Winter has been spectacular

The view from our house shows how much snow is on the mountains. It looks beautiful when the sun comes out.

Can you see the frozen waterfall? What a great view from the chair lift on Mount Gozaisho.

The icicles on the trees are magic. Yes, we are eating well but the chubby look is mostly from the many layers of clothing. Jan and Janienne are enjoying the snow.

Yes we gladly welcomed our friends from Beijing - Bruce and Janienne who stayed with us for 10 days had a great time. They didn't realise a lot of Japan is mountainous and countryside.

The view from our window looks different in every season. It is wonderful to be able to sit up in bed in the mornings with a cup of hot tea and look out over the snow covered ground and watch the snowflakes falling.

The only season we haven't experienced yet is Spring. On a trip down to Ise we visited the oldest Shinto shrine areas. It was snowing heavily and we had to cut our visit short. We were intrigued to see the visitors come to worship their ancestors. They clap their hands first to get the attention of the gods (their ancestors become gods) and then they bow and say a silent prayer.

We were not allowed to take pictures of the old shrine and the people saying their prayers.