<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Special Travels — Journal</title><description>Journeys made for one person: you.</description><link>https://special-travels.com/</link><language>en-US</language><item><title>The subtraction of luggage</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/packing-subtraction/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/packing-subtraction/</guid><description>Why we always suggest one less coat — packing and itineraries are the same discipline.</description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Method</category></item><item><title>In a Kyoto machiya, decide the morning first</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/kyoto-machiya-morning/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/kyoto-machiya-morning/</guid><description>A day is not built backwards from dinner. It starts with when the light arrives. How we shape a stay in a townhouse.</description><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Kyoto</category><category>Lodging</category></item><item><title>Choosing not to speak through an interpreter</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/three-languages/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/three-languages/</guid><description>What changes in a journey when Japanese, Chinese and English are all spoken directly.</description><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Thinking</category></item><item><title>What the off-season is for</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/off-season/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/off-season/</guid><description>Fewer people is not the only gift. Some places only tell the truth in the off-season.</description><pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Seasons</category></item><item><title>Is breakfast worth a detour?</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/breakfast-detour/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/breakfast-detour/</guid><description>Breakfast is the first thing an itinerary sacrifices. It is the thing we protect most.</description><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Table</category></item><item><title>Private car, or train?</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/car-or-train/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/car-or-train/</guid><description>How you move decides the character of a journey. It is a design question, not a budget question.</description><pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Transit</category></item><item><title>Onsen etiquette, without the anxiety</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/onsen-etiquette/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/onsen-etiquette/</guid><description>The reason behind a rule is worth more than the rule itself.</description><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Lodging</category></item><item><title>Every good itinerary has a B-side</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/rain-plan/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/rain-plan/</guid><description>A rain plan is not a fallback. Sometimes it beats the original.</description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Method</category></item><item><title>Designing the tempo of a family journey</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/travel-with-parents/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/travel-with-parents/</guid><description>With three generations, the hard part is not where — it is how fast.</description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Company</category></item><item><title>Why we do not plan around photo spots</title><link>https://special-travels.com/en/journal/beyond-photo-spots/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://special-travels.com/en/journal/beyond-photo-spots/</guid><description>A photograph is the receipt of a journey, not the journey.</description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><category>Thinking</category></item></channel></rss>