Picture Post [it's not life that matters but the journey...]

Hi... I'm not sure who's out there now in LJ land since we're at the start of Christmas week. But for those of you who are watching, I thought I'd post a few pictures that I've taken in the last few days, just to give you an idea of where I am, and what it looks like here. I still need to get a picture of the little bird that Masahiko's dad caught in a field recently near here. She's so cute! anyway, here's a few pics for you...

First of all, I think I mentioned that we live very near Mt. Fuji, and that it's covered with snow this time of year. I took some pictures of Fuji-san when I was walking home from my haircut the other day. These are taken from the street near our house - just about 5 minutes from my home:

This is the view from my the second floor of the house, looking over the tea field at twilight today:

And here is the ramen shop across the street (you can also see the sign in front of our house for "Peaks English School" - that's the school I'm trying to start):

The ramen shop owners recently re-built their restaurant and house - this is what it looked like four years ago:

Here's some shots of my little classroom with my Christmas tree (you can see the cards I've received by the tree). Leo decided to get into the shots too. It's such a cute classroom, I wish we'd get some students:

I haven't gotten to take a recent picture of our house, but I did take one four years ago, and it hasn't changed much (but this picture is not very good - it's a bit distorted):

and finally, here's a picture of Leo lounging in the sun today - it comes in really strong in the second story. At least one of us is not worried about having so much free time:

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great pictures :)
Leo is so cute
I hope you get students soon darling
::hugs::

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thanks sweetie!

*hugs*

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Lovely pics! The layout of the house looks cool, and how neat that you're so close to the mountain!

it's a pretty interesting house, but kind of hard because there's lots of stairs. we're on the third floor:) It's awesome being close to Mt. Fuji.

*crosses fingers for lots of New Year students*

I hope you get my card soon! *huggles*

ooh you sent me a card? today's a holiday, so hopefully I'll get it soon.

thanks, Dawnie! Have a very Merry Christmas!!!

*hugs*

I hope you get students soon too! Are you able to put up flyer-type signs in shops, or the library?

so are you reading a lot?

I like seeing these pics...Leo cracks me up! Keep taking & posting more pictures please! :)

we tried flyers before when we lived here (4 years ago), and it might have helped a bit, but right now I think we're going to focus on finding work outside the house (me that is) and see how that goes. If I can't find any work, we'll step up the home school.

reading a lot? you mean books? Not really - I'm mostly spending my time online. I should read more, but I've been preoccupied with job searching.

I took a few more pics today - I'll try to take some every day or so...

*hugs* and thanks for your great comments!!

You have an awesome view!! Those first pics are stunning =D

Thanks! I like the views here - it's relaxing.

(deleted comment)

Thanks!

Yes, there's definitely public access to Mt. Fuji, but I don't think people do much jogging. You can go to a certain point of the mountain called the 5th station, more than halfway up - and climb the mountain. the elevation when you start the climb is already about 2,000, but if you climb the whole thing, you'll be 3,776 meters high. the area around Mt. Fuji, however, has lots of parks and lakes which would be better for hiking and jogging. We've been all around there - it's gorgeous in the spring, though summer is the only time the mountain is open for climbing. otherwise it's too cold!

as for the lessons, there are lots of kids around here, and I think if we were here a long time, we might get a business going. but in the meantime I'm searching for a job outside the house.

thanks - Christmas will be just another day here, but New Year's is a big deal for Japanese. My mother-in-law will make Mochi (http://japanesefood.about.com/od/mochi/a/aboutmochi.htm) and we'll probably eat Soba noodles (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2341.html).

happy holidays to you and yours!!

Oh how gorgeous are these?! And hee-Leo is so adorable! *Pets him* :) I'm hoping that the school finds it's footing and takes off for you!
*Hugs*

aw thanks! Leo is adorable and he knows it - hehe! thanks - I wish the school would work too, but it might take a long time.

*hugs* and happy holidays to you and your family.

Of course he is! :D
It will-it just takes a little time! I have faith in you! Aww, thanks! The same to you and your family!
*Hugs you* ♥

thanks for having faith - I'm trying to do the same:)

*hugs*

Good! :D You've taken alot on with this move-so I know you'll do alright when it all settles-no matter what!
*Hugs*

Oh wow, you really are so close to Mt. Fuji! Beautiful! The closest I've ever seen it is on the shinkansen... but one day I hope I can visit it!

Thanks for posting the pictures, they were great!

oh you should definitely visit Mt. Fuji - it's beautiful and the area around the mountain has so much nature. you were living in Kyoto right? I love that part of Japan too.

thanks!! and happy holidays to you!
*Hugs*

Wow...you live so close to Fuji. That is awesome. When I visited Japan in 2003, my husband and I went to Hakone. We also sailed on this boat down Lake Ashi. In theory, you could see Fuji on a clear day, but unfortunately, it was cloudy that day. Oh well.

I've been to Hakone, and I've been on that same boat on Lake Ashi. it's so beautiful there. The whole area around Fuji-san is gorgeous. I do like living here for that reason.

hopefully you can visit (or live in) Japan again and see the mountain!

nice pictures, mountain looks so beautiful

thanks!!

Wow! You are so close to Mt Fuji! It looks fabulous!

Wonder what's growing in those fields?

What a lovely little classroom - I hope you get some students soon.

What an interesting shape house. How big is it? How many rooms/bedrooms?

Aww, Leo looks at home, doesn't he?

Thanks for posting those - it's lovely to see where you are.

yup - we're pretty much at the foot of Mt. Fuji. it's great! and in those fields is green tea - or Ocha - those are all around here as the area is known for Green Tea. it's yummy! I do want to get students - but I'm afraid it will take some time.

the house is quite big, but it all goes up. We have three stories: downstairs is the kitchen/living room/dining room area. In front of that is the dry cleaning shop. there's also the bath and a toilet downstairs (in Japan they are separate). Then on the second floor are two tatami rooms where my in-laws sleep, and two other rooms, one of which is our classroom, and the other is just for storage. There's also a toilet on the second floor. And the third floor is one big "bedroom" where we sleep, and another room with big closet space where we have our little refrigerator and a dressing area. It's quite spacious, but what I miss is a yard. there's no yard with this house - though the second floor has a balcony outside the classroom.

Leo is quite at home here - thankfully he's been here before, and he is also from Japan, so I think he feels he's at home. I'm happy when he's happy!

I'm glad you enjoyed the pics - stay tuned for more stuff...

*hugs*

The house sounds great - I'm glad you have plenty of room.

I'm looking forward to more!

It's so amazing seeing my card all the way over in Japan! I love Leo's expression in that picture on the table. Your view is amazing, what a stunning place! :)

hehe I thought about that - it's why I wanted to show my little tree so you could see the cards I got!

I love the views here - it's a nice place to live. thanks!

Leo is quite the little ham - he's very comfy here which is good!

Oh, what wonderful pictures! Thank you so much for sharing them with us! Leo, hee! *pets him* I love that expression of his while he's sitting on the table, like "Hi, this is my table. What are you doing taking a picture of it, hmmmmm?" ;)

Thanks again for the pics! Take care of yourself, hon! *big hugs* ♥!

aw thanks Ais!! Leo is good at making those smug expressions - everything is his you know! we just share with him - LOL!

I hope you're doing well and have a great holiday!!

*big hugs* back!!

AWESOME photos of Fuji (and Leo).

Thanks! it's nice to see you on here again. I'm not sure if you were around in September when I visited my cousin Lynn in Port Townsend. too bad we didn't meet:)

Oh, Leeeooo! I wanna snuggle you! And Laurabo, I hope you get my card soon. May you have many students for the new year!

Leo is snugglable!

Ooh I hope I get your card soon too! yay:)

thanks!
*hugs and kisses*

I got your card yesterday, Lisa! Thanks so much:)

*hugs*

Gosh, Leo's gotten so big!! *virtual hugs around Leo*

I like the old Ramen shop actually! It has more of traditional Japanese Ramen house feel and look to it.

Your house looks great! I wish I was in Japan right now. How does it look inside? ^_^

I really like your classroom too. It looks very comfortable. Why is it called Peaks?

*hugs*

that's funny - someone else said Leo had gotten bigger, but I didn't realize that.

the house is pretty comfortable, even though we don't have any central hear (or a/c in the summer). I'm going to write a post about the house soon, so I'll describe it then. basically it's three floors, and we stay on the top floor most of the time. we have lots of space. the classroom is on the second floor, and there's another room that's just storage at this point. my in-laws sleep on one half of the second floor in tatami rooms.

the classroom is very comfy - I wish I could get students, but we need to advertise, and Masahiko thinks I should try to find a job outside the house first. I rely on him to advertise - so it's kind of frustrating. if he gets a job, maybe he'll change his mind, but he's worried about money now. It's called Peaks because we liked the design of this pub in Port Angeles called Peaks Pub, and if you think about it, Peaks sounds like Speak. which is fitting for an English conversation school:)

Hahah, Leo is always around - no wonder you don't see it.

I wonder about that - not having AC or heating in a country where the summer is humid and hot and the winter is cold. It does save a lot of energy though, which is important for the current state of our planet.

Tatami rooms are so cool! I love things with a long history and cultural ties. I hear Japanese houses in the cities tend not to have tatami rooms anymore. Newly built houses sometimes may have one traditional room for welcoming guests. It'd be a shame to see them disappear.

Keep up the good work, Laura. You just got to Japan. Once word gets around, I'm sure you'll get students. Thanks for explaining the origin of Peaks. Let's all speak at Peaks!

Leo actually hasn't gained weight, so I was surprised he looks big:) I find summer harder than winter here because it's so hard to stay cool and look good when you go out in the humidity. but I guess saving energy is important too:)

I also love the tatami, and it's so easy to take care of. It is sad to think of houses and apartments not having tatami anymore - that's why I love old Japanese houses and I've loved staying in traditional Ryokans (like they have in Kyoto) - that's real Japan!

Let's All Speak at Peaks! that's a good slogan.

Gosh, I'm not sure if there is a way to look good in a hot and humid weather. No matter what you wear, you are drenched in sweat in no time. But if everybody looked like that, who's say we don't look good, right?

With global warming and being alarmed by watching Avatar, I stopped using the heater in my apartment. That might not mean much to people elsewhere though since the temperature never dips below the 40's in San Diego. All the more reason not to have AC and heating systems at all here. =)

I read somewhere that the Ryokan are very expensive to maintain nowadays. And increasingly people are abandoning them for simple urban apartments. There is an active and ongoing effort to save them in Kyoto.

Glad you like the slogan! When your school gets huge, I'll make a fortune by charging 1cent per student for saying that slogan! ^_^

oh but the sad thing is, Japanese women seem to look good no matter what. even in the humidity, they don't sweat, they don't have smearing makeup, and they don't get frizzy hair. I get all of that! oh well, that's just life.

I didn't realize Avatar had a global warming message. was it a good movie? I don't know a thing about it. well when I lived in Seattle, there were no air conditioners, but it never really got that hot. but we did have central heat. and in apartments you can't really control the heat much, at least I couldn't in Chicago. but in Chicago we needed as much heat as possible or we'd die!

that's sad about Ryokan being more expensive to maintain - that means they will be more expensive to stay at. but hopefully they won't all go away.

oh, I hope the school gets huge. but there's still a chance we might move to another part of Japan, so I don't know what will happen with the school. we still haven't got any interested students yet. we need more time, I guess.

How's that humanly possible? Well, I guess they did have years of practicing just by virtue of living in Japan.

Avatar is a great movie. I watched it twice, in 2d and 3d and loved every minute of it.

I'll have to see Avatar when it comes here, if a friend will go with me.

Those are GORGEOUS pictures, Laura!!! Fuji is just amazing. Oh how I envy you. I love your neighborhood! A ramen shop? I LOOOOOVE ramen!!! :-)

Leo is adorable. And he looks right at home in your classroom! I most certainly hope it's filled up with students soon, missy! They'll be lucky to have you!

Thanks! I love Fuji-san, and I hope that I can climb it one more time before I ever move away from this area. I'm looking forward to spring and summer when we can go to the lakes and hike near Fuji. it's so beautiful.

the Ramen shop is always crowded - we haven't eaten there since I got to Japan because we don't have money to spend. but we do love Ramen:)

aw thanks - I love Leo, and he certainly knows he's adorable:)

I agree, I wish I could get lots of students, but it takes time. and now I'm focusing on getting a job outside the house to make some money.

Oh wow, hiking Fuji would be amazing. I'm looking forward to your pics of that!!!

Ramen is sooooooooooooooooooo good. lol...

I'm keeping good thoughts for you, sweetie. Both for students and for a good paying job. *HUGS*

Fuji-san is a great place to visit. I do hope I can get there when the weather is warmer. it depends on how busy we are with jobs, etc. But if I go, you can see pics. in the meantime, here's a few pics I posted of my last visit there 4 years ago. I didn't climb the mountain then, but we just walked around and enjoyed the view and the peace and quiet.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/Japan/at2500meters.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/Japan/fujiclouds2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/Japan/onmtfuji1.jpg

and a picture closer to the mountain at sunset:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/Japan/IMG000102.jpg

thanks for the good thoughts. I need them:)

*hugs*