I met Shinobu, her husband Ippei and their good friend Atsuhiro at a little Japanese Pension in Rusutsu where we are all staying and skiing.
Shinobu and her husband were recently married and have broken from tradition to open their own accounting firm in Osaka – the second largest city in Japan.
Atsuhiro works for his father in the hospital system and I’m not sure if something was lost in translation but it sounds like his father owns the hospital!
Either way, all three are happy to be in the positions they’re in because of the ability to take more than the single week holiday most Japanese workers have each year.
It’d be difficult to find a more friendly group and it’s hard to not feel inadequate when it comes to language when they do so well wth English which doesn’t come easily. Still, they are all so happy to strike up and hold a conversation.
After seeing photos from where they live and holiday around Japan, it’s become obvious this is a beautiful country with so much more to see than what I have so far.
Shinobu, Ippei and their good friend Atsuhiro about to head up the mountain for a days skiing – it was minus 9 degrees celsius here!
My son Mattie, Shinobu, Me and my brother Simon outside Pension Yamada which is completely surrounded by a wall of snow.
