Hello friends! The winter chill has crept into our bones after an unseasonably warm autumn 🍂 Join Linda, Kana, and their special guest - Sil, new arrival in Kamikatsu all the way from Belgium! - as they huddle around the maki stove and talk about a year in review. 

Don’t miss the ideas for holding a zero-waste gift exchange, stories of bike trips across Europe (low emissions way to travel!), and other tidbits from life in the Japanese countryside. Happy Holidays to all and to joy in the new year!😽🎍

Recommendations:

Zero Waste Gift Exchange 

Carbon Conversations: https://www.carbonconversationsto.com/

Big Panda and Tiny Dragon James Norbury: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57732605-big-panda-and-tiny-dragon

The Disappearing Art Of Maintenance (Alex Vuocolo): https://www.noemamag.com/the-disappearing-art-of-maintenance/

The Secret to Gift Giving (Hidden Brain Media): https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-secret-to-gift-giving/

Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36809135-where-the-crawdads-sing

Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival Bernd Heinrich: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254705.Winter_World

Summer’s skipped away into fall, and there’s more change happening in Kamikatsu than just the leaves turning colour…🍂

Recommendations:

1) Climate recommendation: let's take a moment to RETHINK travel. What are the right next steps to "do" or participate in sustainable travel?  

2) A ten-day residential course to Vipassana Meditation Course 🧘🏻‍♀️

3) 'Doburoku' liqueur and 'amazake', fermented rice beverages, made by Kaitakudan 🍶 (available only in Kamikatsu)

4) Knitting!

Welcome back to our countryside talks, thank you once again for joining us! 🌰

This month with summer drawing to a close, we wanted to catch up on all things tea - like Two Ladies Awa Bancha, of course 😉, as a new tea season is suddenly upon us. 

We also catch up on summer festivals (like the famous 'Awa Odori' in Tokushima), and finally some deep talks about what happens when life is not always roses and blue skies. We hope you like this talk, and as always, leave us a comment on what you would like to hear us talk about next! 

A big shoutout and thank you to Nobuaki Yamazaki for the incredible sound recording on ALL of our episodes, we couldn't do this without you.

1) “A Passion for Japan”, edited by John Rucynski . The book is available through Amazon globally as an ebook and in print versions. 

2) Boardgames and Wingspan for my bird enthusiast friends 

3) Behind the Change podcast (only available in Japanese) 

4) Climate recommendation: “An optimistic practice” by Intersectional Environmentalist 

Welcome back to Kamikatsu! It’s episode 3 and this month Linda and Kana open the floor to your burning questions 😉

What is it like living in the Japanese countryside if you can’t speak the language well? What were we most nervous about before moving to the countryside? And of course, what is dating like in the smallest village on all of Shikoku? Thanks to everyone for their curiosity, and keep the questions coming. We’d love to do a follow-up episode!

🌿 Recommendations 🌿

1) Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency by Sarah Ichioka & Michael Pawlyn 

2) Write an etegami (handwritten postcard)

3) Focus on doing absolutely nothing (we like to say human being, not human doing). 

✍🏼 Sign up for the INOW Newsletter! (Available in English and in Japanese)

Welcome to episode 2, long-awaited we know. Sorry!!! 

In this episode Linda and Kana talk about why they are living in Kamikatsu, and what is the INOW program, which they co-founded back in July 2020. Enjoy! 

🌸 Recommendations 🌸 

1) Loofah sponge (Hechima へちま) Dried gourds are soaked in water, peeled, and their seeds are removed. Once they’re completely dry, they can be sliced, cut, or shaped in a variety of ways before they’re sold as sponges. 

2) Exchange goods in abundance for other goods without using money 

2.5) How to make yogurt at home 

3) Our food system isn't ready for the climate crisis by The Guardian

4) Seed: The Untold Story

5) 360 running with a dog* *dog not required 🐶 

✍🏼 Sign up for the INOW Newsletter! (Available in English and in Japanese) 

Welcome to our first episode! We are so excited for you to join us.

In our inaugural episode, we (Linda and Kana) introduce ourselves, giving a little background as to how two Canadians found themselves moving to Kamikatsu, the smallest village on the main island of Shikoku.

We also introduce Kamikatsu, and why it is famous for being a “zero-waste” village. But we also talk about why we believe this moniker is incorrect and why we no longer want to keep using the term when describing the town. Get ready to sip some tea, and spill a little too 😉 

Recommendations for this episode:

1) Rock filter for coffee

2) Atmos

3) Sui / Han Olympic Pairs Figure Skating Long Program