The Essential List 07. Teresa Wu's Travel Favorites
The expandable tote she brings in her carry-on, a clever device, cozy cashmere socks, and advice on how to travel well.
Today, I’m excited to feature Teresa Wu, the writer of
, a weekly newsletter on creating a home, traveling well, and gathering beautifully. A woman of many interests and talents, Teresa is an endless well of thoughtful advice, has a great eye for home and design, and can always be relied on for excellent travel recommendations.First, Teresa shares her tried and tested travel essentials. Then, I share our Q&A about her go-to resources for travel inspiration and planning, an incredibly dreamy stay in Japan, her personal packing formula, and what she likes to shop for when she is on the road. Enjoy!
Rimowa Luggage I love that Rimowas are classic and chic, but far less ubiquitous at the airport than other DTC suitcase brands. This one’s my go-to carry-on bag.
MUJI Refillable Travel Bottles I decant all of my toiletries into refillable MUJI bottles. They have spray bottles, pump bottles, squeeze tubes, little jars, etc. I usually restock at the SF, NY, or Tokyo store because I like being able to clearly see their sizes in person, but you can grab them online, too. I love that they’re not branded and very affordable.
Longchamp Expandable Tote This expandable tote is my secret to schlepping home souvenirs from my travels. It folds up into a tiny square that I can easily fit into my carry-on. I once brought a huge vintage olive oil jar home from Paros in it. I don’t go anywhere I plan to shop without it.
AirFly Pro This is a very clever little device that plugs into the airplane’s headphone jack, so you can watch movies with your own AirPods or Bluetooth headphones of choice. It’s a total game changer!
Biore Watery Essence Sunscreen This is my holy grail everyday sunscreen—no white cast or cakiness. I first discovered it while I was living in Japan and have been using it for a decade. Recently a solicitor selling a dairy subscription rang my doorbell and asked to speak to my parents, so I think it’s working.
Rosie Sugden Cashmere Socks On a long-haul flight, wearing soft cashmere socks, doing some crossword puzzles, writing in my journal, and listening to a good playlist makes it all feel a little more civilized. These are the loveliest quality!
Formerly a Google/startup marketer,
is currently a writer, author, real estate investor, host, and design-lover. She has written for Travel & Leisure, CNN, and Glamour and has been featured on NPR, The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal.Tell me about your background and what you're doing now.
I guess I'm what Athena Calderone calls a “multi-hyphenate,” though that feels like a bit much to say. I’ve been in marketing at tech companies for most of my career, doing everything from community to product marketing to content strategy. These days, I spend a good chunk of time on real estate. I've renovated half a dozen homes for flips and rentals, from remodeling my own house in Denver to turning a fixer upper by Lake Michigan into an Airbnb.
I'm especially obsessed with creating rituals, celebrations, and gatherings, and figuring out how to do those things with more purpose, intention, and beauty.
I also write a weekly newsletter,
, where I share recommendations, essays, and advice on home, travel, and gathering. I'm especially obsessed with creating rituals, celebrations, and gatherings, and figuring out how to do those things with more purpose, intention, and beauty.
What are your favorite travel resources for finding inspiration and for when you’re in the planning stage?
I try to find experts, locals, or frequent visitors who have a deeper knowledge or distinct point of view on a location. On an Italy trip last year, I followed Katie Parla's guidance religiously— she's a Rome-based food writer and cookbook author who has eaten all over Italy.
Another little trick I use is searching for podcast episodes that cover a specific location. For example, we listened to this podcast with Livguine about dishes to try in Piedmont while on the drive over from Venice, and it was the perfect introduction to the region's cuisine.
I'm constantly bookmarking travel recommendations from people who are in the know and who whose taste I trust.
’s Miami guide is the best I've come across. She shared a few of my favorite Miami restaurants and venues, so I know I’ll love her other recs. I recently discovered the app AmiGo through , and I've been browsing the app for recommendations, too.We are kind of last minute travelers— we often end up booking things within a month or two, which is both good and bad. On one hand, availability is obviously limited. On the other hand, it forces you not to plan your itinerary around chasing Instagram hotspots.
I’ll also ask well-traveled friends for their Google Maps and itineraries— personally, my Google Map notes are way too chaotic to share with anybody else, but we all have that one type A friend whose Maps are beautifully organized and labeled. It's all about finding the people in your network who you know have similar travel preferences to you and then seeking out what they love.
I try not to over plan— usually I’ll schedule one meal and one or two activities a day. Then I’ll leave the rest of the time for exploring, and pull up Maps to see if there’s anything nearby I saved that I don’t want to miss.
We are kind of last minute travelers— we often end up booking things within a month or two, which is both good and bad. On one hand, availability is obviously limited. On the other hand, it reduces analysis paralysis and forces you not to plan your itinerary around chasing Instagram hotspots.
Do you prefer hotels or Airbnb/rentals?
In the last few years, I’ve been leaning more toward hotels. I think the short-term rental experience has become a bit inconsistent, and the value is not always there anymore. The exception is for a group stay when we're traveling with like 10 people— we value having shared hangout space with friends and family.
What’s your most memorable stay?
There is a ryokan on the Izu Peninsula of Japan called Asaba Inn, in the hot springs town of Shuzenji. I’m a little scared to tell people about it because I always want to be able to book it! (This is not one that you can usually plan last minute for.)
It was built in 1675, and it’s still run by the same family today. The property is very traditional with tatami mat floors throughout, but it’s completely renovated, so it feels modern and fresh, with all the luxury amenities you’d want.
It's the most relaxed I have ever been. It sort of ruined all ryokans for me.
The entire experience is completely magical, and the service is impeccable. When you first arrive, they size you up while you’re getting out of the taxi. In the two minutes that they’re walking you through the property, your perfectly sized yukata (Japanese pajamas), luggage, tea, and sweets are placed in your room. Our room overlooked a Japanese garden and had a hinoki tub in it where hot springs water was piped in. There’s also a stunning outdoor onsen set next to a pond and bamboo forest.
The kaiseki dinner is served in the private dining area of your room. It’s multiple courses of beautiful, seasonal food. The bedding is otherworldly. I’ve never slept better. It's the most relaxed I have ever been. It sort of ruined all ryokans for me.
What is the one place that you can’t wait to return to, and what is the destination at the top of your wishlist? Conversely, is there anywhere that you wouldn’t go back to?
Japan is the place that we love to go to again and again— I think I’ve been 10 times in total. We always do three to five days in Tokyo. We still have a lot of friends there so we like to catch up with them and visit all our favorite spots. Then we usually do a night or two at a ryokan in the countryside, and we also try to find one new destination we’ve never been to. On our recent trip we went to Fukuoka and Hiroshima, both of which were new to us.
I think the art of discovery is sort of lost in travel these days, though. Sometimes you do come across a special gem and sometimes you just wind up in this random town where nothing’s going on. But if you don't try those things, you will never find the magical places.
The place that I’m most looking forward to going is South Africa, but it’s more than a 24-hour journey from Denver and we’d want to go for at least two weeks, so it’s evaded us so far.
Sometimes I'll try going somewhere that I randomly find and it doesn't pan out. We were headed to Portugal, and I came across a town called Sesimbra, which someone mentioned was a cute little local spot. It was okay, but there was not much to see— probably not worth the stop. I think the art of discovery is sort of lost in travel these days, though. Sometimes you do come across a special gem and sometimes you just wind up in this random town where nothing’s going on. But if you don't try those things, you will never find the magical places.
What’s your packing style? e.g. carry-on vs checked bag, roll vs fold vs packing cubes, toiletries, etc.
90% of the time I carry on only. One time my bag was stuck in Budapest for a week while we were bopping around Europe— we’ve just had too many experiences in the past where our bags have gotten lost. It’s also so much easier to be able to land and just get going.
I'm a pretty minimalist packer. It helps that my wardrobe leans neutral. I roll— I do not use packing cubes. The formula I start with is three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes and then depending on the location or the weather I’ll add or subtract a bit and pack different toppers, like a blazer, denim jacket, camel coat, or trench.
On longer trips I’ve been employing something I saw on Instagram— where you take a photo of each outfit, copy the cutout of your body (you know how iPhones do this now?), and paste them into your Notes app. It’s a good reminder of the different outfit combinations and it helps me to get dressed faster. I consider it a sign of success if I wore everything that I brought with me.
I love the MUJI toiletry containers that are included on my list. They're very simple, non-branded, and they come in a bunch of different shapes and sizes so it's nice to be able to decant whatever you need. I don’t bring a whole lot in terms of toiletries— typically just my vitamin CE, moisturizer, makeup remover, and a few makeup essentials.
What kind of things do you like to shop for when you travel? What are some of your best finds?
I love shopping for ceramics and glassware, since they’re both functional and beautiful. A few favorite things I’ve brought home are some glazed plates from De Monio in Deia (highly recommend this shop!), some serveware from Oaxaca, and a Nason Moretti mouthblown glass vase from Murano.
On my last trip to Japan I had certain things that I wanted to find and specific shops that I’d wanted to go to, so on that trip, I had a more dialed-in list. But most of the time, I'm just on the lookout for beautiful home things, jewelry, ornaments, and specialty ingredients or snacks. If we’re visiting a wine region, we’ll also often ship wine home, too.
My husband actually taught me to start collecting things from our travels. When I first met him, I rarely brought anything back that was bigger than a deck of cards. He had this set of wine glasses from Alsace, France, and my mind was boggled that he’d brought them home. To me, it seemed so burdensome to figure out how to carry things around while you were going from place to place. He was like, “Yeah, it’s a little annoying when you're on your trip, but once you get home you have this thing forever that always reminds you of that specific memory.” He might regret telling me that now, because I do not hold back on shopping when I’m abroad.
I think it’s a really special feeling to know someone saw something, thought of you, and took up precious cargo space to bring that thing home for you.
We also love gifting, especially for the little kids in our lives. I remember being so delighted by little trinkets my dad would bring home from work trips when I was a kid, regardless of what they were, really. I had this carved wooden shoe sailboat from the Netherlands that I was obsessed with. He probably got it in an airport souvenir shop, but I loved it. In Tokyo last month, we found a little bento set for our niece and the cutest Onitsuka sneakers for our friend’s toddler. I think it’s a really special feeling to know someone saw something, thought of you, and took up precious cargo space to bring that thing home for you.
Thank you, Teresa! You have the best recommendations and now I’m dreaming of relaxing in a hot spring at Asaba Inn (but I promise to check with you first to make sure I never steal your dates!).
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Love Teresa’s recs and agree the Longchamp bag is the best! I have and love
Yay! So pleased to see this. I always love Teresa’s thoughtfully curated picks and travel suggestions.
Also ‘a solicitor selling a dairy subscription rang my doorbell and asked to speak to my parents, so I think it’s working’ made me LOL big time. Sold! xx