I especially love watching the little lady who lives in the corner house across from us. Whenever the weather allows, she’s outside in the mornings working on her planters and it’s been a delight to watch her flowers bloom. Like many elderly Japanese women, she is very stooped over, probably the result of malnutrition during wartime. She can hardly move around but she tends her plants with great care and keeps her yard looking absolutely clean and tidy. She appears to live alone but several women drop by on a regular basis. One, perhaps a daughter, is there most days.

Across from the elderly lady, an old man is often observed out working in his yard. One day I noticed that he was taking a break from gardening and practicing his golf swing. He didn’t have a club in hand but a fellow golfer recognizes that motion! I’m a little worried about him right now though as he has a terrible cough. Walls are thin here and I can hear him from here!

We also love watching the tiny children who gather with their mothers at the corner just down from us each morning to wait for the bright yellow bus that picks them up to take them to preschool. They look absolutely adorable in their little uniforms!

In addition to being able to watch life unfolding around us, there is a definite bonus to living where we do. On a very clear morning, we can see Mt. Fuji from our window!