The Many Marvels of Japan

Hottei, the god of good fortune and one who’s a benefactor.

Hi. I’m Kim.

A Canadian who’s lived in the Land of the Rising Sun for close to 30 years. I’d very much love to share with you my take on this amazing roller coaster of an adventure. Living in the thick of this mind-blowing culture, I feel I have something to contribute to your understanding of Japan.

28 years ago, I arrived in Japan with a serious plan to stay for 3 months…at the MOST. Armed with a working holiday visa, and a deep desire to become skillful in the art of Aikido, I planted my feet on Japanese soil…or rather, concrete…and for nearly 26 years, the adventure has not allowed for a single moment to catch my breath. Somehow, I would like to give you a glimpse of this unfathomable journey that continues to unfold.

I LOVE Japan. No matter WHAT, I will always love it. I hope you can savour even a slight bit of the delicious and remarkably life-shaping experience that living abroad in Japan has gifted me with. I hope you can walk away from your computer, after having read my episodes, and ponder what this is really all about. Enjoy. I have.

So, sit back, strap on your seat belt, and let’s go!!!!

15 responses »

David Malinsky on October 16, 2010 at 11:37 am said:

Hey Kimuchi:

I really like the looks of this so far. I hope we get a chance to see much more, and that it becomes an excellent platform for expression.

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- enerugi on October 19, 2010 at 9:32 pm said:
  
  DAVID!
  Woo Hoo!
  
  Thanks for (1) finding my blog and (2) taking time to comment.
  More to come this week. Having a heck of a time trying to decide WHERE to start, and it is wonderful to have begun a long-pondered project.
  
  You are welcome anytime to keep me honest. 😮
  
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David Malinsky on October 22, 2010 at 10:02 am said:

After much searching, I can not find the true provenance for “The beginning is the best place to start”. So without attribute (I wanted it to be Winnie the Pooh, but life does not always affirm the searcher), how about at least that? Was there a particular moment when Japan spoke in such a way that there was a decision to stay and explore? And maybe from there some other pieces can fall into place.

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- enerugi on January 9, 2011 at 12:24 pm said:
  
  Thanks for your advice…I took it and here’s what we got so far.
  Enjoy.
  
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Pat on January 9, 2011 at 8:13 pm said:

Good advice up there Kim – start at the beginning – but of course don’t feel constrained by timelines and end too busy catching up to keep up. 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on your blog – I shall pass along word to those we know.
And I shall indeed enjoy!

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enerugi on January 10, 2011 at 6:59 pm said:

Thanks Pat!
I’ll keep that in mind for sure. Next post will definitely be this week.

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Eric Bryant on January 10, 2011 at 10:17 pm said:

Hey Kim…thanks for sharing the blog with me. Interesting to see your perspective now compared with when we first started to get to know each other (how many years ago?). I remember your 99 Things to do Before I Turn 99 list, and how it inspired me to start to do some personal exploration.

Looking forward to more! (and, BTW, thanks for the holiday card of you and the bunnies – adorable!)

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emmett on July 19, 2011 at 3:10 pm said:

is this blog closed? why no updates?

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- enerugi on July 23, 2011 at 2:36 pm said:
  
  Hey emmett.
  Thank you very much for taking the time to post. The past year and a bit have been…a whirlwind I will one day describe here.
  Your post has prompted me to post again today. So, again, thank you.
  Please look forward to more from The Many Marvels of Japan.
  
  Cheers
  
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Emmett on July 29, 2011 at 2:37 pm said:

Great post July 23rd . I am looking forward to the story of how “your life changed in unforseeable ways” upon your return to Kobe. Please (pretty please) don’t wait another 6 months for your next post, after all, your memory cannot be improving. no? (Also, I find it entertaining/amusing).

Emmett

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Shanon on October 19, 2011 at 10:06 am said:

Kim it has been a long time, often wondered what the old McD crew were up to. Congrats on your blog it is well worth the read. Thanks again for sharing.

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enerugi on October 19, 2011 at 9:51 pm said:

Hey Shanon!

Yeah! It HAS! Thanks for popping a comment! I really appreciate your taking time to read my blog as well. I’ll be updating weekly, and sometimes more, now that I got the original “story” up. There is simply sooOOOOoo much to write about.

If you know anyone who might be interested, by all means, share!

Cheers,

Kim

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qwik on December 22, 2011 at 4:02 pm said:

Done? you must be done. please just say so and i will stop checking.
your post above states you will be updating weekly…. really????

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Hugh Simpson on May 8, 2016 at 11:11 pm said:

Kim:

It has been a long time, but I saw your webpage and I thought I would contact you. We were students at UVIC many years ago,

I hope to hear from you soon!

Take care,

Hugh (Simpson)

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- enerugi on May 9, 2016 at 1:12 am said:
  
  Hey Hugh,
  Howz things?
  Thanks for checking this page out…one of my goals is to start making adjustments and regular updates.
  I’ll send you an email to your .ca address.
  Hope all’s well your way!
  Cheers,
  
  Kim
  
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