This is Masa, the chef at the local sushi bar. He's a great laugh and not really your typical reserved Japanese. He's been really good to me since I've been in Japan and has taken me out to karaoke, bars and restaurants many times, and generally helped me to get involved in the village life as much as possible.

I probably average about 3 or 4 visits to his place a week.

He took me fishing last summer and we went out a couple of miles offshore in his friend's boat. We'd been out drinking together the previous night until 1am and fishing started only 5 hours later at 6am. He started drinking immediately and gave me plenty of stick when I finally succumbed to sea sickness. I'd already bagged myself 3 fish by then so I was satisfied with my first fishing trip.

I eventually felt so rough that he called a friend of his to come out to us on a speed boat and take me back to shore. His friend arrived within 5 minutes of him making the phone call - this man's got connections!

This is Masa, the chef at the local sushi bar. He's a great laugh and not really your typical reserved Japanese. He's been really good to me since I've been in Japan and has taken me out to karaoke, bars and restaurants many times, and generally helped me to get involved in the village life as much as possible.

I probably average about 3 or 4 visits to his place a week.

He took me fishing last summer and we went out a couple of miles offshore in his friend's boat. We'd been out drinking together the previous night until 1am and fishing started only 5 hours later at 6am. He started drinking immediately and gave me plenty of stick when I finally succumbed to sea sickness. I'd already bagged myself 3 fish by then so I was satisfied with my first fishing trip.

I eventually felt so rough that he called a friend of his to come out to us on a speed boat and take me back to shore. His friend arrived within 5 minutes of him making the phone call - this man's got connections!