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Members of the Yatsugatake Club gently tend to groves of mixed trees which change their appearance with the seasons, sometimes even during the course of a single day. The trees, grass, insects, birds, squirrels, rabbits and other vegetation and wildlife, combined with the water, natural sounds, and penetrating light, all form a microcosm of nature. Hiroshi Yagyu and his family grew the forest little by little with tender loving care. In addition to the forest, the Yatsugatake Club operates a restaurant and art gallery, attracting an endless flow of nature-loving visitors from Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and other large cities.
Located 1,350 meters above sea level, the winters are harsh, but the Club owns a Honda snow thrower to help them deal with the snow. But no matter how troublesome the snow can be, it is still one of the main attractions of the Yatsugatake Club in winter. "The sense of gratification of removing snow with a shovel... The convenience of using the tools and equipment.... And, the tasks that only a snow thrower can handle," explains Shingo Yagyu, himself a naturalist. "Tools are controlled by humans to perform a certain physical function. But they also perform an important aesthetic function by being put on display." In one corner of the wooden deck beside the restaurant rests the red snow blower, its work for the day completed.
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