[Report] CTR Workshop 2026 “Unlearning research methodology in tourism: Creative intervention.”

On Thursday, June 11, 2026, we held the CTR Workshop 2026 titled “Unlearning Research Methodology in Tourism: Creative Intervention.”

The workshop aimed to encourage students and researchers to reflect on their approaches to tourism studies and to share their 'sensibilities' and 'perspectives', regardless of their academic position or area of expertise. Mr. Daijiro Yamagishi, CTR Short-term Visiting Fellow, together with Ms. Yurika Shibamoto, Project Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Tourism, presented at the workshop.

During the first part of the session, Mr. Yamagishi discussed how academic disciplines, research methodologies, and theoretical frameworks are shaped by various ‘boundaries’, which in turn define what constitutes knowledge and often create exclusion or division. He emphasized the importance of unlearning - loosening both the “Kata” held by individuals and groups, as well as the structural and institutional “Kata” that shape academic practice. He also introduced emerging methodologies in the social sciences that support unlearning and highlighted the need for researchers to examine their own positionality and values and pursue more democratic and relational research.

In the second part, participants engaged in a group discussion using postcards. 17 students and researchers selected postcards and used their images to express their own views on research and methodology. This discussion provided a valuable opportunity for dialogue that transcended differences in perspective, and by sharing our respective viewpoints, the participants fostered new possibilities and perspectives.

Related article: [Workshop] CTR workshop 2026 “Unlearning research methodology in tourism: Creative intervention”