Category: Blog
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Design Research
I have been working on a new design for a client and doing some texture and shape research for the past few weeks. It’s made me notice some of the amazing colors, shapes, and textures found in the natural world. Here are a few of my favorites. As I look at each plant’s diversity and…
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Steps directed by The Lord
[24] A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way? (ESV) Proverbs 20:24
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Norikura Kogen Trails
There has been some good movement in Norikura Kogen in the past few years. The first is establishing a community vision called Norikura Kogen MIRAIZU. You can read a bit more in a previous post here. The second is a big effort to establish a clear trailhead for a system of well-established but little-known hiking…
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Clearing The Land
We cut down a few trees on the house’s approach that was too close for comfort. The goal is to make the land around the house easy to access and give some breathing room. At the moment the ground is very uneven and it’s almost impossible to walk all the way around the house. I…
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Weston Memorial
We have lived in this area for years and know about Walter Weston but had never participated in the annual memorial event that honors him. So this year the boys participated in the hike and sleep over in Kamikochi and the rest of us joined them on Sunday for the Weston memorial. Walter Weston (Wikipedia)…
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An Answer To Prayer
We started roasting coffee in 2018 to see if we could produce something here in Norikura Kogen that would benefit our community, the community it was grown in, and the end-user/customer. The results have been good so far, and 4 years into this project, we still see plenty of room to grow. That growth has…
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A Few Panoramas
I woke up early on Saturday morning and took a little stroll to Norikura BASE to get a good look at Mt. Norikura.
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Children’s Day 2022
Today was Children’s Day Kodomo no hi in Japan and Hannah and I wanted to do something special for the kids today so we prepared a picnic lunch and headed out to our favorite picnic site in Ichinose Meadow. The weather was amazing today and we sat under two big Japanese larch trees and shared…
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Spring Climbing Season Starts on Mt. Norikura
Every year just before the Golden Week holiday begins, a safety inspection and press event are held on the Mt. Norikura Spring Bus line between Norikura (1,500 m) Kogen and Kuraigahara Sanso (2,350 m). The shuttle bus is run by the Matsumoto-based bus company, Alpico. The weather was amazing today and made for some great…
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Happy Resurrection Sunday
A few years back Hannah found a recipe for what is called an empty tomb roll and we started a family tradition to make them on Resurrection Sunday morning with the kids. The idea is simple. A pure white marshmallow represents Jesus, and cinnamon and spices along with butter represent gold, frankincense, and myrrh that…
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Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end
“Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor — never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.” – Elie Wiesel 「無関心は始まりではなく、終わりです。したがって、無関心は常に敵の友です。それは攻撃者に利益をもたらすからです。犠牲者は決して、忘れられたと感じたときに痛みが大きくなります。」 – エリ・ヴィーゼル
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Norikura Kogen – Zero Carbon Experience Event
Today in Norikura Kogen, the first Zero Carbon Experience Event was held at the Mt. Norikura Snow Resort. Last spring the Norikura Kogen MIRAIZU (community vision) was officially established and work began to create a more healthy, connected, and sustainable community here from the inside out. The first year from April 2021 to March 2022…
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Frozen Azusa River
Snaped a few photos on my way home from Matsumoto today. The Azusa reservoir looks cool with all the ice and snow on it.