Took the new bike for a ride down the river this afternoon. Hit the old Sakuranomiya Public Hall, which used to be the entrance of the Japan Mint; across the street is the current Mint building; the bridge beside the Mint lit up with Osaka Castle top right; the Imperial Hotel with a dinner cruise.

A classic 19th c building with pillarsEntrance gate of the Japan Mint building. To the left is a sign: Japan Mint. To the right a sign: 造幣局 An arched bridge over the river lit up in early evening. In the background distance is Osaka CastleEarly evening the Imperial Osaka Hotel is lit up. Below is the river in the foreground with a dinner boat passing by

Been prepping for my trip to Istanbul next week. Getting excited! So much to see so I have to be choosy. If you have recommendations please share! 🛫🇹🇷

“Some thoughts are come in to your head to die… but if brain is sick enough?” Genius 👏👏👏 ⌨️

#mechanicalkeyboard

www.youtube.com/watch

And now for a little specialty coffee. This is an Ethiopian bean from Tamiru’s Sky Project. You can learn more here shop.glitchcoffee.com/en/produc…

☕️ #coffee

Pour over coffee setup with brass ball Brownie covered in walnuts on a wooden platter beside a small coffee cup and flask of coffee. A

Found a nice little restaurant in the Asahi Newspaper buildings in downtown Osaka for lunch with my wife. I used to come to these buildings 20 years ago to train in jujutsu. A lot has changed!

Tendon and Nyumen lunch set with some pickled vegetables Monaka with home made red beans for dessert

Attending the Internet Governance Forum - Experience

(This is a post in a series about attending the Internet Governance Forum 2023 in Kyoto.) The Kyoto International Conference Center is a sprawling complex on the north side of the city, at the very last stop of the Kyoto Municipal Subway line. The subway exit features a circular chamber with a 10m wide IGF logo on the floor welcoming visitors. Hallways are lined with posters for the event, and two escalators later you exit to the ground floor and a red carpeted entrance.

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Monthly Newsletter is out!

buttondown.email/chadkoh/a…

IETF got backronym game 👏👏👏

Attending the Internet Governance Forum - An intro

The Internet Governance Forum is a multistakeholder forum established by the United Nations and held annually around the world since 2006. The 18th edition was held in Kyoto, the city in which I reside, so I decided to attend. I have been to a few technical conferences, barricaded in rooms with passionate technologists arguing over the most minute details of a newly forming standard, but the IGF promised something different. This is a policy forum to discuss the societal impacts of digital technology worldwide.

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Another of Japan’s charming manhole covers

Manhole cover featuring Myakumyaku, the mysterious 5-eyed amoeba-like mascot for the 2025 Osaka Expo

Took the train up to Kyoto to the old apartment to pick up some things and see how the real estate agency interior designer staged the place with all kinds of modern furniture. We took some family selfies on the tiny European couch and at the dining table with the fancy plates 😂

Under the bridge art in Osaka

Wall mural depicting a leaping blue whale, rainbow, and other sea lifeWall mural depicting whales, a sailing ship, rainbows, and cherry blossoms

Well, we made it. Moved to Osaka successfully. Still some unpacking to do, but we made good progress. Really helps being minimalist 😅

Today at lunch the kids and I counted through every move we‘ve done since we first left Canada: 2020 = 4, 2021 = 3, 2022 = 3, 2023 = 1. We are getting good at it.

Went to Osaka to pick up keys to the new apartment. Popped into the neighbouring Tenjinbashisuji shopping arcade, which is said to be Japan’s longest at 2.6km and over 600 shops. Myakumyaku, the Expo mascot welcomes us!

Zoom shot of people walking down a crowded shopping arcade. There are many flags advertising Halloween A flag hanging from the shopping arcade ceiling with Myakumyaku-kun saying: “Come on by!&10;The shopping street of Osaka&10;Is waiting for you”

Look what arrived the day before we move out! It is the pre-order I made forever ago of Jocelyne Allen’s translation of Susumi Higa’s award-winning OKINAWA manga. ⌛️😅📚

Chad holds up the hardcover of OKINAWASample pages from inside the book

Goodnight Kyoto (from my balcony of the past 18 years)

Sunset from a mid rise building balcony. A crescent moon is crisply visible in the sky

Since I moved my standing desk, monitor, and everything out of the coworking space in preparation for our move to Osaka, this has been my standing work setup

A small room with wooden floor and exposed wooden cieling with a shelving unit. On the top shelf at eye level is a laptop. On the bottom shelf just above waist level there is a keyboard, mouse, and iPhone.

On my way to get a latte ☕️ and maybe a slice of cake 🍰 just walking past a 13th C temple ☸️… as you do in #EverydayKyoto (only 4 more days left until we move 😢)

Temple building down a long walkway lined with hedges and trees

Forget that man baby manifesto, I recommend this one 🌱 www.sustainablewebmanifesto.com

GOLD: an acronym for sustainable web design principles = Green, Open, Lean, Distributed. 🌱Read more at branch.climateaction.tech/issues/is…