Google I/O 2025 diary (Day 0, Day 1)
it's I/O!!
I had the good fortune to be invited to Google I/O 2025.
I remember it well, seeing the invitation in my inbox and thinking, "Is it even possible to attend Google I/O!?".
It's a rare opportunity, so I decided to keep a diary. Please note that this will be more like a travel diary than a conference review, so if you're looking for content about I/O itself, you might want to read a different article!!
May 18: The Day Before Departure
It's been a while since I stayed overseas alone, so I was nervous the day before my flight. It was a Sunday, and I went shopping in my neighborhood as usual, but I felt a little fluttery.
By the way, a few months ago, I was more confident, thinking, "I'm sure I'll make friends at I/O, so I'll stay an extra day after I/O finishes." So, this time, I decided to stay an extra night even after the conference ended. Including the pre-conference stay for pre-registration, it's a 4-night, 5-day trip. My heart's pounding.
For preparation, I also referred to the blogs below. Thank you for these valuable articles!!
May 19: Departure ~ Arrival, and I/O Day 0
Departure ~ Arrival in Sunnyvale
It was a ZIPAIR flight, departing from Narita at night and arriving in San Francisco in the afternoon. I was working that day, so I planned to leave a bit early, but I remember panicking because I ended up leaving the house incredibly last minute. I also missed lunch, and got motion sickness on the Narita Express on the way there, which made me feel quite miserable. I probably looked terrible π
Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep easily on the plane, so I just put on an eye mask and closed my eyes. It's a good quality eye mask that I splurged on a while ago, so the only saving grace was how comfortable it was.
I dozed off, occasionally drifting in and out of sleep, or sometimes read manga I had downloaded as e-books.
The catch was that the Mac app for DMM Books required an internet connection the first time I opened a downloaded book. The in-flight Wi-Fi didn't connect well, so I ended up just reading the first volume, which I'd coincidentally opened at the airport to check if it worked. I finished reading "Erased" volume 1, and when I eagerly tried to open volume 2, an error appeared, and it was over :)
Eventually, I arrived at SFO (San Francisco International Airport). Stepping into the daytime world, with no idea if I had truly slept, felt a bit disorienting. If you think of it as the real thrill of traveling to a distant country, it's fun, but I was so nervous that I don't think I had the luxury to enjoy such thoughts π
SF seems to welcome me :)
Now, the venue is Shoreline, a vast, nature-rich area facing San Francisco Bay, north of Mountain View (California), Google's home turf. Google's headquarters are located in a corner of Shoreline, so essentially, the event is held near the headquarters. By the way, this venue is about roughly the same distance from Mountain View and its neighboring city, Sunnyvale. That's why I stayed at a hotel in Sunnyvale.
Google Map
SFO to Sunnyvale is quite far. I arrived at SFO the day before the event. That's because there was pre-registration. It's a common feature of big international conferences: "pre-registration." You get all sorts of swag. Even though I'd never attended an international conference, I knew that. However, this time, the pre-registration notice actually said something like, "Sorry if swag runs out," so I was a little anxious at SFO because my flight was delayed.
Now, if you don't mind spending money on a taxi, it's about a 35-minute ride, but by bus and train, it's 80 minutes. You go via Millbrae and then take Caltrain to Sunnyvale. I thought, "No, but seriously, can swag really run out?? I can get there by 5:30 PM even by bus and train, and registration closes at 7 PM??" So, I chose the latter.
Google Map
Then I took the 292 bus to Millbrae. This time, I used a Clipper Card, which is convenient for using public transportation in California. Many travel blogs and official-looking websites I found during my research said, "Let's install the iOS app :)". But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find it. As I scoured old information at the bus stop, I stumbled upon the following page. It's amazing that you can add it directly from Apple Wallet without installing an app.
The desolate bus stop and my inability to find the app reminded me of the feeling of being alone abroad. Over these five days, I knew I'd have to overcome all sorts of challenges :)
I got off the bus and waited for the Caltrain, a California train, at Millbrae station.
The weather is incredibly good. No matter how tired I am, the California sun doesn't care. La La Land.
Wait, is that train seriously huge!?
So, I immediately went up to the second floor. The view was great. Some people on board were using their laptops, and I thought, 'Is this the real Silicon Valley experience!?' Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure. By the way, the train car was spacious, and there were seats with tables, so you could work.
from Caltrain official HP(https://www.caltrain.com/electrictrainfaq)
Alright, so I also took out my laptop and tried to do some work. I wanted to work on a train in Silicon Valley, you see. I managed to pass one unit test.
While all that was happening, I arrived at Sunnyvale Station and reached my hotel by Lyft. It was called The Grand Hotel. It was listed on Rakuten Travel (one of the biggest travel websites in Japan) and was reasonably priced, so I chose it.
nice!
Official sources did introduce several hotels where Google I/O participants could stay at a special rate, but they were good Marriott-affiliated hotels and still not cheap, so I decided against them this time (by the way, my participation in I/O, including travel and accommodation, was entirely self-funded. It was a bit costly, but I was glad to have the freedom).
By the way, the Deluxe King Room I stayed in at The Grand Hotel was surprisingly large. I was happy about that! It had a proper refrigerator and big windows. The bathroom was also about the size of my usual room, which was nice. Also, the room wasn't new, but it was clean. Overall, I think it was a cost-effective hotel!
I stayed at this room. From The Grand Hotel official HP(https://www.svgrandhotel.com/)
pre-registration ~ Google Office Exploration
It was around 4 PM at this point. I quickly headed to the venue. Getting between the hotel and the venue by public transport is very difficult and takes a roundabout way, so I always ended up using Lyft. I had already accepted this before departure; in fact, that was one reason why I saved a little money on the hotel.
I arrived in about 10 minutes. That was fast! It was worth staying at a nearby hotel.
A photo that perfectly captures the feeling of brightness. It's that bright
Seeing this sign made me think, "Ah, I'm at I/O"
You check in by entering your email address on a Pixelbook
After checking in, I received the following goods. I couldn't take good photos myself, so I'll link to someone else's well-taken post. This year, the swag at registration didn't include a T-shirt, but I would later learn the meaning of that.
By the way, I wasn't given any swag at registration, so I asked, 'Is there any swag?' and they replied, 'Oh, I thought I just handed it to you!' and gave it to me. I'm glad I didn't just conclude there was no swag π
Now, I was debating whether to go back to the hotel when I saw some people clearly heading somewhere, looking excited. In the direction they were going, there seemed to be a huge structure. I wasn't sure what it was, but I decided to head there too.
...
Wait, it's huge!?
It's 100 times bigger than you perceive in the photo
In less than 10 minutes, I arrived at a place that made me think, 'What is this!?' Moreover, the people walking in were happily heading inside. "I'll go too!" I thought, and boldly headed towards it.
However, just as I was about to enter, a security guard asked me, 'Do you have a badge?' When I showed my I/O badge, he looked disappointed and said, 'That's not the one.' It turns out the people who went inside were employees.
By the way, this building was luxurious. I could see inside through the glass sections, and there was a spacious gym and community spaces. I often hear rumors that Google's employee benefits are incredibly substantial, and the atmosphere certainly made me believe that.
Regaining my composure, I strolled around, taking photos of guide signs and discovered some mysterious objects. I saw someone playing with a large rock object, turning it around, so I thought they might be an employee and struck up a conversation. Nope, they weren't an employee at all. They seemed to be tourists. It turns out many people come to this area for sightseeing.
I spoke to this person
Looks like it could be on the cover of a trendy magazine
It's actually made by inserting many one-cent coins
As I wandered around, I unexpectedly lucked out: I coincidentally spotted a Google Store sign. I'm glad I walked. I sometimes enjoy not looking at maps while traveling.
So, I arrived at the store. Yay! I took more photos inside the store, but since quite a few people were in them, I'll omit them. Please feel free to check them out on Google Maps.
This is the entrance to the Google Store
They're cute, aren't they?
I bought various things, including T-shirts. I was really debating whether to buy a bag with "Gooooogle" printed hugely on it (the consecutive "o"s actually wrap around the front and back of the bag), but it was truly printed so hugely that I decided not buying it... :)
I really like the dinosaur figure I bought here.
Next to the store, there's also a cafe, and an IEEE Milestone is displayed at the entrance.
IEEE Milestone = something IEEE gives you for doing amazing things in IT (super roughly understood)
And look at these bikes! These are the bikes whose toy models were sold at the store.
colorful
I thought, "It'd be so fun to ride one of these!" and approached them...
oh...!
While thinking, "Do they really need bikes like these for getting around the company?" (a question that would soon be shattered), I finally looked up the location of Google Headquarters (GooglePlex) on a map and headed there. Fortunately, it was less than a 10-minute walk from the store.
The one you often see
I thought, "Oh, this is the one I've seen in photos!" and snapped away. Other tourists were also taking photos here. Security was tight, and you couldn't get any closer unless you were an employee.
By the way, don't the photos you usually see make it look much bigger? I wonder if this was really the place. Well, it also feels like I've found my own private spot, so it's not bad; it makes for a good photo.
As I looked at past I/O blogs and Silicon Valley sightseeing blogs, it seemed there were also statues of those green Android robots. So, I just started walking randomly. Having gotten a taste of finding the store by chance earlier, I completely ignored the map.
...
And I found it immediately.
They had a certain presence about them
Are they consolidating things that tourists would enjoy? Thank you, Google.
By the way, as you can see from this photo, offices and related facilities are gathered on an incredibly vast site. It's no exaggeration to say they form a town within a forest. As you cross each block, a sign appears with a street number and facility name. It's a kingdom. I was visiting the Google Kingdom.
The Google building is in the far left and far right. Another Google building is visible in the distance. The photographer is also facing a Google building.
There is a space like a park.
That day, with such thoughts, I left the kingdom in the forest and returned to my hotel.
Dinner
It was past 7 PM when I returned to The Grand Hotel, but the sun hadn't set at all. People traveling to San Francisco are often surprised that the sun doesn't set until 8 or 9 PM, and it was the same in Sunnyvale.
I was incredibly exhausted from lack of sleep and navigating an unfamiliar place, but I had to get food. Looking back, I should have eaten "curry-meshi" (an instant curry rice dish) or Cup Noodles I brought from Japan.
So, I walked 15 minutes (!) from the hotel to the dining area.
no people.
β¦β¦ok.
Still no people.
arrived nearby the station.
well, no people!?
At the time, I understood the following four rules for my stay in Sunnyvale:
- There are almost no notable restaurants around the hotel (The Grand Hotel). Supermarkets were even rarer. You have to go to the area in front of the station, 15 minutes away.
- Most shops in front of the station close at 8 PM, at best 9 PM.
- Only one giant Target exists, and it's open until 11 PM.
- Other than the area in front of the station, there are basically almost no people walking around.
In short, it's a quiet town. Of course, I only stayed for five weekdays, so I don't know what it's like on weekends, but that's how it was on weekdays. Actually, two weeks before Google I/O, I had traveled to Las Vegas and San Francisco (decided before my I/O participation was confirmed), and those places were naturally bustling, so I was surprised by the contrast. I prefer cities that are lively at night, so the fourth point subtly got to me.
By the way, my diary entry during my stay read as follows, showing that I was worn out by fatigue and the unexpected nature of the town, lol. Hang in there π
I was hungry, so I went to eat. The streets were empty, and it felt scary. I felt alone. Many cars passed by, but it still felt like I was the only one in town.
By the way, perhaps because it's not bustling, Sunnyvale seems to be a very safe area. I'm too lazy to research, so I'll just put a snippet from Wikipedia, but the Lyft driver also said, 'It's a safe town, isn't it?' That's good.
According to FBI crime reports, Sunnyvale is among the top 10 safest cities of comparable size in the United States. From 1966 to at least 2004, it never fell below 5th place in this top 10. According to the 2005 Morgan Quitno Awards, Sunnyvale ranked 18th among the safest cities nationwide. In Forbes magazine's 2009 list of safest cities in America, it ranked 7th.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/γ΅γγΌγγΌγ«#η―η½ͺ
Anyway, I reached the station area, and for dinner, I had a hamburger. I challenged myself to eat a hamburger even though I wasn't feeling well, which was a display of tourist spirit: 'I came to America, so I gotta eat one or it's a loss!'
...
Yes, something much heavier than expected arrived.
So heavy
I should have realized it the moment I saw the restaurant name "Melt." Of course, it was going to be a hamburger with plenty of melted cheese and juicy patties.
Honestly, I didn't enjoy it much because I was feeling unwell from lack of sleep and fatigue π, but my stomach was full. I recovered a little. On the way back, I bought Cheetos, M&M's, and water at Target, and that was the end of the night. Cheetos are so tasty.
By the way, the giant Target seems to sell only giant snacks, but that's a pitfall; small-sized snacks can be found at the self-checkout. If you want single-serving sizes, be sure to check the checkout area as well.
Target is incredibly large, but even there, there were few people when I visited.
I wondered if buying this. It was super cheap.
May 20
Waiting for Opening ~ Keynote
Alright, Google I/O officially begins. The venue opens at 8 AM, and a local-only pre-event starts at 9 AM, so I aimed to arrive by 7:30 AM. I thought it might be a bit early, but I did so :)
In conclusion, this early arrival paid off in two ways!
First, I was able to avoid traffic jams. Heading north from Sunnyvale to Shoreline often involves the freeway, so traffic jams naturally occur when traffic volume increases. I arrived early that day, so I wasn't caught in any traffic, and while I don't know for sure if traffic jams actually occurred, as I'll describe later, I did get caught in traffic on Day 2. But I'm sure it was the same situation on Day 1.
I got pretty close to the front of the line βοΈ
Another unexpected stroke of luck was being able to meet some Japanese people with I/O experience. As someone who didn't know what was going on at I/O and was just nervously waiting in line for the venue to open, wondering 'What happens next...', it was truly a blessing. I think the previous night's 'dinner walk' had taken its toll, having deepened my sense of loneliness π
They were truly kind and gentle people. They were not engineers but from the business side, and seemed to have other work besides I/O.
They taught me super hyper awesome essential information like "Breakfast is often laid out where you enter" or "Japanese people tend to gather around the food and coffee areas," and even took photos for me in front of the I/O monument. Afterwards, they joined me for breakfast, and I'm truly grateful for their help. Thank you so much!!
Everyone takes commemorative photos here. Be careful, some people tried to take photos at the very end of Day 2 and ran out of time!
Everyone was energetic and full of life, having come early in the morning. There was even a DJ playing upbeat music, creating a festival-like atmosphere. The energy was palpable. By the way, plenty of breakfast was provided, so there was no mad rush, and it was mostly individually packed sandwiches and hamburgers, so there was no buffet-style line. Reassuring.
You can get breakfast, coffee, and more along these kinds of pathways.
Everyone eats breakfast here. The DJ was playing awesome, upbeat music, and it was lively. Around noon, they even played Pure P. So cool!
By the time we finished eating, it was around 8:30 AM, so we immediately headed to the keynote venue nearby.
It was 8:30 AM, 30 minutes before the pre-event started, but there was quite a line to get into the keynote venue. The venue wasn't open yet, so we waited. The hardcore attendees probably just grabbed breakfast quickly and ate it while waiting in line. But somehow, I managed to get pretty close to the front of the line, and I even secured a seat slightly to the left, which made it easier to see the English transcription!
This dome only casts a shadow over about the front half, so if you ever go to I/O, it seems like a good idea to try hard to get a seat in the front half.
There was a little time before it started.
I had really wanted to interact with many overseas engineers at I/O, so I immediately struck up a conversation with the engineer sitting next to me on the left. Listening to him, it seemed he was a Netflix engineer living in Mountain View. He told me he was a Netflix engineer living in Mountain View. He shared many interesting stories about TV apps and mobile teams, and about work styles. He said, "All my friends have been to Japan, and I want to go someday." I hope he comes!
BTW, when it came time to exchange contact information, he asked if I used Telegram, so I quickly registered and exchanged information. It was my first time exchanging contact information via Telegram with anyone :)
I remember being very happy that I was able to talk to him like this, as I was a little anxious about whether I could interact well with overseas engineers. I'm really glad I studied English at the company I joined as a new graduate (I remember not being very enthusiastic about it back then).
And just like that, the keynote began!
Well, it's probably quicker if you just watch it through various media, haha.
But seeing it live really made me excited. They kept throwing in amazing videos made with Veo, and featuring one fun performance after another; it was just incredible!!
Above all, Android XR was amazing. It felt like science fiction. Since I like Gentle Monster (I don't own them, but I always go into their stores when I see them), I really wanted a pair, but I wonder how much they cost. Waiting for more news :)
Today, we announced that weβre partnering with innovative eyewear brands, starting with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, to create stylish glasses with Android XR.
https://blog.google/products/android/android-xr-gemini-glasses-headsets/
Lunch ~ Developer Keynote
Now, with the excitement still lingering, the keynote ended, and it was time for lunch π΄
We could choose from 5 types of lunch. That's great!
There are 5 options!
Well, I got my lunch, but there was nowhere to eat it!
That's because I had been leisurely looking at the venue map after the keynote and peeking into the various session rooms before they even began. All the seats were completely taken.
As I wandered around looking for a seat, I found a Japanese person sitting on the ground in a nice shaded spot, eating. I thought, "Maybe this person couldn't find a seat either," and joined them for lunch. It turned out they were developing Android apps for a certain company.
This person was also here alone and staying around Sunnyvale, and we bonded over the story of how we hadn't seen many people in town. In addition, we both chose the same lunch menu, and it was fun talking about how incredibly salty the flavor was. Yes, it really was unbelievably salty π
Of course, we talked a lot about work too, but I can't write about it as it might identify them. By the way, this article won't have much about work after this either!
Now, while all that was happening, it was time for the Developer Keynote in the same venue as before. Again, please see various media outlets for the detailed content. As the name suggests, it mostly shares information for developers, such as new features coming to Android Studio or new CSS features.
What impressed me about the Developer Keynote was that it had more demos than the first keynote. Engineers get excited by demos, so it was quite lively.
At the beginning, they said something like, 'We're going to do a lot of demos now! Things might not always go smoothly, but let's get excited!' (super rough translation), and the venue erupted in excitement, lol. I think it was even more exciting when things failed. When a demo failed, there would be shouts of "Woo-hoo!!" and even louder applause π Conferences with this kind of atmosphere are truly fun!
Web Area ~ Party
Now, Google I/O 2025 sessions are structured around three pillars: AI, Android, and Web. There are actually areas corresponding to these three, where you can experience demos of features introduced in the keynotes or new features not yet shown, and listen to sessions in those fields.
After the Developer Keynote, until the end of Day 2, you basically have two choices: visit these three areas or explore other special corners. Special corners include things like:
- AI sandbox: A huge building that dominates a corner. You can try demos of cutting-edge AI like the futuristic glasses and powerful video generation service introduced in the keynotes.
- Androidify: You take a full-body photo of yourself, and it makes a sticker of an Android-kun (official name not investigated, probably easily found with a quick search) dressed in the same way.
- Veo something (official name forgotten, probably easily found with a quick search): You take a photo of your face, and it generates an 8-second creative CG video, similar to what was used in the keynote.
- Interaction space: Found everywhere. Essentially, there are many nice tables and chairs where people sit and rest, and sometimes there are bingo games, chess tournaments, or activities like building things with Lego-like blocks.
- Waymo space: Waymo cars are displayed, and you can probably do and learn various things there.
- And much more!!!!
The AI sandbox was amazing when I went on Day 2. I felt like time had advanced by about 10 years just inside that building.
Web Area
Android Area
As I wrote earlier, I really wanted to talk to overseas engineers, so I headed straight for the Web area. I wanted to have lively conversations about topics I knew well.
When I got there, it was indeed the Web area. From people with IEEE keychains and "I Love HTML" stickers on their backpacks to Chrome engineers. Everyone loves the Web, I guess. And actually, I was able to talk to Chrome engineers, DevRel folks, and other Web-related engineers! I also met Theo, a Svelte enthusiast living in Japan and Theo's great colleagues!
And for me, being interested in browser development, it was especially moving to talk to browser engineers living abroad. I was thinking like, "The people who give Gerrit reviews are right here in front of me." I was happy to talk about various topics, such as the development of new browsers by AI startups and discussions with someone who recently started working on Chrome's AI features. By the way, I didn't get to meet the members working on animations and rendering, which I often touch and read code for, so I hope to meet them someday.
The sessions and demos were also very interesting. I learned a lot about the introduction of AI APIs available in Chrome and the efforts to standardize them (LLM models will, of course, be abstracted), as well as the trend of new APIs becoming Newly Available on Baseline in shorter periods.
This is how we attend sessions. The spoken words are displayed in real-time on screens to the left and right, with a slight delay, so even if you miss something, it's manageable.
Ultimately, I spent most of that day in the web area, then enjoyed the evening party. I also participated in the bingo game, and there was one participant at our table who made it really lively. We were all talking about things unrelated to bingo, so no one was listening to the numbers being called out, and absolutely no one reached bingo except for one person who was quietly playing alone π
There are many places like this.
An engineer from India told me he really loves Japanese anime. I often get told that overseas, and since I also love it, it's nice to have something to talk about. That day, I wore a Uniqlo Ghost in the Shell T-shirt, hoping it would be a conversation starter. We all got excited talking about how it's an anime that makes you think about the ambiguity of the boundaries between machines and humans. By the way, the engineer from India said Cowboy Bebop was his favorite, but I haven't seen it, so I couldn't share his excitement. However, he also liked MONSTER, and as a huge fan of Naoki Urasawa, I rejoiced and we discussed the compelling storytelling of Urasawa's works.
The quiet bingo player also suddenly became chatty right after he got bingo and livened things up. He said he had moved between various countries for work. He taught me a lot about the mindset for working abroad. I was very grateful. Being able to have such conversations with people you meet by chance is possible in Japan too, but it truly felt this was an international conference!
By the way, dinner was provided that day. Eating out in Sunnyvale isn't cheap, so I was just genuinely happy about that. YAY~!
With that, the sun began to set, so I headed back
Of course, after returning to the hotel, I was incredibly tired and went to bed early. To be continued on Day 2.