There is no Distinction between Body and Soil

Something I have really been grappling with throughout our time thus far in Japan has been the extent to which agriculture can really be ‘natural.’ We started off the trip reading the book The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka in which he preaches...

One Bowl Club

Konbawa! Since our arrival at ARI, I have been participating in what is called the “One Bowl Club” (OBC). It means that for each meal the only kitchenware we use individually is a single bowl and a utensil of our choosing. The idea was created by Nate Mitka, a St....

Abandoned Spaces

On the way to Nagawa-machi, the issues of Japan’s aging population and depopulation of rural areas came to mind, as it has many times during this trip. These issues were only slightly familiar to me as I had seen articles and statistics demonstrating the...

Finding Comfort

I have never traveled out of the country for so long before. Being someone who thinks a lot, arriving late due to illness, and not knowing a whole lot about Japan I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I arrived to ARI on day five of our course feeling...

Art and the Environment

During our free days I decided to go to Tokyo with a few others in the class. While in Tokyo, some of us decided to go to the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art also known by the English acronym: MOMAT. The museum is well known for its 20th century art containing...

An icy adventure in Nikko

This is a joint post, authored by Kate and B! After arriving in Nikko intending to frolic through the wilderness for our free days, we checked into our hostel, Guesthouse Sumica (10/10, would recommend).  After a short moment of confusion involving the workings of the...