Sunday Edition: What Can I Even Say About Last Week?

Five cities in five days.

The Sunday Edition is Tuesday’s little sister—off-the-cuff updates I’d bring up over a coffee catch-up with a friend.

At Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, early in the morning, before the waves of people arrived!

The past month has felt like both the shortest and longest month of my life. On the one hand, I can’t believe I arrived in Bali in mid-August; on the other hand, I’ve lived about a thousand lifetimes since then. Before going on this trip, to Indonesia and Japan, I barely had time to absorb the reality of traveling for six weeks. Apart from studying abroad in Denmark in college, it’s the longest amount of time I’ve ever spent outside of the U.S. And, I was a bit distracted by the chaos of summer and an unexpected breakup to fully wrap my head around my ambitious plans. I didn’t understand, or really think about, the extent to which it would impact me, but I am so, so grateful to have had this time. Like travel often does, it has opened up my world to cultures vastly different from my own, reshaping me and making me feel so empowered and curious. In the last few days alone, I’ve travelled all over Japan by bus and train, from Tokyo to Magome, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen, and Osaka (developing a hyper-fixation with the different regional ekiben, or train bento boxes, along the way).

Issue #157: The "5 to 1" Rule for Packing for Any Trip (Really)

While you were sleeping (at least my west-coasters), I arrived in Seoul, South Korea (my friend Monica Wang recently posted so many of her tips), where I’m spending a few days before I head home, as my grand finale! I departed for this trip on the heels of a chaotic summer, which included my book tour and weddings most weekends, and next week I’m arriving to fall in Portland. It’s a final burst of frenetic energy before I spend the next few months wintering, leaning into the cold and calm. My obsessive, extensive guide to Tokyo goes live next week, and I’ll share much more about the rest of my trip in a Part 2. Until then, here are some highlights from the past week…