So my kids asked me to go get some ice cream at 7-11 and I did - & I brought my camera.

[Matsubara]

Okay, so it's another photo thread.

It's getting hot so the kids wanted ice cream. Good excuse to take some photos of the neighborhood.

First, here is a road through the pine forest (AKA Matsubara in Japanese, hence my screen name) that our place faces.






You may remember the 7-11 from a previous post:



Here it is in broad daylight. I imagine it must be nice to work at a 7-11 right on the beach in a sleepy and quiet coastal suburb like this.




Upon approaching the shop, I noticed something...



A bird's nest. The parents were feeding the babies!



I guess this is a sparrow. What a cute bird. And look at the work on that nest! Like a woven basket, and how they stick that clay on the wall! Amazing.



Before bringing the ice cream home, I take a detour to the beach, just behind the 7-11.




And then I took another shot, but it's a big panorama, so I will make it a separate post.

:-)

[Kerrytravelers]

1. Wow. I wanna live where you live.

I have to actually get in my car and drive 20 minutes to get to the beach! :P

[Matsubara]

4. We feel REALLY fortunate to have found this place.

When we last lived in Japan, we lived on the 4th floor of a 6 story concrete building built in the 60s. The rent was cheap, but it was inland, surrounded by houses and buildings and condos endlessly as far as the eye can see. I had to ride my bike for an hour to get to any kind of real nature. For a person who grew up in nature like me, it was really depressing, and kind of soured me on life here.

But then we spent 5 years struggling with soaring housing costs, the nightmare US health care non-system, etc. and with a sick FIL, decided maybe we should come back.

We shopped around for a while, and most of what we saw was similar to the previous place. Multi-story concrete building. But then we found this place, close to the beach, view of the pines from the front window, 2 stories, backyard. Not quite a house but close enough for now. There is a huge and beautiful beachfront park a little further down the beach with great playgrounds, great stores nearby, density is lower here, and it feels like we live in the country. I felt home at last.

And the rent is less than half what we paid in San Francisco for a dumpy, moldy basement hovel.

We no longer have to accompany our kids everywhere and chauffer them around all the time. One walks to school, the other rides a train on his own. They play in the neighborhood with all the neighborhood kids all day, and we don't have to worry because everyone knows each other and there is little traffic.

I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have found this place. We both wonder why we struggled so long in the states when we could have been here.

I hope everyone else's situation can improve as dramatically. I know a lot of people are struggling right now.

[AllegroRondo]

2. looks like a swallow of some kind

perhaps a barn swallow (do they live in Japan?)

they will build nests from mud, spit, and sticks, and hang them wherever they can. great little birds, they eat hundreds of insects every day.

[Matsubara]

5. Thanks. I'm not real knowledgeable about birds.

I just know they are cute. :-)

Glad to hear they are helping with the damn bugs around here.

[pitohui]

13. it is beyond a doubt barn swallow

for some reason the barn swallows of japan that i have seen are extremely bold and will nest quite low in the little eaves of shops, street stalls, etcetera

this is a widely distributed species that i have also seen in usa and canada but the ones in japan seem to be utterly w.out any fear of humans

[Matsubara]

21. I've noticed that cats here are much less aloof than in the states, but some dogs are more aloof!

I think that in the US, there is a culture of young boys torturing cats which may be part of the reason. When I was growing up, I saw so many cases of young boys around me abusing animals, it's not even funny. And of course we see the stories of cats being burned and otherwise attacked in the newspaper all the time in the US.

The culture of boys being cruel to animals for entertainment's sake really doesn't exist here, so that may be why many animals here seem less fearful of people.


The shiba-ken is a native Japanese dog, and like Akitas and chow-chows, is a rather aloof breed.



They kinda remind me of foxes, and their behavior is more catlike than most dogs. A lot less of the licking, panting, jumping and other overt displays of affection.

[tigereye]

3. wow, how beautiful! What a lovely place to live.

thanks for sharing!


I think that's some kind of swallow, btw. It has that purple martin kind of head, and the long tail. I bet some birder will be able to tell you exactly what it is.

:hi:

[AllegroRondo]

6. In the US, I'd say its a barn swallow

it has the coloration and the long forked tail. I just dont know if they live in Japan.

[AllegroRondo]

8. apparently they DO live in Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_swallow

so I'll stick with that ID.
:)

[Inchworm]

7. Nice pictures!

Such a beautiful outing.

That nest is awesome. I'm going to have to go with the other poster that said it looks like a barn swallow, but am also going to use the "don't know if they are in Japan" disclaimer.

Thanks for sharing the beauty.

:hi:

[pitohui]

14. i should have scrolled down before posting, yes, it's barn swallow

they are common and have a habit of nesting in smallish human buildings that are quite busy, not just convenience stores but even in small stalls selling souvenirs and the like

no doubt in my mind whatsoever

[Allenberg]

9. In alot of ways

I miss living in Japan. :(

[wildhorses]

10. where are you again?

you could be on the coast of north carolina :wow:


thanks for a great pictorial:loveya:


:hi:

[Matsubara]

11. Western Suburbs of Fukuoka, Japan

And yes, the climate here is more or less like the coastal Carolinas - hot, muggy summers, and relatively mild but chilly winters with occasional snow flurries.

The mountains are a lot like the N. Carolina mountains too.

[wildhorses]

12. we must be about the same latitude --

never really thought about it in that regards. i feel like you are my neighbor...heehee

[supernova]

16. I'd like living there too!

Really nice neighborhood you have there Matsubara. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing.

[Inchworm]

19. Hello neighbor!

I'm in the NC Mountains near wildhorses. :D

So, if we grabbed shovels on this side and you grabbed a few there, we could have a DU meeting in the middle, hehe. :P

:hi:

[Matsubara]

22. We visited Asheville back in 2003 - what beautiful country you live in!

It was summer, and Asheville was a great escape from the sweltering heat of Miami. We stayed 3 nights in the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway. What a wonderful time in a wonderful place.

Wish I could be as enthusiastic about some of the areas of Georgia we had to go through to get there...

[Left Is Write]

15. How cool!

[Midlodemocrat]

17. Beautiful pictures.

Those Japanese, they have a different word for EVERYTHING.

:P

[BarenakedLady]

18. Beautiful

I love those pictures. Thank you for sharing a place I'll probably never see in my lifetime.

:thumbsup:

[ceile]

20. Nice pics.

Kinda looks like Houston. I miss the pine trees....
Sounds like you and your family have your place in the world. Congrats!