We had unexpected visitors at our minka this Golden Week holiday, an elderly couple from Osaka. The wife, 79, told us she had lived in the minka until junior high school age, as part of the family that had been there since its construction in 1810. They had been lingering outside, unsure as whether to […]
Author: Stuart
Spring Has Sprung!
Spring has finally arrived in the mountains north of Kyoto though, incredibly, we had sleet recently. Nevertheless, perhaps like many of you my thoughts are slowly turning toward the big spring projects I hope to accomplish before the rainy season and (especially) the hot summer months begin, not to mention the seasonal arrival of all […]
Hanase (Kyoto Prefecture)
Google Maps Link A one-hour drive north from central Kyoto City, Hanase is a mountain village of about 125 full-time residents, most living along a 9km stretch of river valleys in both minka and more contemporary housing. With less farmable land, Hanase’s economy was traditionally lumbering, floating huge trees downriver into Kyoto City. The area […]