Intro here. They are flooding the rice paddies now. The vistas of dirt fields are now filled with water; transformed into wetland almost overnight. In the evening light, they reflect the sky and mountains behind; like a placid lake segmented by the grids of paddy walls. Looking down at the nearby paddies from the train, … Continue reading Japanese Commuter Diaries
Tag: Japan
Japanese Commuter Diaries
INTRO HERE On the train. Today I decide to change it up: sit in a seat other than my normal one. I can choose because I always arrive early enough to get the seat I want. My normal seat is usually in the last booth on the train (my commuter train has two cars, generally), … Continue reading Japanese Commuter Diaries
Japanese Commuter Diaries
INTRO HERE On the train. In the daytime, the outside world offers itself as entertainment. Always something new to be seen. Some subtle thing about a place that I missed before. This is my morning leg. But what of the night? In the dark, the outside view is gone: obliterated by the bright light in … Continue reading Japanese Commuter Diaries
Japanese Commuter Diaries
Intro here. On the train. Between my terminal stations, there are multiple stops on my train ride. The “rapid” version has about five stops. The regular, more. Three of the stops are fairly big country stations. Two are for towns. The other is for an onsen resort village. Onsen are Japanese hot spring spas. Basically … Continue reading Japanese Commuter Diaries
Commuting on the Local Japanese Train
I live in the mountains of central Tohoku, Japan. Every workday, I commute about an hour each way by local train. The line I take cuts through numerous rural villages and natural areas, including a scenic volcano with ski resorts. It’s beautiful. There’s a rhythm to the train that I love. The rocking of the … Continue reading Commuting on the Local Japanese Train
Dislocated
I've never fit. I never had a sense that I was going to be anything other than wasted potential in the eyes of anyone that matters in this world. That I would ever have a chance to become anything. That there would ever be a place for me. It was always made abundantly clear to … Continue reading Dislocated
Moat
I almost fell off a castle parapet into a moat late last night. No joke; it was really close. This pleases me on multiple levels. Whether the fall would have been fatal or not, at the moment when my foot went off the edge into the abyss, I wasn’t assuming a good result. Time slowed … Continue reading Moat
Sucking at Japanese
I have never been willing to suffer through sucking at things: either I was naturally talented at something, or I didn't do it. Growing up, this bullshit attitude was possible thanks to being blessed with more than my fair share of talents. However, due to laziness and an anxiety disorder, I developed too few of … Continue reading Sucking at Japanese
Muse Vassal 