Temporary Connections in Mobilities: Cases of Communication in Guesthouses for Japanese Tourists in Southeast Asia

Abstract

In this paper, temporary connections due to the movement of people are described by focusing on the characteristics of communication among tourists. The connections formed through corporeal travel are one of the diversified connections that have changed in late modernity. In guesthouses for Japanese tourists in Southeast Asia, tourists participate in temporary and enthusiastic interactions together for a few days. The system of guesthouses accelerates temporary interactions. An ethnographic approach has revealed that tourists seek new encounters and temporary connections rather than lasting connections. Based on theories of the mobilities paradigm developed by John Urry, this paper claims that temporary connections can help tourists gain temporary escape from ordinary life.