Yuki Nakamura

Yuki Nakamura is a third year bachelor student Arts and Culture and writes columns for Observant since August 2025

I no longer feel voiceless
Column

I no longer feel voiceless

"I often forget that people will read my columns when I'm writing them, so the work is free from my internalised, imagined gaze of others"
Happy Pride Month
Column

Happy Pride Month

"My very first crush, during my school years, was on a girl one year older than me. I could not tell anyone, nor did I confess"
My future still looks foggy
Column

My future still looks foggy

"Life is not a competition, even if so many things around us are structured like one"
How your language frames the world
Column

How your language frames the world

"There is something freeing in realising that what once felt absolute is not"
A bag had been found in Przemysl
Column

A bag had been found in Przemysl

"People often say that you grow from mistakes, but in my case, I am not entirely convinced"
A place to return to
Column

A place to return to

Looking back, what I miss most is high school dorm life
The power of routine
Column

The power of routine

"It feels like having an inviolable small ‘castle’ of my own"
The deepest shock was racism
Column

The deepest shock was racism

"In Maastricht, I have lost count of how many times strangers have said 'nihao' or 'ching chang' while passing by"
A dead mouse
Column

A dead mouse

"It got worse when I started cleaning the storage"
Strong emotions? Then English
Column

Strong emotions? Then English

'Please stop' in Japanese felt too weak. What came out instead was English: “What the fuck are you doing?”
Between present and future
Column

Between present and future

"When some relatives couldn’t travel to my grandparents’ house, they joined us through a video call, mirrored onto the TV"
Identity doesn’t need permission
Column

Identity doesn’t need permission

"Seeing someone I already admired step into their truth so openly felt unexpectedly empowering"
Crocheting brings a sense of calm
Column

Crocheting brings a sense of calm

"The 'grandma' label itself isn’t negative at all, in fact, it reflects skills, creativity, and knowledge that deserve far more appreciation"
To be observed
Column

To be observed

"What stayed with me most was how a single idea could completely shift the way I see the world"
Hiroshima lessons
Column

Hiroshima lessons

"I often felt there wasn’t much I could do or say. It seemed too complicated, too far from my everyday life"
Some friends have jobs or even babies
Column

Some friends have jobs or even babies

"But for a few hours, when we sit together, it’s like nothing has changed"
Rejection sucks
Column

Rejection sucks

"I began to hate the word “unfortunately,” because every message seemed to begin with it"
Opening a conversation, but how?
Column

Opening a conversation, but how?

"Standard openers seem to be nearly unavoidable, but dare to be curious and ask something unexpected"
The myth of the perfect study routine
Column

The myth of the perfect study routine

"I was eating discounted Jumbo cakes for dinner and looking up on the internet for how to concentrate for three hours"