Sunday. Night. Kyoto. Rain. Long-awaited.

Our first week in Kyoto has been intense – to put it mildly. We’ve been crashing early, waking up at dawn, getting a few hours of work done, and then heading out to shoot stills and video in this surprisingly walkable city that never stops delivering new impressions and experiences.

Of all the university cities in Japan, it turns out Kyoto has by far the highest concentration of programmes in design, art and culture. You can feel it everywhere – in the architecture, the graphic design, the signage, the packaging, the way visual communication is woven into everyday life.

Yesterday, Saturday, we walked halfway up Mt Otowa – the mountain where the 1,200-year-old, UNESCO-listed temple Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) rises above the city.

It was packed with people, but still incredibly beautiful. At one point, we stopped for a bowl of soba noodles topped with a generous slice of tofu and finely sliced spring onion. Simple, perfect, unforgettable.

During a short break on the way up we met a young American aircraft mechanic from Arkansas, currently stationed at Komatsu Air Base. He works exclusively on the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II – the version that only needs a very short runway and can land vertically (STOVL).

Not surprisingly, he was genuinely excited about his new life in Japan. He told us he earns less here than back home, but still expects to save more while he’s stationed in Komatsu. I couldn’t help pointing out (maybe a bit fatherly) that when his three-year contract is over, what he will really have earned is a wealth of experiences he’d never have had if he had stayed on his home base in the States.

At our nearest 7-Eleven, two guys and a woman from Kandy in Sri Lanka work behind the counter – the same city we visited a few years ago. The three of them are at least as polite and friendly as their Japanese colleagues, but their English is noticeably better. Encounters like that make the city feel both bigger and smaller at the same time.

Later I showed Charlotte a clip from one of Bill Murray’s funniest scenes in Lost in Translation. After that I couldn’t stop saying “Lip my stockings” for hours. I sometimes latch onto things like that a bit too easily.

Caramba!

Yesterday it happened. It was inevitable. Sooner or later we both knew it would hit. We were just surprised it took this long. Fortunately, we were able to handle it with a few good solutions.

I’m talking, of course, about the jalapeño-taco-guacamole-tequila-nachos withdrawal that suddenly arrived yesterday afternoon when a same-age DJ at Good Morning Record Bar put on the Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass single Mexican Shuffle.

Because the Mexican place Dumas hadn’t opened yet at five, we literally crossed the alley to the Tex-Mex taquería Siesta. There we shared a plate of nachos with guacamole and five spicy tacos, washed down with two cold Asahi and a couple of shots of Patrón. The little detour was perfectly soundtracked by Pet Sounds, playing at just the right volume through the bar’s speakers.

Today, the rain poured down. It’s a bit of a shame for other visitors, but for us it was a welcome pause – time to let the past days sink in and to sort through all the impressions so far.

We’re so inspired by Kyoto that Charlotte has now registered the – surprisingly available – domain kyotodesignhotels.com, which she plans to launch in early 2026. Stay tuned.