#Image

Photograph of a paddy field in Japan, drained, cleared and with the supports used to dry the rice still standing

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Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

After years of looking out my bedroom window at the empty paddy fields, I decided to track them down. [keep reading...]

Photograph of a quartet of red bicycles waiting to be rented.

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Thursday, September 21st, 2023

Kobe is a walkable city. If you don't fancy all that legwork, you could rent a bicycle. [keep reading...]

Photograph of the Port Liner monorail coming into the station at Sannomiya

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Tuesday, September 19th, 2023

Every time I hear a claim driverless trains or monorails don't work, I roll my eyes. I take one regularly. [keep reading...]

Photo of a road station sign in Japan showing the services available - Toilets, disabled access, smoking room, food and also parking. In the background is the outline of a Green Suzuki Hustler Kei Car parked in a single bay all on its own.

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Monday, September 11th, 2023

I always take a photo on my phone. It saves the GPS data, which means I know where I've been. Useful for later edits on photos. [keep reading...]

Photograph of the Izushi clock tower, a wooden structure with sides curving to the crowned top and a white clock face showing 12:10

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Monday, August 28th, 2023

The clock tower in Izushi was thought to be the oldest in Japan. Until it wasn't. This hasn't stopped the town becoming a must-see destination on the Japanese tourist trail. [keep reading...]

Photograph of a man swirling a Ukrainian flag in modern dance

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Sunday, August 27th, 2023

A dancer performs with the Ukrainian flag, swirling and stretching in a street in Japan. [keep reading...]

Graphic showing a slice of cake on a textured background.

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Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

A graphic created as a follow-up to my article on using CAGRs in business planning, and shared on LInkedIn [keep reading...]

Photograph of the overhead air vents on a Pokémon liveried aircraft.

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Saturday, August 19th, 2023

A flight on the Pokémon Aircraft out of Kobe brought a little detail I doubt many others noticed. [keep reading...]

Photograph of a covered shopping street in Japan. On either side are the supports for the curved central roof, and a person to the left giving context for its large size

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Monday, August 14th, 2023

The walk from the end of this street to Sannomiya Station is about 2km. Apart from crossing the road in a couple of places, it's pretty much all under cover. [keep reading...]

Graphic showing a brightly coloured triangle acting as a filter from the millions of hits on Google to the one person who remembers what they're all about. The caption reads,

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Monday, March 27th, 2023

Common knowledge isn't as common as you think. [keep reading...]

Photograph of stairs at a baseball stadium. Painted on the left side risers is a man holding a baseball. On the right is the phrase Let's enjoy the game.

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Friday, February 3rd, 2023

These only become visible when you’re facing the stairs almost head on. Before that they’re just random shapes. [keep reading...]

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Monday, January 23rd, 2023

I assume someone hit “publish” before they were ready. [keep reading...]