Riverside - a tranquil place an hour or so from Hell.

"Riverside" is nestled in lots of trees and next to a beautiful river.

When staying there one is in constant visual contact with nature. My favourite aspect is the play of light. From dawn through to dusk one's eyes will feast on myriads of colours of rock and leaf, tree and river and you in the midst of it all.

The air is really fresh and your kids will just love spending time there. At night time Jon will light a fire. Although cold outside, you will be nice and cosy. A glass of wine in hand.

In Japan many people live without a sense of nature in their daily lives. Visiting "Riverside" will put you and your family in touch with it. Jon and Jenny are kind hosts and very easy going. On arrival you are simply a part of the family. Cooking together, enjoying meals and doing whatever chores are on hand. Conversation is never wanting. There are always lots of interesting things to chat about.

Perhaps to mention, one should never feel that one is intruding. Unlike Japanese culture, sharing our homes in Australia or South Africa, where I come from, is something we relish. Enjoy this!! "Riverside" is fantastically spacious. It has a large upstairs living area and enough accommodation for a family or two. If you wanted to read a book, sit on one of the balconies and listen to the river flowing by.

Early morning as the sun rises and shines over the river, be sure to look for the wild duck. They are beautiful and a reminder of how we too can be free.

Getting out of the traffic and noise of Tokyo and arriving at "Riverside" is the start of a relaxing weekend.

The drive off the road down to the house by the Tonegawa, following the kangaroo signs, puts you into a different world: of rice fields, orchards, mountains and the fast flowing river.

The house itself is welcoming - wide verandahs overlooking the river, large open lounge, dining and games rooms and comfortable bedrooms, enough space for all. There is a local onsen nearby to enjoy after a day skiing, hiking, cycling or just pottering in the vegetable garden at Riverside.

Lazing on the deck and looking over the river introduces you to the wild koi that enjoy the shallow pool near the house. In summer the calls and laughter of the crowds enjoying the white water rafting fills the air: watching the rafts riding the rapids is exhilarating for all. In winter the ice crystals glistening on the trees and the dustings of snow on the hills is very beautiful.

Waking in the morning to the sound of water, the rustle of leaves and the smell of coffee - does life get any better! The food at Riverside is home cooking at its best - with a huge oven and outside BBQ - everyone helps to prepare the mouthwatering feasts. Bringing our favourite foods and wines to share with friends, helping out in the kitchen, enjoying each others company - a Riverside weekend refreshes and prepares you for another hard week of work in the city.

The first time I arrived at Riverside I volunteer to do some hard outside work on a rock wall.

Subsequently, each time I go, I engage myself in physical labour for the relaxation and workout that it entails. It is always fun because various people that are staying at Riverside join in.

In the summer, it is possible to jump in the river now and then to cool off and so the connection with nature is quite complete. There is always a good BBQ at night and interesting conversation. I have found my stays at Riverside an excellent tonic to the drudgery of city life sometimes in Tokyo. I hear that there are many sports activities on tap there and look forward to partaking in those activities as well in the future.

Spending time at Riverside was wonderful.

It was great to see all the green, hear the sound of the river, and enjoy God's awesome creation. We had a great time with the Sparks, and were enjoying the surrounding area. The glass factory is a must see, the local Onsen are very nice, and going upstream a bit and the river was a nice place to swim and play with the kids. You definitely have to make sure you have some time to do a BBQ while you are there. It was so nice to see such a nice spacious house right there in the center of nature to enjoy the great outdoors.

Jon and Jennie seem to have found the most beautiful spot in Japan.

After a day of riding through the mountain passes, we found our way down to the riverside, played pool and darts very badly and stayed in their mountain resort cum spacious hotel. I can see how being involved in riverside can open up a new life of outdoor adventure only 70 minutes from Tokyo.

We have enjoyed spending time at Riverside a few times already.

True to their cultural heritage, Jon and Jenny are easy-going and hospitable. Everyone can do things at their own pace, they are happy to let you know some things to do and see in the area so you can go and explore on your own. Meanwhile Jon & Jenny also enjoy the occasional dinner party or barbecue get-together and that is a great chance to meet some of their other friends, have a drink together with some good conversation. This way, spending some time at Riverside is a great mix of doing things together and taking your own time to do your own exploring.

It is also a good mix of kicking back and taking it easy, combined with being active and exploring the outdoors. There's lots of space indoors and outside and that is very refreshing for us busy Tokyoites. The building is divided very smartly with the owner's bedroom, living/dining and kitchen upstairs and the guest facilities and extra recreational space downstairs. Besides this the living and recreational areas are large and open. That means you are not in each other's way. Meanwhile, the river flows along the length of the house and with large windows on both floors you feel in touch with nature before you even leave the building. I have enjoyed waking up in the morning to the calm rustling of the Tonegawa stream. So that is the calm and relaxing side. The active starts when you get outdoors! The house is surrounded by open land and lots of nature. Jon & Jenny are always working to improve their little paradise retreat and I love gardening. So when were there in spring, Jon and I plowed over a patch of soil (good old hand work!) to make a vegetable garden. By the time we came back a few months later the veggies were piling out of the space so we made another veggie bed next to it. Another time we stacked loads of fire wood (cut up pieces from the renovation!). Throughout these activities we concluded that doing this out in nature beats sitting on a stationary bike staring at a wall, or any other workout in a gym back in Tokyo...

The Tonegawa by Riverside is active, but actually quite small and shallow compared to the large river it becomes by the time it gets to Tokyo. The government controls the flow with a dam upstream so it never really gets out of control. In the heat of the summer we had a lot of fun wading in the river and looking for interesting rocks. We started out on the side of the river but pretty soon we were trying to find a way to wade across. The water is crystal clear and we had a refreshing time trashing around. When the season is right again we also want to do the river rafting sometime. Rafters come by regularly and everyone is always waving, very friendly.

We did various hikes in the area and they have all been different and very nice. We found out online that one of the peaks above the ski slopes had ice caves and of course we had to hike up and check it out. The hike turned out to be quite challenging even in spring time with almost no snow. The path was well indicated but it turned out that not many people had used it (at least since winter) and so it was overgrown and narrow. Of course this added to the adventure. The last part of the hike became quite steep. It was still more walking than climbing, but we definitely needed the ropes that were there to keep our balance. Apparently the snow melt had broken some of the trees right by the caves so at the top we did some work to fix the ropes and steady them for future visitors. In all, it was a fun hike and not too long, perhaps three hours to go up and back. In the summer we did another hike on one of the higher peaks, that one was longer but easier because it was not so steep. In spite of a good map, we took a wrong turn and ended up so high on the mountain that there was still snow even in the middle of summer. We crossed a small river stream over a snow bridge. That was an interesting adventure because we knew the path was somewhere under the snow but we couldn't see if we were crossing the stream over the actual bridge or if we were standing just on frozen snow... Well, nobody got wet and we made it back fine, after which of course we rewarded ourselves with a nice visit to the outdoor onsen in the area.

For anyone who is concerned about safety, consider the following: Riverside itself is well-built (recently) and sits on a huge piece of concrete. The river is a few meters below the building and has flood control so should be no concern. The only thing I can think of is that young children need to be supervised if they are playing in or right by the river. Around Riverside there is lots of space and no traffic, so it is excellent for kids. The decks around the house have safety wires to prevent kids (and adults!) from falling off. The surroundings are nature so depending on the season you need mosquito spray. The hikes that I described may sound adventurous and challenging but there are plenty of hiking trails suitable for children and those who prefer to do a light walk.

Personally my biggest reservation was not understanding the heartfelt openness of the invitation to come up.

You said it so clearly "come up, you're welcome". So any hesitance to come up says more about me than Riverside or you. That's probably why I waited till there was work to do so I could feel like I earned my keep. I know better now. That said I'm more than happy to write a little something. I had such a great weekend.

I was so surprised at how easy Riverside is to get to. The Shinkansen takes you straight from Tokyo to Jomokogen, no train changes, 70mins and your there and then it's just a short stroll or taxi ride down the hill and you're there.

Arriving at Riverside is instantly revitalising, the river flowing clean and clear over smooth rocks, the trees, space, sky with the peace and quite, so relaxing, I just wanted to stay there for ever and never have to go back. Riverside is such a beautiful spot.

What a great weekend, swimming, playing pool or darts, drinking beer and wine, eating good food and sleeping late but most of all having fun with friends.

I loved it, can't wait to get back up there.