We started a very important task this afternoon, contacting various pubs and craft beer shops to enlist their help as (non-commital) signatories to our brewing license application.

In Japan in order to obtain a license you need to have confirmed buyers in advance..

So far mainly positive responses, and we’re plenty of backups for those who can’t help for whatever reason.

A little nerve-wracking but necessary task.

Yesterday was exhausting, a whole day of filming in the heat. In the afternoon then kids joined us and in the evening we had a big family gathering, all filmed.

Today is a break from filming but a busy day, hopefully mainly in an air conditioned room but lots to do.

Tomorrow is another day of filming but mainly indoors so hopefully more manageable.

Busy times!

Also we should hear about our subsidy application next week..

OK, my outdoor interview recording is done! In half the scheduled time which is just as well as I was melting and struggling with the sun.

The remainder of today’s recordings either don’t involve me or are mainly indoors.

So glad we decided to do my bit in English, would have been a lot more than 3 takes otherwise.

Drinking culture is quite different here than it is in my experience in Scotland.

I don’t think it is necessarily unique but it is different to my experience.

Food is very important in drinking culture here whereas ordinarily in my experience in Scotland (yep, repeated 3 times, intentionally).. food was generally before or after drinking.. with the rare exception of dinner parties or going out for a meal (as the main event of the evening).

As such the topic of food pairing with beer often comes up and I am entirely useless in this regard.

We bought an Irish red ale for someone as a souvenir and thanks for recent help and I was pushed into suggesting a food pairing.. all I could say was stew.. then in a Japanese context hasashi rice (rice in a sort of tomato demi-glaze meat sauce).

Not necessarily a bad pairing but lucky if it is a good one.. I probably need to study this topic more.

For the first time, I have been invited by some brewers on our Island (Shikoku) to a wee gathering to drink, eat and be merry. Should be fun!

There is a small group of non-Japanese brewers on the island who are very active in their group chats etc. but I am not yet a peer so haven’t previously been invited to participate.

However, we are on the verge of joining them in the industry and this feels like an acknowledgement, which is nice.

I still can’t ✔️ the “become a brewer” box on my site but it shouldn’t be the case for too much longer.

Lego mornings are good mornings!

Other child-friendly small-scale construction block brands are probably good too.

About to head to a hearing about the proposed bypass through our village. Have rehearsed my contribution and should be fine.

Not convinced that the views of 8 people are going to trigger any changes though, particularly as 4 of them are our family.

I’ve been to an unfortunately large number of funerals since moving to Japan but today’s has been the most difficult.

Having to drive our deceased dog to the crematorium was tough.

His ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean this evening, which is fitting as he loves water.. so long as he didn’t suspect you were using it to clean him!

We woke very early in the morning to discover that our dog had passed away.

He had been suffering for a while, and held on way longer than expected but now finally his suffering is over.

He was with us for 13.5 years and will be sorely missed.

Up at 3:30 after maybe 3 hours of sleep to drive 300km to Osaka for an all-day seminar in Japanese on off-flavours. So glad convenience stores are 24/7 here as energy drinks/coffee will be required!