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Backyard Coffee and Jazz in Kyoto

(thedeletedscenes.substack.com)
592 points wyclif | 1 comments | 23 Jun 25 14:37 UTC | HN request time: 0.211s | source
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low_tech_love ◴[24 Jun 25 07:40 UTC] No.44363763[source]▶
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.)

replies(3): >>44364133 #>>44366115 #>>44373001 #
1. olelele ◴[24 Jun 25 08:53 UTC] No.44364133[source]▶
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 :)