Destination: Japan

Garden of Arias

Thu, 15 May 2014 | By thepeoplegallery | Views [174] | Scholarship Entry

A great leap from the perpetual summer in my southern homeland, the icy Nagasaki wind snaps through my scarf and licks into my neck. I look down at my legs, moving by means of minuscule tremors to make their way into the house of Mr Glover. It’s 1861 ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Naked

Thu, 15 May 2014 | By continuous | Views [207] | Scholarship Entry

“This is your room. The water is hot from 8 to 11:30 pm,” she said. I was standing on a bamboo carpet, past a small paper-and-wooden door. I could see six almost cosy tatamis on the floor, a thin navy-brown wooden table for tea in the right corner and ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

When Miming Leads to an Onsen

Thu, 15 May 2014 | By kristatosh | Views [227] | Scholarship Entry

I’ll never forget the day that a Japanese Obaachan [grandma] helped me undress. It was the day I decided to hit up one of the infamous onsens [hot baths] that I had heard of since my arrival two weeks prior. Though my Japanese was non-existent, nothing ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

A Buddhist Heart

Thu, 15 May 2014 | By vanechan | Views [136] | Scholarship Entry

“Don’t let your hands touch your body,” he said. “Just move them around the outside, slowly. Move the energy all over.” He held my wrist and helped glide my right hand through the air, just inches above the right half of my body. I was sitting cross-legged ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Unwise Sightseeing

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By masmyth | Views [167] | Scholarship Entry

The air is quiet. The sound of tourist after tourist adjusting their cameras for the obligatory perfect holiday snapshot is gone, replaced by mist and rain. It isn’t fair to call it rain, really — by now it’s a full on downpour. We remain undeterred by ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Photos: profile pics

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By roguecat | Photo Gallery

Shopping for a Cataclysm

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By roguecat | Views [175] | Scholarship Entry

Dressed in nothing but briefs, I found myself swaying from side to side along with the furniture, the floor and just about everything on the thirtieth floor of the hotel. I hadn’t been used to skyscrapers dance like willow leaves. I was just about to ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Total Immersion in Tokyo

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By globaljourneylist | Views [216] | Scholarship Entry

My best experience with public nudity was in Tokyo. Visiting for the first time and craving a true cultural encounter, I decided that a trip to a sento, a public bath house, would be perfect. My “spa” fantasy faltered at the presence of a vending machine ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

A Shibuya Movie Montage

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By elainemariel | Views [180] | Scholarship Entry

As I exited the train station, I was greeted by countless heads of black hair moving in various directions. Locals were walking briskly, without so much as a pause, while tourists take their sweet time weaving through the multiple, intersecting pedestrian ... Read more >

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How Did I End Up Here?: Mental Landscapes in Gunma

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By keaomelemele | Views [146] | Scholarship Entry

"????????? How did I end up here?" It was a cold January day outside the sleepy town of Minakami. After a few hours of alpine and cross-country skiing, I decided on a short respite. I found a hillside spot overlooking the forested hilly land of Gunma ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Footprints on Snow

Wed, 14 May 2014 | By sheilarouge | Views [214] | Scholarship Entry

The wind was cool and breezy. There’s a very cold air mass in place over the city. I remember I specially took care in wearing my warmest socks under my leather boots, which now feels as though I’m back in Hakodateyama, numbed on a February night. According ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Washing off the Dirt

Tue, 13 May 2014 | By yvonnec | Views [1120] | Scholarship Entry

My first glimpse of Finland is everything I imagined it to be. The rustic log cabin before me looks suitably Scandinavian and the steamy sauna within beckons. Japanese visitors mill around on the path outside, chatting and laughing. They are all naked.... Read more >

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When the kabuki actor lifts his mask

Tue, 13 May 2014 | By enterthevoid | Views [1202] | Scholarship Entry

Imagine a theatre play that can cost you a life! A split second of natural entertainment that makes skyscrapers and bridges swing and bend in the big cities. When the metro cars are put on hold and millions of people emerge on the deserted streets as ... Read more >

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Here and Now

Tue, 13 May 2014 | By thechancepassenger | Views [155] | Scholarship Entry

The heights and lights of Minato Mirai is a stark contrast from the depth and shibboleth of our conversations over matccha earlier that day on Sensei’s tatami floors back home in Togane-shi. While living out Japan’s traditional everyday as exchange students ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip

Living out my dream

Tue, 13 May 2014 | By gracethedragon | Views [181] | Scholarship Entry

Last year, my mother suggested a mother-daughter bonding trip and we chose to venture to Japan, a country I love for its great food and culture! We started off with Kyoto. It has a rustic charm, and every shrine had its own unique characteristic. Some ... Read more >

Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip