Famousularity

I'm famous... but I look much squattier than I imagined. (I'm the one opening the can of beer in the photo below. Tomoe is squatting behind the BBQ)

The photo above is one taken be Paul (fellow web-dork from Tokyo) who was visiting Hakuba this weekend with wife Akko and friend/coworker/fellow web-dork Oli). Somehow, the photos I posted on Flickr have only received 5 (give or take) views, but his have already gotten up to twenty!

Despite my having to work on Sunday morning after a co-worker was injured, the weekend was a success I think. Paul, Akko and Oli arrived late Friday night (long after I was asleep) in time to catch a quick nap in our loft. I woke up early in the morning to prepare to show them around the town before their afternoon canyoning trip (photo later or on Paul's site), but thankfully they all slept in late giving me a welcomed opportunity to just sit on the porch and read.

The afternoon was spent by canyoning (photos coming soon), followed by a bike ride to the best onsen in Hakuba (according to Tomoe, the best she has ever been to) and dinner at an izakaya I was also happy to learn about (until then Tomoe and I had never eaten out in Hakuba). A short ride home, a short walk to the nearby ski-slope, and everyone seemed ready for bed.

The biggest worry for me is that there is so much to share about this area, but the people who come to visit have so little time. Packing everything into two days makes everything suck, but missing out on something great also feels sucky.

At any rate, the next morning I was called in to do an AM canyoning tour after another guide was injured, so Tomoe baked some fresh cinnamon-rolls for the friends in the hopes of keeping them occupied, which seemed to work thanks to their being worn out from the previous day's canyoning.

The the remaining time before that had to head back to Tokyo, we took the canoes out on Aoki lake with a BBQ set and lots of fresh veggies. It was a little rushed, but still delicious!

I find that we are much more popular now that we live in a great location. In all the years I lived in Tokyo I only had a total of 9 overnight guests (including mom, dad, sister and sister's friends). Since we have come to Hakuba only a few months ago, we already have 5 visitors. Is there something to be learned from that about an possibly innate desire for humand to connect with nature?