toshnaka

[toshnaka]

Fourteen years ago I ran a marathon in California. Guided by the gotta catch ‘em all ethos that inspired my generation, I decided to challenge myself by running one in every US state. Now, after 16 states and at the age of 35, I’m relying more on compression sleeves and acetaminophen to cross finish lines, but I’m also relying less on headphones to keep motivated. I have learned to cherish the sound of people who stand out there, rain or shine, to support me.

Thank you for the birthday messages. More than ever, I’m closer to becoming who I’ve always wanted to be.

14年前、私はカリフォルニアでマラソンを走りました。ポケモンの英語版キャッチフレーズ「全部集めるぞ」という精神に導かれ、アメリカ全50州でマラソンを走るという挑戦を決めました。今では16州を走破し、35歳になった私は、ゴールを目指すのにコンプレッションスリーブやアセトアミノフェンに頼るようになりました。でも、モチベーションを保つためにヘッドフォンに頼ることは少なくなりました。雨の日も晴れの日も沿道で応援してくれる人たちの声を大切に思うようになったのです。

誕生日メッセージをありがとうございます。これまで以上に、私はずっとなりたかった自分に近づいている気がします。

Photo by Dane Nelsen

[toshnaka]

Hey I’m a tour guide 🤠🎌

What makes Japan special is also what makes the country largely inaccessible to many visitors. As a Japanese American who understands the culture and language, I offer bespoke tours for travelers seeking to make genuine and lasting connections with Japan.

My name is Toshiki Nakashige. A son of a sushi chef and a Japanese language teacher, I was born and raised in Texas. School, school, work, family took me to California, Massachusetts, New York, Gifu. Curiosity led me to places in between. Travel is a way I create stories and share new perspectives, and I would love the opportunity to design your Japan vacation and serve as your private guide throughout your travels.

toshnaka.com/tour

[toshnaka]

I started imagining a physics classroom demo on space-time. A heavy object is placed at the center of a stretched-out bedsheet, and as marbles roll across the warped fabric, they follow circular paths around the weight in the middle. What if every part of ourselves was one of these middleweights that attract other bodies in the universe toward us? Most of the time, when we wait in line or ask someone for directions, we go on about our lives without acknowledging the fascinating stories of the people around us. But when the middleweights we have in common get close enough, when they warp space-time and feel the gravitational forces exactly in the right way, we begin telling those stories and forming networks of human relationships.

Listen to my podcast Middleweight at middleweightpodcast.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photo by Daniel Motta

[toshnaka]

My language skills help me to live fully in Japan, but I hesitate to say that I’m fluent because I don’t yet know how to use all the tools of Japanese storytelling. I recently hired a tutor to work toward that end, supplementing the Saturday school education that I quit in third grade. To hold myself accountable, I decided that I would have everything that I write in English translated into Japanese. I worked on the translation of my essay Takayama with my mom. The whole process was so much fun, and talking with her about family events over the past decades was healing.

In Dallas for Thanksgiving, I found photographs from Sugo when I was about two years old. Yakata Yahei has a new owner, and the sculpture commemorating the rugby summers is no longer out front. But I’m grateful that the ryokan bestowed an idea of home that comforts me still today.

「たかやま」の日本語版はこちら。

[toshnaka]

Two years ago I moved to a city in Central Japan called Takayama. My maternal grandmother was ill being cared for at a hospital here, and in an effort to provide her some comfort, I came here to be close to her. Throughout my childhood, my grandmother taught me what it was like to live in the Japanese countryside, and it’s wonderful that I now get to experience it for myself. These mountains helped me cope with the loss of close relationships and find my voice again as a writer.

My grandmother prepared this framed photograph to be presented at her funeral. It’s in my apartment kitchen now, and she’s always there with me whenever I cook mountain vegetables just as I learned from her. Thank you for reminding me to stand taller.

[toshnaka]

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to express what it’s like to have depression during a pandemic, and writing an essay about playing Monster Rancher was the best I could do for now