If Kevin Winchester is not covering ground on skis, or by motorbike (a mighty Honda CB1300cc, as befits a member of Tokyo Riders), he is flying high or diving deep. But don't call him sporty, or the outdoor type. "They are just things I like to do!"

We meet late, because he's contracted as a translator and editor for a major Japanese translation company until June and last month clocked up 60 hours overtime. Amiable, funny and enthusiastic about just about everything in life right now (he married last year), he declines a coffee ("no caffeine at this time of night") and instead sips weak tea.

Whatever he does weekdays to fill his rice bowl, Kevin spends most weekends as a master scuba diving instructor, working with Paro Paro Aquatics in Chiba Prefecture under his own company name, Aqua Adventure Divers. This weekend he'll be training a 45-year-old American mother of three from Georgia. "Her Japanese husband bought her scuba lessons and equipment for Christmas. She needs two more days training in open water for full accreditation."