Backyard Coffee and Jazz in Kyoto

I live in Sweden (as an expat), and I often struggle to explain to outsiders why I think it’s one of the least interesting places I’ve ever been to. There is something missing that I can’t usually grasp with words. This article has made it crystal clear; this kind of thing is non-existent here. Everything is impersonal, distant, matter-of-fact. Next time someone asks me I’ll link this article.

(The next obvious question is always “why are you still there?” and the answer is because it’s a great place to work.)

It is literally impossible to open a small "hole-in-the-wall"-kind of bar in Sweden. In order to sell alcohol you have to also serve warm food which means you have to open a restaurant, and following this means you have to have a kitchen that is approved by very strict hygiene controls. Like having a sink only for kitchen staff to wash their hands.

In the early 20th century the trick in the "Ölcafé" (Beer Café) was to have a sandwich that _no one_ ate that you ordered with your beer and this then gets sent back and forth between customers and the cafe :)

You can have all the infrastructure, safety, and efficiency in the world, but if everything is polished and impersonal, it can start to feel kind of sterile

I left for Germany for this reason

I live in Thailand as an expat and I have the inverse of your experience and more a kin to this article.

There just so many examples like the ones mentioned in the article. When I lived in Chiang Mai I'd just take my bike to any direction and always find something - be it a small noodle cart or a cafe someone opened up in their back yard or a small bar right under an abandoned hotel.

It's incredible how many invisible effects viability of small businesses have on a society.