Two years after my study abroad in Kyoto, I returned to the city during my fall break at the IUC Yokohama. I found the city bustling with people, the complete opposite of emptiness I experienced during the covid years I lived in Kansai. It was beautiful to see so many people enjoying Kyoto, yet a part of me wished I could see the city with less people one more time. I wandered the familiar sites of 寺町 (Teramachi), 鴨川 (Kamo River) and 伏見稲荷大社 (Fushimi Inari Taisha). It brought me back to a time when being in Japan was less about work and more about having fun.