Two city dwellers who love the country are feeling fine in Eastern Hokkaido! My husband grew up in the city of Kobe, and I grew up in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia Canada. So how did we end up here?
First our love for nature lured us to the wilds of the Yukon Territory Canada where we met and stayed together for three years. Wanting to know more about my Japanese partner's language and culture, I suggested that we give living in Japan for some time a try.
I stumbled upon a volunteering position to teach English in Tsurui-mura, Eastern Hokkaido. This opportunity and our love of the north was the reason why we chose to be here.
Tsurui-mura is a very special village. We have been lucky enough to share this place with the tsuru (Japanese cranes), dairy cows (of which there are over one hundred farms), and the wonderful two thousand plus residents.
After a year of living in Eastern Hokkaido, we are happy to say that our love for nature is greatly satisfied.
The wildlife is abundant. On country road drives we often see not only
tsuru but also fox, deer, eagles, hawks and many varieties of smaller birds.
We have also spotted hare, owl, weasel and king fisher birds.
When there is fresh snow on the ground, it is wonderful going for walks and camparing our own footprints with the animals' tracks.
The environment that these animals share with us is beautiful. Tsurui Mura has a hilly landscape speckled with many dairy farms and it is bordered by the Kushiro Marshlands. We often go for hikes in the hills and we can see views of the Akan Mountains in the distance. At night we are lucky enough to enjoy the the star-lit skies.
My husband and I have a semi self-sufficient living on a horse ranch 15 kilometers from the village core. In spring we made tempura out of the many sansai (mountain plants). In our summer vegetable garden we grew all the vegetables from home plus daikon and edamame. Come summer's-end we learned how to pickle our harvest of daikon (takuan). In the fall and winter months deer hunting was possible and we now have a freezer full of this healthy lean meat. A very relaxing treat on cold winter days is bathing in the natural hot spring waters at one of Tsurui-mura's three nice onsens.
It looks like one year is extending to another. No surprise after our amazing experience here in Tsurui-mura Eastern Hokkaido.
Looking forward to planting again this spring!
No comments:
Post a Comment