The Polyphony
Seated on a slow train, the author reflects on its contrast of our fast-paced lives overloaded with online-stimulation. In Away in the Snowy Solitude, the reader is transported from an unpleasant past to uncertain future challenges. Neo’s narrative bridges the mind to the icy straight railroad, seeking serenity as he gets lulled by the snowflakes through his every step.
This essay by Genki Hase captures the layered juxtaposition of gazes, time-space, and ecological disturbances experienced during fieldwork at the Genkai Sea coastal areas. He explores how diverse ways of seeing—through the observation of windmills, forests, aquatic life, and human interactions—illuminate the interconnectedness of selves and landscapes.
Osaka is the second largest metropolitan area in Japan after Tokyo and is also one of the most visited cities not only in Japan, but also worldwide. However, it is possible to experience all the best Osaka has to offer in just one day. Let’s find out!
Culture shock is a fear that everyone seems to have, but many also wish to experience it firsthand through travel. I was one of those people. When I first arrived in Japan, I was a babe lost in the woods of language barriers and cultural differences. I was wandering around Haneda Airport for most of my 2-hour layover, second-guessing the directions that were given to me. When I arrived at Okayama Airport, I spent 5 minutes trying to translate the name of my hotel to the cab driver. The first day of the Discovery Program’s orientation was spent doing mountains of paperwork that felt so unnecessary at the time.
Okayama has a wide variety of bars and eateries ready to be explored. In this article, Forrest gives a glimpse into three different establishments where one could find good food, drinks, and friends.
An ethnographic vignette about a seemingly-forgotten corner of the street in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the train track cuts in half both the physical houses and the lives of its citizens.
The Polyphony