What are your future travel plans?

Next month, my partner and I will be heading to Kobe, Japan.

It’s not our first time in Japan, and we’re not chasing the usual dream destinations.

This trip doesn’t come with any grand meaning.

We’re just tired, and we want to give our hearts a chance to breathe again.

Even the name Kobe feels poetic.

“Ko” means god, and “be” means door or gate.

A city quietly resting between the mountains and the sea—like a door gently left open, waiting for us to walk through.

We haven’t planned a packed itinerary.

Maybe we’ll stroll through the old Western houses of Kitano Ijinkan.

Maybe we’ll stay up on Mount Maya until the night view slowly lights up the harbor.

Maybe we’ll just sit by the sea at Maiko Park and listen to the waves beneath the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge.

One thing’s for sure: we’ll treat ourselves to a proper meal of Kobe beef.

Not for the luxury, but because we’ve both earned it.

To sit across from each other, clink glasses, and say “You’ve done well.” Sometimes, that’s all that needs to be said.

We also want to visit a few local shrines.

Not to pray for anything big—just to walk through the torii gates, wash our hands, and take a quiet moment to reconnect with ourselves.

In the scent of incense and the stillness of the grounds, we’ll slow down enough to hear what’s been buried beneath the noise.

This trip isn’t about escaping.

It’s not about proving anything, or collecting photos.

It’s just time.

Time for us.

To be close, to rest, to let life fall back into rhythm.

So, what are my future travel plans?

I’m going to Kobe—with the person I love.

We’re not making any promises to the future.

We just want to live these few days fully and gently—

and then, go home.