I really like this tree. It's really tall and some one had to climb pretty high just to prune back those branches.
I also quite enjoy the roads leading up to our Pension. Nature can be quite relaxing when you're finally out in it. 
This tranquil little lake is actually just a minute walk from our front door. It's not that big and you can't swim in it but it sure is nice to just take in and stand around. Especially when the fireflies show up.
This creek is just a few minutes away by foot. There are some small fish sometimes so it's kind of fun to sit back and try to count them.
Just some random flowers I saw on the side of the road. If any one knows the name of them please let me know.
Mt Asama is kind of hard to miss in Karuizawa and is almost always putting off a cloud of smoke. No eruptions yet since I've been here though. 
A rather nice view of the many tree filled mountains that surround us. Every way you look you see lush green tree covered hill tops. May certainly was a strange month for weather. We had boiling hot days, thunderstorms, random downpours and even a hailstorm!
June is at least staying consistent, albeit horribly so. It's been cold and wet making it kind of unpleasant to be outside. However, being the proud Pacific North Westerner I am, I'm not letting it so me from going out. Even if it is just to take out the garbage.
Well, another Golden Week has come and gone. This time around I survived a lot easier due to the fact that the 29th fell on a Tuesday, effectively making Golden Week only one long weekend instead of two.
Karuizawa is showing the signs of spring time now and not just with a lot of rain. Flowers are blooming and even the birds have built their nest in our bushes again; though I have to give our neighbour, Hotel Wellies, the lions share of the credit for that due to their constant diligence in maintaining a veritable smorgasbord of bird feed.
Things are slowing down again as we get ready for the best season this summer. I like to think of this time of year as the calm before the storm, because before I realize it, it will be almost unbearably hot out and we will be running at full capacity again.
It's been quite a while again. I haven't been the most busy person in the world but I've been running into a few obstacles when it comes to updating this blog.
The first one is that most of the pictures taken to be used here are on some one else camera and sometimes that can take a while to get them emailed to me. As most of what happens here would greatly benefit from photographic evidence, I have felt that not using pictures would be a disservice to those that read the blog.
Mostly however, the main obstacle preventing me from posting, is my desire to post original content. Being that every thing that I go see or do is as part of a group, coupled with the pictures scenario, it almost always appears on the main page first. I don't want to turn this blog into something that just reposts what has been seen on our main page.
With that in mind, please be patient with me as I try to find something that I can use for just the blog itself.
Thank you for your patience.
Bryan.
A quick update while I wait for my ride to work. Not much going on though. Had some guests yesterday where the husband was Spanish or Indian, I think Spanish, but it turns out he could speak five languages. I can barely speak one so needless to say I was quite impressed.
Lately our lunches have been more busy than our dinners, so it certainly does seem people are spreading the word. Either that or all the work Asuka does on the Facebook page is really paying off.
Getting closer and closer to the day when my mom comes for her visit, and running or of ideas of where to take her. Any one out there no any good, inexpensive places to take a tourist? Comment with some suggestions for the Tokyo, Karuizawa, Kyoto and Osaka area? That's most likely where we will be going.
As the title suggests, we have been quite busy over the holidays here. I take it to mean that word of the awesome Canadian guy has spread and everyone wants to come see and or laugh at him.
It's finally slowing down here now that the holidays are all over but like everywhere there are still a few stragglers that show up at the tail end of everything. But for the time being we have zero guests staying with us so we only have to be concerned with lunch now. That gives me almost two days off. Not quite but I'll take it.
On that note we here at Hoshinoko in Karuizawa wish you all had happy and safe holidays and we look forward to seeing you in 2014!
