November 21-25 served as a staff member at the Japan Straw Bale House Association’s workshop and seminar in Tochigi-Prefecture. Construction continued on Nasu Dymaxion Village, a complex of load bearing straw bale buildings.
The first building built last year was the Toilet Hut with living roof.
During this years workshop we raised and plastered the straw bale walls of the Kitchen Hut.
Similar to the Toilet Hut, the interior is finished with an earthen plaster while the exterior is finished with lime plaster. In order to access the straw to monitor the moisture content of the straw using a GE Bale Master Moisture Meter, I set three PVC screw top lids into the wall.
The lids are removed in the photo, but screw on to a short piece of pipe to fully seal the wall.
Had a successful sweet potato harvest.
We’re raising a couple of chicks in our research studio.
November 30 and December 1 visited Brown’s Field , a health and sustainabililty center in Chiba-Prefecture. Peter Buley, an American friend I met at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont, is building a tree house at Brown’s Field.
http://www.brownsfield-jp.com/brownsfield.htmI slept in a tree house that was built previously.
We visited a home being renovated with natural materials near by.
Peter helped with much of work on this home as well.
The home features rammed earth walls, light-straw-clay walls, and cordwood walls with an earth based mortar.
Un-split bamboo is apparently embedded in the rammed earth walls.
August 20-24 helped managed Shinobara-no-Sato (篠原の里) in Fujino, Kanagawa. Shinobara-no-Sato is a community center that Itonaga-sensei's research studio helped establish in 2002. Every summer students from Itonaga-sensei's research studio help manage the center. It hosts works shops and functions somewhat like a youth hostel. On August 23 was 大石神社祭典, a local, annual festival where the god that lives in Ohishi Shrine (大石神社) is taken for a walk around the village in an Omikoshi (御神輿) carried by the villagers. Functions somewhat as a blessing for the homes, farms, and people in the village. This is the third year I've had the opportunity to participate in the festival.
August 26-29 attended the Architectural Institute of Japan's Annual Conference. The conference takes place in a different location in Japan every year, and this year the conference was held in Sendai in Northern Japan.
定禅寺通 (Jozenji Dori) street in Sendai known for its tree canopy which shades the street below to combat the heat island effect of urban areas.
まちなか農園藤坂 (Urban Farm Fujisaka) located in Sendai city strengthens the community through urban gardening.
Bethel’s House is located in Urakawa, 2.5 hours from the Sapporo airport. Shimono-san, a member of the community picked me up at the airport. Shimono experiences paranoia, etc. We had a great conversation on the way to Urakawa. So nice to spend time with people who don’t pretend that they’re perfect. Really reminds me of Kimberton Hills. On April 19 visited a timber-frame and thatch structure built by the Ainu Association of Hokkaido. The Ainu are indigenous to Japan. Kyle with master plasterer Mr. Noda on left and Mr. Jinouchi's son.
Completed the bale raising and brown coat on April 22 and returned to Fujisawa City on the 23. Window of truth
Shimono drove me to the airport and we again had a great conversation. Shimono experiences paranoia such as thinking that he’s being observed when using the restroom, or being followed by police, etc. He also experiences television news as if it relates directly to himself. For example, after 9/11 he received baptism because he felt that he was somehow responsible for the terrorist attack. The beautiful thing is that Shimono can tell me about his experiences and laugh about them. He’s been a real teacher.
On April 27, Ross Jackson and Kyoungsoo Lim presented at Nihon University. After the presentation, we drove to Konohana Family in Shizuoka Prefecture. Konohana is a land-based intentional community of about 50 people ranging in all ages, and growing 250 different crops including 11 varieties of rice. 
On April 30 I returned to Urakawa, Hokkaido to continue construction on Bura Bura Café, the straw bale café managed by Bethel’s House. Bura bura suru means to hang out.The construction process is being recording in a blog written by Megumi, a member of the community. Please have a look at the months of April and May: 
Blew $400 in two days. Not typical of Kyle.
Attended the Japanese Association of Rural Planning’s annual conference on the 11th, then traveled to Chiba-Prefecture to collect data from Fu-Ryu, a straw bale café/gallery.
