Why I Don’t Call It a Trend Where I live half the year, there’s no grid to tie into. Not unless you’re ready to fork out a fortune for a dozen poles and a trench the length of a football field. So solar isn’t a
Living With Heat, Paying the Price If you’ve spent a summer in Japan, you already know: it gets hot. But it’s not just the kind of dry, baking heat you find in deserts—it’s humid, sticky, and persistent. In the countryside, I’ve often wrapped a wet
When old wood meets new light I bought a house most people wouldn’t touch. Not because I’m reckless, but because I saw something still alive under the dust and cracked siding. Back in 2016, I was working contracts in the mountains of Gifu, and the
What It Means to Build for Yourself Building something with your hands changes how you see it. It’s not just a table. It’s a reminder of the tree it came from, the work it took to carry it home, the cold mornings shaping it outside
Not Just Another Tax Trick There are few moments when paying taxes feels like a handshake. Furusato Nouzei is one of them. It’s part fiscal tool, part cultural gesture. In a country where hometown loyalty runs deep — even if you’ve moved away decades ago
