Welcome to my little corner of the interweb - a place of refuge from a house full of Japanese women and the problems of modern life; a place where spleens can be vented, mysteries explored, wrongs righted and funny bones tickled.
Your humble scribe
A mild-mannered,if occasionally grumpy English middle-aged beer lover with a passion for Japan, martial arts, travel and a whole load of other things.
Arizona Beginner Guided Backpacking Trips 2025!
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I’m hosting another series of guided beginner backpacking trips in February
of 2025, in Arizona! If you wanted to join in 2024 but couldn’t make it,
this i...
Mt Hino (日野山)
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Extra information: The peak is also known as Echizen Fuji and is one of the
5 Mountains of Echizen. It was supposedly first climbed by Taicho Daishi,
the f...
Why do Japanese words not start with p?
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I hadn’t even noticed this until a commenter pointed out that the name
“Pokemon” must be based on borrowed words (namely “pocket” and “monster”)
because al...
Odds & Ends: April 26, 2024
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Why Public Health Should Attend to the Spiritual Side of Life. When
analyzing what factors affect health, researchers rarely factor in the
influence of r...
The End of the Road. Er, Track. Or Maybe Barrel.
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Day 14 ½ (3rd October 2009) The Hog in the Pound (Bond Street) 5 x ½
Kronenbourg 1664, 2 x ½ Adnams Broadside £15.10 Our next stop was The Hog
in the Pound...