I am quite ok with the heat in the summer, I move slowly, plan things ahead to never have to run, carry water with me and dress lightly. And if I can swim it’s perfect. I guess my body is also used to it from growing in the South of France. But little Parisian A. is more affected. So we decided to drive north a bit in the Nasu area and the Oku Nikko area for a very short refreshing time. The last time we visited the area was in 2007 in the winter, so quite a change of scenery and a few things have changed since then. Noticeably the Nikki club has closed last summer so we couldn’t stay there again, instead they have transformed the staff quarters into a much cheaper hotel called Artbiotop, where one can experience some craft activities and see the beautiful installation of Ikegami: the water garden. Overall Nasu was almost as hot as Tokyo during the day but nights were a bit cooler. It only really gets cooler when hiking mount Nasu at 1700m and in Oku Nikko by the Chuzenji lake where we visited the British and the Italian residences that have opened to the public since we first came in 2004. And of course we had yuba, a traditional product of Nikko, soba and river fishes. And we discovered by chance a very nice place to eat, while everyone rushes to Chus, the very marketed place to be downtown, we went to Cu-eri, a nice little restaurant that cooks local products with plenty of herbs in a French inspired way.

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