The Future Is The Past

3/30/2026

The Future Is The Past

There is no better way to get a feel for a city than visiting the markets. We spent a good chunk of our first day in Kyoto at the 400+ year old Nishiki Market. We arrived before it opened to get a sense of the place.

There were spots to eat tempura about every 30 feet.

Some places where the food looked great-

And some others, not so much-

And some that would a personal apocalypse-

It is such a mix of old and new here.

Many of the taxis are Toyotas right out of the 1970s.

The drivers wear suits. The vehicles have white lace seat covers.

Best of all , the rear doors open and close automatically, but you have to “roll” the windows down manually! Hilarious.

Can’t tell you the last time I ever had a newspaper at the door of my hotel room in the morning!

Okay. Time for a song because I am not Rick Steeves.

JAPANESE TELECOM are an outfit that embody the spirit of my travels. I first heard this record playing in 2024 at Undergound Solutions in Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 only to find out the artist is literally from my backyard in Detroit Michigan 🇺🇸!!

I now know this is one of the vehicles that GERALD DONALD performs as.