snowsoversapporo

Tokachi Fishing Haul

Most of the my time fishing, in terms of quantity of fish landed, is a utter disappointment here in Hokkaido. Several years back I did get into the high teens on my yamame count out near Akaigawa, west of Sapporo. But most of those were fingerlings barely worthy of that description. I was dying for a day on the water that I could truly call a haul. A day where even a piss poor technical angler like myself could brag about. Well, this summer my wish finally came true.

In late July, at the early/late hour of 2:00 AM, my fishing companion picked me up from from central Sapporo apartment and we set off for a three and a half hour long drive east to the 炭山 (たんざん,Tanzan), deep off the beaten path in Tokachi sub-prefecture. Won’t give away too much about the small river we went to, but local rumor claims that the salmon run in the larger tributaries of the Tokachi river were exceptionally large this year. That helped to explain yamame catches reaching absurd counts further upstream.

tanzan fishing — The mist rose through the Tanzan’s valleys as we suited up for the day’s fishing. Not one car would be seen along this road for the entire day.

We managed to hit the water around 6 AM. I was sporting multiple rods for this excursion. My uber lightweight Nissin Pocket Mini (3.6 meters) and my 9 foot cheapo Cabela’s 5 weight fly rod. I had been using the Pocket Mini with a tenkara rig for a while now and was excited to be at a place with an abundance of fish (or so we had been told).

A few minutes after hitting the water I was not disappointed. Strike after strike came quickly, and I pulled in one of the best yamame I have ever caught here in Hokkaido, a good hand length. More yamame, a small rainbow, and a white spotted char (iwana) followed. The latter I was particular proud of, it being my first iwana. After about an hour I had managed to catch ten fish on my humble Elk Hair Caddis tenkara set-up. Not too shabby.

My friend caught up to me after transcending a small waterfall and I asked him how many he had managed, using a keiyru rig with salmon eggs.

“Fifty.”

I had to go full ESL instructor mode and make sure my friend was articulating the stress in his words.

“Fif-teeeeeeeen?”

“Fifty, ごじゅう.”

Yes, my friend had caught 50 fish in the space of about an hour and a half. I would have been completely stunned, but his father had apparently caught over 100 yamame near this very spot the weekend before. But 50 seemed a bit insane, still.

A few moments later, as I was collapsing my Nissin Pocket Mini to switch to a bait fishing keiryu line, a joint midway up my Pocket Mini cracked. I was pissed. This was my second breakage on this overpriced compact rod within a year. But that misfortune would bring about an entire rethink of my fishing philosophy. (More on this in a later post)

Thankfully, my friend was a bit arm tired from hauling in so many fish and handed over his keiryu rig while he switched over to his own fly rod. First cast on this new setup brought in a wonderful 10 inch rainbow. From then on I was off to the races, bringing about 30 more fish to hand in a just a couple hours. It was exhausting, but a decent education in fish identification (the iwana’s golden underbelly is a easy identifier), and fish unhooking. We were going purely catch and release, so I was happy to handle most my fish with delicacy.

Eventually I tired of constantly hauling in fish and switched to my fly rod after an early lunch. The fish still continued rise to my size #18 Elk Hair Caddis (really the only fly I have used this fishing season), and I managed another 15 after a wonderful meal of tuna/mayo onigiri, teriyaki chicken wings, and leftover unrefrigerated egg salad sandwich that somehow didn’t go bad after 5 hours in the backseat of my friends SUV.

In the early afternoon we decided to retire from the river and make the long trek back to Sapporo. Kudos to my friend for putting up with my horribly broken Japanese over the eight plus hours of transit time. Of course no Hokkaido fishing trip is complete without a postmortem soft ice cream side jaunt. This time we stopped by the Ryugetsu Sweetpia Garden, avoiding their endless displays of macrons and baumkuchen, and partook in in some pretty decent vanilla splendor on a cone.

Snow Peak Tokachi Porishiri Campground

Our camping season picked up right where it left off last year – three days of continuous rain. Although the rain wasn’t quite torrential, it swelled Hokkaido’s rivers in the Tokachi Subprefecture enough to put the kaibash on any potential fishing we had planned on doing. Instead our camping trip turned into a food tour of the region, taking in the local delights at Nakasatsunai’s michinoeki. Numerous stops were made for fromage gelato, soft ice cream, as well as a long journey for doughnuts at a secret location more than an hour from the campground.

With all the rain we also had plenty of time to explore our newest Hokkaido camping destination: the Snow Peak Tokachi Porishiri Camp Field. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of this campground, especially after my recent experience at the Tomo Playpark near Akaigawa. For those unawares, Snow Peak is a fairly high end outdoor wear and camping products manufacturer here in old Nippon. Its products are pricey, but high quality. I like to think of it as the Japanese Patagonia, despite being founded more than a decade prior in 1958. Just to get an idea, check out this Snow Peak dog cot for $124.95! Some of their mugs and kitchenware is slightly more affordable, so I’ll stick to that for now.

A campground that is managed directly my a major outdoor brand left me a little anxious. Were we gonna get hoodwinked into buying a ridiculously priced tarp or tent? Was this going to be a glamping resort like some of the bigger Auto-Camp locations, with kids racing around on scooters, vending machines, and onsite restaurants? Luckily this campground offered none of that!

Although there is a very nice Snow Peak shop on the premises and several Snow Peak tents set up outside for you to peruse, they do a good job at keeping it relatively scaled back. The road encircling the campground is unpaved which immediately brought me a sigh of relief (no kids racing around). The shop also sells firewood which you can burn in your own stainless steel portable fireplace (also sold on site should you need one). It seems all campgrounds in Japan do not offer open pit fire circles. Something about danger (危ない) or some other Japanesey safety slogan. (ご注意!)

This is what you want to see, unpaved roads around the campground. It prevents unnecessary child hooliganism.

So despite the rain, we tried to take full advantage the sites amenities, cooking s’mores on the open fire, using the electric hookup for nabe, Genghis Khan (grilled lamb), and all kinds of other great edibles. Our biggest success was the baked potatoes we buried deep in the coals and almost cooked to perfection.

Snow Peak fireplace — Despite the rain, we managed to keep the fire lit using our tarp’s canopy.

There were some moments of brief sunshine. Just enough to allow us to set up our site upon arrival and break it down after two nights. But almost nothing in between.

The site was up and running pretty quickly. A lot of sitting under the tarp waiting for the rain to stop.

Despite the weather, the Snow Peak facility in Tokachi ranks at the top of my list for family style, yet still rugged camping. Half the sites have electric hookups, the bathrooms and communal dish washing areas are top notch, and the staff was pleasant and unobtrusive.

Snow Peak’s shop and check-in building also has a hot shower. (if the local onsen isn’t your cup of tea)

Most importantly the clientele is quiet. One if the most peaceful Japanese camping experiences I have had thus far. Plus I can’t knock Snow Peak’s gear, it is quality stuff, though a bit out of my price range in terms of family camping tents and tarps.

Snow Peak Tent — Snow Peak’s tents are pricey but pretty high quality.

Snow Peak also rents their prefab box cabins for ¥18,000. Nope…

There was just enough rainless moments to set up the hammock and have our dog some true relaxation.

Podcasts That Keep Me Sane in Japan

Basically 90% of the media I consume comes from podcasts. I listen to them from the early morning on, and I am always looking out for interesting audio to fill my earbuds as I attempt to zone out on my morning and afternoon commutes. I mix it up quite a bit, sometimes educational, sometimes a bit of music, some comedy splashed in to keep things interesting, even some DIY. There is literally a podcast for any interest you might have, be it a TV show you are following, a extremely niche music you are into, book club discussions, tutorials, lectures on spirituality, sports shows, even random drunk discussions about nothing particular. My podcast playlist runs the gambit.

Here is my curated list of subscribed podcasts with links to their website:

Hobbies / DIY

The DrakeCast – A mix of guests, stories, fishing reports and more from the writers of The Drake, one of the best fly fishing magazines out there. Not a tutorial podcast, more about the people and places on the water.

TanglePod – Yep, that’s right. A podcast about Zentangle art, my latest artistic pursuit. If you remember the SNL sketch with Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer which mocked NPR radio’s uber non-aggressive style, it’s exactly like that but for real. Calming nevertheless, especially while tangling!

Japan and Japanese

Tofugu – A bit snowflakey in its praise of Japan, so hard to swallow being a long time resident (trust me, Japan isn’t that amazing), but it helps put me back in a positive frame of mind and offers excellent tips and tricks for studying the language. Check out their WaniKani site for some great Kanji practice.

History

History of The Cold War Podcast – Somewhere along the line I got very interested in the cold war, which led me to the board game Twilight Struggle (another slowly growing obsession), then to the BBC/CNN Cold War documentary series Cold War. This podcast is rather bland but packed with info. Great to fall asleep to dreaming of a nuclear winter!

Linux and FOSS

Linux Lads – Irreverent talk on Linux and FOSS from several Irish folks who aren’t afraid to get colorful with their language.

Late Night Linux – Another colorful Linux show that tells it like it is and doesn’t pull any punches.

Ubuntu Podcast – Not just about the Ubuntu Linux distro but a little bit of everything for like minded Open Source enthusiasts.

Bad Voltage – Three stalwarts of the Linux community get deep into the nitty-gritty with some fascinating debates about technology and modern life.

Linux Unplugged – The linchpin of Jupiter Broadcasting, this news shows comes at you fast and furious once a week.

User Error – Another Jupiter Broadcasting show that gets a little off-kilter at times but always has something interesting to say about the current state of Linux and open source.

Choose Linux – Linux newbies (to some degree) and Jupiter Broadcasting resident curmudgeon Joe Ressington explore Linux with fresh eyes. Distro Challenges are a staple.

The Linux Gaming News Punch – a short ten minute weekly rundown about the latest in Linux gaming.

Sports

Fanatic @ 5 – I usually start off my day 14 hours in the past (whoa, time travel dude!) and get caught up with all the happenings from the Philadelphia Sports world.

Gargano & Myrtetus Middays – 4 hours of intense sports debate. Anyplace that thinks they are serious about sports has never been to Philly, where there are two 24 hour radio stations dedicated to sports talk.

Test Match Special Podcast – BBC Radio 5 brings you reviews and analysis from English Cricket. A great companion for a sport that still remains #2 in the world behind football (soccer) with approximately 2.5 billion fans.

The Doosra – Also from the BBC, this cricket podcast focuses exclusively on Asian cricket (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan).

Comedy and Interview

Your Mom’s House – Tom Segura and wife Christina Perzinsky are two comics willing to talk about anything with all types of guests in a rambling 2-3 hours of weekly hilarity.

The Joe Rogan Experience – Really the grandaddy of interview podcasts, Rogan brings in everyone from boxers to nuclear scientists and discusses life’s questions big and small. Not a daily auto-download for me but I keep my eye’s peeled if an interesting guest stops by.

Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast – Just one of the best modern masters of stand-up comedy ranting on for an hour or sometimes two about whatever he has to get off his chest. If once a week isn’t enough for you try the Thursdays Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast (same feed) for even more blunt-force-trauma comedy.

The Doug Stanhope Podcast – If you don’t know who this comic is, YouTube him now, read his books, and then when your good and liquored up on a Friday afternoon allow him and his pals to chat for hours on end about God-knows-what. You’ll be better for it in the morning.

Music

Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast – One hour weekly of independent music filled with bagpipes and drinking songs. Really helps to drown out the Japan and goes well with a overpriced can of Guinness.

John’s Old Time Radio Show – Spinning records from Robert Crumb’s record collection directly from his home in the south of France. Hear the needle crackle and pop!

Pod Dylan – This one is for the full on Bob Dylan nerd that lurks in everyone. A single Dylan song, picked apart my the host and a guest, every two weeks. No stone is left unturned, from classics to obscure bootleg B-sides.

The Wheeler Walker Jr. Podcast – The greatest thing to ever happen to country music has a podcast!

The Jazz Treasury – A history of Jazz usually focusing on a specific artists each episode. Brilliant!

Jazz After Dark – An hour of radio Jazz from KDRT, 95.7 FM in Davis, California.

Piano Shorts (NPR) – I could listen to Marian Mcpartland talk to the elite of the Jazz community all day long. Throw in some improvised piano duets to boot!

News and Culture

The Briefing (Monocle) – Daily, hour long news for high brow, pretentious, jet-setters. Tell me about the war in Yemen and then immediately talk about trends in the global yacht marketplace. I consider this more of a fantasy role-play podcast than actual news. It’s also part of an experiment where I have been getting my daily news entirely from this pompous medium.

The New Yorker Radio Hour – Left leaning at times but a decent eclectic mix of politics, literature, music, and all the rest.

TV / Movies

Mission Log – I’m a Star Trek nerd. This podcast analyzes each and every episode of Star Trek, chronologically, starting with the The Original Series. It has already plowed through The Animated Series, The Next Generation, and is now on season three of Deep Space Nine (as of this writing). If that isn’t enough, listen to Mission Log Live, where the host interact with uber Trekkies and nerd boners shoot through the roof.

Transporter Room 3 – Two hollywood insiders go deep into Trek, review episodes and movies, and bring an irreverent vibe to the nerd fest.

Spilling Eve – Killing Eve is one of those shows that completely consumed me. So yeah, I listen to a podcast that recaps every episode. And the recaps are usually a half hour longer than the actual episode!

Well, that’s all for now. There’s quite a few that I left out for brevity sake, but this list is a great starting point for anyone looking to fill up their ears with a dense variety of sounds and ideas. Toodles!

Urban Tenkara on the Toyohira

The Toyohira River is the major tributary for Sapporo. Although it snakes its way through much of the ugly urban concrete jungle, there are often a surprising amount of anglers on the water, especially on the weekend. I’ve had moderate success landing a handful of yamame in the upper reaches, close to Makomanai Park, where the water is slowed by boulders and many large islands.

There are pockets of water that have yamame. Nevermind the cement factory and pachinko parlors in the distance.

This time around the whole family (wife, dog) came along on a bike trek, using our k9sportsack, and stopping for an overpriced lunch at dog cafe Silly before getting some fishing in.

The Toyohira has wonderful, well paved, bike paths along both banks that rarely get enough use. You can cruise comfortably along the flat stretches for hours and only encounter ten to twenty other cyclists.

Biking and k9sportsack along the Toyohira — Biking with the k9sportsack along the Toyohira’s bike lanes.

If you want to find the best fishing without traveling hours into the hinterland, ride south from the city center towards the Toyohira River Water Garden. It is at this point that the river starts to slow down and is more manageable for fly fishing and wading. Most of the stretches from here on can be wet waded in the summertime and will give some surprising yamame (cherry salmon) action if your willing to explore a bit.

Rainy Day Fishing and The Mushroom Kingdom

Sometime the weather here in Hokkaido fails to cooperate with our fishing schedule. Rain started early last Saturday as just a light drizzle, but quickly turned to a steady downpour. Although we were ready to push through the rain, to a degree, the small Bifue River’s flows quickly surged and basically kept us from any sustained fishing. Maybe got in about 20 minutes of tenkara fishing, but waiving a 4 meter rod with thunder and lighting strikes close by isn’t exactly a relaxing experience. Even though I managed a quick hook up with a tiny yamame, and rises were continuing to come through the raindrops, we quickly decided to pack it in as the rain and danger of electrocution refused to yield.

But because of that drenching and abandonment a new favorite post-fishing-snack-spot has emerged, as my friend reintroduced me to きのこの王国 (The Mushroom Kingdom). This place has it all. Assorted jams made from wild haskap? Check. Meats on a stick? You bet. Some of the best Hokkaido soft cream (¥350) west of Lake Shikotsu. No fisherman could possibly pass that up. Plus, if you thought people watching wasn’t a thing in Japan, just go to The Mushroom Kingdom’s parking lot and soak it in. Bikers wearing every shade of leather. A family of nine falling out of a economy class minivan. Or if your lucky like me, Japanese funeral goers in full mourning garb enjoying a quick snack before their wake down in Hakodate.

So even though our fishing day was a washout, I was glad to get out and about in the environs and enjoy the sites.

(Side Note — There is a second branch of The Mushroom Kingdom to the west of Sapporo, halfway between Yoichi and Kutchan, another prime fishing spot!)

Shopping Baskets of Japan

A recent trip back to ‘Merica has had me really contemplating some of the aesthetics of shopping. One of the primary memories of that last trip was me scouring Super Walmarts (and other like sized storage depots of abundance) looking for a shopping basket. Not a shopping cart. They are everywhere, and getting larger with each passing year I am away from the land of the free. A simple plastic shopping basket. Usually they can be found stacked at the entrances. But I had no such luck finding them. I did occasionally find a few stray ones unattended in some random aisles. But it was a real rarity. Like some kind of shopping Moby Dick. When I did managed to find one in a North Carolina Cabela’s, my friends mocked me for using one.

It seems to be all or nothing in America. Use an enormous shopping cart for the overwhelming amount of products you will be purchasing in that one shopping session. Or, bolt around the store empty handed in order to find that one product you need and then get the hell out of dodge. No in-between. That really is a sticking point with me.

We need more shopping baskets so that people can be reminded that you really don’t need to be buying everything all in one go. Take your time, inspect the wares, compare, and then make a few selections. I understand that not everybody has the convenience of being able to stop by their local butcher, then pick blueberries at the co-op every afternoon. But that’s no excuse to cruise around the cereal aisle in a cart stacked with enough sweets to power a pack of Roman Gypsy children for several weeks. Moderation people.

I enjoy my humble shopping basket. I also often carry around a sturdy reusable shopping bag to carry my goods home in. It’s called and eco-bag (エコバグ) here in old Nippon. Eveybody uses them. Even people driving to the supermarket use them. Their trunks aren’t stuffed to the brim either. Just a few eco-bags at most.

I have an eco-bag in my backpack right now. I will use it to transport three or four alcoholic beverages, which I will by at the Sapporo Drug Store. That’s right, I will buy boos at a drug store. It’s kinda the go to spot for cheap liquor here. I’ll save that oddity for another post.

Think Like a Fish

First fishing trip of the year was a success. Not in terms of fish caught, for there was only one very small yamame which I successfully landed. But my casting was crisp, my equipment was well prepared, and my knots where tied smoothly and without incident. For me that’s a win.

During this excursion I had a conversation with my fishing buddy about how I actually possess a lot of fishing knowledge. Book knowledge. I can tell you that the improved clinch knot has shown to have no advantage over the standard clinch knot when tests have been run on knot strength. I can tell you that a 6X tippet can turn over a #18 size elk hair caddis without issue. None of this info has helped me land a fish as far as I know.

What I have yet to do is put any of this knowledge into real practice on the water. I’ve had moderate success catching yamame using my ultra mini keiryu/tenkara hybrid rod, but only have caught a few legit trout here in Hokkaido. Does that make me a poor fisherman?

My friend has a different problem. What he lacks in uber-specific fishing knowledge he makes up for in sheer abundance in gear. Gear of all sorts. He is a collector of gear. It’s a different problem.

But we enjoy all of it. Fishing is an experience. And it doesn’t require that you catch fish to find it rewarding. When I get a chance to just be out wading in a stream, away from Sapporo’s concrete gridded streets, I make the most of it. This last weekend I followed a small flock of what I believe were Eastern Yellow Wagtail’s along the bank of the Bifue River, a species I have yet to add to my life list. Although I couldn’t make a positive ID, it caught my eye and led me down several bird watching rabbit holes throughout the day.

The Bifue River outlets into Lake Shikotsu and is about an hour southeast of Sapporo.

I decided that since my rigging on my fly rod was working fairly well, and I was getting decent drifts on an old #18 caddis, I would forgo using my Nissen Pocket Mini and just see what I could accomplish with western fly fishing methods. Not much was rising, and I only managed a handful of tiny yamame strikes throughout the morning. I managed to officially catch one unmeasurable (meaning incredibly small) yamame. So the day was a complete success!

Low Productivity, Japan’s Dirty Little Secret

“The streets are so clean!” “Such excellent service.” “Public Transportation is quiet, clean and efficient.” “Gift wrapping is included with any purchase?!” “Japanese students clean their own classrooms!” “The streets are safe.”

These are the common refrains you hear everywhere about Japan, and I left out quite a few for brevity sake. All these statements are relatively true, but unfortunately Japan and its global marketing team seem to hide behind these staple compliments in order to avoid the most distressing issue that is literally killing the country. That being the utter lack of productivity in the daily lives of its citizens.

Yes, there are some Japanese who lead productive lives for sure. But those outliers really don’t make up for those hordes of salarymen (a dirty word in my household) who toil away way past the standard nine to five (which has become somewhat anachronistic in much of the wider world).

If your average salaryman was being fully productive even half the hours they work in a day, we’d still be talking about Japan as Number One, just like it was back in 1984 and everyone had to have a Sony Walkman. Obviously, somewhere along the line Japan lost its way when it came to productivity in the workplace.

As I mentioned in a previous somewhat tongue and cheek post, most regular employees at Japanese companies “work” incredibly long hours. Some don’t even get paid overtime for it either. But the reality is that most people are “at work”, as in physically there but accomplishing nothing, rather than “working”. If they were producing great products and services, Japan would be in the international business headlines rather than the puff pieces about Harajuku street fashion, women’s panties vending machines, and the abnormal abdication of an abnormal looking emperor. Sorry, I won’t back down, lèse-majesté be damned. (note to readers: Japan has no lèse-majesté laws, but it is very rare to hear anyone crack a joke about the imperial family)

The old trade unions had the right idea!

Instead, people toil away their time at work, abandon their current family or fail to start one of their own. Hobbies and interests basically take a back seat to corporate drudgery once college life ends. No time for such frivolity as an adult. At least not any serious frivolity. Frivolity is for pensioners. But here in live-way-past-your-expiration-date Japan, the pensioner age keeps getting pushed back. So even less time to enjoy your favorite pastime in life’s twilight.

My point is this. Very few of these Japanese firms are setting the world on fire in terms of innovation. They don’t require office workers to be burning the midnight oil. Most everyone can afford, and should take a step back from being “at work” and come home during normal rush hour (5:00-6:00 PM), eat dinner together with their family, and indulge in one or several hobbies. Enjoy it! The nation won’t suddenly sink into the Pacific Ocean if Mr. Takahashi heads home at 5:00. Everything will be OK. I swear.

New Vehicle

Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought a new vehicle. This one takes up much more road and can climb mountains more easily because of its six speed manual transmission. I also managed to find it in a succulent dark mint. All in all, a decent purchase for ¥25,000.

It’s a significant upgrade over my last roadster, and I plan on utilizing it for some semi-urban fishing expeditions in and around Sapporo, as well as my daily commute.