 |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Personally I strongly want to support foreigners who want to fly fish in
Japan. Both those who want to start fly fishing and those who have fly
fished for a long time in their home countries are all welcome. It is because
I was helped and treated so nicely abroad.
Especially when I lived in Canada, people helped me in the unimaginably
great ways. Some of them are my lifetime best friends and every single
thing I experienced in those days made what I am today. Friends and I made
so many fishing trips to wild rivers, lakes and beaches in British Columbia.
Memories of those won't leave my brain forever. I learned so many things
about fishing, wildlife, safety management, biology and whatnot in a world
class environment.
Before I went there, I regarded fly fishing as the most important thing but gradually that became of secondary significance. Friendship and faith between us made me happier than anything else did.
I am living in my mother country now. It is my turn to help people from
other countries. I can do nothing special on the street, but regarding
fly fishing, I am proud of what I can do for those people. Basically I
want them to have great times in my country. I kind of understand how my
friends in Canada felt to see me as a stranger then.
Many foreigners visit Japan as tourists every year and there are a lot
of temporary/permanent residents, too. In Japan I have met quite a few
fly anglers who come from other countries and some of them are really keen.
They cannot stop asking me rapidfire questions about fly fishing in Japan.
What kind of fish, where to fish, when to fish, how to get there.... Their
questions are endless. They are dying to fly fish but don't know the place/way
to gather information, as Japanese language is the barrier. Some of my
foreign friends living in Japan told me that they had stopped bothering
clerks at any types of stores after some embarrassment. They felt sorry
after experiencing some poor communications and decided not to talk to
shop clerks again. At first I didn't understand what they said but little
by little the situation dawned on me. Staff at fishing stores have a wide
range of information but ways to communicate are limited.
I have seen some foreigners fly fishing in rivers and lakes. They know
a bit but wish to fish more extensively across the nation. Information
provided in English is limited and they only enjoy a couple of fisheries
they know and tend not to explore in other areas. There are some foreigners
who handle Japanese and read Kanjis so they travel anywhere and seem to
know more about fly fishing than I do. They are lucky but not everybody
can do this. Fishing license system sounds complicated and a regulation
synopsis uses many Kanjis (actually they may be difficult for Japanese
people, too). Asking on the phone is a hectic job. It may be natural that
keen fly fishers lose motivation until they reach a fishing spot.
As an exception, there are some foreigners who know few Japanese words
but explore so hard. Especially a friend of mine from Australia came to
Japan with his buddies and own motor cycles. They speak a few Japanese
but enjoyed Japan thoroughly. They never hesitate to enter any stores or
bars then talk to anybody. They are exceptional. Most people have a hard
time to figure out their ways to go.
When I worked at an outfitter in Tokyo, we had foreign customers from time to time. Every time I felt the urge to make something which can orient them in this country. It has been a longtime project of mine/us to build up a community where people with different backgrounds get together to share this great sport with others. If more information is exchanged among all of us, more people can join us then language barrier doesn't matter, once their passion catches flames. Probably many foreigners are looking for information on fly fishing in Japan. They have no links to each other because there is no mature community.
Over the past several years, more foreigners come to Hokkaido for tourism. Lots of them are from Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea and other nations in Asia. A lot of Australians come here for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. Hokkaido is catching the tourism wind. South Korean fly anglers are very interested in Hokkaido lately. We welcome contacts from those challengers coming to Japan.
I keep contact with some foreigners fly fishing in Japan. I hope this network
will become wider and mature. A drip of water grows into a small creek
then merges with other sister creeks and becomes a river. Our small movement
will become a large river someday.
I hope more foreigners can fly fish freely in Japan. For this goal, we
are working little by little. Basically it is hard for us to fish with
people in remote regions, but possibility is infinite through the internet.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Fly fishing is our business but helping people and making a great network of the international fly fishers in Japan is our lifetime project, out of our business. We offer translation services as a business but try not to charge for everything. We want to contribute to your happy fly fishing life in Japan. Don't hesitate to contact us if you want to enjoy fly fishing more.
Any suggestions/ feedbacks/ opinions/ support would be appreciated. |
|
|
|
