Connecting with International IT Engineers: Joint Events with Digital Nomad Kyoto

Walking through Kyoto, you increasingly see visitors working with laptops open. Many are “digital nomads”—IT engineers and creators who earn a living through remote work while traveling around the world without being tied to one place.

Miyako de IT, Kyoto's IT-engineer community, holds joint events with the international digital-nomad community Digital Nomad Kyoto, creating opportunities for international exchange among IT engineers.

Why digital nomads choose Kyoto

• Cultural appeal: Shrines and temples with more than a thousand years of history, and traditional machiya architecture
• Strong infrastructure: High-speed Wi-Fi and reliable public transportation
• Safety and cleanliness: An outstanding level of public safety by global standards
• Food culture: High-quality food ranging from Kyoto cuisine to affordable set meals

What is Digital Nomad Kyoto?

Digital Nomad Kyoto is a project that combines Kyoto's traditional culture with modern life and helps create an environment where digital nomads can stay and work comfortably.

What the joint events are like

• Languages: Japanese and English
• Format: Co-working study session plus networking time
• Venue: Primarily Butsugenji Temple

Some people worry about the language barrier, but programming languages and technology are shared across borders. If you show someone your code and ask, “What do you think?”, communication can work even when neither person's spoken language is perfect.

Topics that can come up at a co-hosted event

The following is neither the result of measuring change in participants nor a record of what organizers logged at individual editions. These are topics that can come up when you sit alongside people who have come from abroad.

1. Ways of working you would not otherwise meet: European approaches to work and how startups run elsewhere can become ordinary chat between participants. 2. Technical topics carry a smaller vocabulary load than everyday conversation: Because the terminology is shared, this is a subject on which conversation tends to work even when someone is not confident in English. We have not measured whether anyone's language ability improved. 3. You meet people who keep moving: Digital nomads travel. Someone you meet in Kyoto may be in another country the following month. We have not confirmed whether this led to employment, contracts, or joint development.

What to prepare before your first visit

Preparing something to talk about matters more than preparing your English.

• Be able to name one thing you are working on — "I'm using React right now" or "I'm learning Rust" is enough to start a conversation
• Have something you can show on screen — unfinished work is fine. Showing code or an app halves the explaining
• Prepare a three-sentence introduction — your name, your work, and what you are currently interested in. Nothing more is needed
• Check power and Wi-Fi — the co-working format runs for several hours, and a dead battery leaves you with nothing to do

Keeping a translation app open is also useful. There is no need to feel awkward about using one.

How the day runs

A bilingual session usually follows this shape.

1. Check-in and introductions — one round in both Japanese and English. Your name, and one line on what you are working on

2. Focused work time — everyone works on their own task. There is no conversation here

3. Break and networking — showing each other screens, or asking about something you are stuck on

4. Sharing results — a short report on what you did. Things that did not work are also worth sharing

Conversation is only required in steps 3 and 4. This is not a session where you speak English continuously, which makes it approachable if you are not confident in the language.

Running a bilingual event: notes from the organiser side

• Write the announcement in both languages from the start — overseas participants cannot apply to a Japanese-only listing. Add both at the outset rather than translating afterwards
• Show the way to the venue in photos — an address alone will not get someone unfamiliar with the area to the door, particularly when the venue is a temple or a machiya
• Make the schedule boundaries explicit — when languages mix, a vague transition leaves participants unsure what to do. Announce the start, break, and sharing times in advance
• Decide the order of sharing beforehand — "whoever wants to go first" is hard to act on in a second language. A fixed order gets everyone speaking

Common worries, and what actually happens

"Can I take part if I do not speak English?" — In what we have seen while running these sessions, participants who do not speak English as a first language also attend. Stringing words together is enough for a conversation to work. "Will I stand out if my technical level is low?" — In a co-working format everyone works on their own task, so levels do not need to match. People who are still learning attend. "Is it all right to come alone?" — Some people do come alone. Because introductions are built into the schedule, the organisers provide the first opening.

If your organization is considering co-hosting

This article covers preparation for attending. The split of roles, the definition of the attendance figures, and the items that remain unconfirmed are set out in the Digital Nomad Kyoto co-hosting case.

Conclusion

As globalization and remote work spread, the world of IT engineering is becoming increasingly borderless. Since its launch in 2019, Miyako de IT has brought together more than 637 members and held more than 159 events. Come experience a Kyoto IT-engineer community connected to the world.

• Miyako de IT official site
• connpass
• Netsujo Inc.