Kumagaya sits on the Takasaki line. At the end of this line lies the city of Takasaki. I’ve always been curious about this city. What is the final destination? What things await a person at the end of the line? I’d quite frequently ask my coworkers and students, but they all told me the same thing. “Don’t bother, Mark, there’s nothing there.” One who had never even set foot in that direction described it simply as “a bigger Kumagaya.” So, it seemed like there was little point in going. Until, one fateful day, when I met a Takasakian. (Now, this isn’t a big romantic tale, sadly, although it does involve a boy and a girl.)

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