumn. That'll have to do.



This month the sun has still been lovely and warm but the mornings and nights have been rather cold. This in turn gives the prefect opportunity for onsens! The one in Takamori is one of my favourites and offers great views of the Shimoina area and the Minami Alps. The pics in this blog are a couple I'm taken there.

Autumn is on it's way

Yes indeed, the leaves are starting to redden and the nights are getting much colder. Thankfully I have an electric heater in my house, as well as a blessed Japanese device called a kotatsu. This consists of a low table with a removal top. Attached to the framework is an electric heater. A thick bed cover or blanket is put over the framework and the tabletop put back on top of that. The heater heats the area under the table/blanket, and you can stick your legs or body under it to keep warm. Wonderful! I'm also currently looking for a clothes dryer - I hate the smell of damp clothes, and drying them will be a nightmare in winter!

JHS Sports Festival

So plenty of exciting things have happened since my last blog. Last Friday/Saturday I had my JHS sports festival. In honesty the event isn't much like our sports days back home, aside from the name. The two days is used to showcase students' work, play team games, enjoy the school brass band and watch the students perform rhythmic dances and mini plays. The entire event - down to the lighting, sound and direction - all appeared to be run by the students. My favourite part was the brass band. They'd obviously been practicing hard and it certainly showed. They were great!


Less talking!

More dancing!