Before the Words
I was walking through Madrid when a light beige building stopped me. A sign out front read:Museo Nac…
Fragments EN
Code as Narrative
After a hiatus of several years, I recently returned to coding, and the experience caught me off gua…
My Own Universe
“It really comes down to whether you find it bothersome,” the tinnitus specialist says, not even gla…
Downpour in Phnom Penh
The day after arriving in Phnom Penh, my plans — the whole reason for the trip — fell through. With …
A System of Trust and Transcendence
My scheduled flight was canceled due to heavy snow. The aircraft never appeared at the gate, and ann…
Monday Morning
The British magazine The Economist publishes an annual “Big Mac Index.” It compares the price of a M…
Northbound, Southbound, and the Direction of Meaning
A couple I know lives in northern Tohoku, and every few years, I drop in on them. Back when I was ba…
The Strait in the West, or Ambiguity
The moment the ferry crossing the western end of the Mediterranean pulled away from the wharf on Spa…
Journey to the Oysters
As the eastbound Doto Expressway approached the Minami Furano area, the snowfall intensified. I tigh…
Visitors to Bangkok
Whenever people hear about the nightlife districts scattered across the world, they tend to develop …
The Price of a Secret Hot Spring
Driving along a narrow mountain road in northern Hokkaido, I spotted a piece of wood half-hidden in …
Pescado in San Salvador
Back then, I was drifting through Central America without internet or a phone. I’d been visiting cou…
Toyotomi x Words of Travel
Last summer, I returned to Toyotomi in northern Hokkaido after decades away.
Reunion in San Jose
The driver in the taxi I’d hailed in San Jose was an Asian man, probably in his early forties. Short…
A Stifling Library
I sometimes visit a university library. Not as a student, alumnus, or faculty member, but as a neigh…
Egg and Lettuce Fried Rice, Hot and Sour Soup
Wherever I’ve traveled in the world, Chinese food has been my salvation.
Asahikawa Station, South Exit
I had a few hours to kill between trains at JR Asahikawa Station. There was no rush. My ticket allow…
Escape
Toward the end of the twentieth century, I was living in a Tokyo apartment and commuting once a week…
Canoe
It’s been years since I paddled for the first time through the wetlands of eastern Hokkaido, but I’v…
My Physics Teacher
Physics was my worst subject, but I liked the teacher.
The Third Winter
In October, morning temperatures dropped into the single digits. Nearly three years have passed sinc…
Duckweed
Apparently, most people don’t move all that often in their lifetimes. I was reminded of this the oth…
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