COMMUNITY
WHAT IT MEANS TO US
Japan has its own community events, such as neighborhood watch, neighborhood cleanup days, and circulars that are passed around to inform everyone about community information and events. We are a bit more proactive in our approach. For example, during Covid, we ran a farmers market for our neighbors who were afraid to go to the supermarket. Similarly, we buy apples in bulk during the fall and distribute them to our primarily elderly neighbors, as they are heavy to carry home from the store and we can provide them at about half the cost. We also have an informal gardening circle and share out things like fertilizer, which we get in bulk, thus saving them both money and hassle in getting them from the home center. Little things like this puts us in good contact with our neighbors and makes for a friendly atmosphere for all. Of course this makes for a more welcoming environment for our guests--I can't tell you how many times our neighbors have told us how nice it is to have so many young, happy people around!
MAKING our NEIGHBORHOOD ATTRACTIVE
PAINTING
We are gradually painting all the walls around the property to bring a bit of brightness and color to everyone. It's such a simple
thing to do, with such a profound effect.
SHARING & PROVIDING
HELP EACH OTHER OUT
We also help out our elderly neighbors with simple routine maintenance, such as replacing screens when they get holes in them, replacing washers in older faucets, and painting walls, as here. Again, it's simple for us, but saves them a chunk of change.
THEME NIGHTS & GET TOGETHERS
We welcome people from all over the world to our community and love it when they are willing to share their culture. Of course that takes place informally every day, but also in the form of "country" nights. We provide a budget and have them prepare a typical meal from their country and we invite Japanese friends along. Of course our friends bring food too, so it's a lot of fun and chance to really taste each other's cultures. So, here's my question, what will you bring to the party?
EVENTS
YOGA, PERFORMANCES, Etc
We often offer yoga on the Baba deck during the summer, with its view to the ocean and the mountains. Nice way to wake up in the morning, or unwind in the evening. We also sometimes host events, such as theater performances or acting workshops. A Butoh group is active both
locally and in Sapporo and they frequently offer workshops; since we've become quite friendly, we even sponsored the production of a video last summer in a local temple. Butoh is fundamentally
based on Buddhism, so it was the perfect venue.
