HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING: I attend local events. I got to know Couchsurfing in the early 2010s. Since then, I've been attending local events in Tokyo. I organized a few local events in Tokyo last year. Attending local events benefited me in the following ways: ①Meeting Couchsurfers from different parts of the world helped me to better understand their countries & cultures. Meeting Couchsurfers is a great way to know foreign countries & other cultures. This way is better than checking news or social media. News media tell us about newsworthy events. These events tend to be abnormal. Meeting Couch surfers is a better way to know normal lives abroad. Talking with a Couchsurfer could give me an idea of what her/his people think and how her/his people feel. ② Talking with couch surfers from overseas helped me to reconsider Japan, including what I took it granted. ③ Meeting with couch surfers has changed my idea of travel I’ve met couch surfers who traveled for a long time, months to years. When Japanese travel overseas, it seems that most of them travel for a week or 2. Not for months or for years. I realized that it would be acceptable to travel for months even for years.

1. music: rock, jazz, electronic, R&B, reggae, ska, gypsy 2. Movies: Movies which entertain me, include some sci-fi movies (e.g., Space Odyssey) and some film noir (e.g., Ministry of Fear by Fritz Lang). I also enjoyed Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) by Marcel Camus. 3.Books, which interest me, include books on epistemological issues (e.g., The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb). Books on socio-economic systems (e.g., The Livelihood of Man by Karl Polanyi) also appeal to me. As fiction, I could enjoy some science fictions (e.g., Solaris).