My sister-in-law’s apartment is on one of the routes for the Yosakoi festival, so I am able to sit on a bay window in a relatively well air-conditioned apartment watching the festival pass.

I went down to street level to watch our team pass and see my wife and eldest daughter dancing. Very proud of them.

view of a rainy Japanese city street view with an approaching group of dancers in colourful uniforms


It is hard to properly put into words just how rare it is to see this flavour of snacks around these parts..

.. so rare that I am actually questioning whether I remember what this combination of words means and if I truly know what to expect when I open the packet..

.. please don’t be disappointment, please don’t be disappointment!

A plain white potato chips packet with black text that reads "Salt and Vinegar"

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We met with an octogenarian carpenter yesterday. We had previously met him almost 3 years ago and acquired this bench which he made.

Very interesting man who lives locally. He was a school teacher but took to carpentry after retirement. He uses the traditional no screws/nails approach and I am a big fan of his style. He is also an audiophile who has built a lot of his own speakers, amps etc. and has created a soundproof listening room in the middle of his very traditional house.

Anyway, he doesn’t take on so many projects these days and is a little bored. So, he is going to help us with our pub interior as an advisor, instructor and carpenter. Very excited! Not only will we have a cool looking place but if it also functions as a mini-gallery of his work and benefits him we’ll be delighted.

A photo of a wooden bench with the natural shape of the wood used as the seat maintained. Side view of the same wooden bench in front of a black upright piano.

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We had the opportunity to visit one of the two plots high in the hills of our village where some villagers started growing hops.

Very surprised by the abundance of Columbus hops! The aromas from both varieties were excellent.

It seems like two more varieties are being grown on the other plot but it’s whereabouts are currently a mystery, hope to find out soon.

Excited to brew beers in the future using fresh hops grown in our village, and very grateful that locals are growing them unprompted on our behalf.

a shaded view from below a number of hop plants with some buds in view. very green, well-lit close up of some hops on their vines. green hops turning brown on their vines.

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I need to find a job else I’ll be cutting weeds for the rest of my days!

We will miss the community tidy up day on Sunday as we will be on a business trip.. so today we did our bit by tackling the local play park.

This fan assisted jacket is a gane-changer! My battery can now outlast the rechargeable batteries of our weed-whacker

A light grey short sleeved jacket with hood lies on a grey sofa, there are two black fans just under where the wearer's shoulder blades will be. A kids play park with tidier, shorn grass/weeds, featuring a slide, swings, and a tree covered picnic table. An overgrown section of the same part with lots of foliage, some of which is about knee height. there is a tree in the foreground too. a weed whackers leans ominously against the brown wooden wall of an old house.


Another morning of tackling “weeds”!

This time my fan-assisted jacket helped a huge amount. By the time both weed whackers batteries were depleted I still had energy to continue.

Much of the previously cleared land had become overgrown again but it was easier to deal with than last time.. We are now maybe about 40% done but not much tough foliage still left

Before picture of a plot of land covered in wild foliage. Before picture of a plot of land covered in wild foliage. After picture of a plot of land covered in slightly less wild foliage. After picture of a plot of land covered in slightly less wild foliage.

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Found this critter today in our overgrown herb garden.. no idea what it is but they look very cool.

Yellow, black and white beetle-like insect on a green shiso leaf


Some photos from our business trip to Eastern Hokkaido. Didn’t take many because it meant being de-gloved for too long (my phone takes too long to do anything).

Kinda boring shot of a small paper coffee cup with the Japan Airlines logo on it. Craft beer menu and a small circular sign with the pub details on it. a plate of nachos with salsa behind which is a pint glass containing imperial coffee porter along side its companion bottle. a snowy scene with an old elementary school in the background and a sign for Brasserie Knot in the foreground, a brewery located in the gym hall of the school. a snowy scene with blue skies and many Japanese cranes wandering about a protected park slightly zoomed in photo of more Japanese cranes in the snow


A few photos from the post-launch event, first proper meeting of the Kochi Craft Beer Association. Lots of positive discussions and samples with explanations of beers from each of the breweries! Exciting to be part of this.

A bunch of happy looking people with beers sitting around a table covered with beer, pizza boxes and various snacks. A bunch of happy looking people with beers sitting around a table covered with beer, pizza boxes and various snacks.

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