Crafting a Research Trip…
The great torii of Itsukushima/Miyajima. Go Shutterstock go!
One of my big projects for next year is a research trip, assuming the borders reopen for everyone (as of posting it’s package tours only or students attending universities and such…)
Visit places relating to my MA dissertation research (Gifu, Shibuya, central Tokyo, Shinjuku…).
Visit people and places relating to my PhD application and research in order to help me better quantify my research question and the structure.
Research for a WiP novel series set in a secondary world based on Japan.
I’ve started a GoFundMe to try and raise some cash and I’m hoping to go out during the spring half term in March-April, finances and borders allowing (that’s the big one!). My plan is to go out for around four weeks, travelling around Japan. Obviously, I plan to visit a lot of jinja and temples. I want to go to as many as possible, including controversial ones like Yasukuni. I also plan to visit some time-sensitive exhibitions and museums in Tokyo and other cities. I also plan to pretty much visit every corner of Honshū within 21 days, bookended with time in Tokyo and the surrounding area.
For my PhD I want to expand this to how Shinto has been presented through media (I plan on picking case studies from a pool of computer games, manga and anime, as well as finding a reason to discuss how western media uses Shinto in its narratives, which is basically an excuse to talk about Ghost of Tsushima again (See my ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360335469_Exploring_Ghost_of_Tsushima_and_its_Impact_on_Mid-and_Post-Pandemic_Video_Game-_inspired_Tourism_and_Associated_Heritage_in_Japan) and other titles).
Kiyomizudera and its famous stage in Kyoto
I’m also working on research for a novel series so of course I want to visit Ise Grand Shrine (both of them…) as well as Seimei Jinja in Kyoto. I also want to visit some shrines which are either controversial (like Yasukuni Jinja) or belong to new religious movements (like Konkōkyō). I would also love to spend time on Miyajima, see the Great Torii at high tide, and return to Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kiyomizudera and Sanjūsangedō.
The first time I went to Japan was twelve years ago, and now I’m older, healthier and keener to not spend every second on activities. I want days here and there to just chill out, especially if it’s colder or the weather is bad as I am going quite early in the year. I don’t fly well (the time issue messes my brain and gives me mega insomnia), so also need seventy two hours to adjust. I also really want to indulge my desire to visit konbini, soak in onsen, eat my personal weight in fried chicken and ramen, and go to the Sailor Moon store in Harajuku.
My itinerary for this trip is focusing on Honshū, though if I get time, I would like to visit Amanohashidate and go down to Himeji or Fukuoka. But that might have to be another trip, probably in the autumn, after my MA dissertation is submitted. It’s okay, I have time. Fortunately I’m getting a good idea of where I want to go and plan on staying in cheap hotels to stretch every yen (I LOVE Toyoko Inn, for example), as well as making full use of the Japan Rail Pass.
So, once I have dates, I’ll post my full itinerary but for now, it’s nice having something fun to focus on as I go into the final year of my MA.
