First Post — Hello! 👋

I’m currently living in Japan, and until today was in between jobs for a few months. During that time waiting for my new visa to get processed, I really had nothing at all to do. I just sort of came across watches randomly online. Over this period of jobless time I did a lot of timepiece research. And after doing so, I picked up a Seiko SSK003, seeing as how it appeared to be a really well made, handsome, and affordable (in watch terms) dive watch. I love it!

I also picked up a lot of nice Casios (the calculator joint, a couple G-Shocks, etc.), but today my first sort of “cool” watch arrived in the mail, and I felt like it was the first watch in my collection worthy of being posted about.

It’s the Kuoe “Old Smith 90-007” from Kyoto. I really love how the piece combines extremely high legibility with beautiful, crisp visuals. There’s no confusion whatsoever when you look at this watch. It simply conveys information to you, but it does that basic task in an elegant, refined manner. The juxtaposition between those two points really fascinates me.

About the stuffed creature in the back: it’s “Cinamaroll,” one of the characters from Sanrio, the same corporation that makes Hello Kitty. The reason I took the photo with it in the background is simple: my girlfriend loves Sanrio, and there is Sanrio merchandise all over this house. In fact, there’s not a corner of this house that lacks a Sanrio product. So you see, I had no choice in the matter. What’s most perverse about this whole situation is that, through my girlfriend’s obsession, I’ve also become quite infatuated with Sanrio products, and have developed a favorite character of my own. His name is Pom Pom Purin, a fat yellow dog who looks like flan. Perhaps your interest in Sanrio characters will, like your interest in watches, grow over time, just as it has for me.

Anyway, I also recently ordered another watch from a certain Japanese microbrand, but it has yet to arrive. It’s a bit more of an exclusive, expensive watch. I feel terribly guilty about buying it. But I am so excited to post about it when it comes. I can’t wait to show you guys! So sit tight.

Watches are pretty fun, aren’t they?? 😆