Japan!

I went to Japan and it was amazing! It was a trip for fun, to see the sights and relax. We went north of Tokyo, away from the throngs of people and up into the mountains. So much fun.

We landed in Tokyo, then got a car and drove north. First stop, the Ashikaga Flower Park. The perfect beginning for this trip.

They’re known for their gorgeous, and gigantic wisteria tree. Held up by this elaborate wooden structural support system. Alas, we were just a few days late, the flowers were over, but still so impressive.

Although the very old, purple wisteria was over its bloom, the yellow was going strong.

And roses! So many! Including climbers along the fence that you can see in the background.

In the photo above, can you see the people with umbrellas?

Offered free for rain, or in our case, for sun.

And all around, places to sit, under canopies around water features.

So nice.

Roses, with the mountains behind. Beautiful!

We stayed in Utsunomiya, a city centrally located to a number of interesting places.

First up, Mashiko. It’s been a center for pottery for over 2,000 years.

We headed to the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art.

On display, the work of Kaneshige Yuho.

The show focused on his tea bowls. Simple and pure, gorgeous.

There was a video showing him at his kiln. Several assistants helping by adding wood and more wood and more.

He’d say, ‘it’s not hot enough.’ They would add more, until there were flames coming out of the openings.

Crazy dramatic. Wild.

The video was about the making of these black cups. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

In the next room, another display. This one showing the work of Koji Toda.

I mean,….

So perfect.

Behind the museum, down these stairs,

past these old kilns,

to the home of Shoji Hamada, now open to the public. Hamada established his pottery studio in Mashiko in 1924 and helped to make it a center of Japanese pottery and crafts.

This house was originally built in the mid-1800’s and moved here by Hamada who loved and appreciated the traditional building. After some years as his pottery studio, the earthen floor was replaced and Hamada used it as his residence.

The magic of going to a place with few other tourists,

you get the place to yourself.

Hamada was known for his oversized pots. This one was at least 3 feet high.

Hamada’s legacy lives on, gallery after gallery of ceramics line the streets of Mashiko.

Onward! To the Ohya quarries, where this beautiful stone has been cut and used since the eighth century. It’s a popular place, with buses of visitors in the parking lot.

You go down, down, down, over 200 steps into the deep caverns, where for centuries, stone has been cut and used for building material. Deep underground, the people spread out in this huge space.

This part is now used as a museum and visitor exhibit, as well as a place for concerts, movie sets and parties.

Next to the quarry, an old Buddhist temple sits tucked into the side of the cliff.

Ancient carvings line the walls.

Around the corner, carved from the same stone, the Heiwa Kannon, a goddess praying for the peace of the world. Finished in 1954, the 88 foot tall sculpture was dedicated to the people lost during WWII.

On another day, a lovely visit to the bamboo forrest.

Like the Oya quarry, this was a working business that added a tourist component. For a small fee, you can walk through the forest and see the different kinds of bamboo.

The dark colored, giant shoots growing up and tall before their leaves open out. They look like spears.

A striped yellow variety.

A magical place.

And everywhere, rice paddies. In various stages of growth. Here, tiny shoots just started next to slightly older ones.

A farmer planting as we drove by. You can just see the flats of shoots that drop down to where the machine plants them.

The Japanese government encourages people to plant rice by subsidizing it. The idea is that the Japanese can grow enough for themselves and are not dependent on any other market. If you have an extra piece of land, it pays to plant rice. The result is, they’re everywhere.

The one below closer to harvest.

Also, the electric wires. They seem to be everywhere, lots of them.

Especially in the towns.

Then a few blocks away from the wire filled street, in downtown Utsunoiya, the gorgeous Futaarayama-Jinja Shrine.

It’s quite a juxtaposition.

Gates to the shrine.

Lanterns hanging from the temple rafters.

Startlingly beautiful.

Another day, another shrine. This is the Nikko Tosho-gu shrine. Dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the ‘great unifier of Japan,’ the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled in Japan from 1603 until 1868.

The Nikko Tosho-gu shrine is a very important cultural center and is an Unesco World Heritage site. Lots and lots of people visit.

Besides tourists there were busloads of school children each school with a different colored hat to help keep tell them apart.

And amazing, over the top buildings. The Versailles Palace has nothing on this place.

There are 42 buildings to honor Tokugawa Ieyasu, each covered with sculptures, gilding and colorful paint.

His resting place is high up in the forest, behind the main building. In the past, only royalty could go to the shrine.

It’s up many stairs, this is looking back down,

and more stairs, and more. Up deep into the forest,

on the other side of this wall, is Tokugawa Ieyasu’s tomb.

Where in 1617 his body was interred.

Not a lot of people made it up here, so it was less crowded and very impressive. It was remarkable.

Then back down the stairs and the pathways and across the bridges,

to the main part of the shrine, where all the people were, including this group of ladies dressed in their kimonos,

Including this gorgeous one in turquoise, the color that is the most difficult for me to find.

I did my best not to stop her and ask if I could have it.

There is way too much cool stuff to put into one post. I’ll pause here.
The second half of my trip coming up next time.

Stay tuned.