Living in Japan changes you. Not all at once, but slowly—like one of Kyoto’s temple gardens that I walk through every week while guiding my tours. The transformation is subtle, accumulating in small details: a different way of breathing, observing, responding to everyday chaos.After three years in the Kansai region, I realized something I never expected: Stoicism and Zen, despite being born worlds apart, aim for the same inner freedom—even if they take opposite routes to get
