Seasons...


Given the unusually small amount of snow in Shimogo this year I decided that I would drive up to my favourite place, 'Kannon-nouma' to see how it was looking in the snow. It was a gorgeous sunny day and with the amount of snow up there it was the best view of the lake yet. The whole thing was completely frozen over with about half a metre of pristine snow covering everything.

When I came home and looked back at photos from just a few months ago I couldn't believe it was the same place. Japan is very proud of it's 4 distinct seasons, and especially here in the countryside people really enjoy watching the changes take place.

The road there.

My house in the snow...

Here are some photos of around my house in the snow. It's not been a particularly heavy snowfall this year by Japan's standards but it's still the most snow I've ever seen. It's been snowing every day since I got back from Hong Kong and it looks very beautiful. Getting around is a lot more difficult but staying home and keeping warm is the best option right now anyway! My snowboarding attempts have been really fun and although I'm covered in bruises I'm looking forward to my next trip.

Hong Kong

On the 27th December after a great Christmas party on Christmas Eve and a nice relaxing Christmas Day in Shimogo I went to Hong Kong. I had a great time and ended up meeting lots of nice folks who showed me around. It was nice to go somewhere quite a bit warmer and very different. By the time I was leaving though I was really looking forward to getting back to Japan and getting some ramen noodles in my favourite restaurant!

After arriving on a late flight (the reason it was so cheap) I had some adventures with hotels (I'd accidentally arranged on the internet to stay somewhere really dodgy, actually "really dodgy" never usually bothers me too much, this place was "extremely dodgy"). I spent a few days hotel-hopping until I could stay with some friends. I found my way around Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, did a lot of exploring which included riding the island tram for about 2 hours (best 2 dollars ever spent!), ate great Dim-Sum, made some nice friends (Melvin from Singapore and Donna and her two girls who live in Hong Kong).

On New Years Eve I met Marshall and Amy who are old friends of my Mum and Dad from Newcastle and Scarborough. I stayed with them for a few days and went on some great trips with them. For New Year we went to see the famous 'noonday gun' in Causeway Bay. After New Year we had a really nice day out on a boat finding some nice old fishing towns with great seafood.

One of the reasons I went to Hong Kong was that I really wanted to visit Macau, the old Portugese colony. I really wish I'd gone for longer because it was brilliant. It's such a pretty place with amazing food and a really European feel. It's also the casino capital of Asia with single Casinos raking in more cash than a lot of Las Vegas casinos. I spent a while wandering around inside them mafia-spotting and resisting the temptation to get in on the action.

Before I left I had a great day out on Lantau Island home to the big buddha, one of the biggest in Asia. I was taken by some of Marshall and Amy's friends and we had a great day. We also went to visit an old fishing town on Lantau where the houses sat on stilts. Amazing considering how close this place is to the Hong Kong metropolis!

I had a brilliant time and feel ready to get back to work. It was quite a shock to return to an everlasting snowstorm which doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon! The good news is that I can spend the next few months learning to snowboard and enjoying living under a metre of snow!