Sleeping in a pod in Kyoto

Hey friend,

They say you can’t go home again. And, not to be dramatic, but you can’t return to that place you loved on vacation either. At least, not exactly the way you left it.

Places change faster than people do, and sometimes it’s a little, and sometimes it’s a lot.

Tulum and San Francisco are great examples of this at different scales, but Kyoto is the one that always serves as a reminder for me.

I spent a month in Kyoto six years ago with Remote Year. There were ~25 of us halfway through a year-long trip around the world. We were working together, living together, and regularly haunting a karaoke bar with a live tarantula on display.

Our co-working space was inside a pod-hotel called The Millennials, which I’ve now stayed at a dozen times across multiple cities in Japan.

When I revisited Kyoto last year, staying at The Millennials was an easy choice. I knew the location; it’s clean, quiet, and budget-friendly.

When I went back this year, I booked another pod there.

This meant I was reheating takeout in the same kitchen where 28-year-old Caro made pancakes with some of her best friends in 2019. It meant Zooming a friend from the exact same call booth where I took meetings six years ago.

It was nostalgic as hell.

I feel about Kyoto the way I imagine some people think about their college town. It was never home. It wasn’t even my favorite at the time. But it’s hard to imagine visiting Japan and not spending a few days there.

I love putting on headphones and taking the long way to whatever cafe I’ve scoped out on Google Maps. I’ll inevitably come across a restaurant or drugstore that I never knew the name of, part of a memory I had almost forgotten.

And I can’t help but smile when I pass that bar where a younger Caro did karaoke and then shakily rode her bike home with the sunrise.

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Kyoto

Kyoto is home to a lot of the history and traditions that we associate with Japan. For that reason, it’s a must-do on any first trip to the country. And for that reason, it’s often mentioned in every story about over-tourism.

I have no real thoughts on this topic.

The hotel I stay at is in the middle of the city, so it’s not like I’m insulated from other tourists when I go, but I feel like the crowds only get annoying at the big tourist sights and the most popular restaurants.

I did all the touristy things six years ago, and follow my own nostalgia-fueled food tour when I’m in town, so neither is an issue for me.

I only feel the overcrowding when I can’t walk as fast as I like on the sidewalk. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My top 4:

• A farm-to-table restaurant,
• My pick for an obanzai dinner,
• A famous cocktail bar worth the wait,
• And the sake district.

If you have non-food and drink recs, I’d love to hear them! People always ask me which of the “sights” are worth bearing the crowds for, and I’m always like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Shameless plug alert

My friends at Ofrenda Spirits are raising money to take their mezcal to the US.

If you’ve ever been to one of my agave tastings, you already know how much I love the product and the team. Mezcal is a booming industry so this is your chance to own a little piece of a great one!

Learn more about it here.

(Full disclosure: I’m on the company’s board.)

Up next: Bar hopping in Tokyo, eating beef noodles in Taiwan, and recovering from jet lag.

xo,

Caro

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