Ready, set, relax: In Asian countries, thousands of burnt-out adults now gather for competitions to do as little as possible. Plus:

• Take a break at a dude ranch: Play cowboy, gunslinger, or unplug with a book in a hammock on a sprawling chunk of Montana wilderness that dotes on your needs.
• From Hoops HQ: A guide to Feast Week 2024.

The Sport of Spacing Out

On a busy October afternoon in Ark Karajan Place in the bustling Tokyo Metropolis, 70 people took their places, plopped down inside a taped-off square of floorspace and…did nothing.

At first glance, there was nothing to link these people. This wasn’t a climate protest, or a political movement. They weren’t angry about the economy. They weren’t interested in gender rights, more days off of work or whether the trains ran on time. Their ages, backgrounds and even nationalities varied.

The one trait they did share was a massive, near-overwhelming sense of stress in their daily lives.

By taking a seat in a busy public space resembling not so much a zen garden, but a shopping mall with vines climbing towards high, vaulted ceilings, this disparate group was taking a stand against the noise of their own minds. This was no silent demonstration, but a fiercely competitive 90-minute challenge in which Japan’s most stressed out people came to do as little as humanly possible.

This Dude Ranch Finally Perfected the All-Inclusive Travel Experience

BY SAL VAGLICA

In travel, the term all-inclusive is typically reserved for experiences designed for mass consumption. Think: beach vacations, where frozen drinks are a food group, or queuing up for the thrice daily cattle call — eating, disembarking and embarking — on a city-sized cruise ship. But the math of The Ranch at Rock Creek is a big reason why this is a different kind of all-inclusive: A maximum of 125 guests, spread over about 31 different luxury tents, cabins and traditional rooms, all sharing 6,600 acres of mostly untouched Southwestern Montana wilderness. Another key figure: Costs start at $2,100 per night, double occupancy, for a room at the Granite Lodge during shoulder season, to $3,200 per night, double occupancy, for a glamping tent at the same time of year.

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