Thank You Note

A thank you note I painted today (and yesterday of you include all the failures) for Sakko & Hiroshi who let us stay in their home as we searched for houses to rent in the mountains of Nagano. It was in an area I have visited several times before. The first time i saw it I thought "This is amazing. I want to live here". I visited again as a part of the preparations for my "big dream idea". Knocking on doors and talking to whoever I met on the road. Most of thepeople (except for a grumpy photographer) were incredibly helpful and kind. I grew more in love with the area. This time Tomoe and I were looking at houses a little further north, but we had time at the end of one day so I convinced her to take a trip over a mountain pass "just to see" this area. It wasn't long before we were invited to stay with Sakko and family.

As it turns out, they are living exactly the lifestyle we are looking for. They live on $700 / month (one child), grow their own veggies, Sakko is a macrobiotic cook herself. The only problem (and it is not a big problem for me) is that it is quite a commute over some mountains to my new job in Hakuba.