Simply a great post. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to share it.

_________________
Walla Walla GO Club -(on FB)

We play because we enjoy the beauty of the game, the snap and feel of real stones, and meeting interesting people. Hope to see ya there! お願いします!

Anthony

This thread made my day. Thanks so much for sharing

Thank you, that was fascinating and the pictures were beautiful! Considering how invaluable those stones and boards are, I'm not sure I'd ever feel comfortable playing with them.

Thank you for all of the positive comments!

It's been a while since I've had a chance to peruse the forums and it's awesome to see this older thread still getting attention



If I had the money I'd be more than happy to . You'd probably get the royal treatment from both Hyuga City, Mr. Kuroki and any other dealers in the area.



It was the same with me. Hyuga City is a bit out of the way but made for an amazing detour. While you're in the area, I highly recommend dropping by a small town called Takachiho. It's filled with ancient shrines, massive trees, nature and was one of the most enchanting places I've ever had a chance to stumble upon.



I just dropped by right as they opened. He wasn't in at first so I wondered around and waited while enjoying the smell of Kaya (that's when I took most of the pictures). He goes on occasional trips to China and California/Mexico (for shells) so I recommend checking in first before going if you want to meet Mr. Kuroki in person.



I have much the same feeling with my personal sets, but at the same time, these things were meant to be played with and it's a rather sad thing to have a go board and stones sit in a cabinet somewhere, not fulfilling their purpose

Thanks again for the positive replies! If you happen to drop by his shop, feel free to post pictures here, I'd love to see if they've made any changes

This was the thread that inspired me to buy my board from mister Kuroki. I was travelling in Japan last year and decided I wanted to take home a special souvenir, kind of a once and a lifetime purchase. Beautiful board and gorgeous stones. Thanks for helping with my decision. Absolutely the right choice.

Hi Willow, hardwood maple floor ?

Wow, I missed this post before. Thanks so much for taking us there with you!

Yup, it's my friends house. He picked the top grade maple and THEN sorted it by quality picking only the best. He's a swing and blues dancer so we wanted the best dance floor he could afford.

Great place to play Go.

N

Interesting. Where and how exactly did he pick the best maple ? At a wood flooring company ? Does he always wear socks when he practices dancing on his maple floor, to protect it ? Is his residence in Tokyo ?