The 2am quake here in Tokyo was quite a wake up. Biggest one I’ve felt for a while.

Got treated to a rainbow on tonight’s stroll with the hound.

With my son about to head back to college in the UK after a summer here in Tokyo, it turns out that the emotional whirlwind that comes with an empty nest can be just as tumultuous with year 2 as the first time. Would “tryingtokeepmyshittogetheruntilhegoes” be too long for a hashtag?

This time last year I was in a river in Wakayama, cooling off between interviews and shoots. It ended up as two chapters in a book: one on Kitayama village, where a super fruit and traditional rafting have helped with regeneration, and another on the hot spring hamlets of Yunomine and Kawayu.

A #haiku inspired by the glamour of travel writing. check in... plastic carnations caked in dust

About choosing projects. Or struggling to.

Hot day in Tokyo. I’m thinking of snow. Though not as much snow as this drive from the Tango Peninsula to Kinosaki earlier in the year.

Today is an 'ugghhh, Amazon' day. For a while now the English edition of one of my books listed on Amazon Japan has had a product description in German - something neither author nor publisher can change directly in this case and something nobody else seems able to change/deal with.

Just in case you have guests you want to impress and you anticipate they’ll need a poo.

There was a question here a while ago about how you know you've met your kind of people. For me it's a feeling. Specifically, my kind of folks help others feel big and bold. They listen to people's dreams. They extend hope. Give permission. Make change and growth feel possible.

It’s become a tradition over the past decade or so to get a photo of the hound with each book I write. Not always the easiest task…as this morning is reminding me.

Possibly some subsized Branston, Twiglets and pasties would help too.

Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵@richardmedh.bsky.social · last mo.

My analysis is that the UK economy may depend on exporting more cheese and beer to Japan, especially to be sold at reasonable prices in shops near me. asia.nikkei.com/politics/new...

45 minutes on the bicycle running errands this morning and absolutely drenched in sweat. It’s going to be a scorcher in Tokyo this week.

I didn’t have enough characters available for this moan about writers advocating for other writers when it comes to pay rates. So it’s a screenshot.

Kenzanso might just be the most beautifully situated mountain hut in the whole of the Japan Alps #japan #hiking #mountains

Well, that was an enjoyable World Cup run. Shades of Southgate at the end, but there you go. Argentina were the better team.

One trait I've discovered while talking to people about the book, as lots of it covers rural areas, is that I cannot say the word rural properly. I grew up in a national park - a super rural area. My first language is English. Still can't say rural. It just oozes out, like a pathetic growl.

An abridged version of the intro to the new book. A lot of the focus is on rural Japan but not entirely - the book's gaze is away from the big cities and visits small villages, islands and towns, but also some communities with larger populations.

Beyond the Metropolis: Discovering Rural Japan’s Hidden Cultural Renaissance

Explore Another Japan by Irwin Wong and Rob Goss. Discover how rural Japanese communities are fighting depopulation with art, tradition, and sustainable tourism as an antidote to overtourism

gestalten.com

In other news, I broke the lid of one the things we freeze cooked rice in. At least the hound was amused…

It’s officially publication day for Another Japan. Well, in some places. Europe today. US in September. Australia in December. Japan…technically now but feels like it’ll be a little longer before stock arrives anywhere. Soonish. English and German versions available.

Another Japan

Abseits bekannter Metropolen und Klischees bewegt sich dieses Buch durch Japans kleinere Städte und ländliche Regionen. Es folgt dem Rhythmus der Jahreszeiten, lokalen Festen, Werkstätten und Häusern,...

gestalten.com

Still, on the plus side, I got to catch up with some old friends in between x-rays. Something I wrote about (briefly) a while back. www.tokyofreelance.com/the-conversa...

Rob Goss@robgoss.bsky.social · last mo.

The joys of middle age. No running allowed for a month. And a reminder to stop wearing flip-flops on walkies.

The joys of middle age. No running allowed for a month. And a reminder to stop wearing flip-flops on walkies.

I’ve been thinking about why I dislike certain words or phrases that are basically harmless. “Hidden gem” is one. Lazy and cliched. Corporate speak like “synergies” is brainless nonsense. Drones parroting drones. But some words I don’t exactly know why I dislike. Example: “Musings” 🤢.

Today in the office I’m mostly…

Most of my work this summer is in Tokyo or very nearby, which will make a lovely change from being drenched in sweat on assignment in various parts of Japan. That said, a year ago almost to the day, I got to see a wonderful (and sweaty) outdoor performance of Noh on Sado.

In Japan’s 72 micro-seasons, I think we may have just reached “a load of little sodding flies appear in the bloody kitchen”.

Author/contributor copy delivery. Dog came separately…almost 12 years ago.

Thank you, Belgium.

Eng v Mex. Bloody hell that was stressful.

Cabo Verde. Incredible. I didn’t have extra time on my bingo card.