Steve Jobs in Kyoto
If you go through the entire article, you'll find a link to a documentary that just came out about SJ's love of Japanese art.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/special/episode/202101020...
The Ryokan that they mention he always stayed at is apparently very good: https://www.annees-de-pelerinage.com/tawaraya-ryokan-review-...
"Concierge service at the breakfast table is good, but the story goes on. On my way out one of the porters silently approached me and said: “Schwarze-sama, we checked the weather forecast and there will be rain this evening. So here is an umbrella to take along. Also, we took the liberty of reserving a table at that restaurant you wanted to go. Oh and last thing: here is a city plan for you where we already detailed down the way to Fushimi Inari.” It goes without saying that the guy responsible for my shoes already set out my hiking shoes and not one of my city or evening shoes. Even he knew of my plans."
Apple during Steve Jobs era felt very much as his interpretation of Japanese Culture and Zen Buddhism. Everything from Product Design to Apple Store and Services. The only thing that Japanese dont get ( and they somehow still dont ) is Software.
Tim Cook first visit to Japan was in 2016 for business reasons. So I am going to say he has very little understanding of Japanese Zen culture, everything Steve took and put it into Apple.
Very unfortunate Tim Cook's Apple is nothing like Steve Jobs' Apple. It tuns out "Taste" and "Editor" is such a rare and unique skill set.
> Oshima says he would even jokingly ask Jobs to name one of Apple's products 'Hiro.'
That's not a bad alternative to 'Siri'
> "I told him it would be impossible to enter but he said he might have a way," says Oshima. "He called his secretary in the US and ten minutes later, I got a call from the Nomura headquarters saying that we had a reservation for a personal viewing the following day."
My favorite casual Apple flex like this is the aerial screensaver on the Apple TV that was very obviously shot in 120fps in 4 or 8K (the published video is 4K) from a drone flying over an active LAX. (The drone's flight paths appear to be restricted to over the passenger terminal and taxiways, but still.)
Most people would miss the significance, but very few organizations on Earth would be authorized to get such footage.
If you’re ever in Kyoto set aside a whole day for the train museum. It’s absolutely through the roof train paradise.
Kyoto and the ryokan experience is incredible. I will go for the rest of my life.
Fixed that for you:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji/@35.0343654,...
Too bad he couldn’t have gotten his tour guide and friend in too:
> When they returned, an interpreter was waiting for Jobs. Oshima waited outside in the car.
> "When he came back out an hour later, he told me: 'I would like to have a garden like that.'"
Interesting, I was just finishing his biography and it was repeatedly mentioned how he was inspired by his trips to Kyoto and the Japanese Zen mindset in general. Also, his daughter and his son also wanted to visit Kyoto when Jobs asked them to pick a location upon graduation for the very same reasons.
Personally, I loved Kyoto when I was in Japan for a week. It carries in itself an air of calm and serenity wherever you go. I remember I was walking around the homes and alleys outside of Fushimi Inari and it was as magical as the shrine itself.
I agree with the late Steve; Kyoto is sublime.
> Ohnishi started Jobs off with flounder sushi, then squid and shrimp...he served toro, the fatty part of tuna
Was Steve Jobs not a vegetarian?
I have to assume their shared love of Japan is one of the reasons Jobs and Larry Ellison were so close.
Kyoto is such an amazing place, truly unique. I have been there 3 times and i think i must have seen and experienced only 5% of it.
I wonder if the Nomura Villa is ever open for public viewing?
It always frustrates me when techies have an irreverence for Steve Jobs, or let his brashness overshadow the value he bestowed upon the world.
Jobs was once asked what distinguishes the ordinary from the great, and he said it boils down to "taste". he also described his job as being "an editor".
instead of adding more and more, he decided what to sacrifice and what to focus on making great. that's a rare quality, especially in tech.
I wish I had known of this side of him when I visited Japan 3 years ago :/ Interesting article! Also, the documentary someone else linked below is good!
Jobs was vegan, is that right?
>He might have been aware of when his life would end, since he passed away just one year later," says Ohnishi. "Maybe that's why he chose not to write the whole sentence, and only the first three words."
This isnt a popular opinion since HN (and media) tends to deify Jobs, but people forget he died an ignorant death at his own hand. Jobs was diagnosed with a curable cancer and against all reason, he decided eating fruit would fix the problem.
The idea that Jobs had any deep philosophical ponderance of the human condition or introspection on his own mortality is comical.
> "But he has passed away and now he's in heaven."
no, he doesn't exist anymore.