Hi Roger,

Dave's Cryptocurrencies group sounds very interesting as I have started another (!) blog on that topic. However, adding a third training program to Bo's and Kyles at this stage would be one step beyond madness!

Yes, I wish I'd found WA a few years earlier than I did too.

I spent a few days in China (Shanghai and Beijing) way back in 1991, and a few days in Hong Kong and Macau in 1996. Have been to Korea three or four times, once on holiday and the other times to renew work visas (we used to have to leave Japan each year to renew our work visas overseas and Pusan or Seoul were the obvious choices)...

I've lived in Hiroshima for a total of 24 out of the last 27 years and sometimes I find myself teaching college students whose mothers were in my schoolkids classes in my first few years here!

Thanks for following me back, Sam and Deb.

I immediately recognized you having seen your photo many times on traffic exchanges. I think traffic exchanges have their uses, and "brand awareness" is one of them.

Thanks David. Now its co-op rotators .
Sam

Hi Roy,

You are welcome. Thanks for your message. Yes, there are quite a few Brits actively involved with WA.

All the best to you.

DH

Hi Dave,

Thanks for popping by and introducing yourself. I haven't got around to visiting Australia yet. One of my school friends emigrated to Western Australia and set up as a graphic designer there.

Japanese comics was a sideline. My main focus was on selling Japanese games. However, I sold a lot of "Ginga Densetsu Weed" and related fighting dog genre comics, mostly to young female Scandinavians (go figure)!

Actually, selling comics was a bit of a pain because someone would inevitably order volume 23 of a series, and I'd end up visiting supplier after supplier only to find they had practically every other volume EXCEPT that one!!

I much prefer affiliate marketing to packing and posting physical products. :)

My aim is to free myself from dependence on a specific geographic location for my income, although I will probably continue to teach part time as I enjoy teaching and the social contact that it brings.

All the best in your online endeavours in 2018!

Hi Steve,

Yes, those momiji-manju making machines are still working hard and fascinating tourists!

Can you believe it...? Late last year Starbucks opened a cafe on the main drag from the ferry port to the shrine. I haven't been there yet, but their upstairs lounge has a big window with what I guess is a nice view of the torii gate.

Next to Starbucks there is a new Miyajima beer brewery too... (Until recently, a brand of bottled "Miyajima Beer" sold on the island wasn't brewed on the island or even in Hiroshima Prefecture!) So now they have their own beer brewery, on my next visit to Miyajima I might not get as far as the shrine!

Hey David...
Thanks for the quick reply. Hard to imagine Starbucks on Miyajima, but the brewery makes a lot of sense to me. I think of this island as the perfect place to relax and mellow out in a country where mellow is in short supply and great demand.

I assume the deer on the island are still mostly out of control... Right?
I didn't manage to visit the beach or the monkey colony, but they will be on my itinerary next time, I imagine; are they worth it in your experience?

Well, the monkey colony was removed a few years ago...

I've been camping near the beach several times. The campsite is located in a wooded area, and people hang their food supplies in the trees to keep them away from the deer. They eat everything. One evening we had a barbeque and the next morning the ash had disappeared - eaten by the deer! Fireworks go down the hatch too!

The last time I was camping there it was an evening when the sky was full of shooting stars. I've seen shooting stars before, but nothing like the stars I saw while on Miyajima.

Not too surprising about the monkeys, since they warned us that if we encountered them to be extra careful not to make eye contact, as they could get aggressive. I imagine they were just too tourist un-friendly for a mellow place like Miyajima. I just thought of it as odd at the time, but since then I've heard about several incidents between people and monkeys that were very violent and tragic.

Yep - those deer are awesome to look at, but they are a lot like giant rats... Jeez - even fireworks! I'd not thought about the challenges of camping there - when I went I was there to experience my first stay in a ryokan.

Years ago one of them gave me hell while I tried to take a selfie (of sorts with a 35 mm camera) in front of the Tori gate at high tide. The critter snatched a roll of Fuji film (dating myself...) and I had to bribe him with my snow-cone to get it back... It worked, but then he managed to do it again with a different roll he got out of my camera bag, and finish off my treat!

Wow - what a place for shooting star viewing... When I was there, a beautiful sailboat race happened in the waters just off shore in clear view of the balcony of my room at the ryokan. Quite a target-rich environment for photographers, for sure...

I'm based in Hiroshima, so a long way from Nagano. I've travelled around a lot in Japan, from Tokyo to Kagoshima in the south of Kyushu, but not ventured further north than Tokyo yet.

I'd love to go up to the Japanese "snow country" one winter, but that won't be this year.

Well, if I'm still in Japan when you realize the dream of becoming an Internet marketing traveller, get in touch and I'd be happy to show you around my neck of the woods.

You should hang onto that dream, Craig. In my opinion, there is no place better for North Americans, Brits and Aussies to visit as tourists than Japan. It is super-safe, easy to access by train, and surprisingly welcoming to English speakers - though a little Japanese does come in handy.

I didn't make it to Nagano, but back when I had business in Japan I did enjoy visiting Yuzawa Onsen during the winter, which is also in the Japanese alps. It is a beautiful spa & ski resort town right on the Joetsu Shinkansen (bullet train) line North of Tokyo- north east of Nagano.

I expect Nagano is wonderful, especially in ski season, though I've yet to see it; maybe next time. Yuzawa is popular year round, as the hiking trails and mineral baths (onsen) attract tourists from Tokyo no matter the weather. I've visited in winter and spring, and I recommend it highly. I stopped there on the last day of my final business trip to Japan, to enjoy the onsen a short walk from the bullet train station. I liked it so much that years later when my daughter and I visited Japan for the wedding of a friend of mine (near Nagoya) we visited Yuzawa again.

If you come as a tourist or business visitor from abroad, Japan is easy and fun. With a JR rail pass, you can go almost anywhere, and get there fast by bullet train. If you want to experience the country like locals do, and not like a western tourist, it is inexpensive and great exercise (LOTS of walking in hilly terrain). The castles, temples, shrines, shopping streets and museums are all amazing and user friendly. And you only need about a 10 minute Japanese lesson to ensure you never get on the wrong train. When you have a bit of time, money and curiosity for travel, this should be on the top of your list, IMHO.

Sounds great... I still definitely want to go. It's just a matter of money (but isn't everything?)

Ah yes, Sokkuri Candy, just a part of the background craziness that is life in Japan (not to mention the foreground craziness)...

https://goo.gl/images/otfuEJ

haha, yes that's the one! I also really enjoy Japanese Commercials. If you can think of any decent ones to share, I would be much obliged.

Seriously, I thought North American media was getting weird... Japan is just on a whole other level of weird.
I love it!

Thank you, Robert.

I use the keyword tool a lot for my blog posts. I will check your training tutorials as I'd be happy to learn some new tricks.

All the best,

David

Thank you Dave, and thanks for the follow.

Yes, I have been in Japan for 23 out of the last 26 years. 1 year (1990-91), then 5 years, and now 17 years so far!

Hi Loes,

Thank you for your message. I hope to follow your lead and write some training material this year too. You are setting a great example as well as providing additional value for the members.

All the best to you too.

David