While I was visiting Longevity Villages … This Happened #fieldnotes #japan #community
While I’ve been away visiting Japan’s longevity hotspots and gathering field notes for my book, Wahine has been quietly waiting at the dock.
But apparently not alone.
Some local visitors decided to make themselves at home, so on this trip away, I’ve recruited a new crew member to keep watch — 24/7.
It’s not the most experienced sailor… but it does a good job keeping the crows away.
Life aboard Wahine, my floating writing base, while exploring what Japan can teach us about longevity and community.
#JapanSolo
#BoatLife
#SailingLife
#Longevity
#FieldNotes
#JapanLife
#community
While I’ve been away visiting Japan’s longevity hotspots and gathering field notes for my book, Wahine has been quietly waiting at the dock.
But apparently not alone.
Some local visitors decided to make themselves at home, so on this trip away, I’ve recruited a new crew member to keep watch — 24/7.
It’s not the most experienced sailor… but it does a good job keeping the crows away.
Life aboard Wahine, my floating writing base, while exploring what Japan can teach us about longevity and community.
#JapanSolo
#BoatLife
#SailingLife
#Longevity
#FieldNotes
#JapanLife
#community
Pacific Solo
Hi, I`m Lowell, a 67-year-old rookie sailor, and a never-too-later! I preparing myself for the biggest challenge of my life: a solo journey across the North Pacific. I am a Canadian living in Japan, and in 2019, I purchased Wahine, a 1988 Gib Sea 402. I moved on board while she was moored in Tokyo. In March 2021, I terminated my contract with the Marina and have been cruising Japan full time since gaining valuable experience all the while working remotely from the boat. Wahine is my home, my studio, and my lab. Join me on my learning voyage around Japan, trying to prepare myself for Pacific Solo. If you want to see where I am please go to my website and click on the Where`s Wahine Button at https://www.pacificsolo.com Also, if you are a fellow never-too-later check out www.nevertoolateacademy.com PSThe History Channel asked if they follow me into various remote ports for a new series called Dare to Dream. The pilot airs in Japan July 24th at 8pm.
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Pacific Solo Lastest Videos
While I was visiting Longevity Villages … This Happened #fieldnotes #japan #community
While I’ve been away visiting Japan’s longevity hotspots and gathering field notes for my book, Wahine has been quietly waiting at the dock. But apparently not alone. Some local visitors decided to make themselves at home, so on this trip away, I’v...
Why Rural Japan Doesn’t Feel Lonely #Japan #VillageLife #fieldnotes
Rural Japan is often described as aging, shrinking, or falling behind. But spend time in a small village and you see something else. Less speed. More ritual. Less separation. More belonging. In aging societies, community isn’t sentimental — it’s s...
There Isn’t One Japan | Unlearning Number 1 #fieldnotes #japan #longevity
From a distance, Japan looks uniform. On the ground, it fragments. A fishing village in Okinawa doesn’t move like Osaka. A mountain town in Nagano doesn’t age like Nagoya. Longevity in Japan isn’t national. It’s local. This is the first in a sh...
Everything I Thought About Japan Was Wrong #fieldnotes #slowtravel #japansolo
After years of travelling slowly across Japan — by sailboat, train, and on foot — I realised something unexpected: The hardest lessons weren’t about learning more. They were about unlearning assumptions. Not facts. Narratives. Cultural shortcuts. ...
Japan’s Plastic Conference – A View from the Waterline
Next week, Japan hosts an international conference on plastic pollution. I won’t be in the room, but I live at the waterline. From here, plastic pollution isn’t abstract. It’s mechanical. It’s physical. It can be dangerous. A discarded fishing ne...
Longevity Looks Like This #healthspan #movement #fieldnotes
In Japan’s longevity communities, people don’t chase intensity. They keep moving. Not fast. Not forceful. Slow enough to feel the ground beneath them and the elements around them. Sun. Air. Water. Over time, that rhythm compounds. These are field ...
Quarters Vs Seasons #fieldnotes #slowtravel #japan
In cities, time often feels segmented. In the countryside, it feels cyclical. Quarters versus seasons. Spending time in both makes you notice how differently time is structured — and how that might shape how we live over decades. Field Notes from rura...
Shared Abundance #fieldnotes #japan #abundance
Tankan are in season here in this remote Island, a designated World Heritage Site. A woman came by the boat, leaving me with two bags full. No transaction. Just abundance shared. Belonging often begins with proximity. Field notes from Buren Bay. #Fie...
111 Years, One Community #fieldnotes #japan #longevity
Kiyotaka Mizuno, Japan’s oldest man, died at 111. His mayor described him as “a symbol of vitality and good health.” Longevity at that level is rarely individual. It is deeply communal. Field notes from Japan.#fieldnotes #japan #longevity
Managing Tension at the Wall #slowtravel #fieldnotes #boatlife
Out in the middle of the bay, the boat rises and falls without much effort. Tied to the wall, I adjust the lines throughout the day. The tide is the same. The setting changes the work. Field notes from Buren Bay. #FieldNotes #BoatLife #SlowTravel #Amami...
Moving the Boat on a Mirror-Smooth Morning #FieldNotes #BoatLife #SlowTravel
I moved the boat today. The water was mirror smooth. Mountains resting in their own reflections. For an hour it felt like I wasn’t moving at all. Sometimes motion feels like stillness. Field notes from Buren Bay. #FieldNotes #BoatLife #SlowTravel #A...
Oranges and Bleach #fieldnotes #japan #travel
I’ve been provisioning the boat. Somewhere between oranges and bleach, I managed to fall. Nothing to dramatic — just a swollen elbow and a reminder. Longevity isn’t about living long. It’s about staying steady. Field notes from Buren Bay. #Wri...
Making Use of the Day #japan #slowtravel #fieldnotes
Still on land tonight at Mitsu`s house. He allows me to use his guest room as a wrirting room and storage The boat is close. The weather decides the timing. I’m writing, provisioning, and letting the day be useful. Field notes from Buren Bay. #Field...
Where I Stay #fieldnotes #japan #slowtravel
Back in Buren Bay. I haven’t stepped aboard yet. I’m just looking. Belonging doesn’t always arrive loudly. Sometimes it’s already there. Field notes from the bay. #FieldNotes #WritingInPlace #SlowTravel #Longevity #community #Belonging
Slow Travel Includes Waiting #FieldNotes #travel #japan
Back on Amami — but not back on the boat. In places like this, the weather decides the pace. Slow travel isn’t just about moving slowly. Sometimes it’s about waiting well. Field notes from the journey. #FieldNotes #Amami #SlowTravel #Longevity #P...
Travel Is a Method #FieldNotes #Japan #SlowTravel
This leg of the journey was meant to be by sea. A storm changed that. The logistics shifted — the question behind the journey didn’t. Field notes from the road. #FieldNotes #Japan #SlowTravel #Longevity #Inquiry
Two Speed Japan #FieldNotes #slowtravel #japan
Osaka moves fast and full of energy. In a few hours, I’ll be heading south — toward a different sense of time. Both are Japan. That difference shapes how people live. Field notes from the journey. #Japan #FieldNotes #SlowTravel #Longevity #Osaka #C...
The Best Thinking Happens in the In-Between #FieldNotes #SlowTravel #japan
Some of the best thinking doesn’t happen when you arrive. It happens in between - when you’re moving , but not rushing. Field notes from the journey
Life After 70, My Boat and I #travel #turning70 #japan
In 2025, I set out to follow the cherry blossoms the length of Japan by boat. What unfolded instead was a slower journey through Japan’s longevity hotspots, rural communities, and places where people live long, steady, independent lives. A look back at ...
That moment when your boat engine dies… then doesn’t #boatlife #boatrepair #relief
A quick check after rowing out to Wahine. No water flowing from the engine is never a good sign, so I pulled the impeller plate to inspect it for damage. A bit of crud inside, but the impeller itself looked fine. While I was there, I cleaned the starter a...
Engine Troubles and Maintenance Check on Wahine
I rowed out to my boat Wahine and found some good news - the bilge is dry and the battery is fully charged thanks to the sun. However, I discovered potential engine problems that could be basic maintenance issues or a fuel line problem. Additionally, my se...
Back in Buren Bay: Preparing the SUP and Tending to Wahine
Back to the boat.. After five weeks away—and a little longer neglecting the boat while working on my book project—I’m heading back out to Wahine. The manuscript is now submitted, and while I wait for feedback, it’s time to give the boat some overd...
Back to the Boat: But One Last NY Ritual First #NewYearInJapan, #SlowTravel #writerslife #Japan
A few final days in Japan before an early flight south. This short video captures some familiar New Year sights: Mount Fuji from the train, the Sumida River and Tokyo Skytree, and the crowds taking part in the annual tradition of visiting a shrine. After...
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