Kyoto (Day 3 morning)

July 21, 2026: The Kobo-ichi Market is a massive flea market held on the 21st of every month at To-ji Temple — over 1,000 stalls of antiques, vintage kimonos, and street food.

Since it doesn’t open until 10am, Jason squeezed in one more mission first: alarm set for 4am, five hours in line, all to have Mr. Hayakawa personally engrave his knife. Turns out, alongside matcha, “Hayakawa Hamonoten” (早川刃物店) has become the latest obsession among young Americans — this legendary Kyoto knife shop has been run by the Hayakawa family for 120 years, and the old master plans to retire and close up shop next year. My son wasn’t even the craziest one there, though — one American had shown up even earlier than him. Jason had three knives engraved with first names in traditional Chinese — one for each of the men in our household (no time left for last names).

Jason met up with us at the flea market around 10:30, grinning and loaded down with a haul of ceramics and a pair of pants for Nari. I scored a nice medium cotton tote with hand-embroidered patterns, and David picked up fresh figs.

We had lunch at Kiyama (木山) — a one-Michelin-star restaurant, and honestly the best meal of the entire trip. They pump water straight from an on-site well to make dashi, the broth that’s the backbone of Japanese cuisine, and shave bonito flakes tableside — a small ritual that captures a traditional essence of Japanese cooking that’s slowly disappearing elsewhere. Two full hours and course after course of dishes, each one meticulously prepared and perfectly executed. The wasanbon jelly with watermelon was one that actually seems doable at home. The best part? Five different rice dishes, each available in multiple sizes. The guy next to us said “why choose” and went large on all five — absolute rice buffet energy.

Kyoto (Day 2 morning tour)

July 20, 2026: Our most educational day yet — four tours and a headful of wisdom from our guide Miji. Fun fact: Japan has 80,000 shrines and 82,000 temples, more than its 55,000 convenience stores. As Miji put it, “we’re born Shinto, we die Buddhist” — Shinto reveres nature, and in a Japanese garden, stone is bone, trees are skin, water is blood. Kyoto’s claim to fame: sake, kimono, and ceramics (though I’d throw in tea and matcha too). He also introduced us to wabi-sabi — the art of finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence, the opposite of Western polish-and-symmetry. Wabi prizes the humble and imperfect; sabi celebrates the quiet dignity of things worn by time.

The day’s stops:

Kiyomizu-dera — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and arguably Kyoto’s most iconic temple

Nijo Castle — a UNESCO gem built to flex Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s power; no photos allowed inside, but the wall painting replicas were stunning

Nanzenji — a major Zen headquarters dating to the 1200s, rebuilt after being leveled in Muromachi-era wars

Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) — a Zen temple built as a retirement villa, modeled after its flashier cousin Kinkakuji. More subdued — but honestly, I still love the Golden Pavilion more