mit_souko

Gomen, I had to remove the wishes card (publishing restrictions).

Here is a photo of Takki, Mori-san and Domoto Koichi as it appeared in Japanese newspapers today in preparation for the launching of Mori-san's single.

I want to thank Mich at takki.us for her beautiful scans, which enabled me to make these new icons.

Yakushima is a beautiful little island just south of Kagoshima at the south east end of Kyushu. It is round, with a 2000m mountain in the middle. The ascent is rather steep, and also makes for a very interesting shift in climate from the subtropical coast, with lots of flowering pink hibiscus, through a temperate level, to the cold upper reaches where there are thick cedar forests.


Warm beach (photo courtesy of my friend Michael)

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Another sunny beach

However, this sun makes the water evaporate, and gather into clouds, which then pour rain onto the forests. I am reciting what was in an interesting documentary we saw on the island and its life cycle.


Ominous clouds gather

All this rain produces waterfalls which you seem to encounter at every turn of the road.


Senpiro no taki


Ohko no taki

There are low growing beautiful pale pink rhododendrons unique to the island, unfortunately spring blooming, so we only saw pictures of their flowers (they are marketed in the US as "Yaku Princess"), and of course the cedars, some of them 3000 years old. There is a wonderful atmosphere in that cool rain forest. I understand it was used as the enchanted forest in the Princess Momonoko story.


Jomon sugi cedar in the mist


Yakushima rhododendron

The forest hosts a number of small deer and a fair number of macaque monkeys. These last are quite indifferent to staring tourists.


Macaque monkey, a little blurry, as seen from a moving minibus

We only had a couple of days on Yakushima, and I wish I could have stayed longer. Failing that, I hope I can return someday.

I though I would insert a few things before Igo on to Yakushima.

I really enjoy Japanese food. Sometimes it is in a more formal setting, an exquisite presentation, like in the better ryokans.


Typical ryokan dinner

To the left you can see a bit of a wooden lid. This covers a pot for shabu-shabu, which sits on an individual burner. Other dishes, not yet served, will appear: other fish, miso soup and rice, etc.

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I also enjoy the ordinary restaurant food, which occasionally reserves surprises. I was reading a menu, since I can always read the kana and sometimes the kanji, and I deciphered: po-to-fu and realized they meant pot-au-feu (pot on the fire) a classic French stew. Another time I came upon hayasu raisu. Now that dish was practically the star of Ryusei no Kizuna. Of course I had to try it, and it was delicious! Pastries in Japan deserve particular mention . From humble an-pan buns to fancy cakes, they are as good as anywhere in the world, and that is a compliment from a French person!

One other favorite thing about Japan are the gardens, and the charming spots even in small unassuming towns.


Little bridge, Yufuin


Quaint sake shop, Yufuin


Thatch-roofed farmhouse, Yufuin


Hidden lantern, Yufuin


Misty fall foliage near a waterfall

To be continued...

Beppu was warm and sunny. It has "hells" also, quite well known. There are rather more, and of varying colors. One sees them in a pleasant park.


Steam escaping from a volcanic pond

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I thought this next one very pretty.


Blue pond

It is rather large. From the toriis at the rear of the photo, you can take a path up the hill to a pleasant view.


Foot bath

This was an off season weekday, so not many people took advantage of the "foot onsen"


Obviously. the red pond

In another city, we saw some rather remarkable displays of mums. Most are beautiful, some are a bit "over the top"


Mum bonsai display


Pink "Fuji" mums



Mum roofed pagoda, not in full bloom yet

We continued along southern Kyushu, ending up in Kagoshima, which has a subtropical climate. Palm tree lined avenues and lots of flowers. Kagoshima used to be an island, but a couple of centuries ago an eruption filled the straight and joined it to the Kyushu mainland.


Basalt ridges along the coast


Sunset on the beach, Kagoshima

We left for Yakushima, which I will talk about in my next post.

I just returned from a two weeks trip to Japan. The object was to visit Kyushu, where I had never been

.I started in Tokyo as usual, except that this time, instead of traditional Asakusa, I stayed in Shiodome, a very modern area of Tokyo. It is full of very modern buildings. You go from one to the other by the way fo bridges and galleries, or else by underground passages. You may never have to use the streets!

Here is an example.


You can see the bridge above the street.

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Here is a curious one


I guess they resolved the problems the wind might cause through that cut out.


This is a decorative panel in the lobby of my hotel, which was located in a rather interesting high rise.

One aside: the vending machines at the hotel had Takki's Takara lemon drink, which I finally got to taste! My verdict: pleasant, refreshing, a bit too sweet for my taste. This the one and only time I saw it for sale. They had it in 2 sizes and also in another citrus flavor.

I had no show to go to this time, so one of the days a friend and I went to Ueno Park and visited the wonderful museum there, where we also had an oishi lunch. We strolled in the park, and then went on to the Ginza. There I bought some CDs, and admired the goods at Itoya, a wonderful stationary store, if you can call that a place of several stories, where you can find all sorts of hand made paper, calligraphy supplies, lovely ornamented cards, etc. Then of course we loitered in the department stores.

We flew from Tokyo to Nagasaki, on the south-east coast of Kyushu. It is not a particularly attractive city, although of historical importance. Next was Unzen, where we stayed in a lovely ryokan. It was near the local "hells" (bubbling, steamy mud holes showing volcanic activity).


Unzen walk, behind our ryokan

From there we went on to Aso-san, a large and high volcano which has shaped that whole area. It is now extinct.


Crater lake, Aso-san


Another crater lake

It was rainy and quite cold on Aso, thus, while it was interesting, we were glad to go on down to Beppu, which I will talk about in my next post, real soon!

I amused myself creating this image

On our way up the east coast of Spain, we made a brief stop in Valencia. Here I saw some intriguing modern buildings. I took pictures, but it was just off a busy road, and I was dodging traffic, so they could be better.


Parabola with palms

I wish I could say what it is, but I don't know. It would have been nice to visit the interior.

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Just had to put this up. I think the colors, the movement, all make this picture special.
It was taken at the Yokohama concert. Nyanco was kind enough to send it to me, it is her exclusive. Please do not repost!


Green and white

I think I should post something new. I have some paintings to show.



This is a view of the Bagan plain in Myanmar where there are around 1000 temples and stupas. Some are in ruins, others still in use. They are quite ancient, having been built from the middle of the 11th century until the end of the 13th. It is a striking place, with an eerie atmosphere at times. Not too many tourists, as Myanmar does not attract large numbers of visitors. The roads being unpaved, it is dusty as well as hot, but truly worth a visit.



This one shows a street in a northern Morocco village. They seem all painted in blinding blue and white. They are also usually very clean, although here I caught an empty bag of chips probably dropped by a tourist. A lonely cat did not seem to find much.



This is a marsh in the Camargue, an unusual French region of the Rhone delta. Flamingos actually summer here, and there are many water birds.

I am at work on a new project.

After a week on Ischia we flew back to Milan.

From there we drove down to the Ligurian coast south of Genoa (a couple of hours or less). My friend has a pied-a-terre at Santa Margherita, a small port on the coast.

a view of the Ligurian coast


a roof garden at Santa Marguerita

On one of the days there, we walked over to Portofino, a well known resort on the coast, about an hour's walk. We ran into a lot of police along the way, as it seems there was some reunion in Santa Margherita, and the prime minister, Berlusconi, who rents a villa in Portofino, had decided to attend.

Portofino is very lovely, but it is so well known it is almost a cliche, the perfect image of an Italian small port. Innumerable paintings depict it.

classic view of Portofino

It is actually quite a deep bay, a good shelter for the boats. the houses are generally narrow and have been extended upwards. The boats used ot be just fishing boats, but nowadays they are pleasure ones. We took a small coastal one to rejoin Santa Margherita. The latter is quieter and less touristy. As the coast is cooler than Milan in the summer, many Milanese have vacation places there, although there are but few beaches, the coast is too abrupt and rocky.

public garden, Santa Margherita

Well, we returned to Milan, my 2 weeks were at an end, and I flew home, thinking it had gone by too fast!

I have just returned from 2 weeks in Italy. Naturally the food was delicious, grilled sole and other fish, various pastas, gelati, fruits, etc. I will not go into details.

I landed in Milan and had a day and 1/2 there dedicated to shopping. Then my friend and I joined other friends and went to Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples. It is about an hour by ferry from Naples or Capri. It is a lovely island, renowned for its flowers

Ischia wild flowers

Bougainvillea everywhere

and lots of oleanders.

It is also known for its hot springs. So, for a week, we lolled in warm pools similar to the Japanese onsens. Several are located in 2 main resorts. First, in Forio, where we were, the Giardini Poseidon, which is quite large. It has 10 or more pools of varying sizes and temperatures.

a path at the Poseidon

A small pool

In Lacco Ameno, the next port, is the Negombo. Its advantage is its situation on a small protected bay with a lovely beach.

distant view of the Negombo's bay (you can see the end of the beach, which continues hidden on the right).

It has nice pools too.

small thermal pool

We were staying at a pensione in Forio, a small port. It is an early 19th cent. house with thick stone walls which keep it cool. In the morning each day we walked about 3.5 km to the Poseidon gardens along a coastal road. There are a few steep slopes, but luckily the end each way is downhill. The walk by the sea is pleasant, and you get the scent of the lemon flowers in the air.

When we went to the Negombo, it was more taxing: 10 km... You do get great views

Forio is in the far right


glimpse of the coast near Lacco Ameno

But we arrived hot and sweaty. So we returned home by bus, and took it both ways the next day. In spite of mostly sitting under beach umbrellas and wearing block-out creams, I managed to get sunburned.

I guess I will stop here now and finish (I hope) tomorrow.

I will be in Italy for the next 2 weeks, and will not have access to a computer. So I will not make comments on friends blogs, nor of course post anything on mine. I hope to bring back some pictures, and maybe painting subjects. In the meantime, here are a couple of paintings.


Loch Duich, Scotland


Todra Gorge, Morocco

This turned out to be a day with really gorgeous weather. Perfect to go visit Kurama-dera. I met my friend Aya-san at 10, and we went to Demachiyanagi Station. We reached it by subway, first crossing Gojo bridge to get there. Gojo bridge is where Yoshitsune first met Benkei, but it has changed a lot in 800 years! Now it is a large bridge with a lot of traffic, not romantic at all.

The best thing is to ride the train all the way to the last station, Kurama. Then a little cable car takes you part of the way up the mountain. After that, you just have stairs ( a lot of them) to contend with.

Some of the stairs at Kurama

But rewards await you. After a turn, you suddenly see

the pagoda, Kurama

Actually, there were still more flowering sakuras on either side. We arrived at the same time as a small group of Japanese tourists, and we all went a collective "Oh!" of admiration. Then we all lined up to take photos. LOL

This view encourages one to climb yet more stairs, and finally we got to the main temple. There are rather few tourists there, as it is out of the way North East of Kyoto, and a somewhat arduous visit. But it is really worth it. The site is peaceful and quite beautiful.

side view of main temple, Kurama


balcony, Kurama

It is restful to sit a bit and absorb the atmosphere. There are beautiful spots all around.

After Kurama, one ought to go at least to Kibune, a small town not too far away with a temple of its own. There is also Kurama Onsen, which is very nice. We skipped it and just visited Kibune. Two ways of going there: for the energetic, on foot up the rest of the mountain and down an infinite number of winding stairs through the forest on the other site. We went the easy way, by train (only one station away) and then by bus up a hill. You arrive at a village, and go on from there to the temple. We did go into the forest and climbed stairs for about 35 min. You have to be fit! The remarkable thing about that forest (towering cryptomerias and other trees) is that there were quantities of large camellias in bloom. They were huge, really  trees rather than shrubs, and quite gorgeous.

Torii to Kibune temple

We got to the temple, and there was a wonderful smell of cedar, as it had just been rebuilt! So we got to see how those places look before age darkens the wood. I want to note that Japanese temples are often rebuilt, at least in part, as a lot of the wood is eventually damaged or rots, especially where it is unpainted.

Kibune temple

To the left is the purifying fountain, a little hard to see in the picture.

We walked back to the town and had lunch in a tiny restaurant. I always enjoy those little places, of which there is a legion across Japan.  Then back on the train and back to Kyoto. I had wanted to visit Kurama-dera for such a long time, because of its association with Yoshitsune, and then my friend Karen had given me a glowing account of the place. This was a perfect day.

The next day we went to Hakone for a couple of days of relaxation (sort of, as we did do some exploring and went for a while on the old Tokaido road, the one the daimyos used to walk along on their way to pay obeisance to the shogun in Edo. It is lined by giant cryptomerias).

Then back to Tokyo (Shinjuku and some last minute frantic shopping). And on towards home, tired but happy!

This is my third visit to Kyoto, and unfortunately very short this time, just one afternoon and two days.

The first afternoon we went walking around Gion, one of the largest geisha areas and the most famous one.  There is a whiff of the past there, with old houses and alley ways. Occasionally you get a glimpse of a geisha.

I titled this "geisha", but I actually think (from her hair ornaments) that it might be a maiko (apprentice geisha).

We went to the Miyako Odori. This means dance festival of the capital. Miyako means capital and people used to call Kyoto just Miyako. When it lost its status in favor of Tokyo at the end of the 19th cent., this festival was started, to keep some of Kyoto's luster. It is a series of dances and scenes from Kabuki plays presented by the geishas and maikos.

The last dance at the Odori

I liked the Odori this year rather better than last year's. The costumes are always breathtaking, and the dances lovely, but this year the play scenes were more interesting, also easier to understand for those of us ignorant of old theatrical Japanese.

The next day I went on my own by train to visit Arashiyama, a western area of Kyoto, really more a suburb. It is a very quiet, charming old place, with old houses and of course gardens. I had lunch in a tiny restaurant. They placed me at a table overlooking a small courtyard where orchids were blooming. Almost too pretty for zaru soba!

Then I went by taxi to Saiho-ji, also known as Koke-dera (the moss temple). The place is renowned for its several centuries old garden covered in mosses (100+ varieties). You have to write about 2 months ahead, indicating the date of your visit to ask for permission. They answer giving you the time at which you will be admitted. I was armed with my permit and presented it. I was welcomed in, asked for 3,000 yen, and then ushered with the chosen few to a temple room where we copied sutras for a short while. A monk came and gave a prayer, someone hit a gong, then we were finally let loose in the garden. Well, it was worth jumping through a few hoops!

That place is remarkable. It is not just its many ponds and little mossy bridges and beautiful trees. It is an undefinable atmosphere of serenity and beauty, to which photos do not do justice. But here is one anyway:


If you have a keen eyesight, you can distinguish a reddish blur in the upper right corner of the pond: a group of large koi.

I returned to the Kyoto station just early enough to go visit Sanjusangendo (the 30 pillars temple). Michelle mentioned it in her January trip report on takki.us. There are 1000 Kannon statues there, which I found rather boring. However, I liked very much the statues of fierce deities (Kamakura period) which are also displayed. One of them in particular reminded me very much of Matsudeira Ken (Benkei to Takki's Yoshitsune in the taiga drama). It grimaced just the same way! The garden is pretty, if small.

Sanjusangendo, glimpse of the garden

The next day was my long awaited visit of Kurama-dera. So I will devote a separate entry to it.


 

We left Tokyo Sunday morning by shinkansen to Nagano. I love those high speed trains (the shinkansen varies from 200mph to 350mph), also the TGV in France. They are comfortable, fairly quiet, and of course, fast!

We went on to Matsumoto, where we stayed at a charming ryokan. The purpose was to visit the castle, one of the few remaining castles of old Japan. It is not as big and imposing as Himeji, but still very interesting. There is quite a nice garden around it, where some sakuras and quinces were blooming.

Matsumoto castle

stone lantern and weeping cherry

The only problem was that it was Sunday, and rather crowded. A lot of families were there, and climbing the steep narrow stairs in the crowd was at times a bit difficult. Nevertheless, it was attractive and interesting. We were recompensed for our efforts by the usual sumptuous dinner at the ryokan after a restoring bath in their onsen pool.

We only stayed there overnight, and went on to Takayama, an old town in the mountains, left untouched by the war, and with many old houses still standing. It is in part because of its relatively isolated location in the mountains. There are many interesting shops, and they make a particularly attractive lacquer. I could not resist buying some pieces, with the problem of placing them in my suitcase left to deal with later!

Takayama, the river

The next day was supposed to be their big matsuri day, which is one of the more famous in Japan. Unfortunately, we woke up to steady rain, and they had to cancel the parades, the famous floats remained in their garages, you could just go take a peek at them. Some of the streets have covered sidewalks, so I did some more shopping and then walked back to the hotel, getting wetter and wetter in spite of my umbrella. I gave up walking in the afternoon and crossed the street to the town hall, which offers free computer use, and surfed the net to my heart's content.

We went on to Kanazawa, a very nice city on the west coast. For those who have seen the NHK taiga drama Toshiie to Matsu, this is where the Maedas ruled. The castle unfortunately burned down (except for some outer buildings) in the 19th cent. But the gorgeous park remained. It is Kenrokuen, one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan. It was very overcast, but still really quite splendid.

Kenrokuen pond

I will spare you more cherry tree pictures! The next day we went to visit the so-called ninja-temple. It actually has nothing to do with ninjas, but is called that because it is full of trapdoors, secret passages and stairways. It has various escape routes and a secret safe chamber for the Maeda lord. It was built by Toshiie and Matsu's younger son, the 3rd lord Maeda in the 17th century. The rest of the city is very attractive to walk around in, with many "samurai houses" still standing.

This year of course one of the big highlights of my trip was finally being able to see Takizawa Enbujou. So, before I continue, I want to post a couple of pictures of the theater, Shimbashi Enbujou. It is actually not easy to take pictures there, because of people milling around. I finally managed at intermission to capture the theater shop (that's the permanent shop, as opposed to stands selling pamphlets, etc.) and one of the hallways. To the right of the hallway are niches with seats where people were eating their bentos.  
                 Theater shop, Shimbashi Enbujou

Hallway, Shimbashi Enbujou

takki.us has several photos of the theater.

I only had three days in Tokyo, really only two, as the first was taken up by Enbujou, and I tried to make the most of them. I was staying in Asakusa, which is a pleasant older district with a labyrinth of shopping alleys near the famous Kaminari-mon gate and Senso-ji temple. I spent a lot of time shopping in the Ginza!

But one of the things I like in Tokyo is looking at the interesting modern buildings. I found two I had not noticed before:

 "warped" building, Ginza

"cage" building, Shinjuku

Finally, one of the charms of Tokyo, for me, is its parks. Some quite recent, like the pocket parks of Shinjuku, between the skyscrapers, or very old ones, like Hama Rikyu, which is between the Ginza and the harbor. This last is unique in having salt water in its ponds, which fluctuate with the tide.

Cormorant drying its wings, Hama Rikyu park

Time to finish up my short review of Enbujou.

The second act, about Yoshitsune, is almost unchanged from 2008, so there is not that much for me to say about it. However, it was my first time seeing it live, and I was even more enthused by parts of it in the theater than on the Dvd.

The "coming to life" of Yoshitomo is eerie and seemed more significant. It made the scene impressive, a bit like Hamlet's ghost. Later on, the passage at the Nyoi crossing where Benkei beats Yoshitsune was very moving and anguishing. You felt the worry about the risk of discovery, the pain of the blows, both the physical one of the victim and the moral one of the faithful vassal giving them.

I found the relaxed interval where Tono comes on the stage with his marshmallows most enjoyable. There is a short exchange with one of the spectators whom he tosses the bag to, and the "vassals" come investigate. He does all those funny shadows while Benkei and Saburo are bickering, seems to be biding his time and enjoying himself until they remember his presence. It brings needed relaxation to this very tense 2nd act.

Of course I knew what to expect, yet Saburo and Benkei had been so appealing that their deaths are truly sad. Then the rain starts on stage, Yoshitsune keeps fighting until suicide is the only way out. Although I have watched the taiga drama about 3 times, and the Dvd a couple, I still had a knot in my throat at the end. Takki is so intense you feel the tragedy every time.

As a finale, so as not to send you home weeping, Takki and the cast performed With Love. That song is one of my very favorites. It has even displaced the instrumental Ki.se.ki. on my list.