Plus One
Of course it was never just 100 days – always there was the +1. To fulfil this final duty in Miyagi, we decided to dodge the needless flying, skip the indirect trains, and drive a bus all the way from Kanazawa, straight to Ishinomaki. It wasn’t the quickest way to do things, but for Katy and ...
Sight Beyond Sight
Often towns specialise in a certain product because nature makes it easy for them. Take Arita back in sleepy Saga prefecture. It exploded because of an enormous mine which made pottery craft a cinch. Once something becomes easy, it’s only a matter of time and dedication before it transforms into expertise. On the surface, there’s no ...
A Happy Monday
They say prefecture 46, Fukui, is the happiest in Japan. If that’s the case, then it’s true in spite of the weather. Winter here consists of snow, sleet, hail and rain, usually within a few minutes of each other. Still, the people are happy – it’s a very different place in summer, apparently. Historically, though, ...
Read More
The Fairytale Teller
We got off the train in Matsue and winter was waiting for us. Not the fun winter of snow, steamy breath on the still air and mass conviviality. No, this is not a Hollywood winter – this is the brutal winter of the real world, and it has not come to play. Instead, it brings ...
Snap Happy
The name does not, as I have believed for so very long, have anything to do with loud artillery. This makes every explosive noise I’ve ever made while taking a photograph kind of redundant. Of course, Katy always knew better, although she didn’t know that the brand Canon actually comes from the Buddhist god of ...
Ready? Go! and Rock Wishes
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve written: “[thing] wasn’t actually invented in Japan, but arrived from China” or words to that effect. This morning we discovered another one, an ancient Asian board game that was first known as weiqi (in China), then baduk (in Korea) or and finally go (Japan). The rules seem ...
The Living Island – Part Two
“Sleeping is giving in, so lift those heavy eyelids,” so sing Arcade Fire, but this morning if it had been up to us – or more specifically: me – we would definitely have raised the white flag. In my humble opinion, 5am starts are not conducive to a good morning, especially when the blog is ...
The Fat and the Furious
In Europe, we’ve got our own sport for the big lads. Yes, there are some rugby players, who are much larger than average, but they’re only suited to certain positions. But I’m referring to darts, which allows a person to be as obese as they like, so long as they still have the strength in ...
Brought To You By The Letters R, L and The Colour Red
In most countries, you find that people speaking English as a foreign language make the same mistakes. It takes a long time for Italians to drop the sing-song of their native tongue; the French will resolutely never pronounce an H; and the Spanish find swap Bs and Vs like footballers swap jerseys. Actually, they’re not ...
Where’s The Beef?
It was two of my friends that first told me about it. The pair, who are unusually extravagant and humble at the same time, were in Las Vegas, trying to further their fortunes by playing poker. One night they decided to visit an upmarket steak restaurant. At the top of the menu was the Kobe ...