After a long summer full of Environmental Studies in Japan, it was exciting to get back to school with a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for what we’ve learned. To refresh our memories, we created a mind map detailing the main topics we dealt with last semester in ENVS 160. After splitting into groups […]
Shinkansen, Shrines, and Sunrises
This past week has been a culmination of all three themes we have been focusing on during this trip. After spending a few weeks doing field research in the countryside around Mt. Fuji, we finally climbed up the mountain, climbed down, and then went our own separate ways for four “vacation days” in Kyoto. Riding […]
From Common Lands to Highland
As I write this post I am sitting on a bench surrounded by excited children, massive golden cat sculptures, and a giant blue roller coaster with cars shaped like a ukulele-playing hamster riding on a cloud. In the distance there is a hazy but still majestic Mt. Fuji. Immersed in these sights and sounds, it […]
Stasis/Change in Tokyo
Come join me on a tour of five Tokyo neighborhoods while exploring the stasis and change revolving around Mt. Fuji. It’s hard to imagine Fuji being an even bigger part of people’s lives than before – when Hokusai painted thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji, I’m sure people thought he had exhausted all the ways to […]
Natural Culture, Cultural Nature
I have officially been in Japan for one week, but it feels like it has been at least a month. Each day is packed with something new, be it stumbling upon a small town’s sacred ritual, meeting with Japanese experts, eating an octopus pancake, or exploring the many wonders of Tokyo. The day’s adventures always […]
The Consequences of Modernity: from L.A. to Tokyo
Anthony Giddens’ book, Consequences of Modernity, explores several important points of transition between the past, modern, and post-modern worlds. His writing includes discussions of time-space separation, symbols, and expert systems related to trust, confidence, risk, and danger. After traveling for around 20 hours yesterday, I was struck by how many concrete examples of these topics […]