The Monday Read: Summer Days

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Conan, what is best in life? I’m off to London and northern Spain tomorrow with my wife and two of the grandkids. Don’t have much planned, we’re going to slow travel our way through the British capital and then go and stay with relatives in Plentzia where I spent my childhood summers. It’s all part […]

The Monday Read: Health is wealth

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An unpleasant reminder of mortality Somehow I have shingles AGAIN. I first had it about five years ago, and on Sunday last week noticed my face felt tight and slightly painful. Then on Monday the first sores appeared, and my wife suggested I might want to go to the dermatologist. On Tuesday morning my doctor […]

The Monday Read: A cool and pleasant summer?

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Losing weight seems to have an unexpected benefit This year’s summer for some reason has seemed incredibly mild and pleasant. My wife assures me it is not so different to last year, but I haven’t felt unpleasantly hot at all so far. My best guess is that this is because I have lost a lot […]

The Monday Read: The Little Things

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Designing a Life You Enjoy I took that photo walking home from work the other day. It was an almost blissful moment. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the sky was, how pleasant it was to be walking, how satisfying the day had been. Recently most days are pretty good for me. I enjoy what I […]

The Monday Read: Another Task Bites the Dust

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Take a moment to celebrate the win before moving on to the next one I’m back from Miyakojima (turns out five days/four nights was the perfect length of trip). Had a great time, got some diving in, realised I need to practice my snorkelling a lot more, learned that the summer sun in Okinawa is […]

The Monday Read: Rainy Days Ahead

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But not for me 🙂 Seems like the rainy season just hit Sendai, after one of the most pleasant Junes I can remember. It’s been wonderful: sunny days with low humidity and a pleasant breeze, day after day after day. I wish every year was like this. But today we’ve had rain all day, with […]

The Monday Read: The load lifts

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You don’t know how heavy your boots are until you take them off I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks now. Caught some kind of cold at the tail end of being in Shikoku, then had a sore throat, mild cough, and general achiness/listlessness for a couple of weeks. It hurt to swallow, and […]

The Monday Read: Starting to feel like summer

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Enjoying all seasons There is a bible verse I really like (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). It’s the ‘there is a time for everything’ one. I’m not in the slightest bit religious, but I do appreciate a good bit of writing. And that one has a lot of wisdom packed into a few lines. From the benefit of […]

The Monday Read: Finding Peace

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Sometimes you just need a bit of a break Well, I am back at home and enjoying gettting back into my regular routine. It’s amazing how much difference a week or so off can make. The trip was great, I had a really good time in Shikoku and will certainly be going back again. Shodoshima […]

The Monday Read: Cross that Bridge

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Screw your courage to the sticking point Was in Shikoku this week and it turns out I like it a lot here. More details in the video below, but it’s been a great trip so far. Have also managed to talk with my wife about what we’re going to do going forward, and am much […]