SketchTravel in Japan, 2019

in #steemsketchbook5 years ago (edited)

Tokyo and beyond…


Midtown and Kagurazaka


We spent three days in Tokyo before heading out for lesser known parts. First stop was Ginza, midtown Tokyo. Amazing architecture and upscale consumer environs. I loved the Muji store, which is 5 stories of everything cool – even a hotel. Their philosophy of feel good living is apparent throughout. Had lunch at a tiny hidden sushi place you’d never find.

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Then dinner in the very different neighborhood of Kagurazaka, small, busy narrow streets packed with shops and activities. Every wandering side street seems to need exploring, with their tiny hidden noodle shops and sake houses. One path was no wider than a person but opened up to a walkway where we had Japanese influenced Italian food. What? Well Tokyo is an international city, so you will find more than just ramen and sushi.

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To Shizuoka and the mountains

We met friends of my wife’s for dinner in Shizuoka (her hometown), then left early in a rental car for the historical old towns of Tsumago and Magome. We parked and walked through the old towns, checking out the architecture of these places that were on the main foot travel route of people going from Kyoto to Tokyo a few centuries ago. I loved how water was rerouted from streams to flow through the town. The sound of gurgling clean water… We also stopped at Nasai, another old town on our way to Matsumoto City.
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Wasabi fields of Matsumoto City

Matsumoto City is surrounded by mountains and full of agricultural activity. Wasabi is grown here due to the abundant, very clean water. I like seeing all the offering stones at the Daio Wasabi Farm we visited.

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Shrine on you crazy diamond – Izumo, Hagi, Tsuwano, Onomichi

I think of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples as being separate and distinct. My wife visits both at certain times of year, honoring them equally. They're all sacred to me, so regardless of a preference for one or the other, Japan is full of these awesome places to visit, and the country shrines are usually amazing as well. Izumo Taisha (grand shrine) elicited a kind of jaw-dropping reaction from me to its grand size and complexity. The massive and exacting stonework of the foundations alone made me think of Peru.

The entire country was celebrating the enthronement of their new emperor Naruhito. People were getting seal stamps and calligraphy marking the date on their visit, so I asked the calligraphers to add them to my sketchbook. I collected two of them. We visited Hagi castle ruins
and the surrounding town where important people like the samurai, craftsmen and merchants lived.

We visited my wife’s friends who live in the coastal town of Onomichi, known for its old houses. They renovated an old inn and now run it. On a wooded hillside around a temple, it is accessible by a steep path or by a cable car that runs to the top.
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South to the island Shikoku

Crossing the giant bridges connecting the islands between Chugoku and Shikoku, we drove the small backroads to arrive at Kotohira in order to visit the shrine of Kotohiraja. I loved this old wooden bridge and old lantern I saw in the town, but our main purpose was to hike the 785 steps up to the shrine. Another awe-inspiring place, and where I got the second stamp in my sketchbook. They were kind enough to do that in spite of the fact that my paper is of lesser quality than they use. It took more time to dry, a small price to pay I felt.

We did explore other places that were memorable and well worth visiting, but this is as far as my sketches go.

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One last note – to be in the spirit of this trip, and since we walked a lot and drove over many mountains and through small towns and fields, I read a little each day in the book Narrow Road to the Interior on Basho’s journal writings and haiku poems from his foot travels in Japan long ago (1644-1694).

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oh dear @mrsomebody, your post is wonderful! I would love to visit Japan one day but in the meantime, through your stories, I did a virtual journey with you and your wife! and what about your drawings? you are really good and with them you give a great charm to your story! congratulations on your work and your curie rating :-))

Thanks for your warm comments @road2horizon. I thought of adding a map of the routes we took, but it was already so long with the 22 drawings that I left it off. Each day brought new and wonderful sites. Though I'd seen many shrines before, they still fill me with awe, and I wonder how they could have been created in all their magnificence so long ago. It seemed like a mix of world heritage sites existing next to small rice farmers.

yes, the whole history of those places must be feasible, a culture so different from mine (I am Italian), but so fascinating with all its rituals ... but do you live there or did you visit your family?

I live in Seattle, USA. But my wife is from Japan. We visited her daughter in Tokyo and her sisters in Yokohama and in Shizuoka (her hometown). It certainly makes it easy to travel for me. Our next big trip will be to Italy, probably in a year.


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Thank you so much @c-squared! I appreciate it.

Dude I have missed your posting, super nice to see this! I really feel like your sketch travel posts give such an amazing feel of place. That sounds like a great trip, cool that you got to do a lot of walking and getting out into small towns and countryside - my favorite way to travel :)

Thanks @carlgnash! I was pretty much blown away at each new place we visited. Amazing mix of super modern with ancient cultural styles. This is the first trip I've taken since Greece, so have been dry as far as sketching goes. We will travel to Vermont over Thanksgiving, so that might be an opportunity for new sketching. I appreciate your interest and comments.

Talk of personalising your travels! Your sketches takes it to another level! I love this!

@tipu curate

Thank you @livinguktaiwan! There were so many alluring places and scenes, I could have drawn nonstop! It is always great to actually sketch in places. And the people who see me sketching are usually quite touched that I would think enough of their little place on earth to do a drawing. Plus my wife takes better photos, so it's a win-win! haha

Hi mrsomebody,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

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Thank you so much @curie! I appreciate it.

Fabulous post and drawings. I've been in Tokyo for a couple of days and I feel like I haven't seen anything.

Thank you for sharing.

You're welcome @trincowski. I find Tokyo rather overwhelming, though it is full of amazing places. I went to TeamLab the last day. Have you seen that? It's a crazy visual experience. https://www.teamlab.art/e/

Hello Hello!

I will always admit that I love Japanese culture, reading these types of publications are great for me, I learn faster and it's super interesting :)

Greetings from Venezuela

Thank you @iamsaray. As a graphic artist, I just didn't understand much of Japanese culture - it seemed so stylized and removed from what I knew in the US. But now with my Japanese wife and tour guide (haha), I've gotten to experience it directly and have a little better understanding of it. I love the mix of super modern with ancient tradition. And I love the care, courtesy, and concern they put into everything they do.

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Thank you for narrating your walk in Japan. I loved your drawings. How nice it was to read this post. Each drawing looks like a postcard. I vote and resteem. A big hello @mrsomebody

I'm glad you like the post and drawings @marcybetancourt. And I appreciate the vote and resteem too!