Frozen lake

This is how frozen Lake Suwa looks like. Despite continuous warnings from the authorities, curious people still took their chances and walked over the frozen ice to experience this rare natural phenomenon.

Mini Snowman

We had heavy snowfall yesterday. Since this is my third winter in Matsumoto, I wasn`t very excited about the hassle of shoveling the carpark after the snow storm.

I was more excited in making a snowman to let Shun feel and experience winter. I brought him to the window in the morning and we watched snowflakes falling. At night, Takashi collected some powdery snow from our balcony and we made a small snowman indoors.

This greedy baby wanted to have a taste of the snowman but crawled away after realizing that it is inedible.

Daruma Event

Last weekend, my neighbours held an interesting ceremony in their padi field.

Crowds of people attended the burning of the daruma dolls in the evening.

The daruma doll is a charm of good luck and protection in Japan. At the start of a new year, one eye is painted and a wish is made. The other eye is filled in when the wish is fulfilled.

Did you notice that the dolls that my neighbours burnt have two eyes? The burning of the darumas with two eyes is a purification ritual and the farmers` way of thanksgiving for plentiful harvest in the previous year.

Matsumoto Castle

We had a big snow storm in Matsumoto on Sunday.

Today, we drove to Matsumoto Castle for these beautiful views of the castle in the snow.

Snowing Weekend

Today, it snowed continuously for more than 10 hours. We have more than 20cm of accumulated snow on the ground.

It must be freezing outside but I just love to watch the snow flakes fall from the grey sky with a cup of hot drink.

Its fun to snow like this on a weekend when we just stay at home. It gets quite inconvenient on a working day or when we have errands to run.

I hope all the snow will melt tomorrow so we can shop for our weekly groceries without worrying about frozen roads.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day is not a public holiday in Japan. There are no religious undertones to this festival.It`s all about enjoying together with your loved ones.

As there are only 2 of us, we didn't want to prepare too much. We ordered the roast chicken from a nearby Chinese restaurant.I thought of roasting my own chicken but was a bit lazy to do it. Will give it a try next year.



I also baked some Christmas cookies and a simple log cake to celebrate this festive season.

Takashi did the chocolate cream for the cake. It was a smalll cake, just nice for two of us.

I thought my cookies look quite ugly because it was my first time dealing with icing sugar..


It did not snow at all which was quite disappointing. No White Christmas this year.

Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Ho Ho Ho...

First Snow !

I was blogging about the lack of snow yesterday.

But, this early morning we were greeted by a white scenery. It was snowing!

I am forever thrilled over seeing snow flakes falling.

Looks like we will have a white christmas this year!

Where is the snow ?

The weather in Nagano prefecture is weird.
We are already in the 3rd week of December but today`s temperature hit 11 degrees in Matsumoto.
Last year, we had snow in the first week of December but this year the weather is really unpredictbale.
The reports said that due to the lack of snow this year, more than half of the ski resorts have to delay their ski season opening.
My husband said that this might be a sign of global warming effect.
Oh no..Will we still have a white christmas this year?

Japan Alps

Winter season is slowly setting in Matsumoto. Temperature is starting to dip but the skies are often clear with crisp air.

This is my favorite winter scenery - The Northern Alps.

The first thing I do every morning is to check the scenery from my window.

The snow capped mountains never fails to capture my heart.

Hakuba Ski Resort

Hakuba is known as one of the best ski areas in Japan. It staged Super-G, down hill, and ski jumping during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Hakuba Village is located in the northern Japan Alps and has seven ski resorts each unique with different ski routes.

We visited the ski jumping station used during the Olympics and major games. To get to the top, we need to take the chair lift and an elevator to the top of the 90-meter and 120-meter jump, giving you the real feeling of being a ski jumper. The journey up was icy cold and windy .

The scenery from the top was breathtaking. However I couldnt make it to the starting point as I have height phobia. In the end, my husband went alone as I stayed indoors.

I have always enjoyed watching ski jumping games from the television but seeing the real jumping station is quite beyond my imagination. One thing for sure, I can NEVER be a ski jump athlete.