Travels with Shunzo Miyawaki on the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass

The scene at Utsunomiya, the trap at Kuroiso, and the great turnaround to Kitakami

1. The 7:38 AM departure, an 'unexpected utopia' on platform 9

'Whoa... what is this? Is there a girls' high school further up the line?'

Beside her, for some reason, only the three human geographers had their eyes sparkling.

📖 Professor Tuan: 'Wonderful! A school is not just a school building. Look. This train car itself is a school that appears for only one hour.'

👓 Professor Sauer: 'It is truly a cultural landscape. The cultural symbol of the uniform completely dominates this train car.'

👓 Professor Relph: 'In other words, a Place is—'

Chizuru: 'Professor, the rest of that is prohibited until we reach Kuroiso.'

The three looked a little dejected.
The high school girls sitting opposite them giggled at the exchange.
One of them timidly spoke up.

'Are you foreigners?'

The three looked up in unison.

'Yes.'
'That is correct.'
'It depends on the definition.'

Chizuru couldn't help but look up at the ceiling.

'Why are you only in perfect sync when it comes to answering questions like that...'

The high school girls burst into laughter.

'Are you teachers?'

📖 Professor Tuan: 'Yes. I used to teach at a university. But today, I am the one being taught by all of you. I am learning about the Japanese morning.'

'Huh...' The high school girl smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.
Professor Sauer started to open his mouth.

👓 Professor Sauer: "As for cultural landscape—"

Chizuru: "Professor, that's going to be a long one."

👓 Professor Relph: "Place is—"

Chizuru: "Even longer."

The train began its run toward Hōshakuji. Hōshakuji. Ujiie. Yaita. Each time we arrived at a station, a wave of uniforms flowed out onto the platform. The lively laughter inside the car eventually faded into a quiet atmosphere.

Professor Miyawaki looked out the window and said softly.

Professor Miyawaki: "You can't experience this scenery on the Shinkansen. Isn't that right, Professor Tuan? Even on the same train, the passengers completely change along the way. This is what a regional railway is."

Professor Tuan nodded deeply.

📖 Professor Tuan: "People create the landscape, and the landscape in turn nurtures the people. This small community that appears for only an hour in the morning is one such example."

Chizuru did not argue. Outside the window, the vast scenery of the Nasunogahara Plain was slowly beginning to spread out.

"...It was so lively just a moment ago."

Ririko smiled.

Ririko: "Travel is strange, isn't it? Even though it's the same train, it feels like a completely different one now."

Professor Miyawaki nodded quietly.

Professor Miyawaki: "That is the nature of local trains."

2. 8:31 AM, Kuroiso Station. The 37-minute trap and the vanished Miyawaki

Before long, the train slid into Kuroiso Station right on schedule. Seeing the electronic display board showing a '37-minute wait,' Chizuru held her head in her hands.

Chizuru: "That's why I told you to take the 7:21 AM departure..."

However, when she turned around, the three of them were already gone.

Chizuru: "Huh?"

Lively voices can be heard from the station waiting room.

“Oh, they have curry rice crackers!”
“There are lemon-flavored potato chips, too!”
“Are these a regional exclusive?”

Chizuru: “Professor, what on earth are you doing?!”

Professor Miyawaki: “Well now. A transfer time of over thirty minutes is actually the perfect amount of time for some snacking.”

👓 Professor Relph: “'Place' is established by sharing potato chips.”

👓 Professor Sauer: “No, in terms of cultural landscape, civilization begins with the exchange of rice balls.”

📖 Professor Tuan: “Japanese stations are wonderful! You can even enjoy the waiting!”

Chizuru: “Not a single one of them is reflecting on their behavior...”

After thoroughly enjoying their snacks, the 9:08 AM local train bound for Shin-Shirakawa finally pulled into the station.
Like a kindergarten teacher leading a group of lost children,
Chizuru desperately shoved the three giants into the train and secured seats for them.

The moment she finally caught her breath, the doors closed with a cold, hissing sound. As Chizuru looked around the train car, her face froze in terror in an instant.

Chizuru: “...Wait a minute. Professor Miyawaki isn't here.”

She frantically pulled out her smartphone and tapped the LINE call button as if she were slamming it, and a slow-witted, yet completely relaxed voice of Professor Miyawaki echoed from the speaker.

“Oh, Chizuru? Well, I got into a bit of a conversation with the owner of the liquor store in front of the station about local sake. Before I knew it, the doors had closed. The next train to Shin-Shirakawa is at 10:21, right? Well, I'll just wait here leisurely while looking at the Nasu mountains, so you go on ahead.”

Click. The call ended.

Chizuru (screaming inside the train): “Are you all completely useless?!”