This is my absolute favourite (so far...) of your essays/thoughts on experience in Japan. I adore this. I want to discover this cafe. I can feel and sense it through your wonderful descriptions.
", and one DSLR camera squatting on the glass tabletop like a panther." -- so good!
"I can’t claim to understand but there are in fact people who don’t care for cats." -- I know, right!
Thank you so much, Nathan! I had a breakthrough after reading Zinsser's On Writing Well (plus discovering Craig Mod's fantastic Japan newsletter) that really made travel writing click for me. After that I wanted to experiment with more travelogue-ish pieces & this one was the first one I wrote. Hope to go on more adventures & write about a variety of places in Japan!
Well, you nailed it! I've always thoroughly enjoyed your pieces on Japan but this one really elevates things imo, so keep at it and I can't wait for more.
I wish I had kissa to go discover. ;)
I mean, there's plenty of independent cafes here with their own vibes, but morning like what you describe.
Great piece, Vanessa. I host a writing group during the week and we meet about 40 minutes from my home. People ask why i waste time driving to a market when I could just write. Sometimes, more productive and effective work occurs when I am away from the distractions of home and sitting with others, listening to the click of their fingers on keyboards and background gibber jabber of other patrons.
I once spent two weeks wandering the streets of Boston looking for the perfect writing cafe. I never found it. In existential defiance, I wrote a bad story about the experience. Maybe if I’d found a place like yours, I would have written a good one.
What was the perfect writing cafe you were hoping to find? I've never had trouble finding great places to write in towns or cities. Usually there's at least one place with good coffee & pastries where you can plant your laptop (or notebook). Maybe my expectations are reasonably low haha.
This is my absolute favourite (so far...) of your essays/thoughts on experience in Japan. I adore this. I want to discover this cafe. I can feel and sense it through your wonderful descriptions.
", and one DSLR camera squatting on the glass tabletop like a panther." -- so good!
"I can’t claim to understand but there are in fact people who don’t care for cats." -- I know, right!
Cat people unite, right?!
Thank you so much, Nathan! I had a breakthrough after reading Zinsser's On Writing Well (plus discovering Craig Mod's fantastic Japan newsletter) that really made travel writing click for me. After that I wanted to experiment with more travelogue-ish pieces & this one was the first one I wrote. Hope to go on more adventures & write about a variety of places in Japan!
Well, you nailed it! I've always thoroughly enjoyed your pieces on Japan but this one really elevates things imo, so keep at it and I can't wait for more.
I wish I had kissa to go discover. ;)
I mean, there's plenty of independent cafes here with their own vibes, but morning like what you describe.
Great piece, Vanessa. I host a writing group during the week and we meet about 40 minutes from my home. People ask why i waste time driving to a market when I could just write. Sometimes, more productive and effective work occurs when I am away from the distractions of home and sitting with others, listening to the click of their fingers on keyboards and background gibber jabber of other patrons.
How fascinating. I love hearing about these unusual cultural oddities. Glad you waited to get inside!
Thank you, Shoni! I love collecting them, wish I had more time for exploration.
I once spent two weeks wandering the streets of Boston looking for the perfect writing cafe. I never found it. In existential defiance, I wrote a bad story about the experience. Maybe if I’d found a place like yours, I would have written a good one.
What was the perfect writing cafe you were hoping to find? I've never had trouble finding great places to write in towns or cities. Usually there's at least one place with good coffee & pastries where you can plant your laptop (or notebook). Maybe my expectations are reasonably low haha.