Thoughts on technology, travel, and everyday life
I started learning Japanese six months ago, mostly out of curiosity after a trip to Kyoto. The initial weeks were humbling — the alphabet alone felt like a mountain.
The thing nobody tells you is that the hardest part is building the habit of showing up every day, even when progress feels invisible.
We drove up on a Friday evening, arriving just before dark. The kind of cold that makes the air feel clean and sharp. No phone signal above a certain altitude.
Two days without notifications has a way of resetting things. Highly recommend it.
Three years in, and I still haven't found a perfect routine. The commute I don't miss. The accidental hallway conversations I do.