New Member

[Izu]

Hello everyone, new member reporting for duty. Old TX boy (SA) now on the other side of the dateline, where the sun rises. Been a long-time user of BB, started using the site for the radio (licensed, both here and there) and stayed for the rest, and am also a regular reader of AP and listener to RC. Loved 167, Scout, especially giving out the Socialist Rifle Association's frequencies -- that ought to create some fun. Sorry it took me so long to jump in. I'm operating on my own out here, in the northern countryside, so I'd love to get in touch with anyone like-minded on this side of the line for training, assistance, and fellowship. Radio contacts are ok.

[plankmember]

welcome brother enjoy the learn and laughs

[Izu]

Thank you, friend.

[Atlas Shrug]

So are you in Japan? You’re intro kinda confused me.

In any event, welcome aboard!

[Izu]

Hi AS, yes in Japan -- on the other side of the international dateline -- living in the northern Tohoku region. I'm hopeful that there might be other like-minded folks around here. Thanks for your welcome!

[Atlas Shrug]

Gotcha. I worked in Japan for a couple of years in the late 1980s (my first engineering job out of college). I lived near Osaka.

Good folks there in general. Some might be somewhat like minded, but the whole Japanese paradigm is of course quite different than that of the US.

For one thing, I like shooting guns way too much to ever contemplate living there for any length of time.

Gambatte Kudasai!

[Izu]

Hey AS, doumo arigatougozaimashita! The Osaka area is nice, I have friends in Kobe and it's a fun place to visit. Mainly, though, I stay up here in the northern sticks. I don't have that much free time and when I have it I'd rather be up in the mountains and hills, tracking things I can't shoot (bear, deer, wild boar). As you say, some good folks, some (few) might even be somewhat like-minded, but I make it a point not to share my personal philosophies with anyone. As you say, the Japanese paradigm is quite different than that of the US. I may be a romantic but I'm not stupid, and I have no doubt that anything of importance said to anyone here will come back to bite me -- so I keep things zipped. I'm nicely enmeshed in society here, though, so it gives me an opportunity to both contribute to my town and observe things at a closer range than others might have. I grew up in TX and I do miss firearms, and the longer I'm gone the more I miss them. I've been gone a while and it's painful to see what has become of a land that, when I was younger, was not at all bashful in proclaiming its love for its flag and freedoms, as well as its diversity. I'm hoping that there might be some forum members in Japan but my guess is probably not. In any case, I hope to sharpen my skills, learn from others who know more than me, contribute what I can, and not be too much of a f/u. High hopes, indeed!

In any case, I'm sure happy to make your acquaintance.

[Atlas Shrug]

I have fond memories of the Kobe area. More so than Osaka proper. Kobe is a more international, less industrial, more laid back place than Osaka. Or at least it was 30 years ago when I frequented the place. Lots of good food.

I’m sure your sojourns in the rural mountainous areas are quite fulfilling - very different than Japan’s ubiquitous urban sprawl along the coastlines. The inland areas of Japan can be gorgeous, but of course the mountain terrain can be rough - the only reason it’s not overpopulated there. I took a few motorcycle rides through some such areas in trips to the Sea of Japan side of Honshu, etc. - back in the day. The closest I ever got to your neck of the woods was a ski vacation to Sapporo.

Anyway, I’ll sling some lead for you the next time I go shooting on my (mostly) rural, ancestral lands here in dirt farmer NC land.

[ColdSteel1983]

Welcome from North Texas!

Jeff B.

[Izu]

Thanks AS, lead slinging is appreciated! Kobe is still laid back. From what you've written, you must have left just before the earthquake. It took them a long time to rebuild, but they have done so magnificently (and almost all local, too). I lived in Niigata before I moved to Fukushima; plenty of sprawl there but of course not like the Pacific side, and it is still very easy to get out of the city and into the country. Great fishing and the mountains are lovely. Your motorcycle trips across Honshu must have been fantastic, and of course the powder in Sapporo is world-class. You are right, the difficulty of living in rural Japan keeps most people away, but there has started to be a mini-movement "back to the country". Tokyo is fine, I like it for a weekend, but I'd go crazy if I had to work and live there 24/7. The sticks suit me just fine -- and the food (the raw end of the process) is better and cheaper too.