Moving across the pond...

Greg Cook

Member
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2,882
Location
Tokiwadai, Japan
Well, come December, I hope to be posting from a small village in the Hita mountains, on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan. We've decided to move back across the "pond" for the 6th time (my 8th). I'll be doing some consulting work and hopefully some farming, woodworking and web design. It will also put us a little closer to my wife's family, which will be great.

Here's a map.... X marks the spot!:thumb:

HitaMap.jpg


This is the house we'll live in. We're getting a rent/option to buy contract with the owner but will continue to look for other property, including a plot of land to make a mini organic farm.




I should be able to build a small shop on the side.



The village is surrounded by mountains with tons of Sugi (cedar/cyprus) trees, and there is a large woodworking industry in the area.





This will be our 6th move between Japan and Seattle...hopefully our last.
 
Here's one of the local lumber yards. They have a stack of Sugi logs there. Hopefully I'll be able to get some decent prices and wood locally, rather than at the DIY box stores.



This is the country road that connects the town with the village we will live in.



This is one of the farmer's markets nearby. There are 3 in the village, and about an hour and a half away is the only Costco in Japan!



One of the specialities of the area are ****ake mushrooms... Delicious!:thumb:
 
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I'll be focused now on getting our house renovations done, packing and other things to get ready for the move. I'll be taking all my tools, so there will be some sealing and crating on some items, as the vast majority of our household goods will be going by ship. It'll take about a month from pickup to delivery, after customs.

I will be getting some inverters made by one of the subsidiaries of the company I consult with. They make electrical distribution systems, including software, for hospitals, schools and small/medium businesses. The people are great, and I used to teach them English twice a week during lunch, when I lived there before. "Home built 3 Phase" may be in the shop too.....:eek:
 
Wow, 8 times? :eek: Then this is old hat to you.

Too bad you're not moving somewhere scenic or anything. :rofl: Looks like a gorgeous place to be. I think most of us gaijin think all of Japan looks like Stu's Tokyo, and don't realize there's a lot of beautiful countryside there, too.

Packing up a shop for a trans-oceanic move has got to be a chore. Sounds like you're gonna have a busy summer and fall. ;)
 
Yeah, used to it...but don't like it. We still have boxes packed in the garage from the last time we moved back here....part of the 327 cartons we brought back! :eek: :bang:

Real problem is this time it will be on our $... Company always paid for it before. :doh:

Company I consult for is going to let us store stuff we don't want to unpack in the house, while renting. This will save us a lot of $ and the storage area is large enough to store and sort things out.

I'll have to get a truck too....something to haul wood, right?

View attachment 9982

Daihatsu or Subaru...I'd prefer Subaru. I found one of them online with the high roof, turbo charged, 4WD 5 speed for about $9k...but forgot to bookmark the page... They have dealers in the town, so no problem. You do have to get a certificate that you have parking...before you can buy a car. Insurance also goes belongs with the car, not the owner. You can't cancel it (Basic PL & D coverage) and the cost is added to the vehicle price when you sell it, pro-rated if less than a year. It's a great system, as everyone always has basic insurance this way. I have my Japanese drivers license from the last time I was there, so I should probably just have to sit through a seminar to get a new one.
 
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Well, that's a good thing to know.... The one in Fukuoka was the first, and only for a long time. I was worried Costco might pull the plug on Japan, but not now...

Thanks!
 
Greg, thanks for the photos of your new home. It certainly looks like a great place to live. Of course, you are currently living in a great place too.

For most of the 1970s Margaret and I and our children kathllen and Kristel went through moves across the Atlantic "pond" a few times (only 4, not 8) when we had a hard time deciding between living in Canada and England. It was hectic but it did enrich our lives and we all look back at that period with fond memories.
 
I'll be taking all my tools, so there will be some sealing and crating on some items, as the vast majority of our household goods will be going by ship. It'll take about a month from pickup to delivery, after customs.

Better buy that Oneway now then.

Wow, Greg, that is a major undertaking, and I sure wouldn't want to be paying for it myself!
 
...Wow, Greg, that is a major undertaking, and I sure wouldn't want to be paying for it myself!
Not a lot of people know this, but Greg is fabulously wealthy. Back in the 70's he invented the glue that McDonald's uses to stick the sesame seeds on the Big Mac buns. He gets a royalty from every Big Mac sold. He's worth bazillions. :rofl:
 
that looks like pretty country greg! after checking property values in seattle this past month i assume you`ll do well selling your house? hopefully well enough to buy the mini farm your dreaming of.......best of luck! tod
 
Not a lot of people know this, but Greg is fabulously wealthy. Back in the 70's he invented the glue that McDonald's uses to stick the sesame seeds on the Big Mac buns. He gets a royalty from every Big Mac sold. He's worth bazillions. :rofl:


really????..... I heard he was the guy who came up with the "hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all we ask is that you lettuce...." jingle.....or was it the Ronald McDonald clown gig he was famous for...?

Looks very nice Greg, I was surprised to see such nice open country. I wish you all the best.
 
dont forget us!

greg we hope you have a safe move but dont forget to write, stu can get threw to us from over there so you should be bale as welll:rofl: :rofl: also dont use stus dungeon as a pattern for your shop stay above ground:D we couldnt handle two moles in the ranks:rofl:
 
really????..... I heard he was the guy who came up with the "hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all we ask is that you lettuce...." jingle.....or was it the Ronald McDonald clown gig he was famous for...?

All right, Steve and Vaugh... THANK-you very much. Now I've got the "two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun" jingle in my head. :doh:

And Greg, actually when i think of all the issues Stu has had getting ww'ing tools, I guess I'm not surprised that you're taking your "big arn" with you.
But I still am a bit surprised at your idea about building a shop on the side of a house that you are renting.

So just how big is your present shop?
 
Not a lot of people know this, but Greg is fabulously wealthy. Back in the 70's he invented the glue that McDonald's uses to stick the sesame seeds on the Big Mac buns. He gets a royalty from every Big Mac sold. He's worth bazillions. :rofl:

Now it all makes sense, when Greg came though Tokyo the last time round, I was surprised at the time of day, and I checked, and I could not find any "Major" airlines that had flights at that time........... I just figured he was wrong on the time, you know, doing the timezone conversion etc, but now I get it, that time is when all the private jets come into the airport........:thumb:

:rofl:
 
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Not a lot of people know this, but Greg is fabulously wealthy. Back in the 70's he invented the glue that McDonald's uses to stick the sesame seeds on the Big Mac buns. He gets a royalty from every Big Mac sold. He's worth bazillions. :rofl:
Bazillions? Is that a Carl Sagen term?:eek: :rofl:

Really Greg, that's super mega-cool. Best of luck in your move! Looks like a beautiful place to live - almost as pretty as Idaho.;)
 
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