Karuizawa

So, the Leadership team from CAJ went up to Karuizawa Friday, April 4 and 5 for a Leadership retreat.  We met on Friday morning at 8 a.m. and drove up.  It is about a two hour drive, a fairly easy drive and the scenery is beautiful.  
Karuizawa is a mountain town.  We stayed in cabins by the Karuizawa Retreat Center.  It is the mountain version of the Takayama beach community.  It's a cute, quaint place.  A place, I'm sure that would be a relief from the hot, humid summers in Tokyo.  There is also an active volcano nearby, Mt Asama.

One of the signs for the retreat center

The Ladies' cabin

The Men's cabin

Quaint shopping street nearby

The creek

Saturday morning I was up early and took a walk up towards this pass that was about three km away.

Still snow on the ground

There was this little chapel that was founded by a Canadian. 

The church

Founder Alexander Croft Shaw

Alexander Croft Shaw

Inside

The woods around the chapel

Sunrise Saturday morning

Mountains at the rest stop on our return

Interesting shaped mountains

Isn't this a neat sign?  Don't dig here because the phone lines are buried underneath. :)

I was again amazed at the beauty in this country.  This area does remind me a lot of the mountains in British Columbia.  God certainly was creative when creating this world.