For more than half a century, I rarely travelled beyond the shores of Great Britain, and had no experience of living outside my home culture. Now I find myself settled in Japan. The experience has been interesting. Perhaps I can share some of it with you. Life being what it is, I will not be posting regularly and may mix stories from early in my time here with the day’s events.
Arasetsu 13 September 2024
Welcoming Autumn with Shochogama
Akina is two villages over. It is larger and more spread out than En and was historically the wealthiest village on the area. Whereas in En there is only just enough space for the village with a few small tankan plantations to fit between the mountains and the sea, Akina… … read more
Obon 17 August 2024
Old bon in Amami
A neighbour’s decorations hanging from a bamboo pole Over the last week or so I started seeing lots of bightly coloured decorations made of paper or glistening metal streaming down from trees or hung on or inside buildings. These are for a festival known as “tanabata”. Wikipedia gives me lots… … read more
Morning Exercise 24 April 2024
Radio Taiso Daisuki
Things get going early in En. Every morning since I have come here, the village loudspeaker springs into life at 6.30am. It is time for Radio Taiso. Rajio taisou (ラジオ体操) literally means “health radio” and is a series of simple physical exercises broadcast on NHK radio (the Japanese equivalent of… … read more
En 11 October 2023
A new place to live
On the North coast of the island of Amami Oshima, facing out to the East China Sea is the small village of En. Since I am likely to be here for a little while, I should give it a proper introduction. En’s inhabitants, or “Encchu” in the local language, seem… … read more