Yokoso Yokohama!

As I sit and type in these words, I can glance out of the window at a peaceful neighbourhood - small homes with children's toys and flowering plants dotting their front steps. Above the moss covered roofs towers a solitary hill on which several tall trees stand guard over this part of the city. Even from this distance I can make out the leaves swaying to the rhythms of the wind. This is one happy place!

The sun shines every two days and it rains for double the number of days - I have been told it is rainy season here (I never did notice it last year in Mikawa Toyota). We are living in a glorious, cosy little apartment on the 3rd floor - the tallest building in our row. The apartment is maybe as old as the trees I see from my window and bears silent testimony to it's several previous occupants everywhere you look. Despite it all, there is a feeling of serene happiness that prevades it - I try to think if it's because of the sunny rooms or the quaint balcony. Maybe it is the cheerful attic or the friendly folks around who have the time and smiles to greet us newcomers that does the trick. Our new home is a proper thief of hearts - and it stole mine the minute I first entered through the door!

What a lovely way to start life in Yokohama!