I used to be a high school English teacher at the public high school in Hokkaido. I retired from an English teacher 6 years ago and I got a license of the national government licensed guide interpreter. I live in a small city named Abashiri, which is located in the eastern part of Hokkaido island, Japan and very rich in nature. Abashiri is surrounded by natural beauty such as lakes, rivers and mountains. I like to go hiking in the mountains near our city all year round. In spring, we can see beautiful peaks crwoned with remaining snow, in summer there are a lot of alpine flowers, in autumn we can see gorgeous autumn colors and in winter we can enjoy snowshoeing in the small mountains on sunny days and seeing beautiful Okhotsk Sea covered with drift ice. I would like you to enjoy walking in the forests while hearing birds singing. I hope you will have a chace to enjoy some of them. I can help you spend wonderful time here. Abashiri offers you not only natural beauty but also some interesting museums which specialize in northern minorities such as Ainu, Inuit and Eskimo. Also, there is a drift ice museum where you can touch some drift ice in the very cold room (-15 degrees Celsius) even in summer. You will have a great time visiting those small museums.