I still carry a camera on every experience I host.
At first, people probably think it is because Kyoto is beautiful. And of course it is. There are temple roofs in soft evening light, lanterns glowing in narrow streets, cherry blossoms that make people stop mid-sentence, and quiet corners that seem to hold centuries inside them.
A glimpse of Ryuki beyond Kyoto's temples and historic streets
But that is not the real reason.
The real reason is Lars. He was my first guest.
I was nervous before meeting him. I wanted to be a good host. I wanted to say the right things, explain Kyoto properly, and make sure the day felt special. Lars had traveled from the Netherlands to visit Japan, a dream he had carried since he was a teenager, and I felt the weight of that.
Looking back, I do not remember whether I explained everything perfectly.
I remember how the day felt.
By evening, we were walking through Fushimi Inari. The crowds had started to thin, and the torii gates felt different from the busy hours earlier in the day. The mountain was quieter. Our footsteps sounded softer. Every now and then, a temple bell seemed to drift through the air from somewhere beyond the trees.
We talked as we walked.
About Japan and the Netherlands. About Kyoto, food, culture, and the different lives that had brought us both to that same path at the same time. Later, in Gion, the conversation continued through the backstreets. We spoke about geiko and maiko, but also about ordinary things: family, interests, hopes, and what it feels like to finally stand in a place you once only imagined.
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Somewhere during that day, I stopped feeling like a guide.
It felt like two people simply sharing Kyoto together.
After his trip, Lars sent me a message I never forgot. He told me our day together had been one of the highlights of his time in Japan. Then he compared it to Kyoto’s cherry blossoms.
Ryuki and Lars beneath Kyoto's cherry blossoms during a memorable day together
“Short, but perfect.”
I smiled when I read it.
Then life moved on.
Years later, his family contacted me. Lars had passed away after a lifelong struggle with autism. Along with that sad news, they told me something I was not prepared for.
The photographs from our day in Kyoto had become precious to them.
Lars rarely took photographs throughout his life. But he had taken pictures that day. To his family, they were not just travel photos. They were proof of a dream fulfilled. A happy day. A version of someone they loved, standing in the city he had always wanted to see.
I remember sitting with that message for a long time.
That was when I understood something I had not understood before.
I thought I was showing people Kyoto.
But sometimes, without knowing it, I was helping them create memories their families might one day hold close.
That changed me.
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The places matter, but the moments stay with you. Explore Kyoto with a local host who helps you connect with the city through its stories, traditions, and unexpected encounters.
Explore Kyoto ExperiencesNow, when I host in Kyoto, I pay attention differently. I still care about the history, the temples, the shrines, and the stories behind each place. But I also look for the quieter things: a guest standing still beneath the torii gates, friends laughing in a narrow street, someone looking up at a temple roof and taking a few extra seconds because the moment means more than they can explain.
Ryuki sharing a peaceful moment with guests in Kyoto's Bamboo Grove
Those are the things I try to notice now.
Those are the things I photograph.
Lars once compared our day to Kyoto’s cherry blossoms: short, but perfect.
I understand that differently now. A guest arrives. We spend a few hours together. We walk, talk, eat, laugh, take photographs, and then they leave. Most of the time, none of us know which part of the day will stay.
Maybe it will be Fushimi Inari at dusk.
Maybe it will be a quiet street in Gion.
Maybe it will be a conversation neither person expected to have.
Lars taught me that we do not always know when a simple day becomes important.
That is why I still carry a camera.
Not because every moment needs to be saved, but because some memories become more valuable with time. And sometimes, a day in Kyoto becomes more than a tour.
Sometimes, it becomes something someone keeps.
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