NRT to ALB

After a month in Tokyo, I arrived back in Albany late Saturday night.  It took an exhausting amount of time: over 20 hours of travel door to door.  Reflecting on my experience, I can honestly say I will never be the same.  I am so thankful to have spent time in such a dynamic, vital culture, and I know my experiences there will enhance my perspective as a painter, professor and person.

For now, sayonara.

Japanese Food

I've had a number of questions about my typical meals in Japan.  Throughout the month, I experimented a lot with food.  But, I have to be honest, I did have 'western style' food to balance everything out.  There was a supermarket close by my apartment that had a mixture of Japanese style and western style food.  So, typically I would have Japanese food and then fix something at home, every other day (like peanut butter and jelly).  I know, not very glamorous, but I had to do it to cut down on costs and break up the monotony of having the same thing.  I did take a few pictures at a conveyer belt sushi place for lunch to give an idea of a typical lunch.  Above, the sushi chef prepares the dishes to be placed on the conveyer belt.  You can then take anything that looks good.  You are charged at the end of the meal, based upon how many dishes you have. 

The next few images are just examples of dishes available as they were coming around on the conveyer belt.

I'm not sure what any of this is, but can guarantee it is some sort of raw fish.

On this particular day, I had a set dish which consisted of miso soup, two bowls of rice with fish on top.  One was raw tuna and the other was a mystery, that I think was also another kind of fish, with salmon roe (fish eggs) on top.  This kind of set dish can also be ordered in lieu of the conveyer belt sushi.

I also took this picture at my last official sit-down dinner in Tokyo.  After ordering a sampler set dish of sushi, this came out along with the rest of the sushi on my plate.  It is baby octopus, that I think was boiled.  I, of course, had to try it and surprisingly it wasn't bad.  Not too different in texture and taste from calamari. 

Signs

I've come along a number of signs in English that make absolutely no sense and it is extremely fascinating to me.  

These two pictures where of signs in a bathroom in a store.  I think this first one is supposed to prompt you to knock on the door prior to entering.

And this second one, I think, is supposed to prompt you to 'celebrate' washing your hands or something.

Even though this isn't a sign, I had to put this picture up of men sleeping on the subway.  The two guys on the left didn't know one another at all, as at the next stop one got off without saying a word.

Imperial Palace Gardens and Kappabashi-dori

Today I went to two areas that I've already been to, but realized that I missed some attractions in each area.  The Imperial Palace Gardens and Kappabashi-dori in Asakusa.  First, was the Imperial Palace Gardens, which is the only area of the palace open to the public.  Shown here is the main gate to enter the gardens.

Overall, the gardens where very nice and seemed like a great reprieve from the urban surroundings.  This was a large courtyard in one of the main sections of the gardens from a observation point.

Moving on to Kappabashi-dori couldn't be any different.  This main thoroughfare in the old Edo-style Asakusa neighborhood is where they sell a lot of kitchenware items for major restaurants, including life-size pieces of sushi and other food made from rubber.  The samplings of food are used to display in restaurant windows to show what kind of food they have to offer.     

At the end of my journey, I ran across this small block and couldn't help but wonder if people actually live in these small buildings?

New Work

The past couple of days I've been trying to get some more work in on my paintings and drawings.  Pictured above is a piece that I started a couple of weeks ago.  It is moving along, but still has a ways to go.  

I've also started up on a new drawing (pictured above) that is about 12" x 12" square.  I'm not very far into this one yet, so it still has a lot of work left.  But, I'm excited about the space in the piece and the overall composition possibilities.

On another note, while in Kyoto I purchased a woodblock print by Ando Hiroshige.  This is an actual, real print that was a second edition print by Hiroshige- his originals can go for $50,000.  It was more than likely printed by someone else, but still crafted by Hiroshige.  I checked to make sure this was authentic before I bought it and not just an inkjet print or something equivalent.  I'm pretty excited by this, because he is one of the many reasons I wanted to visit Japan and I've been really inspired by his work.    

Ueno Park and Nakamachi-Dori

Went to see a temporary exhibition on Corot, the French landscape painter, today at the Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.  Sounds kind of funny, being in Tokyo, but I couldn't pass it up.  The exhibition focused on over 100 of his paintings, a large amount of the work came from the Louvre, in Paris, which holds a majority of Corot pieces.  It turned out to be a great show, but I couldn't take any pictures.  So, I'm posting about my walk home through Ueno Park and back to the subway home.  The above pictures are reminiscent of the torii in Fushimi-inari, Kyoto.  But, in fact they are in Tokyo. 

The light was really great at this time of day, creating some great passages of light and shadow.  This is the walkway to Gojo-jinja Shrine inside Ueno Park. 

Gojo-jinja Shrine, I arrived too late in the day and it was closed.  Still interesting to see.

The center attraction of this area of the park is Benten-do Temple, which is dedicated to Benzaiten, the Buddhist goddess of the arts, wisdom, the sea and the protector of children.  The location of this temple is really interesting because it is basically an island in the middle of a large pond, with walkways to get to the temple.    

Picture of the pond and the city in the background.

Walking back to the subway, I had to cross the street and was just documenting my travels.

I then ran into this great street- Nakamachi-dori.  Full of people out on there normal evening stroll home from work or picking up dinner or just plain shopping.  This narrow walkway had anything and everything for sale- clothes, souvenir trinkets and food.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these vending machines.  I mean, couldn't they just get by with one, instead of ten?  Hard to see in this picture, because of the poll, but these go all the way down the block.

The best part of my walk was this.  No even really sure what these are.  Looks like small fish or maybe even worms.  These were laid out on styrofoam plates on a large platform with all kinds of weird looking other 'food' for sale.

These, I know are definitely small fish.  A stall a few down from this one was selling pig's feet out of a cardboard box.  I opted to not take a picture of the pig's feet, but this gives you the idea of the veritable smorgasbord of 'food' for sale.  Imagine walking home from work and seeing this to pick up for dinner-  "Oh, don't mind if I do.  I'll take a pound of the small fish and two pig's feet."

Shinkansen 'Bullet' Train

I thought I'd post this video taken on the shinkansen 'bullet' train between Tokyo and Kyoto.  I think it really gives a sense of the speed and the changing landscape in Japan.  From tightly compact buildings in urban Tokyo to the rolling rice patty fields and mountains of rural Japan, there is a considerable amount of variety along the way.  I recently read that the average speed of the shinkansen is 188 miles per hour, with a world record speed at 361 miles per hour.  In addition, there have been zero passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions in the entire 40 year operation and 6 billion passenger history of the shinkansen.  They are also extremely punctual, with an average delay of only 36 seconds, pulling up to the stop with only a couple of minutes for passengers to exit and enter and then they are off.

Kyoto - Day Three

I decided to stay in Kyoto for just one more day, so that I could get back to Tokyo to allow for more time to focus on painting and drawing.  I booked my return ticket for the afternoon to allow one more day to visit some sights.  I went to the Fushimi-Inari Taisha, because of its visual presence in some of my guidebooks.  Because I ended up enjoying this sight so much and the length of time I spent there, it was all I could fit in my day before catching the train back to Tokyo.  The above picture is the entryway to the shrine.

This shrine has an interesting, albeit strange backstory, that I will try to paraphrase here:  

It was originally dedicated to the gods of rice and sake by the Hata family in the 8th Century.  As the role of agriculture diminished, deities were enrolled to ensure prosperity in business.  

The entire complex consists of five shrines sprawled across wooded slopes of Inari-yama.  A pathway wanders nearly 3 miles up a mountain lined with hundreds of red torii (see the following pictures).  There are also dozens of foxes, which is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of cereal grains.  The Japanese traditionally view the fox as sacred and somewhat mysterious, capable of 'possessing' humans- the favored point of entry is through the fingernails.  The key often seen in the mouth of the fox is for the rice granary.

Some of the many rows of torii winding up the mountainside.  Absolutely beautiful presence against all of the green of the forest surrounding the shrine.  These torii can actually still be bought today by a person successful at business, who often donates the torii in gratitude.

I was fortunate enough to see one being installed during my visit.  Pretty basic way of being put together, but it looks heavy.

A row of torii alongside a waterfall, made it not only visually compelling, but also the sound created more of an interesting feeling during the long walk.

Another fox, a little more close-up than the last one.  They also wear these strange red bibs for some reason.

The rest of the following pictures are all torii leading up the mountain side.  The entire walk took about two hours, but was a very rewarding experience.

I believe the kanji characters on the side of each torii details who bought it and the date it was installed.

Kyoto - Day Two

Starting out Day Two in Kyoto, I had intended to do a couple of drawings of the city, but it was pouring down rain.  So, I decided to visit a few sights, which I do feel over the past couple of weeks has turned into less sightseeing and more research for my work.  I've been getting a lot of ideas that I feel can be brought into my paintings and drawings, once I return.  I went to a series of sights in Northwestern Kyoto, about a 20-30 minute bus ride from the main Kyoto train station.  Pictured is Kinkaku-Ji, a very famous Zen Golden Temple, covered in gold-foil.  

I love that reflection in the water, I felt like I couldn't take enough pictures of this beautiful sight.

A close up view of the temple, near the temple gardens.

This was on a pathway away from the temple, which took me through the gardens, everyone was trying to get their coins in the bowl-shaped rock in the center.  I wonder how much money is actually on the ground there?

A tea ceremony room, near the temple gates.  Everything was in Japanese, so this was all I could gather about this from a nearby guide speaking to a larger group of people.

On to the next sight, Ryoan-Ji, by far my favorite temple in Kyoto and possibly my favorite in all of Japan.  These were the stairs leading to the main building of Ryoan-Ji.  

Which brought me to this, a garden arranged in the kare-sansui (dry-landscape) style.  A small collection of 15 rocks, adrift in a sea of sand and small rocks, enclosed in an earthen wall.  This is the first Zen rock garden, said to be laid out by Saomi, a painter and gardener who died in 1525.  This was an absolutely amazing experience to sit here and just think or let my mind wander.  I know it doesn't look like much, but when you are there it really is a moving experience and very meditative.

This large rock, engraved with Japanese characters was on the grounds of Ninna-ji, my next site.  I only walked around a small portion of this sight and it didn't seem like anyone else was around and I was a little unsure whether or not it was open.  So, I moved on.

These were the gardens that held Myoshin-ji, a Zen temple complex consisting of 40 temples dating back to the 14 century and Taizo-in, a garden in the southwestern corner of the grounds.  The stone path in the right hand side of the picture led through the entire complex, but it didn't seem like anything was open to view from the inside.

Another one of the temples that made up the Myoshin-ji temple grounds.

On to the following sight, the Bamboo Garden Path, which was located in an area by the name of Arashiyama- about a 10 minute ride west of the Myoshin-ji grounds.  The path led from the nearest street back for about a 10 minute walk and was completely full of bamboo trees.  It was all I could see around me while walking on this path, which was a great experience.  It became very moving, with the rain falling and the light being so low, late in the day.

The bamboo trees created a sort of canopy enveloping the pathway overhead.  

There were quite a few people on the path, but I was lucky enough to time out my photos when no one was around.

Towards the end of the path these young men in traditional clothing were taking people back to the beginning of the path near the road via rickshaw.  A great photo opportunity for me. 

I'm not sure what the name of this is, but it was near the bamboo groves, at the end of the path.  Very peaceful, little walkway in the middle of this small patch of grass.

After another 30 minute bus ride back towards my ryokan, I had one more stop on my list because it was only two blocks from where I was staying.  I thought best to go see it now, before I run out of time.  Pictured above is Nishi Hongan-ji, built in 1591 as the headquarters of Jodo Shin-shu school of Buddhism.  The temple contained 5 buildings total, featuring some of the best examples of architecture and artistic achievement of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600).

The long walkway up to the main entryway of the temple grounds.

The main entryway of the temple grounds, a very beautifully and ornate structure made from wood.

The main doorway of the temple grounds, which was really impressive.  You can see the detailed craftsmanship in the top section of the wood- Incredible.

This is Daisho-in Hall, the only structure currently available to view of the entire complex until 2010, because of restoration.

After this final temple it was nearing six in the evening and I had been out since about nine in the morning.  I was beyond tired and ready for a little break from temples.  Turning around from the temple complex was this gate, a short two block walk to my ryokan from here.  It turned out to be a great day, full of some great sights and ideas for my work.  I feel I definitely did my best to see all I could and experience all that I could while visiting each sight.  It is said that there are more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and over 400 Shinto shrines in Kyoto, more than can be seen in a few years, I'm sure.