Kyoto in April
Cherry blossoms and quiet temples. Found a small café that served one thing only — and it was perfect.
Japan in April is the cliché for a reason. The blossoms are as extraordinary as everyone says. What no one tells you is how quickly they fall — and how the falling is its own kind of beauty.
I spent most of my time in Kyoto not in the famous temples, but in the streets between them. Nishiki Market at 7am. A small soba restaurant where the owner spoke no English and I spoke no Japanese and we spent a very pleasant fifteen minutes pointing at things and nodding.
The café I found on day three served one thing: a cold brew coffee made with water from a specific mountain spring and a single cube of hand-carved ice. I went back every day.
Kyoto teaches you slowness. Not the performative slowness of someone on holiday, but real slowness — the kind where you notice that a particular light hits a particular garden wall at 4pm and it's the most beautiful thing you've seen this year.
