Thursday 10 November 2016

I'm Back in England


This post will be politics-free, except to say that I am thinking of America and everyone who will be affected by today's news. Actually I've carefully avoided keeping up with world news during my month in Japan. It wasn't that hard, since I hardly had time to look at the internet, and I couldn't understand any of the newspapers, but let me thoroughly recommend stepping out of the flood of news that you can't do anything about, once in a while, just on principle.  Il faut cultiver notre jardin....

Japan was, if anything, even more fascinating than last time I went, two years ago.  I covered many miles  - and a fair bit of water too, as you see from the evening picture above.   I'm still feeling tired and jetlagged, but here are a few photos just to give you a flavour of what I did and saw.  I wasn't doing any travel articles, but I was doing some work there, and so one bonus was that I got to some places that were way off the tourist routes.

Japan's big cities can be magnificent but overwhelming, but much of the countryside is depopulated. This unbalance is not good in some ways, but the loneliness does leave enough mental space to consider the spirits, ghosts and the other supernatural beings who traditionally dwell in the Japanese landscape. Sometimes really got the feeling that they couldn't be too far away in the woods and mountains.  


Not that I'm suggesting this inoffensive couple were spirits - they just happened to be walking in an overgrown garden of a large mansion in Kakunodate. This is a small town in Akita prefecture that is known as a well preserved samurai town.  Akita is not a tourist area, though, so tour groups seemed noticeably absent and we had the place almost to ourselves.

The winters there are long and hard, and by now, I suppose Akita is covered in snow, so I am glad I saw its beautiful autumn. Japanese maples are the most delicate trees with brilliantly coloured autumn leaves. Imagine a place where they grow wild....the colours so bright they almost hurt your eyes.


I wish I'd had three times as long in Tokyo.  Below is something I snapped in a shop that sells festival and musical products. It looks impressive, but I don't know exactly what it is! Can anyone tell me?


This little group of Tokyo children were being shown an outdoor fish tank, and I was amused to see that all of them were interested in the fish, except for one little boy .... who was fascinated by me.


These folkloric characters seem to be making sake out of rice. I don't know who they are supposed to be, but in spite of their horns and fearsome appearance, they look pretty good tempered to me.


And this was my Halloween lunch, complete with pastry ghost (if you look carefully you see it is howling).  They couldn't find an orange pumpkin, but hey.  This photo was taken in the cafe of an art gallery on the 53rd floor of the Mori tower in Roppongi Hills where we saw a great exhibition on Art and the Universe. Actually it was almost worth paying the entrance fee just to sit in this cafe right next to that dizzying view!


When I went to Kyoto, a friend took me to the famous food market in Nishiki Street, where I snapped through the window of a specialist mushroom shop. 


At present exchange rates, 20,000 yen is £154 or $191 so the mushrooms this gentleman sells aren't really suitable for anyone's Sunday morning fry-up.


Also in Kyoto, I loved watching these friends having a bento picnic in the royal palace grounds.


Japanese aren't nearly as keen on sweets and cakes as Westerners, but I went into a nice old fashioned coffee shop in the city which had lovely cakes, which in this case are guarded by a pottery dog on the plate.  At least, I think it's a dog. What do you think?


We were lucky to have good weather throughout our trip, which I appreciated when we spent a few days at Takamatsu, on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea. We got quite used to chugging around the place on ferries taking a look at various islands.   I specially liked Ogijima, which hardly anyone visits. Here's the guardian of the Ogijima lighthouse doing some litter picking on the beach.  I only saw him and two other people the whole afternoon.



The image below was taken on the island of Teshima.  Several empty houses on the island have been converted into art works, and this one, called "Il Vente," is entirely decorated in an optical illusion style. The picture shows the cafe area, which is partly in an open courtyard - it was shut when I visited, but that just meant that nothing distracted from the artwork. Downstairs, the weird visual effects in the house were created by shadows, lines and accents of bright colour. Upstairs, a combination of spots and lines was even more disorientating, yet somehow the place managed to have a pleasant atmosphere when you were inside.


The islands offer a chance to roam around unspoiled countryside with many views of sea and mountains. It is sad that so much of Japan's countryside is neglected, for some of it is very charming. Small scale and traditional, it usually offers something to see before you have been walking for too long - ricefields, cosmos fields, neat rows of splendid vegetables, the occasional cow, fig-trees,  many persimmon trees and, every now and then, a satsuma orchard.



Oh, and of course, any number of bright wildflowers.



Finally, here is an image from the Hiroshima peace museum.  I am not that easily moved to tears, but it was a most sobering description of what happens when nuclear weapons are used. I will write about it, but today isn't the day to do so. 

 The shot belowshows is a clip from a film of the bombing, overlaid with a moving poem written by someone who was a tiny baby when the bomb went off, and how his mother fled with him through scenes of devastation. I think all politicians should have to take a trip to this museum. It's so upsetting but when you get outside, it's encouraging to look around and see what a busy and thriving city Hiroshima is today.



So this is a taster of what I did in Japan. Apologies for any misspellings, etc. I am just too jetlagged to notice, I think. But I'll be writing more, and explaining more, when I ave tackled everything that has been waiting now I'm home! 

47 comments:

  1. Thank you. It is good to be reminded that we here in the US are not the only people in the whole damn world.
    So. Yes. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks. Hope it helps. I know I was poleaxed after the Brexit vote, needed something.

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  2. Welcome home! It sounds like you have many wonderful stories to tell!

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  3. I can understand the attractions of the countryside...a pity it never seems to figure in the tourist literature.

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  4. Hello Jenny, What a great time you have had in Japan! Everything is attractive and interesting, especially the gentle colour of Autumn leaves, and your Halloween lunch is fantastic. The striped house is amazing, and what an inspired thing to do to empty buildings. Avoiding politics over here, too...

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  5. Fabulous pictures. Those mushrooms are too rich for my taste, or my wallet.

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  6. Nice trip and wonderful photos.
    Son thinks it is a Mikoshi and how they can build them. If you type Mikosh it will send you to wikipedia. I don't know how to link to a comment.
    The little dog is a Akita or a Kishu Inu. The curly tail is the giveaway.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Thanks, Parsnip. I think you are right about the Mikoshi, thanks to your son! I have never even heard of a Kishu Inu!

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  7. Lovely virtual trip to some site in Japan, thanks.

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  8. Japan is beautiful. Thank you
    Wishing you much rest

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  9. Fabulous pictures and descriptions, Jenny, as always! Is it really 2 years since your previous trip to Japan? I love the landscape and garden photos, there truly is something magical about those places.

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  10. It's so wonderfully refreshing to be away from the dismal news - and especially the recent elections here in the U.S. Sometimes "ignorance" is indeed bliss.

    I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Japan. The photos are fascinating and I love all of them. Those autumnal maple trees are gorgeous. Somehow, I never think of Japan as having an autumn with colored foliage. The Halloween lunch is amusing - - and what a spectacular view!

    Wow - I never knew that mushroom could be so expensive (makes me think I should start cultivating some....).
    I like the cute little dog on the cake plate.

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  11. I always enjoy your posts I think because they are so reflective of your view on life. I've never had your desire for travel and exploring (although I have travelled quite a lot) but I do enjoy reading about it and occasionally, as with your posts on Japan, I'm moved to thinking about a visit.

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  12. Wonderful photos and commentary, looking forward to the rest. Feeling a bit untethered myself at the moment...

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  13. These are lovely - a welcome respite from the madness of the wretched election. And lovely to see some rural pictures as well as the cities.

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  14. Thank you for the beautiful images. I'm sure many of us really need them.

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  15. Welcome home. Wonderful collection of photographs, Jenny. I particularly liked the one of the children, oh and the one with those highly colourful leaves. Oh damn it, I liked them all.

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  16. So glad you enjoyed a break, it was clear you needed one. Don't get too involved in the latest happenings.
    "When you hear of wars and rumours of wars don't be alarmed, the end is not yet..."
    Such a tremendous foto at the top! Superb, what a view to have for several days! I would dislike it in snow however but it looks grand there. Jap cities do not attract, the country does however look interesting but how long before it is concreted over?
    The wee animal has the face of a bear an the tail of a squirrel!
    Sorry I have no sympathy regarding Hiroshima. Had the bombs not been dropped the war would have continued and our POWs would have been slain and thousands lost. You 'sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.' My niece has been there also and is hooked on Japan for some reason, I must pass this on tom her.
    I fancy the view from the tower but not if offered with sushi thanks very much!

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    1. I think if you had been to the Hiroshima museum you would have had sympathy for all the innocent folk who endured the living hell, which for some of them has lasted till this day. Of course I agree that dropping the bomb ended WW2, and in the hideous logic of war, we have to admit that this prevented even more and probably worse tragedies. But as for "sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind" I think we might be seeing at the moment just how easy it is to slide into doing this, and how few people really want it. Some very, very ugly people out there right now sowing hate, dissent, discord and deliberately causing trouble,and getting away with it, because you and I are not getting together with others to stop them and curb their power. I'm not happy to accept that in a few years time it'll be OK that everyone in our country might be turned into piles of ash because we are somehow to blame for the haters and ambitious politicians who whipped up the stupid and dispossessed with their rhetoric. It is very moving to see how the peace park was founded by people from all walks of life who had direct experience of war, all of whom had lost so much, and wanted to ensure it never happened again for everyone in the world. So I hope you will understand why I don't think it is an appropriate response to suggest that it was all justified.

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    2. I am deeply impressed with your fair-minded,insightful,sympathetic way of thinking about what happened to Hiroshima and people involved...
      How did you like Setouchi Art Festival? I was wondering how your work turned out. The festival this year there was over, however, I'm going to Naoshima next month again.

      I hope you are getting back to daily lives all right now.

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    3. Dear Jenny - I’m glad that you enjoyed sunny and warm Japan, the contrast of cuttingedge metropolitan city and unspoiled nature of the countryside, and were almost free from that agonizing American election, which I had thought would be over after the election. I’m shocked immensely with the so many invisible T supporters who don’t say openly but at heart.

      I shed tears to the poem on the screen, your thoughts (in the comment), and “….. It's so upsetting but when you get outside, it's encouraging to look around and see what a busy and thriving city Hiroshima is today.” Life goes on no matter what happens. When only one atomic bombing was enough powerful to destroy the weakening country but additional one was dropped in Nagasaki two days later. The former is uranium type, the latter is plutonium type, from which I can’t deny it was an experiment, though truth is hidden. What I want to say is American president has an authority to permit or stop such a horrible act.

      I like all the selected photos, which is nice summary of your travel. My favorite is your Halloween lunch with the backdrop of the dizzying view.

      Yoko

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    4. Thank you for your reply, Yoko. I was really affected by the museum in Hiroshima, and the poem moved me very much - in fact, I tried to find who had written it but strangely, I was unable to get the information. Even the people in the museum didn't seem to know. It must be a good poet. It's also a good translation, very powerful in English.

      Since I've been home, I've been avoiding the news because I find it so upsetting. I have also been reading a book written in diary form by a female shopkeeper in England, in 1942. It's strangely reassuring to hear how many of her friends and neighbours were talking in very similar ways to how people are talking now. So many highly emotional remarks, and many predictions about the future, based on what had happened in the past. All were wrong.



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  17. The desertion of the country for urban areas is everywhere in the world...and somehow feels wrong.

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  18. Hello,Jenny,
    Regarding the third photo. The product you snapped is something looks like a miniature festival float? Such a great photo from the Mori tower in Roppongi Hills (not Rippongi). The lunch looks delicious and the view is wonderful. My kinder garden and elementary school were in that sight. I almost tears to see the photo! Your new header is wonderful.
    Hope you are fine. Have a good weekend.

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    1. Thanks Tomoko! Sorry for the misspelling. I was soooo tired when I wrote it! Oh, how interesting that your old schools were visible in the photograph. From that height the city resembles a wonderful model like you sometimes get in a museum.

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  19. We fell in love with Japan too, what beautiful photos you've taken.

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  20. Oh Jenny, I loved this post. So much. It's been at least 15 years since I was in Japan. Visiting the Peace museum was one of the most profound experiences of my life. I wish I'd known you were going there, our friend Kiyo is a translator/interpreter. So many places you saw that I never did that it makes me a bit wistful and thinking of another journey! Welcome home.

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  21. Welcome home! I always love to hear about your travels and Japan is fascinating!

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  22. Lovely to see you back, Jenny, and as always, with the most fascinating glimpses of other lives and beautiful scenery too. I loved the little boys in their yellow caps so captivated by the fish tank, and yes, I can imagine the Hiroshima museum was deeply affecting. Wonderful post.

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  23. Thank you for sharing photos of your Japan trip.
    How lovely to have so much time there and explore Japan.

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  24. A great post, as always, Jenny. So many lovely photos and descriptions. Thanks.
    I'm sure I'd feel dizzy and fall over in "Il Vente".

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  25. Hello, Jenny! Good news you're back home. Japan is interesting and to me is amazing country. I love your photo of Seto Inland, I enlarged it and watched very carefully. Nice view! Sure you liked you lunch at old fashioned coffee shop, cake seems delicious.

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  26. Such a treat to see your photo's and read your words. I could use a dose of quite countryside or a walk on a deserted beach about now.

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  27. I don’t understand, is Japan really as beautiful as the films, blogs, photos etc. show. If so it is the place for wounded souls. I love your photos and envy you your month of ambling, admiring and discovering.

    Japan is definitely a land of taste and discernment. I think.

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  28. For some reason it's so unexpected to see unspoiled countryside in Japan. I always tend to think of crowded cities, masses of people, and high rise apartment complexes. Yet I know that Japan has beautiful landscapes away from the modern building...and thank you for showing us with your pictures.

    And yes, I'm afraid that cafe might give me a bit of vertigo!

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  29. And about time, too! Welcome back! Wonderful photos once again. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  30. Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventures in Japan Jenny.
    Welcome home and rest well.
    Kind regards
    Anna :o]

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  31. What fabulous photos. Welcome back, Jenny.

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  32. I love the houses cum art works. Some amazing optical effects! And I love the little boy at the fish tank who's far more interested in the foreign visitor! Is that a pottery dog? It looks more like a small bear somehow.

    It must have been quite an emotional experience being in Hiroshima and recalling the utter devastation and horror it faced at the end of World War Two.

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  33. Despite not having enough time in Tokyo, you did get to see some of the 'real' Japan. It is a fascinating country and the strangest I have ever visited. A real benefit too to escape the constant bombardment of news and step outside for a while.

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  34. What a wonderful experience - and pictures! The perfect antidote to current events.

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  35. Wonderful pictures again, but those tiny children stole my heart.

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  36. Beautiful photographs, as always. That overgrown garden is magical. I'd love to visit Japan someday. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your travels.

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  37. Lots of interesting information Jenny - it is good to escape the problems in the world from time to time, and return refreshed.
    My husband has been to Japan but I haven't - I enjoyed seeing your photos of the countryside as it doesn't often figure in travel brochures for some reason, and I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoyed Joanna Lumley's tv programme travelling through Japan a few weeks ago.

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  38. An interesting and most informative narrative! The photos are excellent, and I especially loved the natural beauty and your description of your visit to Hiroshima.

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  39. I have to say that china dog rather looks like he's squatting on the cake. Ha.

    That view out of the cafe window looks amazing. Looks like you had a wonderful time.

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