On Friday morning, we boarded the bullet train out to Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture.

The gang’s all here! We took the Shinkansen out of Tokyo.
The town is known for its beauty in the summer time, with lush greenery, a luxury resort, and a cute downtown area with boutique shops and restaurants. Some come during the winter to enjoy the slopes and winter sports!
We were lucky enough to spend the late morning and early afternoon touring the town and eating at a local cafe.
We also had an interview with a local news reporter! We talked about the history of our accommodations – Harmony House was founded by a female Christian missionary interested in promoting the development of musical and artistic talents in young people – and our experiences so far in Japan.

Our story will appear in this paper. Too bad our Japanese lessons won’t be much help reading it!
Our tour included St. Paul’s Cathedral and the main drag in town.
We did some shopping and then headed to ISAK, the International School of Asia, Karuizawa. Come back to hear more about it!