Hello, I’m Kana. Thank you for being here.
I’d love for you to think of me as your penpal, sharing a note from a small village in Japan. With Tending Gardens, I want to be like a postcard you receive from a friend — the small, but real, joy of a warm hello and accompanying story from everyday life.
I’m based in Kamikatsu, a small village in Japan known for its pioneering zero-waste initiatives. Here, I run an educational program called INOW, and I share my passion for nature and sustainability.
I’m nurturing a genuine desire to write about what feels meaningful to me — stories that are insightful, simple, and beautiful, and to explore what it means to be a kinder human being for others and our planet.
Tending Gardens
Through Tending Gardens, I share glimpses of life in rural Japan and what it means to call Kamikatsu home. Here, I’m learning to work with my hands, learning from my community, and embracing the rhythms of the seasons.
“To forget how to tend the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” Gandhi
For me, a garden is not just a place to grow things. Along with the tending of plants and foods, gardens can also be a gathering place for meaningful social interactions, a peaceful hideaway to observe nature’s inner workings or a place of play and experimentation.
Tending Gardens launched in January 2021. It was a Substack What To Read feature in 2022! Read more about that here.
I was featured again in August 2024, this time by guest curator Emiko Davies, who writes Notes from Emiko’s Kitchen.
A Bit More About Me
I am quite shy and introverted, but I really like meeting people, and deep, thoughtful conversations are one of my favourite things. Another favourite thing is spending time in nature. I spend a hefty amount of time looking at clouds, and had I come up with the idea first, I would have started the Cloud Appreciation Society.
In my personal life, I’m involved in the Slow Food movement and care deeply about local, traditional ways of eating, as well as the simple pleasure of sharing meals with loved ones. I love cooking (I do not love baking). I’ve practiced yoga and running for over ten years (both well-suited to the semi-nomadic life I’ve had for much of the past decade)
I’m half Japanese and half Hong Kongese, born and raised in Canada. I’d describe myself as warm, open, and curious, and I’m always grateful to connect with people who share these values.
A Request to Support My Work
I want to thank you for reading and for sharing in these small joys of life in rural Japan with me. It means so much to know that you’re on this journey with me (and my partner (!) who takes almost all the photos you see featured in the stories).
If you’ve been enjoying what I share and are in a position to do so, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
With love and gratitude,
Kana
Notes from loving subscribers:
“Thank you for your beautiful newsletters. They ground me in the way you focus on nature, simplicity, reality and your gentle humanity. We need these things at this time in the world.”
“Your thoughtful, quiet reports from rural Japan remind me to slow down and look around. Your writing is beautifully evocative of the Japanese countryside.”
“I'm so glad there are people out there like you, and that you are willing to share your life a little with the rest of us. It has given me little bursts of joy during the day.”
