Our little genkan

So remember when I posted about the ideas we had for our little entrance or genkan area here? Well, on our last visit we felt we needed to create a more welcoming feeling as we walked in the door..... sooner rather than later. So we got a move on and started gathering large pebbles from the local beach. Remember its all about the budget and using nature wherever and whenever possible!

Once we heaved the pebbles home we started laying out our possible designs. We received some creative input from our six year old assistant. What do you think? She said she ran out of pebbles, so she was unable to fully express her design!

We used some pre-mixed concrete and scored a third bag for half the price because it was cut open. It's a small area in the genkan so this seemed the easiest way to go and the concrete was on sale too! 

It was my first time to lay concrete and I am here to say it is an art! My treasure and dear husband was so much better at it.

You need to work fast, by spreading it evenly out across the area.

Then comes the fun part, or so I thought....

The idea in my head didn't really translate into the look I was going for (I blame Pinterest for that! ha!), but in the end we worked with what we had. So we started by laying the first large pebble.

We started nervously laying each pebble according to what looked good or felt right to us. Each pebble had to be really pushed down into the concrete and we even dug out some to make them sit better.

Just a little more smoothing out of the concrete and we were done! 

So voila! The little genkan has been given a partial facelift. The next project in this little area is to sand and varnish the agarikachi- seating platform. Of course those shoji screens are also patiently waiting their turn for an update. But now its definitely time for another onsen!

Cliff side onsen- Izu

A planting we will go...

When we look outside our genkan we are surrounded by healthy vegetable gardens and rice fields. These eggplants are happily growing in a row just behind Obachan chi's. Our neighbor who is a very agile 91 year old, says the key to being healthy is keeping active and he certainly does that everyday! It's a wonder though that the deers, which have been spotted, haven't gobbled them up!


So, inspired by our neighbors we started our very own veggie patch one fine sunny day, planting corn and sunflowers. 
                          

Originally, Obachan created her own little flower garden with tulips and daffodils just outside her house, which seem to have turned wild over time. We started churning up the soil and   formed rows ready for planting.

Our ever willing assistant was eager to help out. Even after two days, we noticed a corn seed that hadn't been planted deep enough, but it was already sprouting. Nature is quick!

We are lucky enough to have some shade provided by the kashiwa tree. It's leaves are traditionally wrapped around mochi (compressed rice cakes) and eaten on "Boy's Day" in Japan. This tree is over 50 years old and while it has been neglected and a little diseased, it has fought back with some clipping and is providing some shade for our little veggie patch.

Hope we get a bumper crop! Will keep you updated.

Historical Shimoda City

On Father's day here in Japan (June 21st) we headed off for a drive to the nearby beach side city of Shimoda. This area if you didn't already know, is historically famous for one Captain Matthew Perry, an American Navy Admiral who along with his crew landed on the beaches of Shimoda determined to have the Shogun Ieyoshi open Japan's doors for foreign trade.
We started out on Perry Road where there is a memorial bust displayed of Perry, along with an anchor gifted from the U.S. Navy. 

   

Along the back streets was a visual treat in my opinion, lined with old traditional stone houses or ones decorated in a black and white criss-cross pattern known in Japan as Namakokabe. It is a typical pattern found throughout Izu on houses and fences. It's a pattern that I would love to introduce to Obachan chi's exterior someday. It also a pattern that if not done well or painted correctly can look very tacky, so I'll leave this idea on the back burner for awhile. There's so much more that needs to be done on the little farmhouse!

                        

An example of the Namakokabe pattern in all its glory. It was once a private residence to the Sawamura family, which is now open to the public. I plan on coming back for a tour another day....when its not raining and I don't have a wet little dog tagging along with us.

 

Many of these old houses have been converted to cafes or small shops. They make it very enticing to sit and have a coffee and enjoy the atmosphere, but again with a wet dog we continued on promising to return another day.

The hydrangea or ajisai is in season and blooming in most parts of Japan right now.

Despite it being a rainy day, we all enjoyed sightseeing around Shimoda and plan on coming back to enjoy its white sand beaches.

Our cool addition from Kyoto

So its summer time in Japan and we are back in Izu after a long silence. It's officially rainy season here, so we waited a week for better weather before setting off to this peaceful place. While its been pretty much cloudy and rain here and there, the temperature hasn't been hot at all. So it's a chance for us to get busy with different projects. It's really hard at times to think about which project takes priority when you look around Obachan chi's. 
One thing we knew we needed before the weather became too hot and humid was a small fridge, hence our "cool addition" which travelled all the way from Kyoto.

While getting a fridge may not be a big deal for some, when you have to live without one day in, day out eating foods which do no require refrigeration gets very unhealthy! We put off getting one because we were working on the house in the cooler weather, so we just made do with an cooler box.
Anyway, I can't praise the Japanese delivery ethic enough. We ordered our little fridge Friday evening and it arrived, from Kyoto, Sunday morning. It's reconditioned but it has been cleaned out so well with a packet of wipes as "a service." What can I say, customer service is at its premium in Japan. 

So of course when we set off to the grocery store our minds were dreaming up all the different items we desired...milk, butter, eggs and the list went on. Our little 'cubei" is our new favourite item at the moment.