Turner Interview: Stu in Tokyo

[Sparky Paessler]

Stu. I have enjoyed reading about your woodworking adventures in Tokyo. I like hearing about the differences there are from here to there. Good luck with your turning and keep posting!

[John Hart]

Pleasure to meet you sir!!! I envy the cultural environment that you get to experience and glad you interlace it with your posts. So....do you have a lathe yet?

[Jim Dunn]

Stu how well do you speak Japanese? I've been lead to believe it is one of the hardest languages to learn. Also do you read it as well?? Multiiiiii taaaalented I guess.

Jim

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Well guys, I'm sure overwhelmed at the interest in my interview, a big THANK YOU SIR to Mark for doing this.

OK to try to answer some questions....

Andy, Yes I played D&D, I have all the books, the dice and everything. My favorite character in LOTR would be Sam, as I can relate the most to him, his struggles, and his courageous friendship, as well as his desire to just go home, marry the girl of his dreams and have some kids.

Jim Dun, Yes I speak Japanese, fairly well, but I have no time to study, so I've picked it up as I went along, thus my grammar is not so good, but I can usually make myself understood. I am fond of saying that my Japanese is "Good enough to get myself in trouble, and most of the time to get myself out of trouble" Reading is a whole different level, as there are basically 3 alphabets, Hirigana, Katakana, and Kanji. The first two are easy, I've long since mastered them, but that last, the Kanji, that is the Chinese characters, and they are HARD to learn, it is all rote study, which, I don't have time for! I know around 400 or so, you need a few thousand to read a newspaper.

Jim Becker, come into my wine cellar, I have over 600 kinds of wine, and, at last count nearly 5,000 bottles, worth, retail, about $200,000 Well the L shop has that much wine How about some Romanee Conti, which vintage would you like...? Some 1978 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve..? Shall I go on...? I really enjoy wine, but in a social setting, I don't drink alone.

David Mueller, I like a lot of the food (OK, I often like it too much) and Sushi tops the list, but I cannot stand Natto, when my darling daughters eat it, I leave the room. That is fermented Soya beans, and it is NASTY....

Travis, I'm headed to the woodlot on Tuesday, my weekend project will be to make a mini mill for my new to me electric chainsaw, so I can edge my boards (De-wain them?)

john mclane, thanks for dropping in, and risking a trip down the spiny way...!!

Keith Burns, which truck...?

John Miliunas..... boy you would ask the mother of all questions.....

OK a nutshell, I was done at UBC, after 5 years there, I was looking for something to do, as the job market was lousy in Canada in 1989/90, I was training in a martial art called Aikido, my teacher there is Japanese, and he is the head dude for all of Canada (Shihan) he suggested that I get myself a working holiday visa, and head to Japan, work part time and train Aikido, a the source, for 6 months to a year and then look for a REAL job. He did not mean for me to stay in Japan and look for a real job, but that is what happened. I worked and trained for about 4 years, then I met Emiko, my lovely bride, and the rest is history.

I'm blessed with a great wife, and two lovely daughters, (neither one is a teenager yet, so I can still say that!).

here is a pic of my daughters in the summer wearing their Yukatas ( a comfy summer Kimono).....


Erika on the left, Mizuki on the right


And a pic of my wife Emiko, she is hard to get a pic of, as she never seems to sit still.

Cheers!

[Mark Cothren]

Excellent. Just excellent. Great family, Stu!

[John Miliunas]

Very neat, Stu! Sounds like it's been an interesting but pleasant "trip"! However, how exactly you managed to learn the language is still mind boggling for this Cheesehead! I learned two languages fluently as I was growing up but, to try and learn something from scratch later in live and being able to do it fluently, particularly something as difficult as Japanese is amazing!!! Thanks for the added insight and, BTW, that there is a wonderful looking family you have!!! Good job!!!

[Michael Stafford]

Stu, it is said that where you are is the sum of all the forks in the road of life you take. It appears to me that you have mostly taken the right forks. Your love of life is apparent and you seem to attack each day with gusto. Your family is wonderful. You have the best of all worlds and and are enjoying yourself to the hilt. I congratulate you and wish you well.

Things will only improve in the dungeon when you get that lathe a spinnin'. Of course Emiko may wonder where the money went......

And of course anybody that likes Samwise Gangy is a good guy!

[Jim Dunn]

Stu, thanks for posting pics of your wonderful family. Just about the two sweetest girls I've ever seen. Diffenately take after their mother

[Mike Ramsey]

Great interview Stu! Lovely familily. I've enjoyed reading about
your adventures! I thought I had it bad with the nearest turning
supply store more than 200 miles round trip, but I can usually
just go online and have it here in a couple of days but reading about
how hard & expensive it is for you to track down what most of us
take for granted is mind blowing at the least! My hats off to you!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad to meet you Stu. Thanks for the pictures and history.

[Curt Fuller]

Nice to meet you Stu!

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Stu, thanks for posting pics of your wonderful family. Just about the two sweetest girls I've ever seen. Diffenately take after their mother

Well one can hope that they do, my youngest, certainly does, but my eldest has some of my traits, so she is in for a tought one Just kidding, I too think they are good looking kids, and blame it mostly on their mother!

Thanks all for the "How Dos" and greetings, you guys sure make a newbie feel welcome!

Cheers!

[Dale Thompson]

Mark,
This interview thing is REALLY super! We should do MORE of it!

Stu,
I'm with Spring on the two language thing. However, I can't imagine a Cheesehead from Wisconsin being "fluent" in ANYTHING! On the other hand, if it comes from Spring, it's GOT to be true. Personally, I gave up on English a long time ago. For the last few years, I have been working on fluency with "Lumberjack Norwegian". The Dictionary is only one paragraph long and no word has more than a single syllable. I think that I am FINALLY starting to catch on!

Seriously, though, Stu, you have a beautiful family and a VERY interesting personal story. It is a REAL pleasure to see your posts on SMC and for you to allow us to share your "special" and unique life. Thank you!

Dale T.

[Paul Douglass]

Nice to meet you Stu. Went ot visit Japan last April. My son is a Navy pilot station there. We loved Japan. What a gracious respectful people. Wish we could go back. My wife plans on a trip back this spring traveling with a Japanese friend we have living here.

Beautiful family, Stu.

[Chris Whitehair]

I have been pretty scarce around here the past year. I started my own Architectural design studio and I have been pretty busy. I checked this site for the first time in a long time, and got quite the kick out of your interview.

For those of you traveling to Japan you have to make a stop to visit Stu. I went a couple of years ago when my wife was on a business trip. I went up to Tokyo and did a day of rock climbgin with an internet pal, and spent a day with Stuart. He is quite the gracious host, picking me up at my hotel and taking me out to the Joyful Honda. Quite a place, just immense. Little did I know that Stuart only brought me because he needed about 8 people to carry all the stuff he was buying!! Afterwords he took my back to check out the store and his apartment and shop. Only shop I have ever seen where the owner has to move his motor cycle to access the panel in the floor to get down to the shop. Overall a great use of space in a city with no space.

As an aside, last year Toto finally came out with a toilet for the US, and we installed one a couple of weeks ago as part of the bathroom remodel. I now have the super deluxe automatic toilet like the one you showed me. My wife loved that about her two trips to Japan. It is country that skipped a couple of hundred year of toilet evolution. It is either a hole in the floor, squat toilet, or the high tech wash/dry automatic open and close toto's. I still remember your advise regarding the air dry temp and so far have had no problems!!

Good to see you still around and working wood. Just finished 3 houses going at the same time, and looking to relaxing and getting some time back in my shop.

Thanks again for your hospitalilty!
Chris