Nojiri (map) is where I spent most of my summers while growing up. My Dad had built a cabin and most of my favorite Japan memories are from there. Like Karuizawa, Nojiri also was popular for those wanting to get away from the summer heat.
Art's daughter Joy was living there full-time in a cabin at the Nojiri Lake Association (NLA).
We stopped first at her cabin.
Then we went down to the waterfront to the auditorium. It is almost exactly as before (although in my memory it was bigger).
For me, a highlight of the service was an earthquake. The building shook, but the speaker only paused a beat. (life in Japan)
The waterfront also has changed very little. I expected change, but it was fun to see so much that was the same. Notice the lifeguard tower and swimming raft.
I played on and around this tree on the waterfront as a child. It has a distinctive shape and is still there.
In this old picture of the waterfront, the dock is wooden instead of concrete. However, the lifeguard tower and swimming rafts are there. My Mom is on the lower left with Lisa.
Adult Lisa looks across the lake to the far village. I was pleased to see so much of the lake waterline was still green and undeveloped.
Nojiri's island is beyond the swimming raft.
This old photo of the lake and the island was taken from the cabin my Dad built. Today however, the trees have grown up so much that the lake cannot be seen from the cabin.
For lunch we ate soba (buckwheat noodles) and tempura (deep-fried vegetables - the best I can remember).
The restaurant had both chairs and tatami straw mat seating.
After lunch we brought our luggage to Rick Seely's cabin where we would stay the night.
Next we walked to the waterfront for swimming.
The lake water felt excellent. It was very satisfying to be back swimming in lake Nojiri.
Rick's veranda was a nice place to relax afterward.
That evening we went to the hymn sing on the docks. We sang to the accompaniment of a pump organ until it was dark. It was just like old times.
In the morning Lisa read to us from a book she found on the shelf: "On Becoming a Woman", circa 1955. It was very, very funny!
