記事: We Go Looking for Coffee First: Japan Is Part of Us

A hand wearing the coin rings, holding a cup of tea, on a morning in Japan

We Go Looking for Coffee First: Japan Is Part of Us

We have been to Japan ten times now. Before every trunk show we wake early and go find coffee, a different place each time, the two of us walking while the city is still quiet. In the evenings we sit at small bars and watch a bartender build a single cocktail with more care than most people give to anything.

March and April for the cherry blossoms. December for the cold: museums, galleries, getting lost on purpose. Tokyo's Minami-Aoyama and Kyoto. Ten trips and we still can't pick a favorite. By the last days we've walked so far that we book a hotel with an onsen and barely leave it.

The part we look forward to most is walking into the shops that carry us and seeing someone wearing a piece we made. Spanish and Japanese sit closer together than people expect, since the vowels land in the same places, so we keep a list and practice before every trip. Konnichiwa. Arigatō gozaimasu. It isn't much yet, but we're working on it. Nihon ga daisuki desu.