The friendship of youth is like the four seasons of Hokkaido—long and distinct.

Walking along the ginkgo avenue covered in snow at Hokkaido University, Dr. Clark’s inspiring words still echo in my ears: — “Young man~ have great ambitions!” We often say that one cannot have both youth and the feeling of youth at the same time. Now, strolling through this campus that is itself a forest park, all the stories, friends, and the academic atmosphere of late-night studying from those youthful days are awakened. In the vast and harsh nature, growth gains the true knowledge of life. Years after leaving campus, in a moment of fatigue, one suddenly longs for that brilliantly radiant tunnel in autumn and that ordinary, idle afternoon back then. You cannot fully understand the future weight of those ginkgo leaves while still holding them; the abstract troubles of youth become beautiful memories that can never be returned to, now intertwined with the real past of life. In the morning, we strolled for hours in the heavy snow with good friends, warmly wrapped in light clothing. We exchanged stories of youth we hadn’t experienced, then promised to reach even farther destinations together. At dusk, taking the JR coastal railway, after passing Qianhan Station, the train runs along the seaside, with the deep blue Sea of Japan outside the window. At this moment, travel becomes a ritual, and we go to a place frozen in art to freely feel the youth we have sealed away.