Kyoto Surprise on Mom's 70th Birthday | Arashiyama, Dashi & Chopstick Making | Life in Japan | Vlog

Mom turned 70 — and she had no idea I was secretly making her a birthday gift the entire time. We took the train to Arashiyama for a proper dashi lunch, wandered through rainy Kyoto streets, and ended up at a chopstick workshop where I carved, planed, and (barely) shaped a pair of chopsticks with a hidden message engraved on it. Watching her read it was the moment of the trip. This is Part 2 of our 3-part Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo series. 📍 IN THIS EPISODE: 0:28 — Mom arrives for her birthday 🎂 1:29 — Train ride to Arashiyama 🚃 2:18 — Lunch @出汁と米 MUKU Arashiyama 5:13 — Rainy Arashiyama streets & souvenir shop ☔ 5:33 — Arashiyama riverbank walk 6:30 — Chopsticks Studio Kyoto 8:00 — The struggle is real (purple heartwood is no joke) 13:28 — Arashiyama at night & the ride home 🌏 OUR JOURNEY SO FAR For over 13 years, we’ve been documenting ordinary days and little adventures while living in different corners of the world. From Shanghai to Jakarta to Dubai, and now Tokyo, these videos are our way of slowing down enough to notice life as it happens — the quiet moments, the transitions, the small things that end up meaning the most. Expect weekly vlogs about life abroad, everyday experiences, and making sense of it all one breath at a time.