Rice harvesting causes headaches

I had meant to get this post done, and dusted, the day that I did the rice harvest. A very pleasant sunny Sunday, and the one just gone. However unforeseen alcohol consumption put me to bed by 7:00 p.m. Apparently my new friends, who got me into that state, had called the house again by 7:30 p.m., wanting me to continue drinking with them, as the night was obviously still young. Unlike myself.

Well I'm guessing that being 'the only gaijin in the village' made me something of a novelty. Plus, alcohol got me practicing my limited 日本語 (Nihongo, or Japanese language) as best I could. Certainly for the linguistic newbie that I most patently am.

Anyway, with regards harvesting, I'd seen rice before of course. Mostly on my plate, often under a curry. But this was new. This was the real McCoy and in situ. This was rice at the sharp end. In the morning it certainly would feel that way.

I had even less of an idea of what to do, when we arrived at this new patch, than I had on the sunflower harvest. In fact to be quite accurate, I had no idea whatsoever.

First we got the instructions. I think that's what they were. It was in Japanese of course and I understood some small percentage of it. Probably the initial greeting, I'm guessing, giving me some 0.01% comprehension of the situation.

Nonetheless, rice seems to grow in a clump. Handy really. A quick cut at the base with a sharp blade and  then a little string to tie it. About 1/4 the way up from the base.

It's easy to then separate the bunch in half. Down the long side (from the string) so that it can be sat on top of a large bamboo pole. Though I am guessing, I'd say to dry in the sun.

After we had a go, the real work was done by a handy machine. This is Japan after all. At some point a 蝮 or Mamushi got cut in half! Now I wasn't expecting such a venomous snake quite so close to peoples homes. Less so all the kids. But this is the countryside after all! And I suspect the snakes were just as venomous back in Australia, if not more so.

Well this community exercise had to end with a gathering. This time, a BBQ at a local community hall. Presently I can say that the rest is just a haze. I do know that Asahi 'Dry' caused some general numbness (in my head that sounds like numb nuts. And at the time...). A selection of flavoured, I think I recall 25%  焼酎 (Shōchū) later disabled my central nervous system. [Ed: I now stand corrected - 35%!]

And yes, that is Toshiyuki-san using an 'industrial blower' to get the charcoals burning. He is also good at convincing people, me to be precise, to have another beer.

Come back soon as I too return to 'fill in the gaps'.

From sunflower harvesting, to Ostrich - on a toothpick

 A strange start to the weekend, really. I knew we parents would help out with some sunflower harvesting which, I believe, the school had planted. Well I've never harvested. Anything, in fact. So I was up for it.

The story goes that someone had decided that sunflowers would absorb some of the radiation, in  Fukushima and affected areas. Here's a good explanation. So everywhere people had planted sunflowers to create the seeds to be sent over for planting. But apparently the effect is so negligible that the effort was maybe wasted.

Nonetheless, I arrived at the allocated field in my new ながぐつ (nagagutsu) or Wellies, ermmm, Wellington boots! Mini sheers in hand I learnt, by observation, that I should just cut the flower head off the stalk and chuck them into the nearest plastic container.

Well it was fun to work our way though the field, which we did quite quickly. Of course I was then told that there was another. A pleasant walk along the old river lead us to our second patch. Now that stream is so because of the Gyōnyū-damu  (yes, Gyonyu dam) which holds back much of the original water flow. Here's another nice google maps reference, which my wife apparently hates because of the childish attempt at rendering the dam name in hiragana.

"Yes dear" I says, and I do a little googling. Well when I search with 行入ダム I get these 2 wonderful links in Japanese [1] [2] from which I borrow this brilliant panorama.

Loading the tiny 660cc kei-car sized (possibly Suzuki) truck, mandatory kit for all farmers here, it was entertaining to see 校長 せんせい (kocho sensei - the school principal) ride atop the crates as they whisked off another load. My wife had taught me that the 'ko' was the one from gakkō (school) and the 'cho' from hanchō (section leader), the latter actually slipped into our own language - the 'head honcho'!

I had wondered whether the black snakes I had seen in the next field would make a showing, but the stomping feet, both parents and kids, was enough to send any such critters slithering hastily away. And here's a picture of what had been bothering me.

So, ignoring my snakey-phobia, we thought that maybe we'd get a cup of tea afterwards, but in fact we were invited back to a local business (a building company) owner's house, and were treated to a zillion pizzas done in his own outdoor pizza oven.

That was good enough, but in his back yard he had a farm, with a pen full of, well, ostriches! The day just seemed to get better by the minute! Being a good Japanese host he later brought out some lightly browned ostrich meat, and a handy dandy jar of toothpicks to serve oneself.

I must say I felt guilty eating this amazing bird, the relatives of whom were keeping our children entertained down the yard. They're a huge animal up close, but really quite gentle.

So there you have it, from sunflower harvesting to ostrich on a stick. Kunisaki is really just full of surprises!

Mt Futago

Futago-san (Mount Futago) dominates the views whilst driving into our valley at Kunisaki. Looking at a map, we are based just about half way between the coast and the mountains, the latter at the centre of a great peninsula. I have just read that Futago-san stands at 720m. Thanks to Google maps I have this beautiful satellite image below, overlaid with some useful site names.

Now I have been wondering about the fantastic shape of the peninsula, and its geology, for a long time. Maybe why I chose our new banner image, which I can thankfully attribute to Earth Snapshot.

So what have I just discovered? The circular Kunisaki Peninsula is formed by large conical volcanoes, which includes Futago. It is a part of the Kuju volcanic cluster.

Twenty-eight ravines radiate outward from the peninsula’s center. Hmmm, so I guess I drive one of them - our valley! This image shows those ravines (thank you NASA).

My wife tells me that Futago means twin(s). And indeed Futago-san has a distinct twin peak. I'd noted the fantastic lava flows in the cliffs above Gyonyu dam (sitting near the top of our valley).

I feel so lucky to live in a place with such fantastic topograpical features! Ermmm, I mean I like the views :-)

Japan isn't all city life

There is far more to Japan than Tokyo and its skyscrapers. Much more. Kunisaki is a prime example of the other Japan. The one of peace and tranquility. There is still great attention to detail but also to living life to the full, the countryside way.

Living life well, to the full, just has to involve ones stomach. Japan, no matter where you are, is about food. Much the same way that France fills the role in Europe. Like France it has a big agricultural community. Kunisaki has a huge range of local produce, and the kind of country cooking that would make the French blush. I will be making blog posts in the near future to highlight my favourites both in our area and within easy driving distance.

I'm going to steal an old blog post I made in September 2008, entitled "Japan – not just technology!"
that I posted on my company site, as it still rings true.

I had been thinking about my last Japan trip en route to India. In seeing the massive development that is occurring in Bangalore – it is one big building site – I recalled being confronted with a comment about Japan to the effect that it was so crowded and, paraphrasing his stereotype, it is all “Tokyo”. I concede that a visit to Shibuya will be a little intense to the uninitiated, but lets head to some Japanese countryside.

I know that one can do little to dispel certain misconceptions, but I thought I would share some photos of the (Japanese) family home. To frame the picture, Kunisaki is in Oita prefecture (Kyushu) but still has all the advantages of Japanese products and services somewhat unlike my countryside experience in the UK (I bought my first house in Earby, near both Colne and Skipton in the north of England [Ed: surrounded by wild country moors and with a very low population]). Maybe the difference is that the population is around double that of the UK, though one could then counter this with its being a bigger country too. 


Even in the countryside the Japanese people can only be described as highly industrious, with a desire to get things, well, just right. The countryside is kept immaculate. 

Here are some pictures to dispel that Tokyo city ‘only’ image of Japan, and something calming for me amidst the urban explosion that is Bangalore, India.

Nice view out front

Pretty good out back too

Attention to detail!

And the kids love it

That was 2008, and it is as true now in 2011, as it has always been. So true in fact that we decided to come and live here. And you can't pay greater tribute to a place than that.

It's almost dinner time and I'm going to be in gastronomic heaven yet again. So from country Kunisaki, it's いただきます (itadakimasu). You'll hear that everywhere when people start to eat, much like the French 'bon appetit'! When it's this good, you really need to celebrate it.

Welcome to the new blog for and about Kunisaki, Japan

Wikipedia says that 国東市, or Kunisaki-shi, is a city in Oita prefecture, Japan. 


We will be introducing, to other English speakers, what we know of and love about this special part of Japan. Ignore what Wikipedia says, this is truly the countryside of Japan, it's rural, and it is prime tourist / intrepid traveller territory.


The primary purpose of this site will be to stimulate interest in potential visitors, to provide guidance and of course, to share what we ourselves have discovered. We want you to enjoy it as much as we do. And yes, we live here, and the author is a gaijin (外人), or foreigner, probably just like you. I will ask all the same questions that you will, and hopefully clear a path for you to follow.


Every good blog should have lots of pictures, and this one will be no exception. As a taster, from a recent hike up a local mountain, we discovered on its ridge an old shrine. Near the shrine was a beautiful stone carved with the names of people who had contributed to its creation. On the side of this beautiful monolith was inscribed a date. March 1917 (Taishō 6). It's a true treasure, it's not on the map, and you are now the first to see.    

ようこそ to Kunisaki! 


The hiragana ようこそ, is pronounced Yokoso, and is the Japanese for Welcome!