The Leh Boom
Cranes and half finished concrete and mud brick frames are going up faster than the town’s water table can handle.
The Niseko Effect: What Happened Next Door and What It Means for Otaru
Ninety minutes from Otaru, in a valley surrounded by volcanoes, a small ski town became an international case study in what happens when the rest of the world discovers a place before the prices catch up. Niseko’s story is worth understanding if you’re thinking about buying property in Otaru. Not because Otaru is the next …
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Breaking the Garden Walls
I deleted Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube off my phone. Not the accounts. The apps. That may sound like a not very important thing to have done, but I think it is very important. Here’s why.
How Many Books Do You Have to Sell to Make $100,000?
The math is sobering. At $3 net per book you need 33,334 copies. Here’s how the numbers work across every pricing and distribution model.
Cost of Living in Otaru vs. Anywhere You’ve Ever Lived
People ask me what it costs to live in Otaru. I tell them the number and they think I’m lying. I’m not lying. The math is just different here. It’s different in a way that makes you realize how much of what you’ve been paying in rent or mortgage or “cost of living” back home …
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How Much Does an Author Make on a $20 Book?
From traditional royalties to KDP self-publishing to direct sales — the real math behind author earnings on a $20 book across every publishing channel.