Writer and naturalist C.W. Nicol left his home in South Wales in 1958 at the age of 17 to join an Arctic Institute of North America expedition to the Arctic. Four years later, he made his first visit to Japan to study karate and Japanese, before heading back to Canada to take part in a further six Arctic expeditions as a technical officer with the Fisheries Research Board of Canada.
"Nic," as he prefers to be known informally, has also been a professional wrestler in Britain, a game warden and the first director of the Simien Mountain National Park in Ethiopia, and a whaling researcher for the Canada Council in Japan.
In 1980 he settled with his Japanese wife in Kurohime, Nagano Prefecture, where he has written many of his 100-plus books. He has also produced and presented a number of TV documentaries on environmental issues, and frequently tours the country talking on the subject. In the past few years, he has realized two long sought-after goals: Japanese citizenship and a 7th dan in karate.