Bobby’s Bulletin Board

Around Hirao 2006

Below are some pictures of my new place in Hirao, Japan.

Let’s start with a view of the outside of the church… This is Hirao Christ Church. It’s a two-room building that used to be a show room for a home remodeling business.

Here’s the sanctuary/teaching room in the church. It’s a pretty good size for Japanese standards!

Now here are some pictures of my apartment… It’s one room, and is the right half of the church building. I have a living room, office, dining room and kitchen all in one. The bathroom is separate. I love all the windows!

Someone noticed that there is no bed. It’s a futon that I pull out at night and then fold it up and return it to the closet when I get up in the morning.

All of the following pictures are from the block around the church. There are lots of nice views, and some interesting things, too. I’ll explain just a few...

To the right here is a Japanese speed limit sign (I think)… and that’s 30 km/hr, not mph! These are some little roads, and you wouldn’t want to fall off in the ditch.

Below you can compare a new, expensive, more western house to a more traditional Japanese house. The difference is clear!

The sign above is advertising lots for sale where new homes can be built. The new home above is on one of these lots.

Below, you see a picture map of Hirao that points out attractions of cultural or historical interest. I haven’t gotten around to exploring it yet.

And finally, this is the bakery on the corner of my street. I hear it’s famous, and so I can just tell people “Turn right at Yokomichi” and they can find the church from there. :)