Coming to Tottori soon

[DocDoesFarming]

How did you score a 5 year card? I'm guessing you've had one before or something?

Honestly man, no idea. I've visited quite a bit over the years, but never got anything other than a tourist visa. My hunch is that could have something to do with the length of our marriage. We've been married for 10+ years and we documented it well in my visa application process. Can't think of anything else.

The marriage length might explain it. Very cool, no pissing about with 1 year visas for you then.

What have you got planned to do first? Or what would you like to be able to do first? Suppose that's kind of the same question isn't it?

[baragua]

Did your flights have minimal passengers?

LA to Seoul was more or less normal, and Seoul to Kansai was way more packed than I had anticipated. Seemed like it was a lot of Japanese nationals and Korean residents returning home, plus a dozen or so guys I clocked as foreign laborers. Pretty surprising to me given all the omicron madness.

What have you got planned to do first? Or what would you like to be able to do first? Suppose that's kind of the same question isn't it?

Good question! Step one I think is to unpack all of our belongings. They've been sitting in cardboard boxes for about two months, and I need that cardboard to start laying out some no dig beds. There are two obvious sites for gardens, but one of them (the backyard) is quite overgrown, and a good ways out from level. It's clear there's at least some junk under the growth (I noticed a stack of roof tiles) but I won't know until I've done some work to clear it out. Once I'm allowed to go out, I'm gonna pick up a machete and get to work. I should ask you folks for guidance--never worked with anything but flat lawn. I'll try to take some pictures when the weather clears up.

[DocDoesFarming]

When I was tidying up our farm I basically started raking all of the dried up weeds and such and then went on from there. Get yourself a sturdy rake and start working those back and shoulder muscles.

Might be worth buying a kusakariki if you can or maybe borrowing one from a neighbour for the time being, my personal preference for those is the backpack kind as it's easier to swing about and lighter.

https://www.agriz.net/fs/nouki/krz-rme2630lt20

We had one field that had a load of plastic bags and the other such garbage buried in the ground so clearing all that stuff was a bit of a task, as we weren't planning on using that bit of land it was a bit by bit job.
Let's hope you don't have too much crap buried to deal with as it's a pain in the arse to clear away sometimes especially with the recycling.

[baragua]

Might be worth buying a kusakariki if you can or maybe borrowing one from a neighbour for the time being, my personal preference for those is the backpack kind as it's easier to swing about and lighter.

Hah, my neighbor who picked me up yesterday advised me to get one of those. Apparently the men in our village are tasked with clearing the weeds from communal areas, after which they all get wasted. Sounds good to me.

[Chuck2]

Sounds like you got a fun community. Like Doc said a kusakariki will probably be needed. There's a lot of types of kusakarikis out there. If you got a lot of sloped land you might want to get one with the longer pole. If you plan on using plastic rope head attachment, I think there is a certain amount of CC's you want.
I like a U handle type kusakari like this https://item.rakuten.co.jp/nogyoya/6312 ... 2edd4b06b7
And a backpack type strap like this https://www.monotaro.com/k/store/%E5%88 ... %E3%83%88/
For chipsaw I like a 255mm tsumura.
Plastic rope attachment I like the yamabiko seed feeder. With the blue yamakiko rope. Seen here
https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/tanb ... =slga_fpla

[Zasso Nouka]

When it comes to buying a kusakariki it's probably worth spending a little more and buying an expensive one as the engine will last a whole lot longer. The cheap 2 stroke engines will do the job but a better quality 4 stroke engine will last for years if properly maintained. Four stroke engines use the same oil as your car so they keep all the sensitive parts lubricated and protected much better than two stroke engine. Or you could go electric and dispense with all that, Makita electric kusakariki's are well worth the extra expense and eventually you'll recoup that extra expense by not buying oil or petrol and not having to do engine maintenance.

One thing to bear in mind is not leaving unused fuel in the engine or tank for long as it will attract water and cause rust on the sensitive parts of the engine that will lead to engine failure. When you've finished using your kusakariki pour out any unused fuel while the engine is still running and then let it carry on until the engine runs dry.

[baragua]

Thanks to you three for the kusakariki crash course. Always appreciate another gear rabbit hole to dive down. My immediate inclination is to get a Makita since I'm going to be buying into that battery line anyway. Do you guys think there are any meaningful drawbacks on electric? Power? Battery duration on longer jobs?

In any case, I'll probably get started as soon as I can with a machete, rake, and fork. It'll do me some good after this long sedentary pandemic spell.

[DocDoesFarming]

Drawbacks? Maybe the battery I guess but you could always just buy a spare if you plan on doing loads of it in a day, maybe even 2 spare but that's probably excessive. For my place I sometimes do 4+ hours just in certain areas so I guess it just depends on how big an area you have.

Maybe do a test run with a petrol one and time yourself how long you take and then check the battery duration lengths for the Makita and buy accordingly.

[Tora]

Thanks to you three for the kusakariki crash course. Always appreciate another gear rabbit hole to dive down. My immediate inclination is to get a Makita since I'm going to be buying into that battery line anyway. Do you guys think there are any meaningful drawbacks on electric? Power? Battery duration on longer jobs?

In any case, I'll probably get started as soon as I can with a machete, rake, and fork. It'll do me some good after this long sedentary pandemic spell.

A friend who bought a battery powered Makita one years ago said it only lasted 1/2 - 1/3 of the time on the stats. Big difference between low and high power. I think he was using 14.4v batteries I think.

If you’re in Inaka, you need a kusakariki. First tool I needed for my house “renovation” next was a chainsaw…. I still think it’s funny.

I have a few (long story) 2 cycle Kusakariki. My friend says his new 30cc 3 cycle backpack version is so much easier to use for extended periods. I love my 50 cc lawnmower. Great for flat areas and slight hills. I can enjoy a non carbonated beverage as I follow it around the field.

Get some vibration absorbing gloves. Your hands will thank you.

Drain the engine for long periods of not using like Zasso said. Learn to sharpen blades. Learn not to hit rocks. Remember that strings are more likely to throw rocks. Learning/knowing to do simple maintenance and repairs like how to clean and overhaul a carbutrator might save you some headaches and/or money or both.

Watch out for giant hornets, ticks, lacquer tree and mamushi in the warmer months.

Welcome!

[Tora]

. My friend says his new 30cc 3 cycle backpack version is so much easier to use for extended periods.

Sorry.
That should read “ ….30cc 4 cycle backpack version”

I think I was tired.
I think