Helsinki born and Helsinki raised, I spent my childhood summers bicycling through the streets and forests of Helsinki. I’d like to boast that I know this city like my own pockets, but that would probably be an exaggeration. Over the years I’ve grown fond of this city with its mixture of large swathes of forests, seaside, historic city center and lovely parklike neighborhoods. I guess that’s the reason I’ve never felt the urge to move away from here. Some years ago I moved with my wife back to the neighborhood, Etelä-Haaga, where I spent my first ten years. It’s a nice, parklike neighborhood with low three to four storied apartment buildings inhabited mostly by old people and young families and lots of greenery just 10 minutes’ train ride away from the city center.

In 2005 I started my studies at University of Helsinki. At first I was going to major in aesthetics, but my interest soon waned and I started looking for something else, something new. That something found me in 2008 when I made my first trip to Japan. In the Japanese mountains, the “Japanese Alps” as they’re called, I felt like I had returned to home, to some place where I had been before and grown accustomed. Perhaps I had lived there in one of my previous lives or perhaps it was just the situation I was in at the time, but as a result I decided to change my major to Japanese studies. Now, eight years later, I have finally completed my master’s thesis and am on the cusp of graduation.

I can’t really say myself I’ll be heading from here. I have graduated and quit my boring-as-hell office job. I’ve always liked writing, so maybe I should do some writing? Or perhaps I should consider moving abroad? My situation kinda reminds me of the ending in Natsume Sôseki’s book Then: everything is open even though the book has ended.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I must confess that when my wife introduced me to couchsurfing, I was initially a bit suspicious. But over the years and with the passing of surfers I have learned to like hosting couchsurfers. It gives a nice chance to meet new people whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise. In addition it’s occasionally nice to have some “random” company at our dinner table.

The funny thing is, that although hosting people doesn’t bother me much at all, being hosted does feel a bit awkward to me. I mean, it feels like I’m invading into someone else’s private life. I guess that’s the Finn inside of me thinking. This is the reason why I haven’t done so much surfing myself.

Interests

It probably comes as a no surprise that among my interests there are quite a lot of things from Japanese culture. Note, though, that I’m not all that much into the contemporary Japanese culture or the official classical Japanese culture. Rather, I’m broadly interested in all kinds of things through the breadth and length of Japanese culture and history. If I’d have to name some interests I’d say: rakugo, enka, manzai, jômon, Edo period, Meiji restoration etc. among others.

In addition to that I’m interested in Finnish history, especially in the Finnish civil war.

I also do vipassana meditation and a range of sports including jogging, swimming, bicycling, floorball, football etc.

We also have a little patch of land for growing vegetables and such, so come harvest time we usually are busy pickling, cooking and storing our harvest. I also make kimchi, cider and sake at home. If you’re lucky, you might arrive just when a new batch of home-made cider or sake is ready.

• cooking
• meditation
• politics
• reading
• hiking
• sports
• swimming
• japan
• bicycling
• vipassana
• local history
• japanese culture
• floorball
• rakugo

Music, Movies, and Books

If I had to name one writer who is above all the others, it would be Kawabata Yasunari, but naming his best work isn’t that easy.

In fact I used to read a broad variety of books regardless of their theme, genre etc., but then I got sucked up into my studies and thesis, and as a consequence narrowed down my reading list to books related to or complementing my studies (ie. related to Japanese studies). Now that I’ve graduated, I’m trying to broaden my literal horizons.

When it comes to movies I’m a total sucker for Studio Ghibli movies.

I grew up listening to progressive rock during my teenage years, but these days there hardly seems to be any rhyme or reason to what I listen to. I guess it depends on my mood or the situation I’m in.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I finished my goddamn master's thesis. It took me two and a half years and almost one marriage. Never. Again.

Teach, Learn, Share

If it's the harvest season, I can teach our guest(s) how to make kimchi, cider or beer!