ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

The Joy of Repetition: Why Revisiting Old Holiday Spots Can Be Rewarding

other · 2026-07-30

Yo Zushi, Monocle's chief sub editor, reflects on the comfort and joy of repeating holiday routines, drawing on personal anecdotes and the words of Nelson Mandela. He notes that children love repetition for learning, and adults can also benefit from familiar escapes. Zushi describes his son's insistence on returning to Whitstable, England, and his own childhood summers on Mitarai island near Hiroshima. He argues that revisiting unchanged places can reveal how we have changed ourselves.

Key facts

  • Yo Zushi is Monocle's chief sub editor.
  • Zushi's son Kurt, age nine, wants to return to Whitstable, England.
  • Whitstable is a coastal town in England.
  • Zushi's family trips to Whitstable followed a set itinerary.
  • Zushi spent childhood summers on Mitarai island near Hiroshima.
  • The house on Mitarai was once a soy-sauce factory.
  • Nelson Mandela wrote 'Long Walk to Freedom'.
  • Mandela's quote: 'There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.'

Entities

Artists

  • Yo Zushi
  • Julia Goddard
  • Nelson Mandela

Institutions

  • Monocle

Locations

  • Whitstable
  • England
  • Mitarai
  • Hiroshima
  • Japan
  • London

Sources