Talented travel writer Joan Lambert Bailey shares her favorite stories of off-the-beaten-track travel, farmers markets + organic farming + artisans at work.

Originally from Wisconsin USA, Joan has traveled and written about places, events, and people across Japan for the last 12 years.

Here we talk about her love for heirloom vegetables and seeds which are so important for local food culture and food security.

Joan gave us some insights into her trip to the TANBO (rice field) art festival in Soma city, Fukushima (Tohoku), trying out Kabuki theatre in Chichibu, Saitama, talking with the EatLocalKobe group in Kobe, Hyogo and promoting their farmer's markets and the FarmCanning co. work of one of the women she profiled in her "Women of Taste" series for the Japan Times newspaper.

She has written so many great stories over the years that she hopes to put into a collection of stories someday. Looking forward to it!

I truly appreciate all of Joan's work highlighting sustainable travel, sustainable living, and sustainable businesses in Japan which often do not get as much attention as business as usual.

See the video version of this talk: https://youtu.be/gca6od-oELg

Joan Bailey official website: https://joandbailey.com/

List of her articles: https://joandbailey.com/work/

Joan's Blog: http://www.japanfarmersmarkets.com/