Contents This page: Life in a Northern Town Shopping Schools Medical Town Offices Quiz Time! Q: What poisonous snakes might you come across in Fujino?

Life in a Northern Town So what's it really like living here? A question like the above has lots of answers, depending on what you're looking for. For us, one of the most important things about Fujino is the friends we've made here; it's a small community, and you tend to meet the same people at various events, like the flea market held in Yoshino Event Park. There may be a few xenophobes, but their phobia seems to be directed at anyone beyond the borders of their own property, not just "foreigners" in their midst. Most of the town has accepted us with great kindness.    On a practical level, some people probably measure "remoteness" in the coin of convenience to the amenities of modern urban life. In that sense, Fujino can't pretend to be anything but rural. In Spring, 2000, however, a small Japanese-style "supermarket," the Matsuba, did finally open at the southeast edge of the bridge Hizure Ôhashi. It satisfies most of our basic food needs. Three franchised convenience stores and a number of mom-and-pop groceries are also located in the central parts of town—not to mention many self-service roadside stands selling home-grown produce. Other basic services such as dry cleaners and medical care (see below) are also available. Some residents make do without automobiles, since food deliveries are available from the Kôseiya in Uenohara, and the agricultural cooperative, and buses run as far as Oku-Magino. But Fujino's topography and road situation make it ill-suited for heavy bicycling, and most people will agree that an automobile is an unavoidable part of life here. In any event, "inconvenience" is a matter of perception and attitude; I don't find Fujino particularly inconvenient, but others may. Convenience and the state of the environment tend to run on inverse trajectories; it is certain that the town wouldn't have its lovely habitat if it were more "civilized" and convenient. Shopping We do most of our daily food shopping at Matsuba, but we also take advantage of two supermarkets in the neighboring town of Uenohara, namely, Gourmet City (formerly Daiei) and Kôseiya. The drive to the Gourmet City is eight minutes from Green Gables, and to Kôseiya, about ten. A Mitsuboshi discount dry goods store and a Nojima discount electric store can also be found in Uenohara. Fujino's southern neighbor, Tsukui Township, has several larger stores that we also use, even though they're a bit more distant from us (but closer for people living in Fujino's Shinobara community). These include the Gourmet City and Fresa supermarkets, both of which are only 10-15 minutes from the Shinobara community. We usually save up our other major shopping for trips to a variety of locations on the west side of Tokyo, including Hachiôji (20 minutes and ¥650 by car on Chûô Expressway), Takao (35-40 minutes via Highway 20), Tsukui (20 minutes via Highway 412), Sagamihara (45 minutes via highways 412 and 413), and Ôtsuki (30 minutes via Highway 20 or 40 minutes via the local highway 35 to Tsuru). Even more distant is the Costco located in Machida, about an hour away. We use it occasionally for buying things not available elsewhere, like whole turkeys. Large "home-depot"-type stores can be found at a new J-Mart in Tsukui, DoIt in Sagamihara, Ôtsuru and another J-Mart in Ôtsuki, and the various Murauchi stores in Hachiôji. The locally owned Tomita Shôten in neighboring Uenohara is fairly large, though, and well stocked for a local hardware store. My greatest "amenity" complaint, I suppose, is still the lack of a wide variety of good breads in Fujino. Bakeries can be found in Takao, Uenohara, and Shiotsu, but their French-style breads are mostly the standard mediocre fare. Matsuba seems to stock the best local French bread, but most other breads are mere variations on the standard soft white. The nearest good French bread to be found is probably at one of the stores in the food basement of Sogo Department Store in Hachiôji's station building—or in your own oven.

Fujino Flea Market Matsuba Supermarket Small Stores Roadside Produce Stand

Shigeru-do Art Shop Fujino Town Offices

Drugs and Art? Most of Fujino's resident artists and artisans market their own creations, but no adequate central location exists where local artists' works can be displayed as representative of the "art resort" that Fujino aims to be. The nearest thing to this is the Shigeru-do Art Shop (formerly Yokoyama Pharmacy) located on Kôshû Kaidô (Highway 20) at the intersection in front of Fujino Station. Mr. Yokoyama Shigeru has donated his small store to serve as a display area for crafts and artworks made by local artists. Bravo to Mr. Yokoyama and those who helped make this a reality. On the other hand, if the "art village" concept is meant to contribute to the Fujino economy by impressing the town's existence on visitors, what Fujino really needs is an larger, nicer gallery in the station circle, in place of the tinselly souvenir shops characterizing most resort towns. Schools Due to its expansive geography, Fujino supports ten, count them, ten elementary schools for its whopping population of 11,000. Basic long division should quickly suggest that each school must have a very small body of students, and since the economics will not permit the furnishing of school-lunch facilities, all students must bring their lunches from home. Even without school lunches, the need to support this many facilities and teachers obviously places an incredible burden on municipal finances, and a good number of residents believe the time has come to merge some of the schools and allow bussing of some students. Another possibility for internationally minded parents is Keimei Gakuen near Haijima Station. Fujino also has one junior high school in the central Obuchi section of town. No high school, however, so students at that level must commute to Hachiôji or elsewhere. Medical Basic medical care is available in Fujino, though nothing very special. Facilities include a number of doctors' clinics and one small surgical hospital, as well as two dentists, and the Fujino Hot Springs Hospital. The next-door town of Uenohara has a larger Municipal Hospital (Uenohara Chôritsu Byôin) which enjoys a good reputation. Many people take the train to Nishi-Hachiôji or Hachiôji for dental and medical work, particularly anything requiring special care.   Town Offices For official information about the town and life here, you can consult the Fujino Town Offices. Next Page: Beyond the Basics

Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
by Norman Havens nhavens@gol.com
Updated: April 20, 2002

URL: http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens/