About

Welcome to Kofu, Tottori. Population 2,500.

We follow Sakamoto-san, a former salesman turned farmer, throughout the grape growing season.

See how kids practice Shodō, the art of Japanese calligraphy.

I now own some land in Nikko, Tochigi. Here’s the story of how it came about.

If you had asked me when I first visited Tokyo 24 years ago, I would have told you that cycling in the city was great. But the latest report by the Copenhagenize Index doesn’t rank it nearly as well as it used to. What’s up with the ranking?

A visit to Japan’s Cycle Base Asahi exploring all the different kinds of bikes they sell. Sources: Cycle Base Asahi https://www.cb-asahi.co.jp/ Rules for electric bikes in Japan https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kotsu/jikoboshi/electric_mobility/pedal.html Bicycle helmet law https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kotsu/jikoboshi/bicycle/menu/helmet.html News article about bicycle helmet law https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/31/national/bicycle-helmet-duty-bound/ How many Japanese wear helmets? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/02/japan/japan-cyclists-helmet-wearing/ Number of bikes stolen in Tokyo every year https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/about_mpd/jokyo_tokei/jokyo/hanzai.files/tokyo.pdf Number of bikes stolen in Japan every year (p.53) https://www.npa.go.jp/toukei/seianki/R04/r4keihouhantoukeisiryou.pdf How to register your bike in Japan https://www.tokyobybike.com/2013/11/how-to-register-your-bicycle-in-japan.html?m=1 Bike theft in the Netherlands https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931151/ Number of bikes in the Netherlands https://www.government.nl/topics/bicycles

Using local trains, we travel for 3 days around Tochigi, Fukushima, and Niigata. Going this deep into Japan’s countryside provided some interesting challenges that you don’t normally see when you stay on the more tried and true tourists paths.

I made a video about why Japan’s public toilets are amazing and one of the reasons was that you always find them when you need to go. I speculated that perhaps there were so many because they were cheap to build and maintain. So, I investigated.

In this one, we visit an all-you-can eat fruits shop, a Nashi (Asian Pear) farm, and do a blind taste test where we try and guess which fruits are cheap and which are expensive.

There are some crazy, weird, tiny buildings in Japan. Let’s check them out and learn why and how they exist.