My Hood!

I was talking to my dad yesterday and he reminded me that I have never put up photos of where I live. I kept meaning to, but somehow never got around to it. The weather was super clear today so I took out the camera and finally got some shots. I really enjoyed it too, so if the weather holds I will get some more pics once I get back from India. For now, I have a few. I will put these in two separate posts. First, some pics of the area I live in.

榛原町This is the view of Haibara town from a nearby hill, taken at dusk. My apartment is in the middle of all this. The biggest buildings in the area are the town hall and the high schools.

This is Highway 150, the main road that runs through the whole prefecture.

Where I live is pretty rural and the train line does not come here. So there is a build up of stores and restaurants along 150, and then nothing but farmland and residential areas everywhere else. Pretty slow and simple place. As Micah said - it has pretty much everything you need to live, and nothing more.

Greenhouses

Shizuoka Prefecture is one of the largest areas of farm production in all of Japan, so this is a common sight.

It's daikon harvesting time!

I still just love the cartoon signs. Have you ever seen a dog so happy about picking up his own poop?

A river leading out to sea, and if you look close you can see Fuji in the background.

Shizunami Beach

This is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Right now it is pretty much deserted because it is winter, but in the summer they erect temporary structures that serve as restaurants/bars, and the entire beach is packed with people. It is a really popular surf spot as well. And I have no idea why there is a Statue of Liberty there!

More goofy signage

A small shrine set up next to the beach, which I imagine is for someone that died while surfing there.

This is one of the coolest parts about living in the farm belt, at least for a foodie like me. A lot of people have these stands built out in front of their houses where they sell whatever they have grown in their garden (and there are some HUGE home gardens here). It is all on the honor system, with a locked box for to put your money - and everything costs 1oo yen, which is a bit less than a dollar.