Since Calvin said he’d like to see what’s on the other side of my deck fence, here are some shots I took from the veranda today:
1. Our house lies on a mountainside (elevation at the house is about 220m; the mountain behind the house has an elevation of about 450m; the trailhead is only 30m from our door), so this section is terraced with concrete retaining walls. Bending over the deck (or veranda) fence, one looks down into a small stream coming out from the mountainside (the gray pipes) just beyond where our property’s retaining wall ends. Our neighbor has put some kind of tub down there to collect water, but I mostly see it used as a bathtub by Brown Eared Bulbills.
2. Looking up to the NE, our neighbor’s farm plot and house.
3. To the east, an open field and bamboo grove
4. To the NW, another open field and more neighbors.
5-6. While walking the dog I took these pictures of a neighbor’s house; typical indigenous architecture; I like the overlapping roofs and exposed roof purlins, but C O L D in winter. Some of these details influenced Craftsman architectural designs during the Arts and Crafts period.
7. Another neighbor’s house, gable end.
8. Another gable end, with exposed purlins.
9. The oddfellow: our house (built in 1994) with the new siding—and completed stairway going from the deck up to the veranda.
Replies
Sweet
One thing I've loved for many yrs here, the view of things I might not have seen. Thank you for providing more visuals!
You say "cold in the winter"
You say "cold in the winter" and I see lots of snow guards on the roofs. I've never thought that Japan would get much snow, so this is a surprise. Do you?
It seems really beautiful place lol!
I've view those frame images. I like that natural beauty around your house.
We like it. It's not too inconvenient from Tokyo (about one hour by commuter train), and has much more green, hills, and water.
Thanx
We like it.
Actually, Japan has some of the heaviest snowfall in the world--but those parts are on the "back" (Japan Sea) side of the country. In the Kanto area where we live, we get a few snowfalls each winter; sometimes quite heavy, but in recent years the snow hasn't stuck around long. Many of the snowguards you see are on steel roofs, which are slick, so snow slides off easily and can damage the eave drains. The lowest temperatures I've recorded here are about -15C, but again, that was right after we built here in 1994. In recent years it's been rare to see a single day with temperature down to -9C.
Japan
Very nice pictures & the reminded me of a trip i took there years ago.
I spent a month touring various places from Tokyo to Osaka & i think everything in between on my own dollar .
I had had a number of oriental people working for me that i became intreged & went there then to Taiwan after which we were in Hong Kong then Hawaii .
The orient is one of the better memories of my life that i shall never forget !