5 years from today. 2024. I’ll be 45. A day in the life of me, imagined. A writing exercise in daydreaming about the future, as if I was writing it in the present.

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Our machiya home is in a hyper-local neighbourhood, and that’s probably the best part of being here in Kyoto. 

Every morning our children join the other kids on their way to school. There’s an international child care centre nearby, and the teachers had been nothing but fantastic. Gentle but firm, nurturing but not controlling, polite yet warm. There’s a certain uniqueness to the Japanese style of teaching kids that we have so much to learn from, as parents. We’re so glad to be here, to expose the children to this way of being, as well as to learn it for ourselves.

There’s so much I enjoy about just being a part of the local hood, to the point that I try to work from home most days (instead of cafes or co-working spaces). As a digital nomad running my own product businesses online, it’s a privilege to be able to do so in such an environment. Working on my laptop for a few hours, then cycling to the nearby supermarket for food and back, was just domestic bliss.

Cruising down the homely local alleyways.

Champagne sunlight with a quiet breeze.

Tote bag full of sweet Japanese strawberries and rice onigiris.

Heaven.