Oide Koen

Another trip up to Hakuba. This time we stopped at Oide park in the deep snow and wandered around the beautiful old kominka nearby, before meeting a family who have been living in Hakuba for more than 10 years and who were so kind to share their experiences with us. We were told about Kenji and Tomoko Usui whose home and guest house is in Ikeda, which happens to be the nearest town to us in Ikusaka (it’s where we go when we go to the nearest supermarket), and who are known as pioneers of permaculture. We learned a lot and more than that it was very fun to meet and chat with such a warm family.