AUG 23rd, 2025
At the Northern base of Mount Fuji a man more ronin than most ronin probably were has settled and sunk himself into the fertile Japanese soil.
A restaurateur, carpenter, mason, with military service and an iron will, Franklyn Hutchinson, it seems, has never considered the concept of comfort zone, instead, he’s eschewed attachment to roam his intrusive thoughts with abandon.
All while navigating the world as an affable everyman who, even on a laptop screen, gives off your unflappable uncle’s aura.
The intrepid Diamond Village native was born just as his home country raised a new flag and, in his own vigor to cooly go after his own, is twinned to the aspirational watchwords put in front a nation of dreamers.
During an afternoon in October 2024, Franklyn waded through an increasingly packed press duty queue to explain how he ended up on Honshu and why.
Yet, even as his star rises and the result of his labour matures in a Yamanashi Prefecture vineyard, Franklyn remains very much in the flow of his life. Determined, productive and open, as always, to the next thing.
Where are you from originally in Trinidad?
Franklyn: I am originally from South to be specific, Diamond Village
That’s where you were your whole life?
Franklyn: No, I moved around a lot! I was living in Port-of-Spain, I lived in Petit Bourg, I lived all over
What did you do before you moved away from Trinidad and Tobago
Franklyn: I used to do, what was that carpentry, I was in the military a little bit…I never did farming over there professionally but I did a lot, a lot, a lot of things I did like business wise you know. I had various small businesses. In POS on Independence Square
And what was the name of it, you remember?
Franklyn: Frankie’s kitchen. But it did not last long you know. I also had a hotdog business around there at one time too. This was around…I am 60 now that time I was maybe like around 20 something maybe, so I think it’s almost 40 years now I think.
You think you were always entrepreneurial
Franklyn: Yes yes Always always, even from in my school days.
The first thing I ever sell, we had a mango tree, and I used to get the green mango and peel it and make chow.
(laugh) Make chow and put it in a bottle and go in school and sell that. (laugh) Yeah, that was my first business.
Alright, nice. So was that the kind of thinking you always worked for yourself it seems?
Franklyn: I always like working for mihself. I didn’t always work for mihself but I always want to work for mihself. I used to work with construction companies in Trinidad. Even when I was working as a carpenter and that type of thing, I still used to have my side business all over. Even the restaurant I told you about I was still working in the construction and I had some people running that for me.
So what made you decide to leave everything that you know that you would have been more familiar with and go to Japan to grow grapes. was there a line straight from that to that? Give me the steps from here to there
Franklyn: First to begin I was thinking to go out a little bit like. Just to leave Trinidad and go somewhere and just to see, see the world. Even in those days I used to travel a lot , but I always think maybe I could live outside and I like to talk to people, right? So one day, one day I was on Independence Square and I saw two ladies and they were looking for directions. They came and asked me if I know where the Diego Martin taxi stand is and I took them from where I was to it and we stand and we talk a little bit. But they were Japanese, and they were in Trinidad for like a few, two months. We keep in contact and they used to call me and then eventually they introduced me to one of their friends and that is why I come up here in the first year.
And that was what year?
Franklyn: That was 19, ninety what, 1995, or somewhere around there 95? I have to check back the date a little more
Yeah man no problem. This friend that they introduced you to was that what made you leave Trinidad to go to Japan?
Franklyn: Because I just wanted to go somewhere, I just wanted to go somewhere at that time. I just wanted to travel so I just use it as an opportunity to move out too.
How do you, You’ve been there since ’95, how have you, how’s the transition been from your previous life because we live particularly different lives to the Japanese I would imagine, how was the cultural adjustment when you first got to Japan?
Franklyn: Actually it wasn’t so easy but I am always a lone ranger. I could survive you know, I could survive anywhere by myself so it wasn’t so hard, but you know I missed friends, I missed family but as I told you I could survive on my own. It wasn’t like I was homesick or something like that you know
What would you say was the most difficult thing to adjust to being in Japan and living in Japan full time?
Franklyn: The most difficult thing to adjust to I think it’s the work style, in Trinidad we work more relaxed you know. We work and we walk relaxed on the job. The job here even if you working in any field here, even if you’re working in the office, if you moving to get something you’re running in the office. If you go to the shop and you ask the staff if they have this in stock and lets say they say yes they will run and go and get it quick and come back, and really quick you know, it’s different they move at a different speed to us. When I first came up here, I also did what I know best, I went to the construction field . I did carpentry up here also and a lot of other things in the construction field.
So what is life for you now, can you describe a day in the life of Franklyn?
Franklyn: For me well it changes you know, it’s been really hard for me the last 3 and a half years, it’s just like sacrifice I’m doing right now, trying to build up the farm and trying to get the farm in a good order.
That farm, I got it abandoned.
When I say abandoned I mean really, really…nobody wanted it and people around the farm there now, they’re really surprised.
They have me in that area there like a demi-god you know.
When I say so they’re really surprised what I did with it.
Yeah, I saw some of the before pictures.
Franklyn: And you know because of that, not because of tik tok or something like that I also get an interview with the Japanese tv station, they came to interview me because of what I did with that property. The people around there, they’re really happy and because of that the people around there they are really nice to me. They so happy I came there to clean that place. That was like a thorn in their side you know?
How long was it abandoned? How long was it down and in that state?
Franklyn: About 25 years
When you started did you have help or is it just yourself?
Franklyn: Me alone. Me, my wife, My wife’s mother and father, they come to help sometimes.
But the big work, was just me, they help me to burn the stuff but all the cutting, and the big cutting and the cleaning that’s my job.
Was that something you did before, clearing land?
Franklyn: Yeah, I always like to be planting something. I always you know in central there if you’re in the right area you could plant you could do something. This is how I grow up. I always could plant something and clean. I could do anything, literally I could do anything with my hands you know
You think that’s your greatest asset being able to just pick up yourself and…
Franklyn: yes
We spoke about construction, during the pandemic, I was full time for a significant portions of those years. That was one of the toughest things I did. We had a building we were working in and because everything was locked down, we had little to no outside help. And what I found, for me it was one of my more meditative experiences, in that while you are working you are able to think, is that the same thing you experienced while you work?
Franklyn : Yeah, of course. You know as we’re talking about the pandemic, for the Corona season I was all in my farm. For Japan here for upwards of two or three weeks everything closed down, you couldn’t go nowhere but I used to hide and go to my farm, they didn’t want you to go in like somewhere like that. Even when I got Corona, I got Corona I go to my farm every day with corona.
When I go in that farm, when I leave here, I have to travel 45 mins to go to the farm, with no traffic if there is traffic it takes me about an hour and a half. But I will go there everyday, mind you at the time I’m also doing another job besides the farm, I want to do it full time but I also working in a factory. So My job is like 4 days work, 2 days rest
Right!
Franklyn: Weekend it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it’s going like a clock, four days work, two days rest, four days work, two days rest. If your four days fall on Saturday and Sunday you just keep working, working like this. So that’s how I’m working. All my holidays, all my two days rest is all going in the farm, all my winter holidays, my summer holidays all in the farm and no rest, literally no rest. I didn’t rest on my rest day, stay home and relax for almost 4 years, everyday I’m going, even if I get the cold you know so that’s how much I sacrificed to get that farm going.
Yeah that’s a great sacrifice, Has that taken a toll on you. With that kind of schedule…
Franklyn: Yeah, it get my hair white, before I started this farm my hair was black but now, that’s why I’m shaving my hair.
I get you I’m doing the same thing.
Franklyn: ( laughter) so it did something to me.
But I was also asking when you’re doing hard work is it also a time to also get in tune with yourself to think your deep thoughts?
Franklyn: Yeah yeah because when I’m working in the farm it’s natural, nature and you could relax and you could meditate, you could be yourself you know. You’re at peace, so that’s a time when you can find yourself like really feeling good. When you look back at your work when you sit down like if I sit down to take a drink or to eat something or to take a 15 or 20 mins then I can sit down and look around and say oh my God you know. I couldn’t believe the progress, I’m harvesting grapes now I couldn’t believe that this farm would have been harvesting grapes and of course this is why I was doing it but you know when I look at where it was and where it is now it’s unbelievable. It’s really, really unbelievable to see where we started and where it is now.
How much grapes does it produce now, the farm?
Franklyn: Well let me explain something to you first, the first year you plant grapes right, you will not harvest, the first year. The second year you will harvest just about 4 bunches. But now I’m in the third year, from on the third year you could harvest as big as the tree.
Right!
Franklyn: How much we harvest this year? (to wife) About 600 bunches?
Okay, what kind of weight you talking about?
Franklyn: Something like this (holds up pretty impressive green grape)
Yeah, nice!!
Franklyn: Right And this grapes is not full size, it’ s not full size.
What is the variety of grapes
Franklyn: Shine Muscat!
You know as I was telling you a while ago, the fourth year the grapes will get bigger than this and with more flavour and better quality, so next year right and on the fifth year it will be big like table tennis balls. This type of grapes they good with the age of the tree, and then the fifth year the tree, its power and everything will reach peak and then you will keep getting that quality of grapes all the time. And the quality is really superior, it’s like it falls from heaven literally, these grapes really delicious, and I wish if my country people could really taste what I’m making here…
What’s the feeling how does it feel to be a farmer, how does it feel to know that in your 3rd year you are at a point of progress?
Franklyn: It feel like, it really, I feel like a strongman man, it really feels good. When I see what I could get for my three years of labour it really gives me the power to go on, to keep on doing this you know.
Has the increased attention also helped a little bit
Franklyn: Yeah but it’s, it’s not bringing money you know (laughter)
Yeah I understand that!
Franklyn: But you know it’s giving some, it will bring something I think. Something will come out of it, I think. I don’t know what is going on in Trinidad right now could you explain it to me what’s going on in Trinidad with the video ?
Not really. I have just seen it being reacted to. People just being, like how we always talk about ‘Trinis always in everything’. So it’s people being like hey we’re seen Trinbagonians in Japan teaching and doing different things. But now we have a grape farmer out here. It’s more like a countryman kind of vibes so it’s more like moral support, I guess, for you…
Franklyn: Yes yes yes I really appreciate that. I appreciate how the people they like, it because I also have my Instagram page I didn’t star t it long time ago but since with this story my followers went up!
Yeah I was looking at your page earlier….
Franklyn: It crossed 10 thousand today.
Congratulations…
Franklyn:Yeah, thank you very much, I was telling my wife the other day that we have to take on how to how we could get, how we could make money off of Instagram because it’s growing a lot.
For sure I’m sure from it opportunities will come too so don’t look at it as no cash right now look at it just like the time bigging up it will come, somebody will say yeah yeah yeah we need some grapes from Japan that kind of vibes
Is there any message you have for someone thinking of leaving their home country or even going to Japan taking a different path in their life just to change their whole world and their whole perspective?
Franklyn: Yeah I think, I would advise anybody to do to just follow your mind you know and is nothing you can’t do. I always think it’s nothing I can’t do. Even my wife I always tell her I could do anything, anything I could put my mind to I could do it and do it professionally.
Anything you see I’m not doing it’s because I don’t want to do it. I could build a house I always tell her I could build this house just as it is. So for the people who thinking about moving out and going somewhere I would tell them just go.
Interviewer: Jovan Ravello Illustration: Studio Tanya Marie
