iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Absolutely hammering down in Tokyo. The drain pipes are making a non-stop whooshing sound like a jet passing over head.

The rain radar for Tokyo. Absolutely hammering down since yesterday because of the typhoon, though the note at the bottom says it’ll be stopping around 11pm.

000

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A tanuki. And an opportunity for me to use a word I rarely get to break out: rantallion.

A statue of a tanuki, compete with its traditionally oversized ball bag.

021

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Tried doing Edo Kiriko this morning.

The things in the shadow are supposed to be new shoots.

040

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Got treated to a rainbow on tonight’s stroll with the hound.

000

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This time last year I was in a river in Wakayama, cooling off between interviews and shoots. It ended up as two chapters in a book: one on Kitayama village, where a super fruit and traditional rafting have helped with regeneration, and another on the hot spring hamlets of Yunomine and Kawayu.

The river running through Kitayama village in Wakayama.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

About choosing projects. Or struggling to.

After a big project or super-busy period finishes, I often feel a slight sense of overwhelm when working out what to focus on next; how to balance all the possible ideas; which work offers to say no to; which of my ideas to shelve; which to commit to.
This weekend is the "listing it all phase", so I can see the choices more clearly. And it's a right mess.

My main focus for the next two months is a project I'm very excited about. I'll get to write in depth about a bunch of interesting topics for one of my favourite (and longest) clients.
But I also want to make time for my haiku/haibun collection and get stuck into some scripts. I'd be tempted to send haiku off to publications [mini rant incoming], but so many won't take anything previously shared on social media, which is silly given they don't pay and take ages to reply.

There are also book ideas to outline and pitch in the hope of lining up a new book contract for next year. Well, there will be work-for-hire book projects from one client at least, but l'd like to write others too.
Before all that are a couple of simple articles to get done for clients to clear the decks; add in some admin I need to catch up on and non-work things to schedule - next UK trip included. As I write this the dog has popped into the office... he hums...l've added "wash the hound" to my to-do list.

Usually, I'm decisive when I make a list and start to cull from it, but today I'm umming and ahhing like an absolute moron. The list is getting longer, not shorter.

020

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Hot day in Tokyo. I’m thinking of snow. Though not as much snow as this drive from the Tango Peninsula to Kinosaki earlier in the year.

040

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Just in case you have guests you want to impress and you anticipate they’ll need a poo.

Kleenex toilet roll in Japan. Called “for the guest”.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

It’s become a tradition over the past decade or so to get a photo of the hound with each book I write. Not always the easiest task…as this morning is reminding me.

Book and dog’s paw. Book is called Another Japan.

Dog with tongue out, drooling over a book.

000

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I didn’t have enough characters available for this moan about writers advocating for other writers when it comes to pay rates. So it’s a screenshot.

I like that there are websites and social media accounts that post editor callouts and opportunities for writers. I also get that many publications legitimately have low budgets and that it's up to writers to decide what fees are acceptable for them.

But I think it would help even more to somehow label the opportunities that offer extremely poor conditions, so early career writers are made aware that something like $100 for 1000 words is dreadful. Perhaps an opportunity to build an initial portfolio, but not a professional rate or anywhere near it.

Advocating for better pay and contract conditions isn't something any professional writers organization I've been a member of has seemed hugely interested in. So it's up to writers to advocate for each other. Not normalizing poor pay is part of that.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

In other news, I broke the lid of one the things we freeze cooked rice in. At least the hound was amused…

Foreground is the broken lid of a plastic container. Background is a smiling black dog, a kuroshiba.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The joys of middle age. No running allowed for a month. And a reminder to stop wearing flip-flops on walkies.

021

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Today in the office I’m mostly…

Jammie Dodger biscuits. Great for dunking.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Most of my work this summer is in Tokyo or very nearby, which will make a lovely change from being drenched in sweat on assignment in various parts of Japan. That said, a year ago almost to the day, I got to see a wonderful (and sweaty) outdoor performance of Noh on Sado.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Author/contributor copy delivery. Dog came separately…almost 12 years ago.

Handsome kuroshiba looking into a box of books (just delivered) in disgust due to a distinct lack of snacks therein.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I don’t usually read reviews - it’s a stress I don’t need. But this got sent to me and it’s nice, so I’m sharing. Thank you for the kind words, Aesthetica.

A snippet from a review of my latest book. One bit reads: Another Japan is an essential record of communities that prove real meaning is found in the simple moments and the enduring ties between people and place.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The local supermarket has unleashed the myoga motherlode. Only ¥128.

Myoga. A kind of ginger…I think. It so good when vinegared (maybe slightly sweetened too, or even with a touch of miso added) but also does well as tempura. ¥128 for this much feels like getting it at a quarter of regular price.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

A double typhoon on the way…

Screenshot from Yahoo Weather. It shows the path of two typhoons reaching Japan at the same time. A wet weekend ahead.

000

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

It’s sunny and warm, but not humid in my part of Tokyo today. It’s lovely. I went for a run, finished a chapter, took the hound out for a poo in the shade. Then spotted this new banner at the supermarket and remembered it’ll soon be hideously hot and humid.

A banner at a supermarket in Tokyo. It says “cooling shelter” in Japanese and English, so people know they can pop in just to cool off when things get too hot.

020

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Even in a fairly compact flat, where we keep things as uncluttered and simple as possible, it’s amazing how items can go undetected for years. Rooting around a corner unit in the kitchen (where we keep less-used kitchen utensils and pans), I just found this can. Use by date: May 2016.

A can of onion soup. With dog in background.

220

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

New book. Out in July in Europe, September elsewhere. #japan

Blurb for a new book called Another Japan. Out in July in Europe, Sept elsewhere. It roughly says: by photographer Irwin Wong and writer Rob Goss, an intimate look at the resilience, creativity and living heritage of rural Japan.

050

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Popped to Kiba Park coffee and craft festival. Nice event.

A coffee tasting set. Three coffees. One each from Colombia, Costs Rica and Ethiopia. Though “Bioreactor” sounds more like something that melts down at the start of a disaster movie than a coffee.

020

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

One of the local supermarkets suddenly has quite cheap yet lovely myoga…today will be a pickling day.

Packets of myoga, a kind of Japanese ginger (I think…)

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

And that’s almost that for the neighbourhood’s cherry blossoms for another year.

Cherry blossom petals covering the pavement in my part of Tokyo. With an outrageously handsome kuroshiba standing in the middle of it all, probably contemplating where to pee next.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Woke up to texts of England v Japan from my son (his pic). At least one of his teams won.

100

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

These have started popping up on the hound’s main evening walkies route here in Tokyo. Does anyone know what it is? It’s lovely, but I’m not very good with flower names.

This is very unhelpful alt text because I don’t know what the flower is. Kind of lilac color. Small.

110

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Captioning day with Irwin for our new book. My hound not keen to help…

Henry, the world’s finest kuroshiba, snoring his way through a captioning day.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

It’s been a wallow with the hound kind of weekend.

A kuroshiba, or black shiba, luxuriating in bed.

0110

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The #haiku and the senior hound therein.

A screenshot of a haiku. It reads:

Clearing skies
The dog
Finds every puddle

A kuroshiba, the finest of dogs. Seen here in its grumpy state.

060

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Spring in Tokyo. Time to dust off the hazmat suit.

Yahoo Japan’s pollen forecast. The cedar, which causes runny nose carnage, will kick in properly from tomorrow.

020

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I can feel the first eye itch of hay fever today in Tokyo. Time to dust off this spring haibun from last year.

Text that reads: In Japan’s 72 traditional micro seasons, winter gradually hints at giving way to spring with rain moistening the soil, mists that linger, and the surfacing of hibernating insects. In Tokyo, some of the old signs of transition still appear, but I tend to notice spring’s arrival elsewhere.

Text that reads: As I check the weather each morning, I now see forecasts reminding me that a pernicious cloud of pollen will soon be descending upon the city. This week, it’s light blue icons telling us there’s a little cedar in the air, though it won’t be long before they are replaced by the ominous red and purple warnings of 非常に多い and 極めて多い, and I’ll be wishing I owned a Hazmat suit.

Text that reads: Likewise, in the mall across from home, the special display at the drugstore is no longer dedicated to cold and flu remedies – it’s antihistamines, eye drops, nasal sprays, and all sorts of gimmicks aimed at spring sniffers like me.

Text that reads: And in the supermarket, all that remains of the winter mikan from Wakayama are withering on discount, their shelf space increasingly given over to strawberries from Tochigi and a selection of chunkier citruses.

picking the pips

from a ponkan

a tickle in my nose

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Snowmaggedon in Tokyo today.

Henry, voted* Japan’s finest kuroshiba for 11 consecutive years, taking a break between snow-yellowing work today in Tokyo.

*source needed

031

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Heading home from the final research trip for the next book. First non-guidebook in a while. I’ve lost count of how many journeys Irwin and I have done for this since April, but it’s been quite a trip. Brilliant experiences, yet I’m looking forward to being a hermit for a month. Maybe two. Or three.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

On the Shinkansen, having a thimble of wine.

A small bottle of wine (250ml) that came with a thimble-sized cup.

120

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

This morning’s coffee view.

130

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Grim drive. Lovely destination.

Traditional tatami mat room at a Japanese inn.

040

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Heading to Fukui for a few days and getting lovely views from the shinkansen.

Snowy fields with mountains in the distance and a big wodge of blue sky.

070

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

First round in six or seven years.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

I didn’t think I could love anything more than clotted cream…until I stumbled upon half-price clotted cream.

It’s not quite the same as clotted from Devon or Cornwall (it doesn’t have the lovely yellow “crust” of a Langage or Rhodda’s), but this Japanese clotted isn’t a bad alternative, and it’s available at a non-import kind of price at normal supermarkets here in Tokyo.

020

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Paying for an education has unexpected perks. My son just arrived home from the UK for the holidays with a suitcase full of tea bags and snacks.

A pack of custard creams and a kuroshiba who won’t be getting any of them.

030

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

And that’s a wrap on work trips for 2025.

040

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Final work trip of the year.

The inside of a Shinkansen, aka bullet train. Not in the Green car…so I brought my own flask of PG Tips.

140

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Another day, another nauseating bit of PR spam that must be AI generated. In this case, the book in question is nearly a decade old. I’d forgotten if written it. I seem to be getting variations of this (the book and sender varies too) almost daily.

A fawning bit of text that requires a sick bag.

120

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Things like that bring a little geeky joy. We tried a device today that measures wrist positions at the top of the swing and at impact. Some good wrist data came from horrific shots, so it’s not all that helpful yet in correcting issues. But fun.

An entirely unnecessary wrist device for gauging wrist position in a golf swing.

110

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I’m impatiently waiting for my new laptop, which has been “out for delivery” for the last six hours. So, I started looking back at some of my favourite trips this year. The first, Sado to cover Noh (among other things) as part of a book with @irwinwongphoto that’ll be out next year.

010

Rob Goss @robgoss.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

An old friend and I have decided to dust off our golfing gear and start playing again. Fun first range session. Albeit rusty. Like a pair of arthritic hounds trying to remember how to play fetch.

An iPhone screen with data about a very bad golf swing. Golf range in the background.

110