Aya Mizukami’s A Queer’s Canadian Travel Journal

In this article, we are introducing A Queer’s Canadian Travel Journal, the latest book by Aya Mizukami, who also joined our special book fair “Imagining a Future That is Not ‘Straight’—Together With You.”

Book Information

A Queer’s Canadian Travel Journal Written by Aya Mizukami
Price: 1,760 yen (base price 1,600 yen)
Size: 216 pages, duodecimo

Author’s Profile

Aya Mizukami 
Born in 1992. Aya is a queer feminist writer. Her books include A Queer’s Canadian Travel Journal (published by Kashiwa Shobo), and she also planned and edited We Are Already Here Together: An Anti-Transphobia Booklet (published by Gendaishokan). She was the guest editor for the “Queer, Women, and Community” special issue in the feminist magazine Etcetera, Volume 13.

Note: The English translated version of these books are not yet published.

About the Book

Travel lets us imagine many different kinds of lives we could have lived.

We learn about the places we visit, the communities rooted there, and the people who live very different lives from our own.
We notice how public spaces are used, how money flows, how people dress, and how they act on the streets.

Through these experiences, we start to wonder: “What kind of life would I have had if I lived here?” We begin to look at what we thought was “normal” from a new point of view—and realize that our everyday life may be more limited by society than we ever knew.

In this book, Aya Mizukami visits Canada and is repeatedly surprised to find that queer people are simply expected to be there—that their presence is taken for granted in everyday spaces throughout the city.

Since 2005, Canada has had marriage equality. Its human rights laws protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. There are also laws against hate crimes. In contrast, Japan still does not allow same-(under the family registry system) sex marriage. There are no laws that ban discrimination or hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people or others with different backgrounds. On top of that, strict conditions are still required to legally change one’s gender.

Canada may not be a place completely free from oppression, but Mizukami felt such a strong difference from Japan in the smallest corners of everyday life that she says, it was as if she understood the meaning of the word “visibility” for the very first time.

What kinds of possibilities are seen as real and achievable? What kinds of choices truly exist as options in the society we live in? What we are able to “see” probably depends on that. If a possibility does not feel close or real to us, we might not be able to see it—even if it is right there in front of us.
（A Queer’s Canadian Travel Journal P.208）

Pride Month may be over—but queer people’s lives go on every day. While reading this book, we are reminded that if we want everyone to imagine their future without fear, the laws that shape society must clearly show: “Yes, people who are not straight or cisgender are already living here.”

This is a book we especially recommend to everyone interested in the book fair now taking place, and to anyone who, for any reason, finds it hard to travel right now. Even if you cannot step outside your current surroundings, you can borrow Mizukami’s perspective and imagine a future beyond the limits you have been given.

“The Future Is Queer: A Book Fair to Imagine a Future That is Not ‘Straight’—Together With You” 📖 Now Happening!

🗓️ Dates
June 28 (Sat) – July 31 (Thu)
During the fair, the Palettalk team is planning to visit the store for a special in-person event. The date will be announced later.

📍 Location
In-store at Books B&B (本屋B&B)
2F BONUS TRACK, 2-36-15 Daita, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0033 (Elevator available)

Open Hours: Weekdays: 12:00–21:00 / Weekends & Holidays: 11:00–21:00
Hours may change depending on events. For details, please check the link below:
🔗 https://bookandbeer.com/journal/from202005/

🔖 Book Selectors (listed in no particular order)
Kotetsu Nakazato
Akira Shuji
Aya Mizukami
Osamu Onuma
Rin Takashima
Ginga Kondo
super-KIKI
Momoko Nojo
Palettalk Editorial Team

Each person chose books based on two themes📚️:
“A book I wish I could give to my past self—or that kid I used to be”
“A book to imagine (and create) the future together”