From the earliest years of my childhood, the mountains of Karuizawa remains an indelible memory for me. The rich forest greens, the smell of moss, pines, the gentle winds, fresh mountain air. Mt. Asama shadowing us wherever we rode our bicycles, in the town, in the forest, on the machi, overlooking the tennis courts. Our summer cottages were always filled with kids, wood burning fires, many rainy nights and days, playing scrabble, reading, listening to the Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds. Frequent power failures, lack of heat, or hot running water was all part of the charm Karuizawa offered us. Pictured hereunder is our summer cottage, wrap around indoor porch. Our house number was 1395.
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| Summer Cottage |
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| Fireplace |
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| Late Night Journey to Karuizawa |
We pack our car late on Friday evening. Head out of Tokyo past Shinjuku, jump on the Shin Kanetsu Expressway and drive to Karuizawa. We arrive, it's remarkably colder than Tokyo, the fresh mountain air. We struggle to open and pull the warped wooden shutters "Amado" open. Start a fire, bottle wine and doze off. Here pictured with my brother. This pic was shot in 1977, Karuizawa- Gunma Prefecture.
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| Town of Karuizawa |
A climb up Hanare-Yama. From the peak we could see Karuizawa machi. The train station against the backdrop of the mountains enveloping this small summer resort town.
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