Tag Archives: japan travel

Museum / Exhibit: Miwaki Ruins Jomon-era / Noto, Japan, 2019

Blurb: On our meandering adventure of a honeymoon in May-June 2019, we travelled by many means of convenience including a wide variety of trains, rental cars, occasional coach buses and what not. See the whole Shinkonryoko Scrapbook for a mixed-media ephemera overview and a list of places visited for the curious.

As such, while visiting with Hongo-sensei on Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa-ken, amongst the other activities including a fishing/ whaling/Marine Museum, an early morning fish market / auction, the dismembering and preparation of an ankou fish, a picnic on the beach…, we visited Miwakai ruins with well-preserved archeological history from the Jomon period.

While obviously not original, there was a great recreation of Jomon-era housing with fire-pit and various accruements.

Miwaki Ruins (map): https://goo.gl/maps/2kMPynUhoj7by1xX8

Miwaki Ruins (wiki): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawaki_Site

Museum site (Japanese): http://www.mawakiiseki.jp/

the time in Japanese prehistory, traditionally dated between c. 14,000–300 BCE,[1][2][3] during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity

wikipedia

The museum building was very interesting and both shape and contrast to the contents which were rustic pottery, natural building materials and organic art whereas the structure was a brick cylinder with various halls attached.

Continue reading Museum / Exhibit: Miwaki Ruins Jomon-era / Noto, Japan, 2019

Scenic / Historical Waystation: Oyashirazu Road / Niigata, Japan, 2019 (Geosite and Community Road feat. Rev. Weston)

Blurb: On our meandering adventure of a honeymoon in May-June 2019, we travelled by many means of convenience including a wide variety of trains, rental cars, occasional coach buses and what not. See the whole Shinkonryoko Scrapbook for a mixed-media ephemera overview and a list of places visited for the curious.

the mighty Sea of Japan coast! in the distance, the modern highway on pilings now whisking folks easy from region to the next

And, along the way, made a top at a remarkable “scenic waystation” in Niigate-ken which commemorated a unique piece of Japan geography which (in brief): in olden times posed an incredible challenge to pass from one region to the other because of steep mountains and minimal coastline/headlands.

Oyashirazu Cliffs (map): https://goo.gl/maps/zKVCCFTWMxSSPoRo6

As such, travellers *could* risk going right along the coast at low tide but the distance was too great to travel without getting swept out to sea,. Later, a variety of pathways were constructed along the side of the mountain, rather treacherous to say the least, especially when carrying cargo. The area, now popular for hiking and exploring also showed evidence of pedestrian tunnels and other engineering marvels.

As “modern times” came along, new roads were built including the highway now clearly visible built on pilings high above the sea and skirting the coast line. Driving along it later was quite a ride, felt like a playland attraction of sorts as we “levitated” after the crashing waves of the Sea of Japan as well as going through extensive modern tunnels.

Continue reading Scenic / Historical Waystation: Oyashirazu Road / Niigata, Japan, 2019 (Geosite and Community Road feat. Rev. Weston)

Museum Exhibit: D. T. Suzuki Zen / Kanazawa, Japan, 2019

Blurb: On our meandering adventure of a honeymoon in May-June 2019, we travelled by many means of convenience including a wide variety of trains, rental cars, occasional coach buses and what not. See the whole Shinkonryoko Scrapbook for a mixed-media ephemera overview and a list of places visited for the curious.

i see you too

As such, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken (a city filled with exceptional museums – by my standards, especially small, specialized, and a little bit quirky) we visited the D.T. (Daisetz) Suzuki Zen museum.

DT Suzuki Zen Museum (map): https://goo.gl/maps/9SWpxbjfF9pM2R386

Museum page (Kanazawa tourism): https://www.kanazawa-museum.jp/daisetz/english/about.html

DT Suzuki (wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._T._Suzuki

you know i love this post slot

This esteemed gentleman was largely the driving force for introducing the concept of Zen Buddhism to the “west” in contemporary times. He spoke several languages and traveled widely, certainly influencing notable figures as Alan Watts and Gary Snyder and possibly you.

the restraint of *not* filling walls with *everything all at once* is not something i am accustomed to :)

The museum is a modern, rendered concrete designed by Yoshio Taniguchi largely assembled rectangles with a water courtyard with large windows playing with light against the garden.

As one might expect, lots of space for contemplation throughout the buildings, long empty hallways, simple signage, a few large pictures and wonderful scrolls.

the scholar and teacher DT Suzuki doing his scholarly pursuits
Continue reading Museum Exhibit: D. T. Suzuki Zen / Kanazawa, Japan, 2019

Museum / Exhibit: Hokusai, print master / Nagano, Japan, 2019 (w/ minor notes)

Blurb: On our meandering adventure of a honeymoon in May-June 2019, we travelled by many means of convenience including a wide variety of trains, rental cars, occasional coach buses and what not. See the whole Shinkonryoko Scrapbook for a mixed-media ephemera overview and a list of places visited for the curious.

Primary aims were to visit friends, stay at all manner of accommodations and see loads of museums, especially, spontaneous, small-ish and quirky if possible.

1 and only 1, snippet of Hokusai museum

As such, in the town of Obuse, Nagano-ken, we made a stop at a museum for the famous print block artist, Hokusai. His name may not be as recognizable as his work (yup, that big wave from the “37 views of Mt Fuji” series) the museum (current exhibit anyhow) didn’t really pack in the well-know pieces but rather focused on his work making soerta pre-cursors to manga comics with endless “clip art” doodles, characters and life shape studies.

The museum wasn’t “photo friendly” (that’s fine) but including a few atmospheric snaps to recall that “yes, we went here”. As usual loaded up at the gift shop (so many postcards and books!). Pardons for underwhelming post (we did get tasty dessert afterwards nearby)

no photos in galleries but evidence we were “there”

Hokusai-kan museum (map): https://goo.gl/maps/cSDGgaN4j2Q4WHpFA

Tip: apparently there is a discount if you are rocking traditional Japanese kimono or jinbei, great!

Continue reading Museum / Exhibit: Hokusai, print master / Nagano, Japan, 2019 (w/ minor notes)

Museum / Exhibit: Shinse Kinenkan / Kanazawa, 2019 (feat. traditional apothecary)

he’s ready to dole out your ‘scrip

Field Notes regarding exhibit/museum/gallery/garden dossiers:

These posts, such as they are, are for recollection, inspiration, reference and possible remixing. I say this to remind myself these round-ups are not meant to be textbooks, comprehensive guides, analysis – critical or otherwise, or a “master’s thesis”. So much goodness in these exhibits – whether grand and well-funded museums or (my favourite) grassroots operations, or even spontaneous art around the edges in unexpected circumstances – that i enjoy archiving.

Also noting often, museums have a “no photo” policy and of course, art and artifacts are best experienced in-person, or with fine reproductions at least, so consider my humble dossirs as a stand-in, in the meanwhile, with a special eye to shut-ins and other who have a hard time getting out and about.

Photography encouraged
from Douglas Coupland’s “Everything is Everywhere is Anywhere” exhibit

As such, these round-ups will be lightly annotated with usually (just) the name of the museum, possible circumstance and/or approximate date of the visit, possible link to museum website and or map for your reference and then a flow of photos.

I almost always buy museum exhibit books, as well as many other items from the gift shop, so if you have any specific questions about any of the pieces displayed, please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to add some additional colour commentary – no guarantees.

Basics about Shinse Kinenkan:

This culture and folk art museum in Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken (visited on our Shinkonryoko Ramble in May/June 2019) was wonderfully charming. Notably, was inexpensive (came with commemorative ticket) with cozy/comfortable feeling coming from a real community effort with volunteers on hand. The neighbourhood around was exceptional with loads of small museums, teahouses and historic lane ways to wander (additional stops referenced below), and much less hectic compared to “the old capital” :).

The first floor features the re-created apothecary of a traditional Japanese/Chinese pharmacy (as such, special dedication to my dear friend TCM Dr. Trevor) plus, in the back, a tearoom where Basho the haiku poem visited (dude was everywhere) and other rooms filled with handicrafts. The upstairs more art and artefacts from the historic neighbourhood in Kanazawa.

The Pharmacy

Continue reading Museum / Exhibit: Shinse Kinenkan / Kanazawa, 2019 (feat. traditional apothecary)

Outing: inland sea beach and pizza (and camera goofing)

just up around the bend

Along our adventures, in this case, June 2022, we made a return visit to a stretch of beach called Nishwaki with a handy wood fired pizza oven/ hang out/ playground/ parking called Iweburo around Ichiro’s birthday. (He really wanted to go back to the sea even since the trip to Shimane when he saw the surfers.)

We ordered pizzas and then spread out blankets, chairs etc and picnic on the beach. Few people, some high-school/college age kids were playing games while the whipped whipped around a bit, the fellas from an takoyaki shop nearby chased a blowing red paper lantern. Ichiro went in for a bit and managed a swim (wade out for a bit amidst the seagrass).

Our friend Ayumi who lives nearby joined us there. (Foreshadowing, we are going to her top floor apartment for fireworks soon).

3 happy adventurers

The “inland sea” is very different than the rugged sea of Japan (or the Pacific coast of which i am not so familiar). Because the seto ni kai is protected by islands, this was a useful place for manufacturing, mining, shipping and transport. As such, some of the locations are hardly pristine but regardless, scenic and handy.

beach, not to scale

The Pizza Café is totally my style with reggae music playing, guitar scattered around, handbillsfor live music, drums and shakers and Legos and coffee.

Continue reading Outing: inland sea beach and pizza (and camera goofing)

Outing: Hosokawa Bizen-yaki Pottery studio

Bizen yaki kiln

Along our adventures, we went to the notable pottery town of Bizen to visit master potter Hosokawa-san (you may recall he was commissioned to create 142 custom sake cups for our wedding party). He was having a studio day as part of some village campaign. They are great folks and have a son around Ichiro’s age that he’s yet to meet.

Note that Bizen is one of six historic ceramic centres in Japan noted for its no glaze, multi-day, wood-fired style. The pots are often nested within each other and stuffed with straw which, along with the intense heat, creates the unique colouring and patterns on the rather rustic and rugged looking ceramic. The clay fires so hard that even a relatively thin bowl is quite strong.

Various ceramics for sale were set up in the front of the studio and we bought a couple of gifts… Of course we always want to keep for ourselves but you know how goes.

Continue reading Outing: Hosokawa Bizen-yaki Pottery studio

Ichiro meets Ichiro sensei + airplanes and fireworks in Noto

(Then i noted): He comes home today. I used to wanna be a rockstar or a pro hockey player and always out on the road/tour but now, four days away from him and it feels like he’s leveled up again and I don’t wanna miss a single day, ever. #io in Noto {photos by Ryoko, edits me}

always ready for adventure!

A few notes from Ichiro’s first plane trip with Mama to visit Hongo Ichiro sensei on Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture. Train was no really possible so went from Okayama’s (adorable) Momotaro airport (OKJ) to Haneda then on to Noto with a group taxi to town.

Stayed with sensei at his converted fish processing plant turned house/workshop and then at a minshuku guesthouse with some friends.

What follows a few a few notes while my darling were away and a couple photos Ryoko sent from the “end of the world”.

ichiro on the go!

So it began: Ichiro loaded up his backpack with a favorite book, stuffed penguin, travel cup, snacks, handkerchief and an Insta photo of the two of us.

We’d dropped a friend off at Momtaro before and since, Ichiro is intrigued and excited about airplanes and he/we wave and say “hikoki bai bai” whenever one is overhead.

tie dayes in “family tartan” made by brother/uncle Dan

So… dropped off a Momotaro airport with parents and had an extra lunch before breezing through the mellow regional airport. Their ANA service was “first of a new route” or something so they received a commemorative souvenir.

i explained the importance and benefits of being kind and friendly to the staff, in this case from best airline ANA
Continue reading Ichiro meets Ichiro sensei + airplanes and fireworks in Noto

Gold & Silver, Silver & Gold / daveo at Kyoto temples (years apart)

daveo / A few years apart Kyoto Temples in Japan Kinkaku-ji Ginkaku-ji

“Stake my future on a hell of a past
Looks like tomorrow is coming on fast
Ain’t complaining ’bout what I got
Seen better times, but who has not?

Silvio
Silver and gold
Won’t buy back the beat of a heart grown cold
Silvio
I gotta go
Find out something only… {snip’d}”

R. Hunter, B. Dylan

Family at Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto

Your Olson pals at Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto (wiki / map / inside kyoto) on a trip in April 2022.

Your Olson pals at Ginkaku-ji 

Blurb: Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺, lit. “Temple of the Silver Pavilion”), officially named Jishō-ji (慈照寺, lit. “Temple of Shining Mercy”), is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the constructions that represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period.

Idea: I might start making this year’s festive holiday cards just because there is a great photo (taken by a stranger on an iPhone 5) *except i look a little bit chubby, Ichiro just woke up, Ryoko is perfect.