Last week was Silver Week! Here is how our members spent the consecutive holidays.

Based in the southern foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains, CDW team member Yamamoto’s hobby is DIY, and lately it’s getting increasingly hardcore!　

1) First, we went to the Suwa Flagstone quarry near Suwa Lake and the Kirigamine Plateau to load up a 2-ton dump truck full of stones.
2) After deciding on the layout of the approach in front of the entrance,
3) Gravel is embedded under the stones and in the crevices, and the foundation is adjusted while the stones are secured one by one. (Suwa flagstone is Augite Andesite formed by volcanic activity about 25 million years ago.)
4) And it’s done!　

Although my hands were totally blistered, I felt quite a sense of accomplishment!

Next is Silvester!

Recently, including our weekends, we are checking out the progress on our new house in Tateshina as if it was our main job! We check, make some calls, and then check again!

This week, we had another meeting with the architect to confirm the height of the lighting and the way the walls are to be divided. Although this is our second time building a house, including our overseas moves, we have lived in numerous houses since our twenties, and when this Nagano house is built, it will be the fourteenth time we have moved.

This challenge, which is like an kind of like experimenting new ways of working during career phases, is as much fun as it is a lot of work to do. If you ever want to build a house, I’m here to help!

Lastly, from Hashizume!

Every year on the autumnal equinox, our local shrine holds a festival.
This year’s festival was the first in three years, and the ‘mikoshi’ (portable shrine) was also on display.

This images show the ‘Ujiko’ mikoshi from three years ago. The mikoshi in my town has a long history, dating back to the Taisho era (1912-1926). Every year, people from all over come to carry the mikoshi, and the town comes alive- much different to its usual feeling.

I always look forward to joining with people from the town council to put up the market and festival floats, but this year, the Ujiko mikoshi and stalls are still on hold. I hope that the day will come soon when the little ones who have yet to experience a local festival can enjoy it.