IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN A WHILE since I have managed to put pen to paper so to speak and a lot of things have happened here in Hanase, so I will try not to write too much and let the pics do the talking.
First of all. builder #1, Mr Happy Mountain aka Fukuyama-san finished up and builder #2 starts next week. In the previous blog I started growing my Daikon to compete with the builder’s progress, needless to say the daikon is still going strong!
Garlic, onions, carrots and kikuna; sadly rhubarb failed.
The end of summertime signalled the start of the local school’s carnival. all parents and friends were invited and us 3 big foreigners won the tug o’ war which caused a bit of a stir. But a lovely day out.
We were the red/pink team!
Our old kitchen was ripped out and re-installed finally.
before
after
and in between!
Autumn also heralds the new season shiitake and wild mushrooms.
and hungry dogs
My good friend and neighbour Stuart ran his annual Haunted house event, this year up at Hanase; last year he set a precedent of 1200 visitors around his house down in Kyoto but this time he was determined to get the people to jump in their cars and head up the mountain to his house in the hills. 
All the locals got involved and we ran food stalls outside and although with temperatures plummeting we had 3 great days of scaring the shit out of the young kids. I can’t give too much away but inside really was very scary and thanks to the Kyoto news press and Osaka TV he reached out to a broader audience.
The local school kids came round and made Jack o’ Lanterns, proudly wearing their own handmade animal caps!
Our good friend Goro-san the plumber is still around too….
and a lovely shot of Sadie and Boss
Our combustion stove is being delivered next week, not before time. This week-end its already down to 2 degrees C.
so had the chance to bring out my chainsaw.
Lovely walks in the morning with the dog and a chance to see what the country would have been like many years ago
All the rice has been harvested and hung to dry in the fields.
On the 10th day of each month all the local community gather ( at 8 am ) to clean around the shrine. October was our first appearance since arriving but already feeling “more local”
The Persimmon trees are abound with fruit now and jams and chutneys are on the go
Our next project is already on the board and we are looking to make a winter wonderland with Santa’s Grotto. Should be fun.
On a final note, a local cafe owner in Osaka is appealing to the good nature of smorkers?
Site Title 
Yes, smorking is apparently very prevalent in Japan. It’s the word for what you look like when you smirk while you smoke and someone smorking really does appear very unattractive and off-putting to many people. I’m not surprised this cafe owner doesn’t want people smorking on his premises.
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