25/07/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Noto Hanto Art and Tiny Rice Terraces　能登半島

October 2017, Well, what a wet night at Himi michi no eki and, sadly an equally wet morning. We are marooned in the car as the rain lashes around. About 10 am the rain begins to ease, and it is possible to venture outside in the, still, intermittent rain. And so begins our tour of Noto Hanto (peninsula). We drive, in a very leisurely fashion, as there is little else to do. Pulling into the michi-no-eki at Noto Shokusai Ichiba, we look at fish. We leave around lunchtime and head on up the peninsula. Mitsukejima　　見附島 At Mitsukejima or Gunkanjima (warship island) we make a stop, so called because the steep […]

13/02/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Gujo Hachiman and Enku　郡上八幡

Day 74, November 2016, During the night, I had to remove some layers of clothing and we were not using sleeping bags. The morning is damp and very warm. We look around the michi no eki ‘Kokindenju no sato Yamato‘ which is a very pleasant place. It is laid out with small gardens and square ponds full of carp, linked by canals. There are large, flat stones placed here and there to serve as benches. The vegetable market is open and doing good business. On display are some odd vegetables that I have never seen before as well as the usual suspects. The temple museum that houses the Buddha images […]

31/12/2018 / Last updated : 16/03/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Hokusaikan in Obuse with added Snow Monkeys　小布施北斎館、野猿公園

Day 63, November 2016, Hokusai Museum in Obuse On a cold morning of chill rain and biting wind, we, wisely, decide to pay a visit to the Hokusai museum. This museum turns out to be an unexpected delight. I had no idea that Hokusai, in his later years, visited and worked in Obuse, with the help of a local patron. The variations of style exhibited here are truly stunning. The work of a genius or an “old man mad about art”. I recommend a visit to this small wonder of a museum. ＊Hokusai museum ; 1000 yen/adult Snow Monkeys　野猿公苑 From Hokusai we turn our attention to the, almost as famous, […]

27/12/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Sazaedo at Aizu Wakamatsu さざえ堂

Summer 2018, Sazaedo An intermittently wet day, so we drive to Aizu Wakamatsu in Fukushima prefecture, via the Bandaisan Gold Line, to visit Sazaedo. This is a spiral, wooden pagoda that was once a temple in its own right. It is situated, naturally, at the top of a flight or two of the inevitable steps. At first we climb to the very top of the steps, to visit the shrine. This is dedicated to the young boy soldiers who committed suicide when they found themselves to be on the losing side of the Boshin War. This was one of the last ditch resistance attempts against the Meiji Restoration’s abolition of […]

15/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Aomori museum of Art　青森県立美術館

summer 2018 As Honda is closed today we have time to kill, and decide to visit Aomori museum of Art. This is set in a large park and, we note, one crafty cyclist has been using it as a campsite. Chagall and Munakata Shiko On display are four vast Chagall works – theatre backdrops – well you can form your own opinion. The museum also featured work by native Aomori artists, notably Munakata Shiko whose work I was familiar with. This collection impressed me and I left with a higher opinion in his work and, after learning something of his life, the artist himself. Nara Yoshimoto’s cartoon dogs and girls, […]

04/10/2018 / Last updated : 10/05/2023 d.d Festival

Hirosaki Neputa ’18. Inakadate Tambo Art　弘前ねぷた、田舎館田んぼアート

Bandaisan SA to Hirosaki BanEtsu highway – Tohokudo highway about 485km　　　　　　　 All day on the highway from Bandai san SA to Hirosaki. Arriving in Hirosaki, we check the Road Station Hirosaki. This has a busy market and although parking is limited in a the front, there is more space available at the rear. The toilets are better than the first impression suggests but we decide to check michi-no-eki Inakadate. Tambo Art at Inakadate 2018 Inakadate is a much better prospect from […]

13/05/2018 / Last updated : 05/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Moerenuma Park – Noguchi Isamu モエレ沼公園

Day 30, October 2016, Moerenuma Park After Checking out of our better than usual hotel, replete after an excellent breakfast, we set off to investigate ‘Moerenuma Park‘. At first, we don’t understand the place at all but we slowly realize that it is a huge space, housing various, massive artworks, most notably by Noguchi Isamu. Strange at first, but gradually, we approve as we wander between and climb the unassuming exhibits that sometimes are not obviously exhibits at all. Noguchi Isamu, Sea Fountain. As we approach Noguchi Isamu’s Sea Fountain, coincidentally, its scheduled display is beginning, otherwise we would, stupidly, not have made any effort to see it. But […]

02/05/2018 / Last updated : 05/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Lake Akan – Ainu art　阿寒湖

Day 26, October 2016, We return to Tsuruimura , there is no action at the bridge, but we can hear activity in the fields a bit further down the road. We drive a little and stop to take pictures of about 60 tsuru(Japanese crane) in a field just for the record. They are too far away for a real photo; just dots like sheep on a hillside. Tsuru viewed, we are off to Lake Akan having had enough wetlands. However, Lake Akan proves to be a big disappointment given its fame. Lake Akan & Ainu Kotan The dismay begins with eating a lunchtime sandwich, on a damp bench, looking out over […]