Weather Adventures in Kamikochi

Sitting in the back of the car, with Kouichi driving the 4 hours or so back to Toyohashi. I get to write on journeys. Actually, did I learn that the plural of journey was journies when I was in primary school? Or the plural of roof was rooves? Is my memory faulty? They certainly look wrong to me now.
Linguistically I was reminded that in Japanese the word for leg and foot and possibly shin is covered by one single ‘ashi’ as I dangled the aforesaid in the Sawando foot spa this weekend. Lou, Kou and I have just had a delightful weekend in Tomoshibi guesthouse near Kamikochi, a beautiful national park in the Japanese Alps in the Nagano district. There's a bus terminal where transport takes you into the park- you can't drive in. In the vast car park that borders the terminal was the foot onsen; a stream of piping hot geothermal water with seating. A place for the weary walker to revive her feet when she gets back from a day hiking in the park and before climbing into the car home. We merely had to walk to our guesthouse where there was a full bathing onsen filled by the same natural spring water. The place was pretty empty as it's early in the season for Kamikochi; the park had only been open a week and the snow was still receding. But being the first weekend of Golden Week it was populated enough.

Saturday dawned bright but the clouds gathered apace. We actually got into the park around 11.30 after breakfasting on fried egg on cabbage with a side of mustard greens and delicious white miso at  the guesthouse. We got off at Taisho pond, a small lake formed by the blocking of the Azusa river by a flow of volcanic material. It's often photographed as mirror-like; this day there was a wind ruffling its surface but no shortage of keen photographers recording the beauty of the scene with snow capped mountains behind. We'd slid down the access path with its compacted snow and tried to find the walking route that led to Kappabashi bridge, the next staging post on the park route, but it was snow bound and marked no entry. Later we came to ignore such entreaties and ploughed on.

So, we walked the road for a while instead, until we could rejoin the trail that was marked with signs saying ‘Beware of Bears’. Apparently one of the native black bears had been sighted on the road at 8.30 that morning….there were also helpful signs about birds and trees; the latter are mainly Japanese birch, with their slender silver-white trunks, and alder and willow. Many, many types of willow. But being only the end of April and 1500 metres high, there was no foliage yet. It must look amazing as it greens, but for now the lack of leaves gave us beautiful sight lines down to the river valley and there was plenty of green to be seen in the conifers that shaded the forest trails. And one plus of coming up to the Nagano region is that the sakura (cherry blossom) that has faded from the balmier south and west, is not even out here yet; I took a couple of pics of one or two on their way into bloom and as we've been travelling the route home the landscape around Nakatsugawa has been dotted with sakura in full glory. I've also spotted massive wisterias climbing high into the trees.

By the time we made Kappabashi bridge we needed to refuel at one of the shops that surround it; steamed buns of soba (buckwheat) and wheat flour filled with a succulent mix of mountain veg in a salty sweet shoyu sauce…yum. That kept us going for the next leg which was aiming for Myojin pond. The sky was getting blacker and we could hear thunder rumbling in the background. As we walked through the pines we came across snow monkeys; one little family were huddling together as the temperature had dropped considerably. A toss up as to whether to turn back or keep going…we plugged on. And then it began to rain and then the rain turned to snow. I had invested in a 100 yen rain poncho after my Hiroshima experience and this went on over the trusty Uniqlo quilted coat….but, it was no match for Japanese mountain weather. By the time we'd reached the bridge that would lead us to Myojin pond the sleeting rain was driving down and we stepped out smartly to get back to the bus terminal at Kappabashi, taking a different route which, slightly alarmingly, we had to ourselves. The 3.5 km seemed much longer and we were pretty wet and frozen and felt highly intrepid crossing tracts of ice and snow in the forest sections. It was all amazingly beautiful but we had our heads down and couldn't appreciate it. Sodden again…but at least this time my feet were dry; I was just freezing and certainly appreciated the onsen after that…and Lou’s app told us we’d walked 14.5 km.

It was a cold night and we needed to fire up the kerosene heaters in our rooms…took me right back to the paraffin stove I'd had in my student house in Brighton in the 70s. I used to toil up the hill from the little shop with my can of pink paraffin and then spend a lot of time sitting on top of the heater. The next day’s forecast couldn't have been more different; from 5 degrees C to 22 C. The sun was out, spirits were high and we walked the route we hadn't appreciated, but in the reverse direction, now able to stop for photo calls!

Lunch stop was on the banks of the Azusa River not far from the impressive ( and wobbly!) timber suspension bridge. We sat on water pounded pebbles and ate our bento as the odd cloud bubbled up and made the landscape even lovelier with fleeting shading. The stems of the nascent willows were bright orange and red and every colour looked richer against the background of blue mountains. By contrast the river valley was a ribbon of pale greys and silver.

And we made it to Myojin pond…a delight of greenness; or in Japanese…. Midori no keshiki ga kandou tekideshita (Lit:The green view made me emotionally impressed) The water is shallow and has an unusual algae growing in it which gives this effect; in places where the mica sand was exposed the water was a brilliant turquoise, matching the shining head plumage of the bobbing mallard.
A brisk walk with lots of chat got us back to Kappabashi - and some local ice cream - as the sun was lowering, making the water shine like pewter. We were happy bunnies.

Shinkansen to Hiroshima

Monday 24/4
So...or as the Japanese would say when pausing for thinking time, 'ano'....I arrived fresh from a very empty flight with 3 seats to myself, spent a bit of time at Haneda airport queuing up for my Japan Rail Pass and mobile wifi and then was on my way from Tokyo to Toyohashi. Lou met me at the station around lunchtime and we walked back to her apartment. All so easy. I'd managed a few hours sleep, following Japanese time, on the plane so I just had to keep awake until nightfall. This was done by skirmishes in the local shopping mall, so conveniently placed around the station, a drive out to the park (I enjoyed driving Lou's little car which looks like a white version of Postman Pat's van) and an amusing evening outing after supper. Lou 'chats' English with a couple of older men on a Monday evening. And this time she took her mother along. They were very sweet, the dentist and the soya sauce manufacturer and very game to practice their English in front of a stranger; coming up with words and phrases like 'mysterious' and 'I should dump her' ! (The latter about a 45 year old daughter
who still lived at home)When I asked what was the favourite English word, one came up with 'mistress'.....hmmmmmm

Tuesday and Wednesday 25-26

Lou was working so I'd organised a little side trip to Hiroshima. Shinkansens all the way and
everything running precisely to time, of course. Tuesday was sunny and I simply walked around the
Peace Park and took time to read a folder that was available, written by a man whose mother had
gone back into the irradiated area whilst he was in utero. I'd not appreciated how the victims had suffered twice over by being examined like guinea pigs, with little respect, after their terrible burning.


For a long time the after effects of the radiation were downplayed if not outright denied. There were pictures too of the pilot who'd flown the bomb in his aircraft, cheerily named Enola Gay after his mother. The Hiroshima bomb was uranium and archly named 'Little Boy' and although
horrendously devastating it was nothing compared to the plutonium  bomb unleashed on Nagasaki and code named 'Fat Man'.Much of the damage was proliferated later by the 'black rain' that scattered
radioactivity far and wide...affecting many school students who were 'mobilised' to help with the clear up operation; many also suffered huge mental scars from what they witnessed.

The peace park was filled with parties of school children all looking sombre as they listened to their guides. Now and again a deep gong-like chime of the peace bell carried across the river as people struck it in remembrance.
 There were also displays of folded paper cranes in memoriam.
In the information it talked of Japan's desire for complete ban on any power developing nuclear weapons, especially the U.S.....but, with the rumblings from Korea, I wonder how they feel at this moment. With this background, I also find it quite strange that the Japanese have embraced nuclear fission as their preferred way of producing energy.


I managed a little walk down a shopping arcade nearby and marvelled at a brush suppliers and art
shop....not quite knowing where to start I didn't buy....Jetlag caught up a bit so I retired to my hotel early and was asleep by 9, which of course meant that I woke in the wee small hours and didn't make
it back to the Land of Nod. The threatened rain began in the early hours and so I didn't get up quite as early as I'd planned to catch a very early ferry to Miyajima Island - or Itsukushima as it's also known - but even so, I was still on my way by about 7 am as I just couldn't get back to sleep.
Here began my soaking. Despite umbrella, I got exceedingly wet. When the rain rains in Japan it doesn't do it halfheartedly. On my 30 minute walk to the nearest station - Nishi-Hiroshima - my shoes sopped up water like a wick and by the train I boarded a commuter train crowded with workers and schoolchildren (some who looked barely out of nursery they were so wee) my socks were totally sopping. Just as well it wasn't seriously cold...around 19 degrees

At Miyajimaguchi station it was a short walk to catch a ferry; they run about every 10 mins and one was waiting. Some do a tourist detour past the famous Torii gate which sits in the bay '
floating' above the water...but I was on one so early it was simply ferrying working types.
This meant I was pretty much on my own wandering the island...coming across one other young man, possibly French, wielding his camera phone. We commiserated about wet feet and quietly went about recording the beauty of the place, enveloped as it was in low cloud and rain. The shrine of itsukushima is a world heritage site, rightly. Sadly the weather conditions prevented me from doing the tourist trail of rope walkway and view over the island - far too much cloud - but it can be another trip.
So, I retraced my journey of ferry and train and made it back to Hiroshima station where I knew I'd find shops. By this time I desperately needed dry shoes. I think I surprised  the polite male assistant at pretty posh shop Fukuyama with my fast purchase of a pair of white glove leather pumps for a searingly expensive amount. He packed away my sodden brogues unjudgmentally and obviously
worried that I'd now do the same to the new ones...thus he sprayed them with protector for me! In fact I only wore them in store and found a much cheaper pair of happy little mustard coloured pumps to go walkabout in. These were sold to me by 2 and sometimes 3 cheerful ladies who surrounded me with shoes to try on and ummmed and aaahed over my decision making with me every step of the
way!

Then it was back on the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka changing for Toyohashi, with my lunch all sorted for the journey. On the first leg I had a little conversation with a lady who got off at Kyoto; I showed her photos of Lou and Kou getting blessed...and she was sweetly grateful! It happened again on the second leg...another older lady who had just being doing calligraphy lessons in Nagoya. As we both got off at Toyohashi she insisted on giving me a lift home - her husband was picking her up at the station. He turned out to be Mr Chikuwa ( chikuwa is a famous Toyohashi foodstuff of reconstituted fish in a kind of rubbery roll...not unlike surimi) and this guy was the son of the founder of the
company. If I say son this may give the wrong impression, both Mr and Mrs C were 83. She had proudly pointed to a huge hoarding in the station advertising the company - on which she had done
the calligraphy!

Thursday 27th
I was on my own as Lou was working...but I had a very jolly time walking to a shop that sells really quintessential Japanese goods and trying on some clothes and shoes...helped by an assistant who spoke a little English - gave me absolutely no bullshit 😊 And offered me matcha tea with asweetmeat to end my visit. I found a few omiyage (gifts) to take home too. Then I headed back to the station area where you always find good shopping...how sensible is that? And here I found a dress. Lou came in on the train from work and we wandered the food court, bought a little nibble for very late lunch (mine was chicken coated with some sweet sauce and sesame) and then bought the makings of a healthy supper; chicken, surimi, avocado, lettuce, broccoli, courgette  - all to be later compiled with a lemony, yogurty dressing. But the very few items in small amounts came to about £15 - food is more expensive than at home.

After an early supper Lou's friend Tomoko picked us up in her car (she had a very nifty reversing
technique leaning out of her open car door!) and drove us across the city to 'Art School' - a private affair run by an artist Suzuki, his artist wife and daughter...The mother in law was also in attendance. The students were mainly older ladies and gents with a couple of younger faces. It's basically evening class - this one helps people along with painting projects that they're working on for themselves and
Suzuki-San adds his expertise and guidance with a serious and calm affect. He'd been primed that Lou and I wanted to have a first go at Nihonga and we were set to work immediately. I chose something rather too ambitious in terms of initial drawing...should have gone simpler and given myself more time for the painting...but hey ho. Lou kept telling me it was just meant to be enjoyable as I huffed and puffed over my efforts!
There was a lot of tracing and transferring and then it was  outlining in ink with an impossibly fine brush (oops) I found later that all my blodges could be covered happily with the paint. First a layer of very opaque white body colour is applied over the outlines so that they just grin through greyly- and then you can fill the outlines with equally opaque colours. The pigments are so strong that they can be added to the opaque white (gofun?) without being made too pastel.
I had my head down a lot and wished I could have been able to look around at everyone else's efforts a bit more. They were all so kind to us and tea and snacks flowed. The elderly mother in law even rushed off and came back with a present of a pack of paintbrushes for me! Such a shame they're shut for Golden Week and I won't be able to go again. Well, not this time anyway....

A Watery End

Last day........it's gone very fast.

I seem to be a little thwarted with the mechanics of posting pictures so here we go with a few to set the scene....my patience isn't up to art direction today!

Our dip into the countryside around Hakone had to be a brief taster and meant we really spent our time in the hotel - but it proved to be a great wind down in preparation for our journey home tomorrow (Thursday 26th).  

Breakfast with a view. We've got used to rice and pickles in the early hours...K&R a even had curry soup. As we sat and ate the strains of Norwegian Wood wafted to us on the sound system; ever since 

my karaoke attempt the anthem seems to be following me around; they played it on the Naoshima Ferry too! 

Last day of using our wonderful rail pass that allowed us to roam where we wanted to  

on  sleek Shinkansen.

 The hotel boasted a really great onsen - and I even persuaded Kate to try it. Rog had already sampled one in our Kyoto hotel. I think there have been a fair few firsts on this jaunt for Kate and Rog. 

This onsen was fed from natural hot springs from the surrounding hills and looked like it was built in  the 30s - but in Deco style certainly. As there are ladies in total deshabille wandering the place, you can imagine that no cameras are allowed ( seems to have been a recurring theme on this trip!) 

So, to describe it - immensely high ceilings, white,brick-shape, tiled walls  and polished dark grey granite fittings. When you arrive in an onsen you settle yourself, totally naked, upon a little stool and wash thoroughly with shower and soaps. It does take some getting used to, this fleshly abandonment and there is the possibility of taking a small towel in with you to provide a little modesty - but after a while it's just normal. 

Along one wall was what looked like a Romanesque arcade of  columns, beyond which were spaces separated by curved screens of frosted glass. Into each of these spaces poured  - out of granite spouts - naturally hot water from a great height.  You sat upon little granite stools at the bottom of this stream which landed with enough force  to provide a liquid massage. It felt just great. 

Add to this 3 other hot soaking pools with jets, a sauna and a cold plunge pool and it was like a superior spa. 

The area is certainly somewhere to return - we missed out on cable cars, funicular railway, open air art museum and more .... A place to visit again. 

Then it was off on Wednesday midday to a hotel near Narita airport. I ended with a swim and jacuzzi there - and I was the only one in the massive pool complex.  The Japanese are scrupulous about cleanliness so one always has to wear little bathing caps..very attractive (not). And whilst I was swimming the pool receptionist came into test the purity of the water....just as well I hadn't done anything untoward in there as there would have been no one else to blame. And that brings me neatly to my other favourite topic, which I have resisted so far on this trip; Japanese toilets. I've added two new specimens to my collection - there's the one with a mini second seat hinged above the first - for child use  - and then the type that, the minute you sit down starts pouring water into the bowl  ( actually I found that a bit inhibiting...don't know why!)

So, it's back home tomorrow. At least the hour change will help with the jet lag a little - I'm looking forward to the lighter nights and perhaps eating a little less! We couldn't face another feast on our last night - so it was actually pot noodles from a vending machine - but very delicious they were too.

As we ate we tied to pin down the highlights of the trip - but there were too many to single out the one. But I'm glad to report that Kouchi's father had his operation today and despite the major surgery of entire stomach removal, he came through well with the loss of a mere 15 ml of blood. So, we'll keep praying for good things for him and the entire family.

And that hopefully bodes well for the attendance of some of the family at Louise's English wedding celebration....that's the next thing to look forward to.

City to Country via Celebrations

On Sunday, having woken a tad fragile - and leaving the young to sleep on (they'd carried on having fun until 4 a.m.) we all went our separate ways for the morning. I walked up to the main Sakae shopping district from our rather brilliant budget hotel. I wandered into the famous department store chain, Mitsukoshi, but was rather overwhelmed by the acres of designer labels. It was also so huge

that I didn't want to stray too far and lose my bearings...if I didn't exit the same way I came in, I didn't trust myself to find my way back to the hotel....However, there were some pretty major landmarks to hang on to...the needle-like Nagoya Communication Tower and - bang opposite my hotel window  - the CBS TV tower.

I was tempted by the loads of small sized shoes on offer - but maybe it was the fact that I had too much choice that stopped me making a purchase. (We've got one more retail moment ahead so all may not be lost...watch this space) Anyway, all I managed was a little face-cloth buying ( they're not just run of the mill in Japan, believe me) before I headed back to meet up with the others. 

Kate and Roger decided to go to church - but as the only English service was at 2.30 and Kouichi had planned to take us to a blossom park in the afternoon I opted to go with the young. It's really rather early to find most Sakura (cherry blossom) but we hoped to see some plums blooming. There was the obligatory stop for lunch on the way in a sweet little macrobiotic cafe; its vibe and the residential area in which it was situated reminded me of California when David and I travelled there in the 70s and 80s. Everything in the cafe was beautifully detailed - cabinets of ply and wood fittings that suited th ethos nicely. The gentle Japanese curry with unpolished rice suited me nicely too.

Sadly there always has to be a travel casualty - and this time it's the gizmo that downloads pictures from my 'posh' camera....so the pix in this post will be limited.

Kouichi got us all mustered back in the 10 seater tour bus (!) and off we set. Unusually we encountered quite a bit of traffic and by the time we actually made it to the park which was a good 50 minutes out of the city, there was only about an hour left and the sun had been lost behind grey clouds. Also, the blossom display wasn't quite as advanced as hoped but there were some lovely examples - especially one weeping plum which was a great magnet for photographers. One older Japanese chap with cameras slung around his neck - zoom lenses the length of a small car (ok I exaggerate for effect) - offered to take a group picture of us with my camera. Bless his heart, when
I got it back there was a fine image of his finger in front of the lens too;  maybe he was a bit hotter on equipment than execution.....

We weren't back at the hotel until nearly 6 and Kouchi had to take the van back to Toyohsahi that evening because he was working on Monday...so he planned to have dinner with us early and then take the bulk of our luggage with him too, back to the guesthouse. Kate and Rog hadn't appeared back from church but we set off for a Thai meal within walking distance of the hotel with instructions how to join us......which they did around 7, full of the good time they'd had  - and finding connections with a Californian church they'd visited a few years ago. There had been prayer for Kouchi's father too and they felt very buoyant.

So, Monday- apart from turning cold (the temperature dropped 10 degrees from 20 to 10 C ) it was Lou's 27th birthday. We all managed to say it in Japanese! The morning was set aside for more retail therapy and this time Louise led us to the other end of the spectrum; Book-Off - a chain of second hand shops for clothes, and the stunningly tempting 100 Yen store Daiso. By the end of the outing we'd got loaded with some good, packable bits and pieces and Lou had a birthday dress and shoes. Then it was back to Gamagori where Kouichi, having knocked off early to celebrate the day with Louise, met us for a late lunch. Lou chose the cuisine  - she wanted unagi (eel) and we all joined in. It's a world away from ideas of slimy jellied eel. Very very tasty indeedy.

Having had to return the 10 seater for the use of the (properly!) elderly at his family business day care centre, Kouichi only had his car. So Masae, his mum, came to pick up half the party. The seniors

went with her and we did a little detour to Takematsu. I'd visited here in October, it's beside the sea and a long bridge crosses to an island shrine, now shut for the winter. What I hadn't done last time
was visit the little museum, housed in an old hospital building. It was a delightful experience. Outside there was a keen coastal wind blowing and we were very chilled; inside it was all warmth, polished wood, gentle tinkling music and tasteful flower displays. Masae treated us to more whisked green tea made by a woman dressed in a kimono made of local woven cloth. This time we had little dissolving tablets of sugar to put on our tongues before drinking the tea - and this certainly improved the taste! They say you have to introduce a child to new tastes at least 9 times before they grow to like things....7 more teas to go....

Louise, the birthday girl at the museum with her birthday flower- the daffodil (suisen?) and peach blossom.

Birthday supper for Louise was back at the guesthouse and two types of nabe (pronounced nabay) which is basically Japanese hotspot cooked at the table; the delicious stock is the key...then chuck in veg and meat. Local cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and tender, fine leeks jostled with chicken, chikowa ( a kind of surimi roll) and tofu in one. The vegetarian option was in a spicier liquid and packed a punch. Before we got stuck into that however, Masae insisted on us all having a toast to Lou and eating birthday cake - a delicious light cheesecake. She would have had us eating 'Apple pie' ( actually light flaky pastry apple turnovers ) at the same time because ' Ruizu likes apple pie' but we needed to leave room for the nabe. We did however sing Happy Birthday to You with the same tune - which is apparently the tradition in Japan too!So it was then farewell to the family, one more night in Gamagori ( I'm not that sad to bid farewell to sleeping on a futon on the floor) and we set off at 9a.m. Tuesday to have our last adventure - bidding Louise goodbye too until she's back in the UK in May. By Shinkansen from Toyohashi we travelled to Odawara - getting some even more stunning pictures of Fuji as the visibility was so good. Then it was a branch line to Kowakadani .......an interesting journey where we shuttled back and forth, changing tracks to mount the incline up into the hills near the popular mountain resort of Hakone. We knew we'd have little time here but the idea is to have a taster for another time.

Kate had found the hotel, The Wisterian Life Club ( or Verde no Mori in Some hybrid language they'd printed on the signage ) on the net and it was a knock down bargain....however getting there from the station proved a bit challenging - heaving overstuffed suitcases on and off two buses. But, it was worth it. Although a little elderly in its decor the position is great - we both have immense rooms with sitting areas and balconies sporting views out to the hills and the distant sea. It's very Japanese however...hardly a shred of English to be seen on notices. But we made ourselves understood with hand waving and smiles.

After a swim in the pool (I had to buy a costume here because I'd forgotten mine - and I think it made the elderly saleslady's day - she did have some English, which she shouted at me as she cupped her hand to her ear)
All in all - a relaxing way to end the day.....

Unexpected Stops but Still Singing

Still having a rather tricky time with blog posting I just completely deleted a beautiful graphic layout - so this is what you now have....pictures first and some of the writing I saved!

I completely forgot to include our flying visit to Kobe, on the way to Gamagori. Kobe was the site of a massive earthquake in 1995 and we visited the museum which chronicled it - first very graphically with actual film footage of the collapsing city complete with sound effects. What came over from the displays, apart from many facts ( like nearly 7000 killed and 43000 injured) was the long lasting effect on the community - for the good, mostly. People helped each other so much at the time and that has been carried forward in initiatives to strengthen community and especially to improve the potential isolation of the elderly. Volunteering initiatives multiplied greatly...

So, Thursday night we chose our rooms, in the family guesthouse in Gamagori, spread out our futons and slept well on our tatami mats. Friday was a day of relaxing and just what we all needed. Not a lot was done apart from a short walk to the local convenience store to provision.

Friday night saw the 5 of us gathered together; Kouichi got home from work early at 4 and we looked forward to Masae, his Mum and Achiko, his older sister, and her children, Saimon, Shion and Seirin to arriving with -and for - supper!

Just before they all arrived we were able to see the final championship round of sumo wrestling on the TV - which we'd followed on our travels. Totally to everyone's surprise, the hot favourite - a Mongolian super hero called Hakuho was knocked out by another compatriot, Teru No Fuji. He was so happy to win against all expectations that he kept screwing his eyes up manfully to stem the tears - but he lost that fight!

Celebratory family gatherings are the same the world over...the children careering about and being indulged by all; lots of laughter; plenty of good things to drink (including a superior sake) and eat. We rolled our own sushi choosing fillings of fresh raw tuna, cooked shrimp, tuna mayo, salmon crumbs, aojiso - a delicious fresh green leaf (perilla) and kaiware - which is rather like the mustard sprout of good old mustard and cress. There was more...but these were my favourites, laid on a liberal spreading of beautiful white, clumped sushi rice and folded up into a cone of nori seaweed wrap. Yum. There were clams in miso soup and also in a succulent sauce with fine green leeks.

The most moreish part of the feast was Masae's delicious slow cooked pork - made with soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, mirin and sake. 

When we could eat no more savouries we had sweet Gamagori mikan- the local oranges which are flavour packed satsuma like fruit. And Lou produced the box of yatsuhashi - the milky stuffed mochi sweets they'd bought in Kyoto. Sheer indulgence.

About this time we produced our gifts for the family - mixtures of chocolates, oatcakes, chutney, lemon curd, marmalade and smellies. They all went down very well indeed!

Masae proceeded to produce more sweets; Sakura (cherry blossom) flavoured rice wrapped in a preserved cherry tree leaf. Then she unwrapped some very fine tea bowls and made us superior macha (green tea) -the colour of spring grass - in the traditional way using powder and boiled water combined with a delicate bamboo whisk. This frothy, chlorophyll packed drink was a touch bitter to our palates but Shion drained hers with real enjoyment....Kouichi said the shogun drank it before battle to calm their spirits. It certainly calmed ours for we all had the most solid night's sleep since arriving.

The plan on Saturday was to drive to Nagoya to meet up with Lou's friend Emma from schooldays, and her fiancé, Wim, by 12 noon. There was another slight transport delay however.....the borrowed minivan decided to stop at the service station when we did - but then not go again...

We were very impressed by Kouichi's command of the situation as he got a mechanic/ tow truck and replacement vehicle sorted.

Whilst we waited I opened up my email to see a reflection had arrived from the Ignatian Spirituality Website; 

"Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” 

A good adage....and we just enjoyed hanging around at the service station, watching local vendors selling super fresh veg, plants and bonsai; Roger was plugged into his ipad practising his karaoke numbers - for that is what was planned for the evening ( and he was taking it very seriously!) 

So with only an hour's delay we were on the road again - this time in a 10 seater minivan with lots of room to relax in.

In the afternoon we visited Nagoya castle in the sunshine and warmth. The blossom is beginning to burst and there were some festivities going on with lots of people dressed up.

So, an evening feast of snacks with a few drinks at an izikaya got us primed for the karaoke and I can report that Roger's homework paid off; he did an impressive Louis Armstrong impersonation duetting with Louise on Its a Wonderful World. I think Kate and I were maybe overconfident in our ability to busk it - but we had fun and I think our Everly Brothers Trio with Rog was the highlight - we even injected some harmonies into Bye Bye Love! We had chosen the private room option in a place called Big Echo...so at least we only made fools of ourselves in front of the 8 of us ( Louise's teaching colleague Eileen joined us, along with Emma and Wim, and she had a great line in Disney songs)

Today is Sunday...and like yesterday, it has dawned sunny...so who knows what today brings.......

Uno to Gamagori

Small update; less than week after we had visited Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto Michelle Obama was there following in our footsteps....

Originally we had wondered about a trip to Hiroshima on Wednesday- but our curtailed day on Naoshima meant we returned, this time to see the art museums. the Benesse House Art Museum was filled with Hockney,  Twombly, Rauschenberg and other contemporary artists...but the Ando architecture and the setting was just as much the attraction. Due to the no camera rule, the nearest we got to a photo was of our delicious lunchtime pumpkin soup in the cafe....

After we found our way to the Chichu museum. - another Ando design, built mainly underground with natural top lighting for the artworks. Very contemporary exhibits including the other major James Turrell but also a room full of huge Monet water lily canvasses beautifully displayed in minimalist style. We changed shoes to slippers to enter the space and were blessed by having to share it with very few others as entry was restricted to only eight people at the same time. This somehow gave you the right frame of mind to look properly. The last work was by Walter del Maria - a massive granite sphere perched half way up a flight of steps and surrounded by gilded trios of beautifully cut wooden pillars. 

Leaving- we found it was pouring with rain and the last shuttle bus had left. So, it was a 20 minute walk back to Miyanoura port where, rather damp, we drank coffee and feasted on some pastries before getting the ferry 'home' to the Uno Slope House guesthouse.

On Thursday (19th) morning, from Uno Port we bade farewell to our hosts Momoko - who took care of the breakfasts and general hospitality - and Max, the owner of the guesthouse who is a film maker living half time in Japan and half time in New York. (We benefited from Amercan pancakes and maple syrup as a result...)

Then courtesy of Hyperdia ( fantastic online Japanese transport website) and Kate's planning we boarded a series of trains to take us to Zengo where we were met by Louise and Kouichi. The plan was to visit K's father in hospital where he is having to stay to stabilise him for surgery on the 25th March. It's a huge university teaching hospital - privately funded - and to train as a doctor there would cost you some 45 million yen.

Toshihisa looked a little frail perched cross legged on his bed. We stayed briefly so as not to tire him and also met up with Kouichi's mother there before leaving to settle into the family's guest house. She pressed gifts into our hands which turned out to be 3 very lovely yukata that we could relax in.

I'm presently having a bit of trouble with this blog leaping about and being tricky - not able
to post pictures - so I'll try another time...!

Sea, See and Not See

The idea on Tuesday was to board the ferry bright and early to Naoshima. Shima means island in Japanese - and this island in the Seto (Inland Sea) is home to many art sites.  Many of the built structures are the work of architect Tadao Ando - using his favoured concrete and working almost sculpturally with the material. But.....the best laid plans are often thwarted by Weather....in this case a dense fog.
Kate and I had left Rog to rest as we went off to do some culture  and hopefully catch the 9.22 ferry. The lady at the ticket office had a few prepared bits of paper written out in English to keep us up to speed with the sailing status due to the fog; the last said 'you have not decided when to sail'....We got a wee bit impatient that they seemed so cautious about setting off for what was only a 25 minute crossing but found out later, that some years ago, there had been a ferry accident in fog resulting in the loss of more than 150 children on a school trip.

So...we didn't wheel our free rental bikes from our guesthouse on to the ferry until about 1 p.m. and not set sail until even later. Visibility was stil pretty poor but gave us rather poetic views of some of the hundreds of islands that dot the Seto Sea.

On Naoshima we headed straight for the Ando Museum which gave us some insight into a few of his buildings that were not on the islan. Architect Tadao Ando was responsible for the museums and much of the accommodation you can stay in when visiting. His ethos is to design with the environment in mind - following or framing the landscape and, especially in the case of the art museums, creating a place where art, building and nature work together as one.

But with limited time (we had to have in mind being able to get back off the island!) Kate and I cycled at some pace around the 6 'Art Project Houses' which were original old style houses that had fallen into disrepair and then been reclaimed - by giving each to a different artist to create something in the interiors.

Once again, cameras were not welcome - so no illustration of of these places - but this makes it remarkably restful ( not feeling you might have missed the perfect shot!) and it also makes you really SEE things. Your attention is right there.

Out of the 6 houses, 3 really grabbed my attention and imagination. Darkness was a major element in two of them. Walking into the first, the floor area was indistinct for a moment and it was only by being warned 'water!'that our eyes adjusted to the fact that, where tatami mats may have been, there
was a flooded area under which illuminated numbers flashed in random colours and sequence.

But it was the installation by James Turrell called Backside of the Moon that really captured us. Entering a room in total darkness we had to be guided in by a pair of hands that led us forward and then placed our own hands on a wall in order to locate us in the space. An exercise in trust just to begin with.....

For minutes we stood there. At first we could see two tiny and dim red lights up and to the right of our field of vision - then suddenly after about 10 mins there appeared to be a gently lit white screen ahead of us. We thought it had just been illuminated - but in fact this light had been there all the time, it's just that we didn't comprehend it until our eyes had adjusted. Unobserved light. Interesting.
Furthermore, we were invited to move forward and see the 'screen' and it turned out to be a void in the far wall, into which you could lean and look down upon the tiniest pinprick light sources which created this large, probably 5x2 metre lit area.
Later we saw another work by the same artist in the Chichu Art Museum on the Island - playing with space in a similar way but also the effect of colours upon each other. Too hard to describe but I would encourage anyone to see his work - it makes you part of it, it makes you think, it also gives you space and time to just 'be there'. I see there's an installation of his work in the UK this year.....I'm going!

By the end of the day the sun had burned through the mist and the light was just perfect for cycling past great views and some of the beautifully sited outdoor artworks ......and so on to the ferry back to Uno Port and a terrific supper of local fish.