What I learned about Good Habits and Japanese Food Culture.

I teach English at a century old traditional Japanese Restaurant in Karatsu, Genyou . The owner told me about 立志(Risshi)which means "setting one's aim in life." When you have an end in mind it's a lot easier to figure out what kind of steps to take now. So, I decided to set my aim in my current life which I want to accomplish. I'll set it to 3 years, as I will become 40. Life starts at 40! I finally have a purpose I want to work on for the rest of my life, to enhance exchange of food culture of Japan . Keep learning and sharing food culture of Japan 3 years from now, I will be working on an information hub of Japanese food culture in Karatsu, where I settled. Karatsu is rich in its local ingredients, from seafood, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Karatsu 唐津 was named "The port to the continent"centuries ago, being the hub of cultures coming in and out of Japan. Karatsu ware, an origin of pottery of the area A good example is pottery. Pottery came from Kore...

Northern Kyushu will be hotter than usual in October, 2025. Based on the forecast from According to the Japan Meteorological Agency , I summarized the 1 month weather forecast of North Kyushu including Fukuoka and Karatsu! The October Weather Forecast for Northern Kyushu (including Yamaguchi Prefecture) The weather forecast for October 2025 will be higher than usual. Northern Kyushu including Fukuoka, Karatsu, and Yamaguchi (prefecture at the western tip of the mainland, Honshu) is as follows: Key Forecast Points This seems to be a weather forecast for the upcoming month. Here's a summary of the key points: The high temperatures are expected to continue for the next month, as the area will likely be covered by warm air.Temperatures are predicted to be especially high in the first half of the period. It's been relatively sunny this past week (end of September~beginning October)  Temperatures range in between 20~30 degrees celsius, with a humidity of around 60%. The cities near ...

The Karatsu Sake Brewery Summit attracted many visitors last Sunday. I was inspired how happy people were talking about the Saga Sake they like. I'd like to extend the happiness by digging deeper on Saga Sake. The 2 Local Sake of Karatsu There was a guest, a local from Karatsu that told me how much he loved Sake. He was telling me about Komatsu Sake Brewery that makes Manrei, and Narutaki Sake Brewery that makes Taki and Taiko which is home to Karatsu City.  The rest of the sake served at Choko Bar are all from other cities within Saga Prefecture. So, I decided to taste and take note of the ones from Karatsu first.  Manrei From my experience so far, locals choose Manrei over Taki. Maybe because Taki is the premium version of Taiko, the signature sake for the Kunchi Frestival. Manrei is sweet and rich. Starting off drinking sake, or when you are drinking sake without food. Manrei is a good choice. Taki This time it was the same as the first time I tried it. It's clear and round...

 It's Karatsu Sake Brewery Summit（唐津酒蔵サミット）at Gofukumachi Shopping Street（呉服町商店街）tomorrow, Sunday! Here is a chance to try 3 local sake from Saga Prefecture just for 1000JPY. The breweries are going to gather at the shopping street, so no need to visit them, they all gather to see us thirsty sake drinkers. Why Saga Sake Due to its rich rice production, Saga's sake is known for its exceptional taste. It has won many domestic and international awards, which made the prefecture a major destination for people passionate in Japanese Sake. Premium Brand Nabeshima won the top prize, "Champion Sake," in the sake category at the 2011 International Wine Challenge (IWC), and has been highly praised both in and out of Japan. It has become so popular that some now refer to it as  "phantom sake." "Shichida"七田 brand sake has won numerous gold medals at international tasting competitions, including the Kura Master President's Award. There is a booth set up at ...

I'm hooked on learning something new everyday. Right now I try my best to walk every morning around my neighborhood in Karatsu City.  The people here are much more laid back and polite and I learn from them a lot about the city and fishes as well, which was the main reason why I decided to settle here. What I learned so far about Fish in Karatsu They care more about spending quality time with family than chasing money. I know a lot more about things outside of Karatsu or Kyushu, so I answer what they're curious about. In return they teach me about Karatsu and how it used to be and how it is today. Each person has their opinions and thoughts about how they see the city, of course.  And that's very interesting and inspiring for me. It makes me think about what I want to do here. My interest is fishing and fishes in general. So I learn about that a lot here and through my morning walks. What I learn everyday from my morning walks! I've been around many places in the world,...

Back when I was a uni student almost 20 years already, I had an opportunity to work with a private banker in Singapore. He would take me to events that are organised by his team or ones he was invited to, every weekend. Then he would ask me, "So Ryu, you met a lot of people today. My former boss who invited me to join banking would ask me, what did you learn today?" 20 years down the road, I often ask myself the same question. "So, what did I learn today?" I learn a lot through walking I now place myself in a small city in Karatsu, and the ocean is right by my house. I try to walk everyday around sunrise to get my momentum of the day. Today, I met a highschool student that was fishing before he goes to school. I usually am the first to say Ohayogozaimasu or good morning when I do my morning walk, but he was one of the first ones that was faster than me to say so. So we talked a little about fishing in the area. The place I met him is where a fishing expert told me t...