Moving to Tokyo (if all goes well!)

[Luke Dupont]

If all goes as planned, I will most likely be working in Tokyo come the beginning of next year.

Which, I'm quite excited about. But...

It might put woodworking on hold for a while, as I'll be:

- Pretty poor for a while.
- Living in a small apartment where I have to be pretty careful about noise.
- Likely too busy to do much woodworking anyway.

But, if I know myself, I'll want to make something at some point / from time to time. Probably smaller items.

So, I'm kind of wondering what I should sell/leave here, and bring with me. And, I'm just sort of curious to hear about other's experiences.

I'm considering selling all of my western tools, as I'll not likely be able to use them. Any work that I do will be on the floor, as a bench is out of the question.

Also, another silly question, but: can one buy conveniently dimensioned and planed wood in dimensions for small crafts over there, as is readily available at the BORGs here in the states? Resawing boards is not something I'll likely be able to do.

[Stewie Simpson]

Luke; how old are you.

[Luke Dupont]

Luke; how old are you.

28. What is your reason for asking?

Hmm... I can see how my post might come off as jumping the gun, and might strike one as slightly immature in that sense.

I'm really just throwing this subject out there without any specific purpose to elicit interesting or informative responses regarding Japan, apartment living, and woodworking. I'll likely find myself with a hobby somewhat ill-suited to my environment, and I'll bet that I'm not the first.

Moreover, the community here seems overall rather personable, so I don't feel it inappropriate to mention that I'm moving somewhere. In fact, doing so is often a good way to locate people who share your interests.

So, maybe not the most well-thought out thread, but I hope that clarifies my intent in writing it?

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow. What a change - from relatively small-town Mississippi to Tokyo Japan, one of the largest cities on Earth! Good for you. That's going to be an adventure, for sure. There are at least a couple members who live there, or have in the past. So you should get some useful input on your woodworking.

Good luck Luke!
Fred

[Stanley Covington]

If all goes as planned, I will most likely be working in Tokyo come the beginning of next year.

Which, I'm quite excited about. But...

It might put woodworking on hold for a while, as I'll be:

- Pretty poor for a while.
- Living in a small apartment where I have to be pretty careful about noise.
- Likely too busy to do much woodworking anyway.

But, if I know myself, I'll want to make something at some point / from time to time. Probably smaller items.

So, I'm kind of wondering what I should sell/leave here, and bring with me. And, I'm just sort of curious to hear about other's experiences.

I'm considering selling all of my western tools, as I'll not likely be able to use them. Any work that I do will be on the floor, as a bench is out of the question.

Also, another silly question, but: can one buy conveniently dimensioned and planed wood in dimensions for small crafts over there, as is readily available at the BORGs here in the states? Resawing boards is not something I'll likely be able to do.

A somewhat vague question.....

If you are going to be living in a small apartment, any kind of banging will be a problem. One solution is to do carving, which requires no joint cutting.

You can buy boards from the equivalent of the Borg here. Depending on where you live, there may be lumberyards with construction grade wood. There is also a store called Moku Moku that has some very nice wood, but will you have a car? Probably not. Therefore, small pieces you can carry on the subway.

If you will be poor, then buying many tools here will be a problem. If you can afford to ship them over, then that is a better choice. Keaba saws are easy to get over here, so I suggest you leave your western saws at home, especially since you won't have a workbench or vise.

Stan

[Rich Riddle]

I lived in Japan for the military. The apartments are extremely tiny. You might try to find a "club" or something where you can visit to perform woodworking and share tools. We had them on base of course, but if you have not access to a base, it won't be for you. It is incredibly expensive there. Tokyo will be fine, but in some places they don't like Americans in the least. I recommend selling nearly everything or everything if you don't have much unless you have a place that offers free storage in the USA.

[Stanley Covington]

The Tokyo residents seem to have some valid complaints.

https://www.japantoday.com/category/...ary-on-okinawa

I am impressed with your naivete, and disgusted with your violation of the forum's rules.

[Stewie Simpson]

Stanley, I have deleted the post, but do not suggest I am naïve on the facts.

Stewie;

[Luke Dupont]

A somewhat vague question.....

If you are going to be living in a small apartment, any kind of banging will be a problem. One solution is to do carving, which requires no joint cutting.

You can buy boards from the equivalent of the Borg here. Depending on where you live, there may be lumberyards with construction grade wood. There is also a store called Moku Moku that has some very nice wood, but will you have a car? Probably not. Therefore, small pieces you can carry on the subway.

If you will be poor, then buying many tools here will be a problem. If you can afford to ship them over, then that is a better choice. Keaba saws are easy to get over here, so I suggest you leave your western saws at home, especially since you won't have a workbench or vise.

Stan

I was also thinking about carving. I suppose paring is sufficient in that case?

You're right in that hitting a chisel is basically going to be off limits. I *was* thinking that I might get away with augering/drilling out waste and paring, if I want to do the occasional small project that (boxes and such) that might require joinery.

I don't suppose there's anywhere I could potentially work besides my apartment, is there? Perhaps a silly question, but.

The car thing is a very good point. And, strangely, one I had not really considered yet.

The plan isn't to stay poor, of course. But, that will definitely be my situation in the beginning. You make a good point, though - I don't want to go spending money on a hobby that might be very limited.

[Trevor Goodwin]

Luke, if you can't live without working wood, carving is the answer. I got started with whittling, which led to carving, when I was living in a shared building (not quite an apartment, but I could hear when my neighbors went to the toilet...). Once I moved into a place where I could make some noise I fell into the rabbit hole of woodworking, mind you I used to do a bit with my grandfather as a teenager. Unless you're working on 'sculptures' where mallet tools are the go, carving is pretty quiet. If you aren't interested in artsy stuff, consider the 'puzzle' type carving like chains and balls in cages, mechanisms, etc. There is also the realm of 'geometry' carving like this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Woodcarving-M.../dp/1565235231

Unfortunately I don't see how you could do decent furniture type woodworking without much space and noise limitations.

[Luke Dupont]

Wow. What a change - from relatively small-town Mississippi to Tokyo Japan, one of the largest cities on Earth! Good for you. That's going to be an adventure, for sure. There are at least a couple members who live there, or have in the past. So you should get some useful input on your woodworking.

Good luck Luke!
Fred

Thanks!

Yep - I'm rather excited. I'm even going to be working in a Japanese language environment and doing something besides teaching English. So, a little intimidating as well

I'm looking forward to improving my Japanese (and the many other "languages" I'll be using!)

Hoping to get some woodworking in as well, but if not, I have countless other hobbies

[Luke Dupont]

Luke, if you can't live without working wood, carving is the answer. I got started with whittling, which led to carving, when I was living in a shared building (not quite an apartment, but I could hear when my neighbors went to the toilet...). Once I moved into a place where I could make some noise I fell into the rabbit hole of woodworking, mind you I used to do a bit with my grandfather as a teenager. Unless you're working on 'sculptures' where mallet tools are the go, carving is pretty quiet. If you aren't interested in artsy stuff, consider the 'puzzle' type carving like chains and balls in cages, mechanisms, etc. There is also the realm of 'geometry' carving like this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Woodcarving-M.../dp/1565235231

Unfortunately I don't see how you could do decent furniture type woodworking without much space and noise limitations.

Yeah, I don't plan for a minute to make any furniture.

That's awesome, though! I hadn't seen that sort of carving before. That's something I think I would probably enjoy.

[george wilson]

Luke,I do not know your reasons for moving to Japan,or the amount of money you will be making. But,I'll mention that the museum sent several craftsmen to Tokyo years ago to do a demonstration of the trades(for some reason!)

They went through their 2 weeks allotment for food in just a few days. I think one said that a small glass of orange juice was about $5.00. This was in the 80's. Unless you plan to eat LIKE THE JAPANESE, you may be in for a rude shock. I HEARTILY encourage you to stay here in the USA. This is the very best country in the World to live in.

[Luke Dupont]

Luke,I do not know your reasons for moving to Japan,or the amount of money you will be making. But,I'll mention that the museum sent several craftsmen to Tokyo years ago to do a demonstration of the trades(for some reason!)

They went through their 2 weeks allotment for food in just a few days. I think one said that a small glass of orange juice was about $5.00. This was in the 80's. Unless you plan to eat LIKE THE JAPANESE, you may be in for a rude shock. I HEARTILY encourage you to stay here in the USA. This is the very best country in the World to live in.

Believe me George, I love and appreciate the USA!

But, I'm quite familiar with Japanese culture, language, living expenses, and food, and know more or less what I'm getting into.

Food is really the least of my concerns though. I already eat rice as a staple (family from Louisiana!), and quite enjoy Japanese food. I'm sure there's somethings I'll miss, but I'm generally very adaptable and not so attached to / worried about small things.

That's quite a funny story, though. Food isn't that expensive in Japan, but there are definitely a lot of items/foods that while common here, are rare/imported, and highly priced in Japan. I think that's probably less the case than it was in the 80's, but it's still true.

Of course, the reverse is kind of true here when you go to an Asian Grocery store :P

[Matt Lau]

Luke, I think that us Neader-dudes are just looking out for you with good intentions.
At our different ages, we've all had our share of challenges and mishaps--it may color how we see things (and I'm 32, only a little older than you!).

Personally, I assume that you know what you're doing.
At 28, you've probably finished whatever formal schooling you set out to do.
You probably have a good reason for going to Japan (work, wife, etc).

1. In terms of the original question--what type of woodworking do you want to do?
2. What is your prior woodworking experience?
3. What are you doing in Japan?
If you're going for a degree at Todai for structural engineering, I'd defer to Stan's advice. If you're going for a medical residency, I'd recommend maybe just having a whittling knife at most. Things are very different in different contexts.

On a side note, I like Japanese woodworking because it's less reliant (in my limited knowledge) on big, expensive vises.
Yes, an ultra heavy workbench is best. However, the traditional Japanese ways generally have a very smart reason behind why they do things (pull saws, planes, short workbenches, etc). They are very sophisticated and flexible solutions, despite looking very simple.

If you want something satisfying and relatively not loud--have you thought of building guitars?
There is just two real joints--the headstock (if you do it, scarf/bridle/v joint) and the neck joint (a lot of guys just use a bolt on, but dovetails and spanish heels also work).
Most of the work will be planing the wood and shaping the braces.
Downside--wood can get expensive, especially in Tokyo.

Currently, I'm working on putting together a portable workbench/system based on Stan's "beer, tacos, woodworking" post.
I have a pair of hideahorses, and I'm putting a 40 mm tabletop on it. I'll be slotting a parrot-vise on one of the horses.