Malia Yoshioka is a freelance Food & Travel Writer and ESL Tutor from Hawaii. She's slowly eating her way around the world, 43 countries and counting so far! Get behind the scenes news, travel tips and the best food stories from around the web in her weekly Savor the Journey newsletter.
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How we mark time when we are far from home 🌍
Published 3 months ago • 4 min read
👋 Greetings from Kyoto!
It’s that liminal space between Christmas and the year’s end where I often forget which day it is. Do you feel it too?
When traveling, this effect can be magnified. Without routine, daily habits can be harder to stick to, and there’s always something happening, somewhere to go, or someone to meet.
This past week in Kyoto was a reminder of how important being social is for me when I travel solo, even at this stage of life.
Somewhere in the middle of all the hustle and bustle this week, I also finally lived out a long-held curiosity and tried to experience KFC Christmas in Japan.
It’s a bit kitschy, commercial, and not necessarily something that ALL Japanese families actually do, but the lines are real, the hype is real, and it has quietly spilled over into roast and fried chicken everywhere this time of year.
I even tried (and failed) to preorder a bucket, but still ended up celebrating with old and new friends!
As the year winds down, moments like these feel like a natural pause before looking ahead.
Happy holidays,
👉 How will you be celebrating the holidays this year? Do you have any special traditions or dishes that will be on the menu?
✨ Featured on Shoyu Sugar
My word for the year was EXPLORE in 2008, the year we began this tradition. In 2025, I chose ADRIFT. What's your word for the year?
A tradition for the new year 💌
This week I opened my Letter to the Universe from last year and laughed out loud.
The final line read, “Maybe by 2026 I’ll make it back to Japan.”
I had completely forgotten I’d written that, and here I am reading it from Kyoto. A quiet reminder that intentions have a way of unfolding when you least expect them.
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Destination Inspiration ✈
Culinary Backstreets is offering 15% off on all their food tours through the end of the year, with the code CBCHEER25. I highly recommend their Istanbul tours and will have a post coming about one in Tokyo soon, stay tuned!
Byway Travel Journal lets us in on new European train routes for 2026, including the first ever line to link Central Europe to Scandinavia.
Enter for a trip for 2 to New York City to see Liberation on Broadway and meet Sara Bareilles! Enter by 12/30. Details here.
Turn your dream bucket list restaurant reservation into reality for you and three friends courtesy of Fine Dining Lovers and Pellegrino. Create your list and enter by 12/31. Details here
HGTV is offering a chance to win $5000 cash in their $5k for Holiday giveaway. You can enter once per day until 1/7. Details here.
The Meal-a-Day Method shows you how to use one meal a day as your language practice anchor, with a short video and printable guides you can use on your next trip. Just $5 for newsletter readers.
There’s something about ink, paper, and faraway postmarks that feels like analog magic, don't you think? If you’d like a handwritten postcard from Hawaii, just reply with your mailing address and I’ll add you to my list. ✨💌
👋 Hi, I'm Malia Yoshioka!
I'm a freelance food and travel writer and guidebook author from Hawaii, slowly eating my way around the world and sharing the flavors with you in these weekly updates and on ShoyuSugar.com
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Malia Yoshioka is a freelance Food & Travel Writer and ESL Tutor from Hawaii. She's slowly eating her way around the world, 43 countries and counting so far! Get behind the scenes news, travel tips and the best food stories from around the web in her weekly Savor the Journey newsletter.
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