Category: Blog
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Norikura MTB Adventure
We thought the boys were supposed to go to school to see their teachers today for their weekly check-in but it turned out that we didn’t read the “very important” email from the school telling us that we are NOT TO BRING THE KIDS TO SCHOOL and that from Monday, only parents are allowed to…
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A new chapter begins for Ezekiel – Junior High
Yesterday was a special day for us as a family – we celebrated the beginning of a new chapter in Ezekiel’s life. A few weeks ago we were not sure if it would be possible due to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus but our school which I think is the smallest in Matsumoto…
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Photos of the boys
As COVID-19 restrictions started to take place we had more time at home as a family. We had been talking about going to a studio to take some family photos in traditional kimono for quite a while and decided to make use of our white walls in our living room. Welcome to the McAllister Idea…
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Pizza Party
We are facing a lot of uncertainty in the world and in our daily lives these days. On Match 2nd a decision was made by the Japanese government to close schools and limit social contact to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. On the positive side, it meant we had an extra 2.5 weeks of…
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Congratulations Ezekiel
15 years ago when I first moved to Norikura Kogen I taught English 1 day a week at the local elementary school for a year. I loved teaching there and I remember thinking to myself “when I have kids I want to send then to a school like this someday”. And so six years ago…
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A new Mayor for Matsumoto – Yoshinao Gaun
Congratulations to our newly elected Mayor of Matsumoto – Mr. Yoshinao Gaun. Mr. Gaun and his team worked hard for 4 years to build a “bottom-up” campaign that puts the needs and future wellbeing of the citizens of Matsumoto (including Norikura Kogen & the rest of the Azumi area) in on the conversation about where we…
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Norikura Onsen Village
Norikura Kogen became my home in 2005 after moving here to work as an outdoor instructor at a local outdoor school. A lot of things have changed since then – I met and married my wife, we had a few kids, we bought a house and then had a few more kids, I started a business,…
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KANJIKI Snowshoe Tour
Snowshoeing is a great way to get a around our little alpine community when the snow gets deep. There are lots of great trails to enjoy during the green season and they can also be followed in the winter. I got a try some traditional Japanese KANJIKI snowshoes today as we hiked through the woods…
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Tools for teaching snowboarding
About 3 years ago Michiyo (Michan) and I started a little project that we call Snowboard Attendants or SA for short. The goal is to help more people experience the joy of snowboarding by developing resources (instructors and tools) to lower the threshold of learning to snowboard. Although there are good tools for supporting kids…
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A Family Riding Day at Blue Resort NORIKURA
Last week we got to participate in a Kirara Kids snowboard camp as a family up at TANGRAM Resort in Northern Nagano. Today we got out at our home mountain and enjoyed some sunny weather together. A few years ago a friend and I started working on developing some tools to make teaching kids to…
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Kirara Kids Family Snowboard Camp
This week we got to participate in our first Kirara Kids Snowboard camp up at TANGRAM Resort in Northern Nagano. The camp is produced by some good friends of ours Hayato & Michiyo and this year was the 18th consecutive year running. I got to be one of the camp coaches and Hannah was asked…
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Happy 12th Birthday EZ
12 Years ago today Hannah gave birth to our first son and we became parents. A lot has changed since then and I think we have all done a lot of growing up. We are so thankful for each and every time we get to celebrate a birthday as a family and every year Ezekiel’s…
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The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall…
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Happy New Year – Family Foundation
About 5 years ago Hannah and I were going through some stuff that really made us stop, think and pray about what life is for (purpose) and what we are doing here (mission). At the time I was super down and frustrated about many things. I am naturally a typical type A, fast-paced task orientated…
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Finally Snowing
It’s almost new year’s eve and the snow is falling again here in Norikura Kogen. I took the kids to their ski club and decided to take a few clips of the beautiful snow coming down.
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Winter At Last
Snowfall has been a bit on the delinquent side this winter here in the village. There has been snow on Mount Norikura since the end of October but it’s been a long wait since then.
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Mt. Norikura Snow Resort Opening Day
Let the snowriding begin. Opening day at Mt. Norikura Snow Resort.
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Final Yamaga FC Game of the Year
A few months ago the boys won tickets to the final Yamaga FC game of the year and today we went to see the game as a family. Yamaga FC vs. Shonan Bellmare played a full game which ended in a 1-1 tie in the last few seconds. It was only about 6 degrees today…