Spring Postcard from Inaka

Finally spring has arrived in Arisaka. Of course it is still colder than Tokyo, and sometimes snow falls instead of rain, but overall you can feel nature waking up around the house.





The Ume tree in front of the house has started to sport some blossoms, and I was able to have the first outside picnic on Friday. It was nice sunny, warm so that I fell asleep.

Karuizawa Designer and Artist exhibits at Arisaka House

To celebrate the spring opening of our house in Arisaka, a designer and artist Toshiro Takakuwa(and friend of inaka home) has kindly given us a selection of his artwork for exhibition.



He created the one on the left, inspiring a feeling of clean water, while the other three are a series depicting the earth. Please check his website avecth for more information and his bio. He also wrote a nice blog entry about us, which you can read here.

We have placed one picture in the living room, one in the kitchen and one for each bed room.









I hope you will all enjoy them during your visit!

Golden Week approaching, think ahead!

Now that officially spring has arrived in Japan orders are picking up, and certain dates get pretty busy. Even though golden week seem still far away for many hard working Tokyoites just trying to get the fiscal year finished, in fact we already get many inquiries for Golden Week.

So if you think about spending that holiday at our house, you better get your reservation in quickly. Another thing to take care of are other travel arrangements - please remember that rental car company run out of cars, and that the shinkansen trains run at more than official capacity(reserved seats advisable).

Lastly, be aware of traffic conditions. Even though it usually takes me about 2 hours drive to get from Nerima to Arisaka on a Friday night (after 19:00h), Saturday morning, long weekends and special holidays can easily make this a 6 hours drive! So get up early or drive late to avoid the crowds.

For those of you who are more flexible and despise crowds, why not try to make it before Golden Week? Particularly during the week you may find it easier to secure the house.

Inaka Home awarded 3rd place on GreenDot 2008 competition

Inaka home was awarded 3rd place in the category "service" of this competition.

What is the GDA?

"The jury of the international Green Dot Awards (GDA) announce the winners of the 2008 competition. The GDA was established to reward and promote forward-thinking businesses that create environmentally friendly products or services, and to reward revolutionary green proposals. The GDA aims to bridge the gap between truly innovative businesses that practice excellence in environmental responsibility and international consumers and media."

Who was on the jury?

"The Green Dot Awards were juried by experts in the industry including: Kyle D. Brown, Ph.D., Director of the John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, California State Polytechnic University
Daniel D. Chiras, Ph.D., Author of The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy, The New Ecological Home, The Solar House, The Natural House, Superbia! 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods, and The Natural Plaster Book
Peo Ekberg, Environmental Consultant for Sustainability and LifestyleCO2 Adviser
Dave Evans, Author of Cool Green Stuff: A Guide to Finding Great Recycled, Sustainable, Renewable Objects You Will Love
Steven Foster, President of the Steven Foster Group and commercial consultant for eco-sustainability
Christine Mason McCaull, Co-founder GoGreen Online, and Go GreenTV
Shelagh McNally, Editor at Green Living Online & Green Living Enterprises
Luis Valenzuela, Founder and CEO of Green Art USA"

What does it mean for us?

"Although the Green Dot Awards are worthy onto themselves, they are also a consumer guide to excellence in environmentally-sustainable practices. A business with a Green Dot Award is a business that can be trusted by consumers with stewardship of the environment."

Mount Asama Eruption - are we facing total destruction?

Recently the news covered the eruption of Mount Asama, an active volcano on the border of Gunma and Nagano prefecture.



Thinking about how close our home is to the Volcano, perhaps you are worried about Arisaka House? And the other question is - was it just a coincident that the volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima (southern Japan) spew lava at the same time?

According to our local Guide, Hiro-san, Arisaka and our beloved valley is completely unaffected - The ash went only to Gunma, Saitama and Tokyo thanks to the wind. Arisaka people don't really notice anything.

His comment:

"Its great - as I don't have to clean up volcanic ash!"

These are some pictures I took earlier from across the hill in Tateshina village:

From 20070915

From 20070915

However, morbid / decadent followers of the inaka home blog may be tempted to quickly reserve Inaka Home for this weekend, to enjoy the spectacle from a safe distance.

If you are so inclined, you can see you are well placed to witness the total destruction of Saku, Komoro and Karuizawa from this picturesque Japanese village.

For your enjoyment of this exhilarating potential catastrophe, we recommend the following essential items:

• Camping chairs & camping table
  
• Sleeping bags to keep you warm if the disaster occurs in the afternoon (your viewing position will be in the shadow, but Asama has the best lighting of the setting sun)
  
• Binoculars
  
• Video Camera and Tripod
  
• Digital SLR with tripod and super zoom
  
• Champagne bottle & glasses
  
• Thermos Flask with hot milk tea
  
• Ritz Crackers and Cheddar Cheese
  
• Book "Restaurant at the end of the Galaxy"